Up in the Air, Amid the Dragon Horns

View from the saddle between the Dragon Horns. Beautiful.

View of the horns from the Asah Jetty, round the way to the east.

At the southern end of Pulau Tioman two massive rocks jut out up into the sky. These side-by-side slabs are known as the Dragon Horns. Maybe I'm being lazy or I just don't have my higher level writer wits about me today, but I don't feel like any of the words I can come up with do this place (and its surrounding scenery) justice. Just gawk at the photos, but I don't feel like they do it justice either. The horns are astounding; so is the dense canopy engulfed around them. At the end of July Alli, Big Teazy (aka Tom Wuebbens, you wanted your shout out boss, here it is! Shoutin' you out, blog style) and Rich holidayed down in Kampung Mukut, the village that sits at the base of the horns. Wonderful place down there. Big T and Rich were there a couple days, and Alli and I stayed on for a few more. *** All photos can be enlarged by clicking 'em. ***

Crew at the top! Soaking it up and getting our makan on.

Pure canopy.

The horns are quite steep as you can see. Some crazy climbers headed up this route awhile ago.

One day we decided to trek up to the saddle of the horns, 690 meters up. It was quite the climb and one of the most glorious treks I've ever done. You end up in the middle between the two horns. Untouched jungle, gnarly rock and views at the end that made sweating for three hours straight an act to forget about. The pitcher plants were a delight, too. Plus chowing down on nasi lemok (rice, sambal sauce, anchovies, egg and peanuts) at the top was icing on the cake, or should I say kuih since we're in Malaysia. The whole crew rocked the trail through and through. Not much wildlife though, maybe one unidentified skink blazing through the leaf litter. But I didn't care. I'd love to go back and camp up there, passing out in a hammock and probably tying myself to a tree to make sure I don't topple off a ledge.

Pitcher plants. Odd and lovely. Drink up!