I am bitten by the river bug. The thrill of the rapids, the beauty of the surrounding trees, colourful and wonderfully patterned butterflies fluttering, dragonflies buzzing in groups, waterfalls in the least expected places. The best of all…the silence of nature as one float lazily down the river. Bliss…to be able to get away from the city…the fumes…and the noise of man made machines.
That morning saw me getting up early to play cabbie. After picking up Manju, Jenna and B, I handed the driving to Christie who drove us to Lionel’s house and our adventure started….immediately…with us losing sight of Lionel’s car (within 2 minutes of the start of the journey…Christie was apparently following the wrong car right from the start). It was good for us that B knew the way.
Bai (our head guide) was already at the Kuala Kubu Baru Post Office by the time we got there. We were the last to arrive (rather embarrassing since I am the organizer). The others were already chomping away on their breakfast in the near by coffee shops. So, after this and that and a char siew pau (my coffee had to be ta-pau-ed), we were off to the river.
That morning saw me getting up early to play cabbie. After picking up Manju, Jenna and B, I handed the driving to Christie who drove us to Lionel’s house and our adventure started….immediately…with us losing sight of Lionel’s car (within 2 minutes of the start of the journey…Christie was apparently following the wrong car right from the start). It was good for us that B knew the way.
Bai (our head guide) was already at the Kuala Kubu Baru Post Office by the time we got there. We were the last to arrive (rather embarrassing since I am the organizer). The others were already chomping away on their breakfast in the near by coffee shops. So, after this and that and a char siew pau (my coffee had to be ta-pau-ed), we were off to the river.
After an extensive briefing from Bai (who turned out to be a pretty funny fella) and splitting ourselves up into four groups, we donned our safety equipment (which smelt really, really bad...and which Chew Cheong Tat...once again...wore his helmet backwards) and climbed into the rafts. Lionel, B, Manju, Su Yin and myself ended up with Bai as our guide.
No turning back...literally...because since we are not salmons, we lack to ability and the drive to swim upstream to lay our eggs. Please don't ask me where that analogy came from...I am hungry...and as usual...craving for salmon sashimi. If I had an oyster analogy...that would have been in here..
Bai~our head guide...whom I suspect (judging by this photo) has a secret desire to be a super model..
My raft members..
More action. It's really addictive. The anticipation and wanting more of that 'feeling' that you get as the raft prepares to lunge downwards..
Us once again. Look at the smiles on our faces. All natural...no posing.
Us once again. Look at the smiles on our faces. All natural...no posing..
A brief stop at a waterfall (it's really cold and really strong...heavy...whatever...you get the idea).
A brief stop at a waterfall (it's really cold and really strong...heavy...whatever...you get the idea)..
That's me...swimming...away from a shark (Andrew Poi).
That's me...swimming...away from a shark (Andrew Poi)..
At the calm parts of the river, our guides allowed us to float carelessly while the current carried us towards the end.
At the calm parts of the river, our guides allowed us to float carelessly while the current carried us towards the end..
Nature. No descriptions needed.
Nature. No descriptions needed..
Overall, it was really good fun though I was a little disappointed that the rapids were not as ‘exciting’ as I expected them to be. The setback of having expectations. I found out that we did not really know our left from our right (ha ha ha…took us a few seconds to think before we could obey Bai’s commands). A few rapids threatened to throw us off (Chew Cheong Tat got flung off a couple of times) but it was not until the very last one that Manju, Su Yin and myself succumbed to the river. I remember it in slow motion…the raft going down a series of rather steep rocks…our side of the raft plunging downwards, Lionel and B sliding towards us…their side of the raft rising up, screaming…and then…silence. I knew I had plunged into the river and so did Manju and Su Yin, but I did not know where they were. Because of my contact lenses, I could not open my eyes. I remember kicking towards the surface…upwards…where the oxygen is. But instead of open air, my hands met the rubbery bottom of the raft. Drat! The raft was right above me. I don’t know how I managed to maintain my presence of mind but I did…and thankfully my claustrophobic demons stayed at bay. I scrambled towards the end of the raft and managed to find my way up. Air had never tasted as sweet as I gulped down breath after breath.
Have I had enough of white water rafting? Definitely not! I am already itching for the next trip. Padas river anyone? Okay…so Sabah is a little far to go to. How about Slim River then, folks? Give me a call. It can be arranged. This is your team leader…it’s been a pleasure…over and out.
Overall, it was really good fun though I was a little disappointed that the rapids were not as ‘exciting’ as I expected them to be. The setback of having expectations. I found out that we did not really know our left from our right (ha ha ha…took us a few seconds to think before we could obey Bai’s commands). A few rapids threatened to throw us off (Chew Cheong Tat got flung off a couple of times) but it was not until the very last one that Manju, Su Yin and myself succumbed to the river. I remember it in slow motion…the raft going down a series of rather steep rocks…our side of the raft plunging downwards, Lionel and B sliding towards us…their side of the raft rising up, screaming…and then…silence. I knew I had plunged into the river and so did Manju and Su Yin, but I did not know where they were. Because of my contact lenses, I could not open my eyes. I remember kicking towards the surface…upwards…where the oxygen is. But instead of open air, my hands met the rubbery bottom of the raft. Drat! The raft was right above me. I don’t know how I managed to maintain my presence of mind but I did…and thankfully my claustrophobic demons stayed at bay. I scrambled towards the end of the raft and managed to find my way up. Air had never tasted as sweet as I gulped down breath after breath. Have I had enough of white water rafting? Definitely not! I am already itching for the next trip. Padas river anyone? Okay…so Sabah is a little far to go to. How about Slim River then, folks? Give me a call. It can be arranged. This is your team leader…it’s been a pleasure…over and out.
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