Whitewater Rafting Adventure, Sg Kampar, Perak
I enjoyed it so much that i'm putting whitewater rafting as an activity to-do.
My friends and i bought the Groupon offer (RM 88 per person) on whitewater rafting in Sungai Kampar (Kampar River) by My Gopeng Resort. We booked the morning slot so we had to be there by 9am. Excited, we drove to Gopeng town then turned following the directions to the Resort.
My adventure for the day began at the journey towards the Resort. From the main road, we moved to kampung area with narrow, tarred and gravel road. There was a stretch of road with at least 20 road bumps, forcing us to slow down and enjoy the rather scenic view of the countryside. To be honest, the surrounding was special and if i am a foreign tourist, i would like the feel of the Malaysian countryside there. We followed the road signs that led us through a hilly terrain. The road was so narrow that i thought only one car can use it at one time. Over the edges, the cliffs weren't that high but still, it was my first time driving at such tight space. I was driving calmly until a car came towards us on the opposite direction. I had to move my car close to the side and let the other car squeeze passed me. At each release of the brake, my eyes stared at the side mirror to see how much space i had. I was literally shaking after that because, though i was and am exaggerating my situation, my mind played the scenes of Deadliest Roads in History Channel. When the ordeal was over, i was greeted by a Rajah Brooke butterfly that flew in front of my car. The contrasting green and black was surely a pleasant sight! My advice? Get a vehicle that can drive through small spaces yet powerful enough to go along the hilly path.
I was glad when i saw the Resort, and parked our cars. Funny how i was supposed to meet the person in charge but i forgot his name. When i told them his name begins with an 'A', i realized all of their names began with 'A'. So we introduced ourselves, signed the waiver forms (so they won't be held accountable if anything bad happens to us) and kept our belongings in the storage room.
There was the safety briefing first, teaching us how to paddle, sit, emergency scenarios and then prepared ourselves with the life jackets, helmet, proper shoes and rubber band to secure my spectacles. Listening to Andy, one of the instructors, i was nervous and cautious. We were divided into two rafts, each consisted of 3 of us and one instructor. My raft was guided by the cool Andry. We carried our raft down to the river and the real adventure began.
After a short water-confidence practice, we hopped onto our rafts and headed down the river. The water was cold and the weather was fine. Again, the scenery was pretty. It was quiet, only both our raft-filled people. We paddled until i saw the rapids; water gushing between the rocks. This is it! We maneuvered our way and quickly, we were at the bottom. We continued down and simulated a capsize scenario. To get smacked in the face with the oar in the midst of the action was memorable. Because when we were in the water, it was fun.
We rested halfway down the river and here, we drank water and took photographs. Our instructors had dry bags so we could keep our camera or phones. Recommended to bring one to snap pictures of yourself because it is not something you do everyday.
After the rest, we continued down the river and through several other mild rapids. As water level was rather low on the day of our adventure, we got stuck at some parts and had to 'jump' ourselves out from the 'trap'. One good days, the rapids can reach Grade 3 but on our day, it was Grades 1 and 2 only. At one of the rapids, we had to align ourselves on the right. While going down, two of my friends got 'thrown' out the raft and caught in the rapids then down the river. I was verging on falling off but got myself back in. It was not any simulated activity, it was real. My instructor quickly got us down the rapid and we reached for them. My role of the day was the rescuer. We were relieved after the incident. Safely, to have experienced such creates story, my instructor said.
At the end, we dragged the raft out the river and carried it up. We waited for the pick up lorry to bring us back to the start. There, we returned our equipments, got our belongings and showered. We said our thank yous and left the place, satisfied and happy. It was not that tiring. Andry talked to us about other whitewater rafting around Malaysia, particularly in Sabah. I was in favour of this sport because this experience had been thrilling nonetheless. He said in November, when there is more water, it will be more fun. Though a rather pricey sport, the three-hour long time spent at My Gopeng Resort was worthwhile.
