My stay at the Headhunter village in Malaysia was followed by a boat trip through the jungle to start walking the headhunter trail. Honestly, I have no clue what the river was called. I only remember the trip.
It was a very rainy day. We watched as the locals were preparing the traditional longboats. Plastic chairs with the legs sawed off were placed inside it. Our seats. We had two boats, each operated by a man and a woman. While the woman in the front gave directions, the man was responsible for steering. The woman in front of me was waving her hands from left to right, then waving to her husband to go slower. The water was wild. I am impressed by their skills. Because of all the rain, the water was high, the current very strong, and there was a lot of wood in the cappuccino colored water that we had to dodge.
Every now and then the motor would drop out with a big roar, like a lion that was drowning. Then I heard some splashes. When I looked behind me, the ‘captain’ was scooping water out of the boat. The further we got, the wilder the water got. It was like we were rafting in these unsteady boats, desperately trying to protect our cameras from all the water. On both sides of the river stood tall trees. Exotic birds came rushing past us. Even the gigantic butterflies scared us. When we finally turned onto a different river, the water changed to chocolate color. After being in the boat for 4 hours, we’d reached our destination. Soaking wet we could start our hike on the headhunter trail.
This post is inspired by the weekly travel theme: Rivers.
I love that colour of the rivers in South East Asia – like you say, reminds me of cappuccino or caramel or something. Very exotic!