Grabbed some muesli and fruit for breakfast from the guesthouse. Pretty tasty, but probably a bit pricier than I could get elsewhere in the city. Even still, the difference is probably only $1 or so.
Met up with Jolina and Robin, and headed to the Tiger Cave. About 8kms outside of the city we rode in the back of the songthaew with some locals – many who seemed to just hop on and hop off at random. The songthaew is just two benches at the back of a truck, but it serves its purpose.
At the cave, we looked at the sign announcing “1,237 Steps To Top Mountain” with trepidation (and maybe hoping their counting was as poor as their English), but it was still early, so we figured we’d better tackle it before the sun started to really heat us up. Accompanying us on our journey was a mutt that I christened Scabby, because he looked like he’d been in a few too many scraps in his day. He followed us up the stairs, and stopped when we stopped. He also helped keep the monkeys at bay.
Like the Batu caves, the lower stairs of the climb were clambering with monkeys. I took some photos as three of them sat on a garbage bin only a foot away from me, but was quite surprised when one leapt onto my bag and attempted to steal my water bottle. I shooed it away, and promptly put the bottle in my bag to deter any future attempts at thievery.
The climb was grueling, steep, hot, and humid. The stairs were numbered occasionally, which didn’t serve to help things. Near the top, someone passed us on his way down and assured us it was worthwhile. He was right.
Great views from the top, and a giant statue as well (who knows how they got it up there). We sat there for an hour or so, to recover from the climb, and drink some water available at the top. We tried to give Scabby some, but he didn’t seem too interested.
After descending the steps (Scabby stayed up top – maybe he climbed up to die), we headed to the Tiger Cave, which was a smallish (compared to Batu) cave in the jungle. It began to pour rain while we were in the cave, so we used it as shelter. Rain in Asia doesn’t seem to ever die down, though. Even when it does seem calmer, it’s probably as bad as our worst storms in Canada. Eventually we figured the rain was light enough and we headed to the songthaew and got a ride back into town.
Sat around in the guesthouse to wait out the storm, and had a (proper, not nature endowing) shower. Headed out for some food with Robin and Jolina, at a restaurant around the corner, and then back to the hostel. The school next to the guesthouse is having some sort of performance night, so I was able to listen to some off key singing – but they seem to be having fun.
Headed to the night market later to get some more food, and some pancakes for dessert, but ended up skipping the pancakes. Tomorrow I am off to Ko Lanta, which ought to be a nice change from the city life.
