Travel cost = S$65 (inclusive of guide fee, transportation - train + 4WD, accomodation - 2D1N & gas stove for cooking)
Btw, the difference between hiking and trekking:
With hiking you set out to see nature for fun but when you go trekking you are setting out to reach a destination.
Source: Ezine
It was my first time taking the railway at Tanjong Pagar Railway Station even though I pass by this in the past while on my way to school. Oh and because I took the bus on the F1 weekend, I had pass by the F1 track and somehow they look lovely in pre-dawn time...
I have seen the tracks in Buona Vista countless of times, always wondering about the train that will run past it, thinking about the story of The Railway Children...
After a long delay, we finally reach Bekok. I guess delay is part and parcel of the life in Malaysia? I still remember my Berkelah Waterfall Trek where we spend a lot of time waiting and waiting...
This is the 4 wheel drive we took to reach Endau Rompin (Selai). But for now we had stopped for lunch at one of the driver's favourite haunt (because I see that the stall owner and the 2 drivers have a very close rapport).
Notice the egg cartons on top of the roof. It was for ventilation purposes if I did not remember wrongly. The problem when you procrastinate in blogging is you forgot what you had wanted to blog.. sighz.
The base camp - Lubuk Tapah where we actually had a room to sleep and toilets (Tandas) to shower. This is indeed a far cry from the Berkelah Waterfall Trek haha. But I do like both treks... Berkelah brought me closer to Mother Nature where bathing is done in the cool river water...
Endau Rompin retains the city sanity where you may not sleep with stars above you but you do have a sheltered hut which you can dump you bag in instead of carrying to the waterfalls. (This is a plus points because it was really very tiring and tricky to carry your bag and trek at the same time but I guess that is what makes trekking interesting).
And a nice cool river which you can dip your legs into. I do admit that I really miss the times where we dipped ourselves totally in the river.. maybe I really should stay with Mother Nature?
There are in total 4 waterfalls in Endau Rompin. On the first day, we decided to do a warm-up and head to
Takah Pandan
1 Jam (1 hour)
1 Km
Our guide, an Orang Asli, guided us to the place. Unfortunately I do not know much malay and cannot have any conversation with him else I guess he would have lots of stories to tell me. The climb was pretty alright for me though some of them did not expect so much ropes climbing. Neither did I haha. But for warm-up, this is still bearable.
On the way back, I saw this "hurt" tree. I really don't understand why do people get so elated carving their "heartfelt" words on the tree. Why not try to tattoo on yourself instead. Sighz.
Headed back to read some scuba theory (couldn't concentrate though haha. Tried to play uno but it did not help. I guess I was just too restless. That I woke up real early... My roomie is a light sleeper and when I woke up, she followed too. We ended up taking photos of the heart-shaped moth, mosquito coil (lavender fragrance), the very tricky lock and practically anything else.
I borrowed the leech socks from LP because I read that there are a lot of leeches. It proved too effective as I did not even get to see any leech. At that time I felt a little bit disappointed because I don't want to be bitten but I want to see a leech. But having come back from Kranji HSC R&R, I decided I don't really fancy seeing worms... just too yucky... haha.
After breakfast, we headed to the highlight,
Takah Tinggi
2 Jam (2 hour)
4 Km
XX pointed out the Gateway to Heaven to us haha. I suddenly felt like we were trekking to God's Kingdom.. If only...
The guide was showing me this plant and telling me some things. But I cannot remember anything now. Shucks!
Buttress roots! Reminds me a teeny bit of FF's corner.
The main highlight, Takah Tinggi. It is a powerful fall and is not recommended for swimming. Sad! (I read somewhere else that Takah Beringin which you can reach easily on your way back to the camp is more suitable for swimming though. Sadly due to time constraint, we did not visit it). Oh and for this photo, I managed to catch the bird in it heehee. Was playing with the burst mode. I love the skies, could just sleep there the day I guess... (Oh I love the night skies too.. saw stars after some eyes adjustment.. so serene...)
We took the 4WD back and visited the boss as it was Hari Raya Aidilfitri i.e. festive season for them. His house is lovely and he made it himself. When I was taking photo of his house, he came out to talk to me too.
I asked him about the sunbird nest which he is very proud of. He had 2 sunbird nests by the way. So lucky to be chosen :). The other nest he admitted was his work though haha.
After meal, it was more waiting as the train got delayed... But we did get home by night time. And unlike Berkelah Waterfall, I did not had to rush to office this time round... Indeed it was a much relaxed trip haha. When I came back from Berkelah, I thought I would never do another trekking trip. In a way, this is not a trekking trip, maybe a hiking trip. And it does makes me wonder, will I do it again? Partly because I don't like to step on grass but for such trips, this is an inevitable action. For the sake of embracing Mother Nature, do I really have to first trample Mother Nature???
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