It's Friday, so people finsih things early today so they can go to the mosque. As a result, we started our first activity at 8.30. The only way to get from Nusa Camp to anywhere else, it seems, is by the long narrow boats, and they run on a schedule that is somewhat approximate, and governed by an unknown sequence of events. We waited at the jetty for quite a while and then, with no warning, the boat started up and we jumped on and headed down-river, over the small rapids that look big in a boat lower than the water on some occasions and we moored on a little sandy beach. Our destination, the rope-bridge canopy walk, started a little way up into the jungle and inside a wooden watch tower. We climbed and then, keeping 15 feet appart as advised, walked along precarious bridges built of planks of wood on aluminium ladders tied to ropes suspended from trees. 150ft tall in some places, sometimes above the tree tops, it was an impressive walk, and consisted of ten bridges and nine ladders all conected.There was even an almost-vertical ladder taking the walkway up to a higher point, which gave a lovely view. We didn't see any animals up here, except for ant motorways on trees, because there were too many people around, but there were populations of tiger and elephant in the forest which would have been great to see.

After we'd successfully navigated the 1800 feet of walkways, and our guide 'rescued' an injured tarantuala, we headed up a hill to see the view. We used the ribbon-like tree roots as steps, and it was hard going, still hot and very tiring. I was just grateful that we weren't at high altitude, because the climbing reminded me of the Inca Trail. But it only took about half an hour, and the view, although hazy, was lovely to see because we were looking down on hundreds and thousands of trees. We went a little way further into the forest, a slightly flatter but more tree trunk strewn path and found a higher view with different noises. Mikey pointed out that every ten steps the sounds changed, the insects in clusters and the animals in their own territories. From up here we could hear the whooping of gibbons, my favourite monkey and the best swingers in the jungle. Unfortunately we didn't see them, the sound was coming from the other side of the river, but it was good to hear them.

We headed back down the hill and back to the beach to wait for the boat. It finally arrived and we puttered up the rapids again and went back to the camp for lunch and a well-earned rest.

At about two o'clock, a boat left for the little floating village of Kuala Tahan, so we waited for that and made our way downstream for a few minutes. It was beginning to rain in huge drops, the sky was an ominous, metalic shade of black and the trees were almost entirely obsucred by whispy clouds. We thought about sitting in one of the floating restaurants for a cup of tea, but instead the rain held off long enough for us to have a quick look round the place (very overgrown, lots of old petrol cans and tarpaulins around, a few camp sites and a school on the mainland and a shop or two on the water) and then hop on the next boat upstream, about twenty minutes later. By this time all the climbing and the heat had given me a nasty headache that I thought might turn into a migraine, so I set the alarm for 4.30 and tried to get about an hour's sleep. There was a tremendows thunderstorm as I slept, giving me hope that we wouldn't be going out again this afternoon. Then there was a knock on the door and the guide, whose name I either didn't hear or have forgotten, came to ask us if we wanted to go 'tubing' where we'd float down the river on inflated inner tubes. Although I'd much rather have slept for a few more days, I talked Mikey into coming with me, and, feeling very self-conscious in a swimsuit among all the hotel staff in headscarves and long dresses, we grabbed a tyre each and jumped on the boat again. The rain had stopped, but it had turned the small streams around the camp into thick, milky orange rivers,and these flowed into the watery beige of the main waterway in pretty marbled patterns.

We were dropped off a little way upstream, to my relief - we weren't going to attempt the boat-challenging rapids just below the camp - and we sat on the tubes and floated gently down the river. The tyres were surprisingly manoeuvreable and as long as we stayed in the middle of the water, where the current was, we moved at a leisurely pace. A couple of times we had small rapids to contend with, where the waves would wash over us and I had to hang onto my glasses (I chose to wear them so I could see where we were going!) and it was a lot of fun. We passed an Orang Asli village made of sticks and grass roofs, and I waved at them all. They seemed intrigued by this bunch of while people floating down the river and I even saw a camera flash go off among the trees. All around us the forest loomed, much of it untouched for millions of years. Small white clouds hung like frozen explosions in the tree tops. Once my feet were out of the water, even in the heat, they got cold, and putting them back into the river was like a warm bath. It was really pleasant, and all too soon we could see the camp round the corner. But, we didn't head there, instead, we were led directly to the rapids that almost drown the boat every time we try to traverse them. A little apprehensive but more excited, we just let the water take us where it wanted to, the two Japanese girls with us having even less control than the rest of us. Finally we spotted the boat round the corner and managed to paddle to shore. Out of the water it was cold, and we stood in the shallows for a while. Mikey exclaimed that something was wiggling in the water round his feet, and I told him that there wasn't, it was jus tthe sand or the air bubbles, and then something bit my toe and I jumped out of the water and appologised to him. Apparently there are catfish in the river and the baby ones might burrow in the sand a bit...

That was really it for the evening. We were all very cold out of the water, and only had a cold shower to return to, so we did the best we could and I snuggled up under my mosquito net as best I could to get warm. Then we had a bit of supper (and a lot of watermelon) and I read for a while until I fell asleep. I've found a really lovely book, and it's the first one I've ever wanted to read slowly so that I don't finish it too soon.