Scattered Seeds

Can you spot the difference (apart from the fact that the two images were taken from different spots, and other camera technicalities)?

Photo taken in August 2010

Photo taken in June 2008

Lepok Falls in 2008

The original plan was to head to Simpang Pulai and look for Chelik Falls. When that didn’t work out, the plan was to do a walk at Klang Gates. I wanted a waterfall. So as I was driving, and everone else was fast asleep, I headed towards Pangsun for Lepok Falls.

It has been nearly two years since I last visited Lepok Falls.

I still remember it being a relatively non-strenuous walk, and wouldn’t take too long either. But there were two deceptive looking forks on the trail now. The first one was quite easy to figure out. But the second played on me. I had allowed others to go ahead of me; as I walked I remarked, “This doesn’t look familiar to me.” But still we went on until we hit the river. We were at the wrong spot. So everyone waited and waded their feet in the water while I took off in different directions to find a way upstream on land. I spent quite a bit of time searching for a way. I got around the dead end and up the river, but the waterfall wasn’t in sight. I wish I had my parang with me. I had left it in the car and for the second time in a day I felt hopeless in the forest.

The first time was when I met an Orang Asli and he had asked me if I carried any weapons to the waterfall. I said, “Saya pernah ke air terjun. Kan jalan ini selamat?” (trans: “I’ve been to the waterfall before. Isn’t this path safe?”)

He said, “Yalah, tapi kena bawa senjata. Mana tahu jumpa apa kat dalam?” (trans: “Yes, but you’ve got to bring a weapon. Who knows what you might meet in there [the jungle]?”)

Then he added, “Apa lagi awak seorang bawa lima bini.”

I shrugged. I had nothing to say to respond to that. Luckily I didn’t have to say anything as a companion of his came by and they took off together.

When the conversation took place, we were already some half hour into our journey, and didn’t think of turning back to get my parang. At the river, I was irritated by not knowing where we were. And that sort of clouded my senses for a while. The good thing was without the parang the most sensible thing to do was turn back to the most noticeable fork and try the other route.

And so it was that as time moved forward on, we were retracing steps. And as I walked, I drew lines in the air; retracing the trail I took from two years again my head. From memory, I didn’t think we branched off too far away. When we hit an open ground, I told everyone to stop. I didn’t think we needed to head all the way back to the first fork. So while everyone fed the hungry mosquitoes, I conjured up a headache by digging through the archive of trails I’ve walked before. Though the jungles and trails may look the same and confusing to some, I seem to have drawn some landmarks for each tril I’ve been to before.

Luckily my memory served me well. The memory was faint, and bits and pieces were missing, but there were enough for me to “find” another trail from where we stood. Oh, Why didn’t I see that fork earlier!” Once I hit the trail, everything looked familiar again.

That was until one steep section.

This section had gone missing in my memory! I just couldn’t place the short steep slope. I had remembered the left and right turns, abandoned “home”, and moss-covered water pipe to some extent, but I couldn’t remember the steep slope. I didn’t know how long it was, so I sat down and waited—and everyone became victims of mosquitoes and lurking leeches again. I dug deeper into my memory for a glimpse of steep slope to Lepok. Blank. Then I remembered Nee On. I called him on the phone, but he doesn’t remember much. Yet he mentioned that there was a steep section midway. Oh well, I’m already here. Might as well as push on pass the steep slope. If it leads to no where, I can scream at Nee On. So the journey resumed and true enough, I got to the familiar trail that seemed like a low-trench with rich green shrubs growing on both banks.

Not long after, we reached the waterfall.

Two years. Two years had been too long to revisit a place sometimes.

The waterfall looks as beautiful as ever, perhaps more than when I was here before. And perhaps it has been two years and like when old friends meet there is a greater sense of appreciation, perhaps I’ve been to Chiling too many times and that has dulled my senses to something familiar, perhaps the water this time was stronger than from two years ago (it rained the day before this time) and that display of bravura swept me away, perhaps it’s the company of people who came along this time–5 girls–and it was better than four guys splashing in the water in 2006. Perhaps. All possibilities. But really, it’s simply that Lepok Falls is a beautiful waterfall.

Lines and Curves

Mushrooms in Hiding

Furry Caterpillar

Black & Striking Red Dragonfly

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Related Link:
• Suyin’s blog entry, “Up Sg.Lepok Waterfall,” of the same outing.
• “Lepok Falls” is Jessin’s version
• “20060823 • When Four Guys Went Splashing Water Together” is the historical first time when I went to Lepok with Nee On, Adrian and Kourosh.

