which is how I first came to know of him. With my city-slicker colleagues, we followed him on a 4 hour kayak trip during our Sarawak Rainforest Festival 2009 trip. Now back to the point. I imagined trekking with Danny would mean a really rough and tough terrain (what else could he enjoy?haha), so I voiced my doubts.
Err how difficult is this la?
How far is this trek?
Got trail ah?
To which he of course just said, Don't Worry La!
Turns out, we will be going trekking with Waterfall Survivors, a Facebook group of waterfall enthusiasts. Ironically, I have added this group on my Facebook many moons ago, hoping one day I'd be adventurous enough to join them. Well, life is funny and unpredictable, as they say
So I stared ringing a few more people who were gung-ho about outdoorsy stuff to join. To my disappointment, they each were either busy or had something else planned. The two who ended up going with me turned out to be the last two I had in mind, whom I never thought would trek into the jungle! (Sorry guys haha). It was by a stroke of luck, that I was speaking to Amy on the phone regarding some financial agent who called me because she gaveaway my number (hmmph!) and I asked her if she'd like to visit a waterfall without actually expecting her to say yes. But she said yes. A very enthusiastic YES.
And with Allison, the other gung-ho gal, she heard from another friend whom I actually invited to go.
So yes, as they say, it is fated.
On the day of the trek, I woke up at 5 am to prepare some egg and crabstick sandwiches and headed down to the meeting point in Tesco Mutiara Damansara. I did a quick survey. Some much older participants, some in their twenties and thirties. But judging from my previous experience, usually older participants are the 'experts' who really know their stuff. You don't expect your average middle age people to suddenly join a trek after all.
So we headed off in a convoy on the North South Expressway and exited at Tapah. Thereafter, it was a scrumptious breakfast in Kampar town before continuing our journey to the interior and to a school. The community here were Orang Asli, so I think the school caters to their kids.
Waterfall survivors leader Joe Yap starts off with the Do's and Don'ts though I reckon there are more Don'ts.
She then hands out the first aid kits, each one gets one, to my surprise. I am used to trips with just ONE first aid kit for the entire group.
Next up, was the trail. We started very late, almost noon, and yes so we were half melting.
The head of the trail was bare, I think they had chopped the trees to make way for some other plantation.
The hot day and blue sky makes for a beautiful picture, but check out the squinted eyes on the faces below, and you know just how bright the sun was shining that day.
Danny, the one in shades. The reason we all changed our Saturday routine and woke up at an ungodly hour for this trip, haha.
He turned out to be a BIG help throughout the trek chopping our way with his parang and lending an outstretched hand when you feel like you're gonna do a Humpty Dumpty.
After a good 30 minutes, finally tall trees! Temperatures suddenly dropped to a cooling level once we got under the green canopy. Perfect example of why we need them trees to cool our planet!
The trek was not too bad, a bit slippery here and there since the ground is moist and certain parts of the terrain were slightly steep so you have to use your hands to grab on to branches or something to stable yourself. And the first reward.....
In the picture, the rocks certainly look steeper than in real life haha. But what the picture doesn't show is that the rocks were covered in slimy moss so it was slippery enough that someone did slip and tumbled a bit.
More trekking and the next reward...
Water is oh-so-clear everywhere...
And finally the last of the Falls, where we stopped to unpack whatever lunch we brought.
I overpacked- sandwiches, sausages, apples, thinking I'd be hungry and also packed extra for the people I came with but amazingly enough everyone wasn't that hungry.
Those who were more rajin even brought maggi mee and their mesh tins.
The mandatory happy group pose!
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