The drive out was not as challenging as the drive in. We stopped by the Gaharu Tea Valley site- the Great Wall-like entrance caught our attention. It was a plantation site for Gaharu. At the car park shade, i saw passion fruit growing above our heads. We didn't tour the plantation or the factory, instead we went to the shop and tried their tea. it was fragrantly different. I also bought packets of noodles to cook with Gaharu tea.
Hungry, we returned to Gopeng town for lunch. We replenished our energy at Restaurant Lucky San. The sign board could be seen along the main road. There were many people in the restaurant so we thought to give it a try. Lunch was ok. Stomach filled, we drove back.
Adventurous enough!
My friends and i bought the Groupon offer (RM 88 per person) on whitewater rafting in Sungai Kampar (Kampar River) by My Gopeng Resort. We booked the morning slot so we had to be there by 9am. Excited, we drove to Gopeng town then turned following the directions to the Resort.
My adventure for the day began at the journey towards the Resort. From the main road, we moved to kampung area with narrow, tarred and gravel road. There was a stretch of road with at least 20 road bumps, forcing us to slow down and enjoy the rather scenic view of the countryside. To be honest, the surrounding was special and if i am a foreign tourist, i would like the feel of the Malaysian countryside there. We followed the road signs that led us through a hilly terrain. The road was so narrow that i thought only one car can use it at one time. Over the edges, the cliffs weren't that high but still, it was my first time driving at such tight space. I was driving calmly until a car came towards us on the opposite direction. I had to move my car close to the side and let the other car squeeze passed me. At each release of the brake, my eyes stared at the side mirror to see how much space i had. I was literally shaking after that because, though i was and am exaggerating my situation, my mind played the scenes of Deadliest Roads in History Channel. When the ordeal was over, i was greeted by a Rajah Brooke butterfly that flew in front of my car. The contrasting green and black was surely a pleasant sight! My advice? Get a vehicle that can drive through small spaces yet powerful enough to go along the hilly path.
I was glad when i saw the Resort, and parked our cars. Funny how i was supposed to meet the person in charge but i forgot his name. When i told them his name begins with an 'A', i realized all of their names began with 'A'. So we introduced ourselves, signed the waiver forms (so they won't be held accountable if anything bad happens to us) and kept our belongings in the storage room.
There was the safety briefing first, teaching us how to paddle, sit, emergency scenarios and then prepared ourselves with the life jackets, helmet, proper shoes and rubber band to secure my spectacles. Listening to Andy, one of the instructors, i was nervous and cautious. We were divided into two rafts, each consisted of 3 of us and one instructor. My raft was guided by the cool Andry. We carried our raft down to the river and the real adventure began.
After a short water-confidence practice, we hopped onto our rafts and headed down the river. The water was cold and the weather was fine. Again, the scenery was pretty. It was quiet, only both our raft-filled people. We paddled until i saw the rapids; water gushing between the rocks. This is it! We maneuvered our way and quickly, we were at the bottom. We continued down and simulated a capsize scenario. To get smacked in the face with the oar in the midst of the action was memorable. Because when we were in the water, it was fun.
On the raft.
We rested halfway down the river and here, we drank water and took photographs. Our instructors had dry bags so we could keep our camera or phones. Recommended to bring one to snap pictures of yourself because it is not something you do everyday.
My raft-mates and the instructor.
Us in the water.
All smiles going back to base.
The drive out was not as challenging as the drive in. We stopped by the Gaharu Tea Valley site- the Great Wall-like entrance caught our attention. It was a plantation site for Gaharu. At the car park shade, i saw passion fruit growing above our heads. We didn't tour the plantation or the factory, instead we went to the shop and tried their tea. it was fragrantly different. I also bought packets of noodles to cook with Gaharu tea.
Hungry, we returned to Gopeng town for lunch. We replenished our energy at Restaurant Lucky San. The sign board could be seen along the main road. There were many people in the restaurant so we thought to give it a try. Lunch was ok. Stomach filled, we drove back.
Adventurous enough!
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