Waterfall at Kampung Jantan, Lundu, Sarawak, Malaysia

Hurray!!! Hiking!!!

Those small dots down there are people playing in the icy cool water and I'm way way at the northern end behind the trees (can't see me).     Photo courtesy of super-sonic boy

A long time ago, I used to go hiking. That was when I was in my twenties after finishing high school and mixing around with a bunch of co-workers of similar age and disposition. Those were the days when we were young and oh, so carefree and energetic. I remembered the interesting but grueling job of trekking through fields with grass so tall as to cut your arms while walking through them. Of course, there were interesting sights along the way as you trek through padi fields, rubber, cocoa and pepper gardens and pass by some vegetable plots and wade through rivers and streams. I still remembered crossing a big wide river by walking along a fallen rotting tree trunk across that river and the tree trunk was hanging 60 feet above the river. I didn't dare to look down but I peeped and it was scary.

Now, more than twenty years later, I was offered a chance to go hiking again. I thought I'll try it and armed with preparations like tying up my hair, wearing sport shoes, cap and towels, I thought I was ready. I always had Plan A and Plan B up my sleeves. It's in my nature to be prepared. Plan A was the personal preparation and Plan B in this case was bringing along my teenage son so he could carry food and water for me.

The day in question arrived and all the hikers (19 of us) met at the pre-appointed venue, that was, 3rd mile KTS Village since the captain of the team resided there. I was eager to start. At 8:30 am, we started our journey. It took us one hour and thirty minutes to reach the junction to Kampung Jantan where a guide was waiting to show us the way. The fee for the guide was RM10 per hiker but negotiable if you had a big group of people.

The weather was fine and sunny although quite hot and dusty along the way. After parking our cars near a kampung house, we started our jungle trekking with the goal of reaching a waterfall. We saw some chickens, some dogs wondering aimlessly around and a brown cat lazing under a chair. We also saw an old lady eating durian at her veranda. She kindly offered us a free durian. How great was that? These people were very friendly and non-threatening.

After ten minutes, I was sweating profusely but I could still manage because I had been on the treadmill recently so walking was not a big deal for me. I even took out my camera to snap some shots to show my nieces. Well! That was actually the fun part of the whole trekking saga. The next ten minutes was grueling and that's just describing it mildly! I even asked my son whether he could hear me breathing. I thought I heard an elephant crashing through the jungle beside me and a gorilla breathing heavily while running after the elephant but to my utmost dismay, I realised both animals were actually ME!

Only then it hit me straight on the forehead! For the past ten minutes, I had been climbing slowly but gradually uphill the whole time. Now, let's get this clear! I have nothing against climbing hills but I know my weakness and that is climbing hills. (Discovery Thought Number 1) That instance when the thought hit me, it was like the sky opened and the truth struck me like lightning. Have you ever come across a situation when you are hit with not only one thought but two or three discoveries strike you simultaneously at the same time? By now, I also realised that my son who happened to be my Plan B if anything went wrong had disappeared from my sight! (Discovery Thought Number 2) Wow, I thought, I didn't realise I gave birth to "super-sonic boy" who can climb hills/mountains so fast! (Discovery Thought Number 3) Not only that, this "super-sonic boy" took away the backpack that contained food and drinks! (Discovery Thought Number 4)

I am a practical person if nothing else and with the snap of the fingers, I knew what I must do. 'STOP' shouted my brain 'and move the goal post!' So I told my guide I wanted to stop right this instance and wait for the rest of the gang to return. Did I tell you the guide, to my chagrin, was walking bare-footed? But that's another story. I must say I forgot the tenacious character of this simple man who just wanted to do his job. I think he was actually in the wrong line of work. He should have been in the marketing business. He tricked me into continuing this grueling, tedious and sweaty journey until we reached the river. He said something about the guarantee of reaching the waterfall like he will guarantee the performance of whatever product he might be selling in future. I reached the river after an hour of hard trekking exercise feeling like a donkey following a master holding a big stick.

Bliss!!!!! Here, I reached my new goal post. It was cool although by this time the sun was actually overhead since it's already midday. I could see huge, gigantic rocks with water gushing through the cracks in the rocks. The sound of water was thunderous although I could still hear the sound of twigs snapping or the sudden flutter of bird's wings. In contrast with the thunderous sound and the sight of gushing water was the still and calm water in some pools within the same area.

Did I mention that my goal post had moved? I was adamant that this will be my destination and finally the guide left me alone. And I can tell you, alone meant nobody was around me. "Super-sonic boy" was nowhere in sight. I was surrounded by rocks and water and of course some trees and scrubs along the riverbanks. So I had some 'alone' time and played with my camera. I listened to some songs on my handphone and dipped my feet into the icy cold water which was pretty refreshing and nearly fell asleep. Suddenly, I felt a shadow across my face and looking up saw "super-sonic boy" had come back. So it was time to return home. It was a happy thought.

I got ready to trek back home but after only five or six "very carefully placed" steps, I felt my feet gave way and my whole body sliding down one of the huge gigantic rocks. I could not hold onto anything and it was so sudden and shocking, I had no time to say, "O Jesus, save me!" Instead, I did the only reasonable second best natural thing and that was to scream "aaaaaaaaaarghhh!" I finally got the attention of "super-sonic boy". He stuck to my side like glue after that! THAT, I told myself, was what any self-sacrificing mother would do to get the attention of her teenage son. Needless to say, I was wet from my knees down to my Adidas shoes.

The return journey was downhill all the way. Wow, you should have seen me. I didn't know I was "speed-racer". Toot-toot and off I raced! With the blink of an eye, I reached the finishing line with no elephant and gorilla beside me. Although I was not the first one to reach the car park but I was within the first five position. Should I mention "super-sonic boy" was not far behind?

That episode ended well. An extremely interesting day for me. Oh, did I mention it was the durian season and I bought some durians?