To be honest (like i'm gonna lie), I have always afraid of water but having said that, my alter ego on the other hand is one crazy lil'devil that has been injected with deep passion of adrenalin pumping activities. As such, my medulla oblongata seems to be disturbingly obligated towards it. It strike me at times that “why on earth did I just did that?” after round of challenging task but as if I was almost hypnotized into a world of supernatural or perhaps overdose of weed (well im just figuratively saying), i just cant stop myself from indulge in it.
Having aquaphobia wasn’t something that Im proud of, hence Im always believe in keeping my life as Interesting as possible, after all Life’s an Adventure! And never underestimate ourselves, coz hey you’ll never know what you are capable of until when you actually try it yourself. So that is why I love taking up these challenges just to outdo myself.
Orait enough of ‘hints’ let spilled some serious beans. Last Saturday (11/2/12), I’d joined with some really sporting people for a unique water based activity called bamboo rafting. Thanks to Tourism Selangor (TS) for the idea of bringing people to try out different stuff around Selangor on regular basis.
Bamboo rafting--cool "advert"
Well I joined their 1st#TSDayout to Pulau Ketam and love it, so when this came out, I just jumped in. Some of you guyz might have probably heard and tried it yourself, but those who haven’t, you should especially if you are not into fast/speed phase movement.
Woke up early and took a cab to Bangsar, meeting point was MCD Jln Telawi at 7am and will be leaving at 730am.This was probably the first time im seeing Bangsar so empty and QUIET. Reached there about 710am and met Renu (one of the TS staff). TS is kind enuff to hire a bus to accommodate participants.
1st time seeing Bangsar so quiet and empty..spooky
It was slightly punctual this time around as everyone managed to arrive on time. So we left at 740am and upon reaching Hulu Langat, we waited for the owner of UluHati, Shaipudin to guide us to his ‘paradise’. Seeing him for the first time while he sipped his pipe really reminded me of the good old cowboys ive seen in movies.
The modern cowboy?
Finally after 'touched down', we could see all the bamboo raft was floating on the river.So that save us time to ‘built’ our own raft even tho I would love to try to make one..hehehe..well maybe next time. Maximum 3 on a raft where 2 will be siting on it and another would be the peddler. The orang asli tribe were all ready and did a good job on handling the raft.
jeng jeng jeng...life jacket for the non-swimmers
Our journey was a pleasant one except for certain obstruction where we got stuck on stones. Water was pretty shallow thus it wasn’t as smooth sailing as we expected. Overall it was a cool experience. Watching the clear blue skies as the ray of light penetrating each trees right to the thick leaves and branches was simply breathtaking. The best view while I gazed myself with the backdrop of mountains and deep jungle…bliss!
passing by Orang Asli village
Unfortunately due to safety precautions, we are not permitted to handle the bamboo raft by our own throughout the whole journey but I have no complain coz more time for myself to point and snap plus enjoying every moment of greenery around me..literally as certain area are polluted with plastic bottles and rubbish.
pic taken from Azuan Ahmad Zahdi..yeah the sun decided to visit us..Nazri received a call at the back..hehe
an usual sight of bamboo rafting that day
where water level are pretty deep and a sharp turn need the experts to maneuver
Just chilling and relaxing while I enjoyed the nature
Our hardworking guide
finally arrived safe and sound..
After 1 h 30 min, we reached the final point, then we embarked on a van where they send us to UluHati Sanctuary. After refreshed, lunch was served. Kampung style food with ikan keli masak lemak, sambal udang, pucuk paku gajah and rendang ayam kampung. There were also ulam with delicious varieties of sambals eg budu, belacan, cencaluk (fermented durian) yummyyyyy.
i was busy describing how similar bamboo rafting were in Manila (Pasagjan) except that there were waterfalls both on the left and right through out the journey.
After all that yummy food, its time for Blowpipe Demo…interesting true stories to be told. Some are pretty nasty while some are pretty farnee. Tok Batin definitely the best person to convey those stories with his comical gesture and expression.
blowpipe demo..sumpit jangan tak sumpit..hehehe
In conjunction with the theme Adventure, participants are also encourage to join in a photography contest. 5 winners will be rewarded RM250 each for selected photos that depicts the theme. Didn't managed to snap some great photos but at least i had fun during the ride..hehe. Later we were also given a chance for a tour where we gotta chance to 'mingle' with those deers, dogs, horses, pony and goats..:) So many tips given by the man himself on how to rear those horses..economically.
OK..white water rafting, tube rafting, parasailing, wakeboarding, bungee jumping, Gforce, Zorbing and Bamboo rafting has been CHECKED from my list, hrrrmm…let’s just wait and see what next in my timeline.
In the meantime, if you wanna have fun like I did, just remember to like Tourism Selangor and check out their regular updates event, who knows I’ll be meeting u there soon!
