Another Malaysian Adventure

We had a long weekend because of Hari Raya (a Muslim holiday) so we decided to make use of our vacation day by going for a “walk” with some friends. The Chans are avid hikers and invited us and another family to go along with them. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. If you know me then you know I am a girly girl…a manicured, pedicured, designer-purse-carrying, afraid-of-spiders girly girl. I don’t camp. I don’t like to “rough it”. Sleeping on the ground in a tent is NOT a vacation, it is a punishment in my eyes.

So imagine my surprise when this “walk” to the waterfall in Batu Ferringhi involved multiple climbs up and down 45 degree slopes and thigh-deep treks through two rivers with nasty undercurrents. And let’s not forget the snakes. Yes, Malaysia is home to vipers and cobras and all manner of other venomous snakes. Our hike leader, Peter, told us that they won’t bother us if we make a lot of noise so imagine the ruckus I was causing!

Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed it. I was nervous and not really prepared but I got through it. My husband was not quite so lucky. On one particularly slippery slope, his foot started to slip and he reached out for the nearest tree limb to keep from sliding. Unfortunately, that tree was covered in sharp thorns. So he had about 30 thorns embedded in his hand and was bleeding quite a bit. We still have not been able to get all the thorns out.

But once we got to our destination, it was worth it. It was beautiful. It would be impossible to look at the beauty that surrounded us and say there is no God. We sat on huge rocks soaking in the sun while the kids swam and slid down natural water slides and caught fish with nets and had a blast! It was a perfect day. I would even do it again. 