Excursion to Chiling Waterfall

Van has been in the States on business for the past week and has another 5 days to go. He's been in Seattle (got to see Joe and Laine), Richland, Washington, North Carolina, and then he's on to Columbus, Ohio. I've missed him, but he's accomplishing great things! You GO Van!!

Well, taking Laine's advice seriously when she said "Be Brave" I decided to venture out once again and hike through the jungle for the first time to Chiling Waterfall. I went with Robert and Jan (from Crown Relocation Company), Stephen and Matthew (Robert's teenage sons), and some other stray folks that Robert picked up. Robert has this amazing way of attracting really nice people so it was my pleasure to meet his strays! The waterfall is about 1.5 hours from KL, but the ride went quickly with music (70's and early 80's), singing, and yes, even some head-banging!

The hike to the waterfall started with checking in with some rangers, signing in (I'm going to have to memorize my passport number), and getting some advice about flash floods if it starts to rain. The first thing I noticed, were the sounds on the hike were very different from the sounds I was use to in the forest. There was so much noise! Insects mostly, beetles that sounded like a high-pitched saws, crickets, etc. All I can say is they must be dang big to make that much racket! Robert pointed out plants. A pitcher plant that collects rain in a "pitcher" and unsuspecting insects fall in the pitcher, drown, and then the plant digests them. There were also lots of big, beautiful, colorful butterflies flitting about.

As you can see in the photo above, the trail was overgrown in places and a lot of the time we were walking through standing water. It was hot and very humid. Insect repellent was a must. Most of the way we followed the river which is pictured below. It was surprisingly clear compared to the other rivers I have seen in Malaysia.

We crossed the river no fewer than 5 times. It made me wonder how we got back to the car if it did begin to rain. Luckily, it was a beautiful day and we didn't need to worry. The river crossing sure helped to cool you off.

We hiked up a very steep vertical trail to get above the falls. Above is the view from the top of the steep trail of the falls. There is also a smaller falls directly above it that you can see in the photo below.

We hiked back down the steep trail, crossed the river one last time and ended up at the bottom of the falls. It was beautiful and the pool underneath the falls was perfect for cooling off. Everyone thought the water was so cold. It tickled me because it was really warm compared to some of the really frigid mountain lakes I've been in. They were just a bunch of wusses!

The waterfall actually has two parts. The upper falls comes into the main waterfall from above and to the left, there is a small standing pool, then this one cascades into the swimming pool you can see in the photo below. The folks in our group were jumping off the rocks into the deep pool below the falls.

The fishing was closed to all anglers. Robert said the fish were about totally harvested until they adopted their non-fishing policy, now they are starting to come back. See photo below.


It was a great trip that ended with a fantastic Chinese dinner at a little restaurant on the way home. Velma, which is a small lettuce-like vegetable with a garlic sauce was really good, the lemon chicken, talapia, and sweet & sour pork were fantastic! All 7 of us were fed for $20 US. Laine was right, food is a great value here. I can't wait to go back and take Van so he can experience the wonders of this beautiful country.