Niah National Park

Sarawak

Malaysia

January 24, 2013

Part 1. The Trail 

With mere words, can I describe a jungle?  It’s green of course.  And this particular jungle boasts an extraordinary variety of species and unimagined shapes and sizes of trees, plants and ferns.  So many shades of green. 

The “karst forest” is a surprise.  Along the well maintained and comfortable boardwalk of Niah National Park, I “discover” a collection of tall “rocks” that are slowly being surrounded, choked, and obliterated by the jungle growth.  “Is this a formation of an abandoned fort?” I wondered.  “Or maybe an ancient temple?  A miniature Angkor Wat?”   

The sedimentary rocks are truly ancient – millions and millions of years old.  They are calcium deposits of ancient sea creatures that have been up thrust from the bottom of ancient seas.  

The karst forest bathes in the sunlight now, but soon, geologically speaking, the rock forest will be consumed by the jungle. 

The karst formation in Niah is no miniature temple.  It is a miniature of the karst forest found in the waters of Phang Nga Bay in Thailand.   A miniature of Wulingyuan in the mountains of Hunan Province, China.  And my favorite, a miniature of the dragon’s teeth thrust up from the depths of Ha Long Bay in Northern Vietnam. 

And also, for those other places, I found no words.