One would have never expected that within just a 45 minutes drive from the bustling, jam choked city of Kuala Lumpur, we can have the chance to camp next to a wide open lake, clear and almost untouched waterfalls and secondary jungle filled with fauna and flora all within a few footsteps away from each other.
This well hidden sanctuary will require you to take a pre-arranged boat ride that takes about half hour from where we park our cars. The whole place is secluded and a real pleasing sight for your eyes as there is greenery everywhere you look.
The area where we set up our tents is clean with a flat surface to sleep on and is totally shaded from the hot afternoon sun by century old tress. Our nature bath is nestled amongst beautiful greenery, about 10 steps away from our camp site and provides us with not only a cool refreshing bath but a much needed water massage as well. This small water fall is actually the end of numerous other waterfalls located deeper inside the jungle and the beauty of it is they are all quite easily accessible via the stream and not far away from each other.
We had a field day taking pictures, learning from each other the finer points of nature and waterfalls photography as well as dipping ourselves in the cool and refreshing waterfalls. With an abundance of fresh air and “Zen” like garden surrounding us, we were all reluctant to get out. But as daylight started to fade and hunger kicked in, we headed back to camp to prepare ourselves a sumptuous dinner.
Dinner consisted of fresh water fish caught for us by the locals while we were having a splashing good time on the numerous waterfalls and ponds. Those of us who seldom cooked at home suddenly became very innovative with our dinner dish and we ended up with a wide array of fish dishes, ranging from steam fish, fried fish to BBQ fish. The fishes were very fresh and regardless of the way it was cooked, it tasted really delicious with the meat tender and springy. Needless to say, we completely gobbled up all the fishes with only clean fish bones left to remind us of the feast we had.
After dinner, we had a wonderful time catching up with each other, talking about everything literally under the moon while sipping away on a nice cup of coffee. As we turned in, we were accompanied by the wondrous jungle orchestra with the “musicians” being the crickets, owls, and an occasional tune created from the wild boars out hunting for food nearby in the wild. The temperature at nightfall was perfect and before I knew it, some of us were already joining the “orchestra” in full swing with their snoring. This was the time where I reflected back on how fortunate we are to be able to enjoy nature at its best, sleeping under zillions of bright shining stars, things that many of us are guilty of having taken for granted or procrastinated for so long that it will eventually be too late to enjoy when developments bulldoze their way into our forests or when we have to pay tons of money to enjoy what was once free for all.
We got up early the next morning in time to see the morning mist slowly creeping away into the horizon. There were plenty of small fishes swimming close to the lake for their breakfast of freshwater prawns. A wide variety of butterflies, dragon flies and honey bees were all over the camp site in search of their morning meals as well oblivious to our presence there.
Time passes really quickly when you are at peace and totally relaxed in the tranquil surroundings, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Close bonds were forged with buddies that came along for this short respite from work. We took a quick dip into the mini waterfalls and pond before packing up to leave the place that in a short 24 hours has already made a long lasting impact on me.
As this place is privately owned and the owner does not like publicity for it, those interested to visit it can contact us to organise similar private trips for them.