barbed wire and what's with all these warning signs?

after leech-fest, we went to the rafflesia center and adjacent rainforest which is supposed to be home to the the largest flower in the world. we entered the trail, which was gated, despite knowing that the next hike wasn't slated for 3 hours, and we were supposed to pay to enter the center and only enter with a guide. we figured we'd catch up with the group. "lookout trail at your own risk" the sign said. we were getting a little fatigued of all of these warnings. "do not enter" the sign had said on the trail yesterday. "beware" a sign said next to a locked room next to our treehouse. um, okay? well, the group apparently gave us the slip (or perhaps you could say we gave them the slip), and we wandered all over the place, stomping leeches from our boots on occasion.

only after hiking for four hours and finding one paltry rafflesia the size of a soccer ball did we realize that the big flowers are not found in this region. wrong species. our other adventure that day was getting locked inside the trails. we got in just fine (despite our reservations) but when we tried to leave, the eight-foot gate with nasty spikes on top was locked and there was barbed wire in either direction as far as the eye could see. we were cold and soaked through
with mountain rain (yeah, it's cold even in the tropics!) and not a good samaritan in sight.

no worries. we're both lawbreakers: daniel by nature, and me by profession. we made a gap in the barbed wire just large enough to squeeze through and we smiled our way past a row of kids and quasi-game wardens, until we hitched, soaked but smiling, back home. not that a night spent in the rafflesia rainforest wouldn't have been great, but...