Hanging by a Thread

Ulrik suspended above the jungle.
Even if you spend the rest of your time hiding from leeches in your room, if you go to Taman Negara you have to do the Canopy Walkway. The walkway -- which is about 400m to 500m in length and divided into five or six different segments -- is constructed of overlapping wooden planks about 0ne-and-one-half feet wide that rest in a loose-weave net whose ends are tied by a series of ropes to steel cables that run the length of each section.

A close up look at the sophisticated 'engineering' behind the walkway.
Because of its primarily net-and-rope construction, the walkway sways with every step. And with the walkway being suspended about 40m to 50m above the jungle floor, you can imagine that all that swaying can be a bit disconcerting!

We had been told the walkway can become quite crowded as they limit the number of people on the canopy at any given time, but we were lucky and had it all to ourselves. And as you can imagine, the views were quite spectacular!

For more photos, see our Malaysia photo album.