|
dan jendela pun berbisik...
"Life is not about what you've gained, but what you've done" - Wong Ka Kui (1962 - 1993)
"I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it" - The Friends of Voltaire, 1906
"A dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste" - Anonymous
"If you read, you will judge" - Kurt Cobain
last modified Mar 17, 2005 at 0:17
dude, that was really me inside the raft. me, sidda and her husband, horatio plus our guide max. we were in the most challenging rapid in the kampar river. we were totally submerged in the water and it's kinda scary but exhilirating at the same time.
i think none of my old friends would believe that i would be interested in the x-treme sport in my "advanced" aged, haha...back then when i was in my 20's, i was one of the most passive persons in the world i think. i wasnt really interested in any of the outdoor sports, preferring to read books instead and lost myself in my own imaginary world.
one of the reasons that i love my job is it gives me the opportunities to try new things and take me to new places. and i've realised that i've become a new person, sort of evolving. i do know that i was no longer passive. haha...
it all started almost two months ago. during a trip to gopeng, we were required to do a white water rafting activitiy at the kampar river. i wasnt really keen to do it but since i was already there at the starting point, so, i said to myself, what the heck!
so, i signed my insurance form, wore my life jacket and the stupid helmet, chose my paddle and listened to the guide's safety briefing. it was a large group at the time, so the guides were the combination of the RIVERBUG and NOMAD crew. my group got a NOMAD crew called nazim, an ipoh borned lad.
so, began my love affair with the river, the rapids and the river stones. i didnt have a good start if you asked me because i was almost drown during the water confidence session where one has to do a body rafting to test one water confidence level. i failed badly and it was so bloody embarassing too because so many people saw me drowning in a shallow water too, so to speak. hahaha...
but when the rafting began, i really fell in love with this extreme activity. i was totally addicted to the adrenaline rush, i felt high and totally free but at the same time scared to death. unfortunately, the water level wasnt very high at the time, so we were stucked between the stones most of the journey. poor nazim had to jump in the river most of the time to push the raft himself. dahle kecik, sian dia.
it was an exhilirating experience but at the time we didnt go through the most toughest rapid which was unfortunate for me of course. after the activity ended, i couldnt get it out of my mind. i have become an addict. "you dah gian" said zane.
so, here i was once again in gopeng yesterday on the 11th of august. me, sidda and her husband horatio and the muse and her husband zane.
we met the RIVERBUG crew, max and tat's at their office in gopeng. we were then transported to the starting point in kg ulu geruntum in a brand-new RIVERBUG van. the muse and zane followed from behind because they were there just for the picnic. throughout the journey, our guide, the small-sized max explained to us about a few rules and a few things about the place. we enjoyed the journey along the narrow and winding road.
i knew what to expect already because i've done it once but it didnt stop me from feeling nervous. by the time we reached the gopeng nature resort, i had butterflies in my stomach but try to show a brave face and look cool. hahaha...
we had the safety briefing on the raft itself where zane and the muse had their picnic at the river bank. the raft went round and round while max gave us the safety briefing. it was kinda fun with another crew tat's - the kayak man cum photographer paddling around us and showing off his skill. hehehe...max and tat's are both sabahan and really passionate about their job and what a job. i wish i can have their job.
tat's in action. cool eh!
so, off we went during that beautiful afternoon. with only three persons and a guide inside the raft meant more work for us and max of course. i've never paddled so hard in my life, using all my strength but i enjoyed the hard work so much. after every rapid, we stopped and listened to max's stories about the river and stuff.
it's quite peaceful there at the time. we were the only raft cruising the river. according to max, the kampar river is very technical because it was full of rocks. we have to understand the river and try to maneuver our raft accordingly. that's where our guide came in. he is the one with the skill and all we have to do is follow his order. max and tat's really understand their river and have much respect for it. we too must respect the river. after we successfully conquered every rapids, it was an achievement already no matter how low the rapid's grade was.
the picture above showed us in the toughest rapid in sungai kampar. when we almost reached the rapid, max shouted the word Boom Boom meaning we have to dive inside the chamber and hold on for dear life. it was the most exhilirating experience i've ever had. and my love for this sport grew bigger and bigger. i couldnt even swim to save my life but i love white water rafting. hahaha..
we did stop at two places for a swim or simply floating while enjoying the tranquility and the beauty of the place. i was glad that sidda and horatio also enjoyed the experience. sidda also had done the rafting before in kuala kubu baru where the grade was higher and more dangerous. but she said kampar river was more fun compared to kkb.
the almost two-hour journey was finally over but it felt so sekejap. i enjoyed myself so much. we were transported back to the starting point in a brand new RIVERBUG's lorry which the crew named optimus prime. so the perasan. ni semua demam transformerslah ni.
we met with zane and the muse at the starting point and proceed to this place where we had our delicious meal courtesy of the riverbug of course. after that we went to their office and looked at our pictures taken by tat's. we bought the whole cd and i bought a RIVERBUG's shirt : paddle or die, sounds cool eh!
we left the riverbug office a few hundreds poorer but happier. i was sad to leave but in my head i was already busy planning for another trip.
white water rafting is in my blood. if not in gopeng, i will probably try the river in kuala kubu bharu and maybe after that i'll go to sabah to raft in padas or kiulu river, not forgetting jeram busu. but kampar river will always be my favourite rafting experience. i will probably go back there again and again not just for the rafting but also for the sheer beauty of the place.
the hardest part of this activity is to find another rafting enthusiast to go with me. but i am confident that i'll get a friend or two to go with me for this great adventure. till next time, dude....
|