The idea that began it all was the bizarre challenge of walking up Genting Hill. No shit. W-A-L-K U-P. And by the way, it was Christmas when we kicked off. We practically celebrated Christmas on the hill slope. But it wasnt all crazy if i told you that we had a second primary to hunt for a waterfall and ... er ... dip in it ... and er ... splash water ... and leave. Or whatever it is that you waterfall aficionados do when you go to one.
So one fine morning, dated 25th December 2007, with our bags and hands crammed full with assorted necessities and redundancies alike, sitting at the bus depot at One Utama waiting for our bus to Genting Cable Car station, we were a peculiar sight to other sentient Genting-goers, both young and old.
Reaching the cable car station, we consulted a taxi driver on the whereabouts of a nearby waterfall. Pointing down the slope of the old road, the taxi dude told us its about 12 km that way. Heeding his direction without a sense of how far 12 km is on foot, we went with high hopes and spirits....for like 20 minutes. Hands were sore by then carrying the 5 litre bottles of water. Downhill may sound like a breeze but the impact of gravity on our knee joints was taking its toll. Too used to being urbanites, we were getting weary way too soon for an adventure this great. Fortunately, along our way, we had some interesting finds worthy of cam-whoring to take some edge of our stressful journey:
Somehow, we covered nearly 8 km when a hitchhiker offered us a ride. We couldnt be more grateful for this godsend Samaritan....but not for long. He introduced himself as Ah Tee and he spoke Cantonese, which only Ckent was any good to converse in. So we the rest sat behind, watching dumbly as Ah Tee took us down to the foothill, took a left, weave left right left everywhere before finally dump us at this waterfall he recommended, somewhere in Ulu Yam. He left before we got to see the place for ourselves, which was fortunate, FOR HIM, cos otherwise we would have had his head for bringing us there. The blardy waterfall was BROWN and is teemed with COLOURED PEOPLE (no offence here, just conjuring a vivid picture). We ... were ... dumbstruck. 3 days in this mudhole. NO FREAKING WAY! So we had ourselves a burger each at a Ramlee stall there (it was noon by then), dump our 5 litre water bottles and started hiking towards Genting.
With renewed vigor and lighter load, we covered the unknown grounds between ourselves and Genting at a satisfying pace. But we know it aint good enough. So as we walked, we put up our hands in the universal hitchhiker gesture. Knowing the rotten attitude of selfishness of us Malaysian, we werent hopeful in getting a ride. But our faith in mankind was restored when a Malay couple with a pick-up stopped by and offered us a ride. We couldnt be more grateful ... (no buts here, the Malay couple were good). They then dropped us at the foothill of Genting Hill. Looking at the sign before us, we knew it aint gonna be a smooth Christmas holiday:
Same shit, different surroundings. We were just walking and walking and walking... Our legs were screaming to give up, our minds yielding to hebetude. We were just focusing at the top of one slope, which when reached with 10-15 minutes effort, is the bottom of another. Take this and multiply it by a score? Two? I dunno, none of us had the mental capacity to keep track.
We were at it for hours, thinking things couldnt be worse ... until it did get worse. It started pouring. With winds billowing, our windbreaker did little to keep us warm and dry. Soon we were as wet as the road, socks and all. With the impending darkness, nowhere to camp and more slopes to cover, we were losing hope in living altogether. We nearly wanted to camp on the roadside, which will inevitably make us roadkills by sun break. However, we pressed on and found a waterfall ... with MAMAK!! Woohoo! Cheers be life!
There's only so much a human body and mind can take, and ours was approaching its limit. To be settling down under a shade with food and drinks after all that crap, it was revitalizing. When we were done consuming, we started preparing for the night. We scoured for a camp site, colleted some firewood and build a fire pit. When done, we strip down and jump into the waterfall (did i mention, we camped next to one ^_^) and stayed in there until twilight approached. That night, we spent our time chatting like manly blokes we are, helped Keeps futilely start a fire in wet conditions, stopped helping Keeps start a fire in wet condition, started critisizing Keeps for trying to start fire in a wet condition before we called it a night.
Even then, it was hardly any rest. We had ourselves a visit from the ostensible "jaga" of the place. He came over with torchlight and stick and demanded to check our I/C. After ascertaining us as legit Malaysians, he told us the site was not for camping. When asked why, he mentioned that the place was "diiiiiiiiirty". He left us after a while, and we retired to our tent with newfound fear for our surroundings. Brrr, what a cold night.... and what's that shadow on that tree....
* To be continued ... in "Back to the Origin - The Founding of A** B***** - Part 2
