Earlier this month, Hui Ying and I signed up for a Rovers organised trip to Rainbow Falls in Malaysia. It was a 3-day 2-night getaway, and I really enjoyed it.
We stayed at this little village called Sungei Lembing, it’s situated in Pahang, Malaysia, an approximate 6-hour drive from Singapore. It was my first time crossing customs in a long time and was pleasantly surprised over how simple and fuss-free it was to clear it. It was also my first time taking 170 into Malaysia, a glimpse of how transport is like for the people who stay in Johor and have to commute to Singapore to work every day (like one of the cleaning staff of my Residential College – he wakes up at 4am every day just to get here on time in the morning).
I really like Sungei Lembing because it’s a simple town. It is a little kampung-like, and one thing I especially liked was how everyone kinda knew everyone else in their community and how there’s a lot of trust between one another. But city-dwellers would probably be bored if they stayed there for too long, because we heard that the village is the size of NUS and you can probably comb the entire area in less than an hour on a bike.
My mum used to tell us stories of how kampung life was like back when she was a kid, and Sungei Lembing reminded me of just that! A typical village sight would be a few people comfortably seated on a motorcycle and cruising around, or children just playing soccer in the field, hanging around the playground… No computers, electronics or whatnot. Some photos to share:
Bumpy four-wheel drive to the Rainbow Falls. We had to wake up at 5am in the morning, before this 1-hour drive to the forested area to start trekking.
River-crossing – it was quite an adventure. We had to wear rubber shoes to prevent us from slipping on the rocks.
Trekking into the forest. The water source probably comes from the waterfall.
First sighting of the falls! The rainbow is amazing. Apparently, whenever there's sun in the morning, there’ll be a rainbow projected. The rainbow can only be seen till about 11am, because as the sun rises, the rainbow gets lower and lower till it disappears. I love the beauty of nature (:
It’s more beautiful in real life, as always, and I wish I managed to capture better photos but I tucked my camera away to wade into the waterfalls and enjoy the free shower.
The local guides served us hot drinks while we were on the rocks at the base of the waterfall. They keep a stash of equipment like the kettles above at the waterfalls and hang them on the branches. We even had the privilege of enjoying maggie noodles while perched on a rock with an amazing view of the rainbow in front of us.
Where we were all gathered – settled comfortably and enjoying our food and drinks.
An example of our trekking terrain – it was a good trek, for beginners like us. It’s actually quite fun to figure out where to step, and how you want your path to be like.
On the way back to the village – back view of the 4WD.
Sights of the village – this bridge will be totally covered when it floods, and Sungei Lembing is prone to flooding. In fact, the main duty of the police there is to monitor water levels instead of nabbing criminals. They’ve got a CCTV that overlooks this bridge to monitor live water levels!
Typical village houses
Our transportation mode for the rest of the trip after our escapade to the falls – bicycles! Haven’t cycled in a long time and was pleasantly surprised to find out that we’d be cycling. It was very fun exploring the village on wheels.
Local mama shop! (: With a very friendly store owner.
Another unique feature of the village is the presence of hanging bridges – and they are sturdy! Motorcycles cross this bridge to get to the other side all the time.
The local primary school (Chinese). It looks so homely, cozy and green.
This is a treehouse. Built by locals, it is rented out for tourists to stay – it is well-furnished with a bed, toilet and basic necessities. How cool would it be to stay there!
Gimme a five!
Alright, that’ll be all for today, there’s a little more to share, look out for it (:
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