Cuc Phoung National Park Part II

When I woke up this morning it was still cold. I didn't want to get out of my tent! I slept in till 9 and went for breakfast. The intense moisture had gone and a brisk wind in the night dried out nearly everything. I decided to visit an ancient tree, 3km from Bong B. The trail was meant for many visitors and was really flat and paved for most of it. I passed an elderly group of birders on the way in but saw no one else when I was on the trail. The tree was really impressive, one of the biggest of the 5 big trees in the park. The trail continued past the big tree for another 22km to a village on the outskirts of the park. This is the trail taken on overnight jungle trekking trips. I had asked about these but they were a bit too expensive for me. I wanted to have a really cheap stay at the park. That meant no hiring guides or overnight treks. With just the cost of camping and food, I would only be spending $10 or less a day.

Back in the forest I thought I would just check out more the trail and walked for almost 2 hours past the big tree. I arrived back in camp about 5 hours later. I didn't see any animals or hear any signs of animals but I was still really happy to be back in the forest again. The weather stayed overcast and cool all day. After dinner I wanted to go on a nightwalk but it was just too cold. I just wanted to be in my tent listening to music or watching movies on my ipod. I borrowed an extra blanket from reception and was toasty warm in my tent now. I knew I was staying for another few days and whether it was cold or not, I knew I had to get out for a nightwalk. Many of the mammals I want to see are nocturnal and getting out there in the dark in the only way I 'm going to see them.

The next day the weather was a little bit warmer but still overcast. I hiked a trail to another big tree that was popular with tour groups. I passed a school group with 60 students. This tree was called the thousand year old tree and consisted of 2 large trees joined at the base. I'm not sure how they determined it was a thousand years old. I didn't think I would see any animals along this trail. It was just too busy too much of the time but as I hiked it I kept hearing sounds. I finally learned that it was birds searching through dry leaves looking for food. It kept messing me up, thinking it was a different animal. After I passed the school group, I didn't see anyone else on the trail.

The night was warmer than the previous so I decided to try a night hike. I went out for an hour on a trail near Bong B but saw and heard nothing. The forest was dead quiet. I've never heard a rainforest this quiet before. I think the cold nights are causing many animals and insects to be less active than usual.