I'm not a hiking-loving girl, I try to avoid it as much as possible but Yin How went on and on about how much he enjoyed hiking at Pantai Kerachut so I decided to follow him today.
When I got there I was whining non-stop about how muddy and slippery the jungle trail was, taking my own sweet time to avoid as much mud as possible. There was a was fallen tree trunk blocking the path and as I bent down to walk underneath it I heard Yin How say, "Snake, snake!". I was thinking, "Huh? Snake? Stupid guy trying to scare me, as if I'll fall for that.... OMG, SNAKE... THERE'S A SNAKE UNDERNEATH MY FEET!!"
I only saw the snake when I had one feet over it (I'm so glad I didn't step on it) and suddenly I forgot about how slippery and muddy the jungle floor was and ran under the tree trunk like a headless chicken screaming, "SNAKE, SNAKE!!" And there we were, Yin How on one side of the fallen tree trunk, me on the other side and the snake in the middle, staring at Yin How, daring him to cross over. The 3 of us stood there not moving for around 5 minutes until the snake got bored and went up a tree.
I stopped taking my own sweet time after that. I just wanted to get to the beach as fast and I could.
I've been hiking with friends and colleagues but never with Yin How and I have to say that I really enjoyed the hike, the pretty beach and the boat ride back.
10 comments:
Thanks :)
Hehe, you can recognize me? I was at QB this afternoon... but didn't see you though. I'm bad with faces.
hmm.. your fringe isn't very fringy. :P
did u google for a photo of a similar snake, or did u (this is how i'm imagining it)... very slowly reach out for your bag... very slowly put your hand into the bag... very slowly take your camera out... very slowly lift the camera to your face then slowly take a picture of the snake... hoping that none of these actions would trigger the snake to attack you?
another question. how come hiking not as bad as you remember?
a) YH was there
b) friends/colleagues weren't there
c) snake shocked you out of your lethargy - Got all your adrenalin pumping! ;)
Thanks. :)
Yin How already had the camera around his neck the whole time, and we were waiting for the snake to move for some time so he took a photo. After a while, he started throwing sticks at it hoping it would move but it just sat there, head high, staring at him and sitting right in the middle of the path.
Is the snake poisonous? I went home and googled it and it says most green snakes are not poisonous, so I'm guessing it's not. Have you run into snakes during any of your many hiking trips?
The last time I went to Pantai Kerachut was when I was in form 5. And it was the most torturous thing I ever experienced so I swore off hiking unless I'm forced to join a teambuilding event or something. But after I've started my weekly aerobics for the past 1 year, I think I'm fitter so last weekend's hiking wasn't tiring and I actually enjoyed it.
But the snake incident scared me though. And it was just Yin How and me so if anything happened to him, I wouldn't know what to do.
I've been around many times when snakes were spotted. Usually its my dad who spots them, and usually its also him who attacks at it with a firm stick/branch. All he seems to do is hit it real hard in the head/neck area.
Once we spotted a large python. He didn't attack it then. We just walked carefully past it...
I think I usually put most of my focus on the trail, so don't tend to look around much. The snakes I've encountered tend to be by the side of the trail. It's possible there have been snakes around when I go hiking without my dad, it's just that I'm never perceptive enough.
We encountered snakes a lot when hiking in the Tanjung Tokong / Vale of Temp / Teluk Bahang area. I don't think there are many snakes in "high traffic" and low shrub areas like the popular Penang Hill trails.
oh btw, i remember when we used to go hiking through tall lalang areas where you can't see the path in front of you... my dad would walk up the front with a stick swaying side-to-side like a blind man, to disturb anything that may be in front so it'll go away and avoid us stepping on it!
all said, hiking is a pretty safe 'sport' la... ;)
OMG, snake underneath your feet! Luckily you din step on it...
Btw, nice pictures... :D
I don't know... meeting snakes on the way don't seem so safe to me... I think that's probably gonna scare me off hiking for the next 10 years. ;)
mindy, now that i've had a closer look at your photo... i realise it wasn't a snake, it was a caterpillar!
now both you n munyi can join bshin, paiklin n others to mukahead this saturday! :p
it has been YEARS since I last hiked too. but not since form 5 ler. maybe bout erm...5 yrs ago? ;P
mindy..i think u r fitter than me now.
Oh course I'm fitter than you. I do weekly aerobics you know!~ :P
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