The Lepok Waterfall. © Khoo Nee On

9:53 a.m.
Whoo-Hoo! If all goes according to plan (Oh, how I just love the word after what happened last weekend), I’ll have another waterfall added to the list of places I’ve been to later today.

Nee On, Adrian, Bang Qin and I are off to look for the Lepok Waterfall.

We just can’t wait to have four guys splashing water together. Should be fun.

10:53 a.m.
Oh-No! Nee On has left his house and Bang Qin informs him that he can’t go! What are we going to do! I can’t just have three guys splashing water together. That is so wrong. And if it’s just Nee On, Adrian and I, we might not even reach our destination!
I must call someone. I must have the fourth person to break the jinx…

10:55 a.m.
Whoo-Hoo! Kourosh “Sunshine” agrees! I tell him to meet us in half an hour.

11:33 a.m.
Lunch! All four of us gather at the food court for lunch. Except from Adrian, we all order a Claypot Chicken Rice each. Don Mah, Bodhi the kid and Amos join us a while later to do a little catching up with Adrian who will be heading to Hawaii to complete his degree in Visual Comm. It’s the last time some of us see him before he leaves this weekend. When we see him next, which is probably two years later, he might be a surfer dude already.

About 1:30 p.m.
We–Nee On, Adrian, Kourosh and I–finally reach the starting point of out trek in search of Lepok Falls. We weren’t exactly sure of where the junction to the falls was and so we did make a few U-turns looking it. And we did ask strangers for directions.

Kelly’s Slippers and Sandals Brigade

Just before we start the journey, I notice that we are going up the mountain in sandals and slippers. The first thing that runs in my mind is Kelly’s injury from wearing slippers last Saturday. I quickly ask everyone to pose with their sandals and slippers. I am thinking I should name us as the Kelly’s Slippers and Sandals Brigade in remembrance of why we should not wear such things on our feet when trekking. But I don’t care; wearing sandals in the jungle is comfortable.

Five minutes into the trek, Kourosh changes into a pair of shoes. Oh well, he is, after all, not a veteran tropical jungle trekker like the rest of us.

Seems flat, but the trail has a gradual slope.

We knew this might be a two hour hike before we reach the falls. Rather than taking a slow walk, we start the journey in quick paces and short spurts up gradual slopes.

Taking a Breather Along the Way

If today’s trek is any indication, I think I am out of shape. The last few treks to Bukit Tabur and Sungai Chiling had been easy and slow walks for me. Running in the hot and humid jungle is killing me. I seem to pour out buckets of water through those pores of mine. I am glad I am not the only one. When I stop and look at Nee On, we is drenched, too.

It’s my first time here, so I take particular notice of the surroundings. I like big trees…

Big Tree #1

Big Tree #2

About 3:10 p.m.
We reach the waterfall!

It’s pouring!

And we see a natural water slide. Nee On and I look at each other and say, “Kourosh, you can go first. You slide we slide.”

He slides. We have no choice but to follow. I go next. Then Nee On. Then Adrian. It’s all the same: once we get onto the slide, we have no control of our actions. We get caught in the rapid flow that washes us down into the pool of cold water.

Ready, Set, Slide!

Nee On on the Slide

Adrian has a go. © Nee On

Nee On holds my camera hostage. He takes some pornographic images of three guys having fun at the waterfall. This is my blog. So I shall not post any pics here.

About 3:46 p.m.
We hear the sounds of thunder. We pack up and run out of the jungle.

About 4:20 p.m.
We run like the wind; almost. It takes us only 30 minutes to run out of the jungle from the waterfall to the car. The rain comes not to us. We change and start our journey home.

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Lepok Falls is a beautiful place; very different from Chiling Falls. It’s a waterfall that’s tucked away in a secluded pocket of the busy city of Kuala Lumpur. It’s relatively easy to get to; only about a half-hour drive from KL and it serves as a great getaway. Though there are a number of waterfalls in the area—Gabai, Batangsi, Chongkak and Tekala—this particular one ain’t advertised or commercialised as the others. I hope it’s kept that way.

Lepok Falls may not be as scenic as Chiling Falls (then again, I’ve been into so many jungle trails that I may have lost sight of some of the common beauty). Still, what it lacks in character and atmosphere, Lepok Falls makes it all up with that superb natural water slide. I wish the drop point would have been slightly deeper–I hurt a toe on my left foot and my right heel when I landed wrongly on my second slide down–but that’s just a complain of a 6-footer.

The trek to the waterfall is also a little more challenging when compared to Chiling Falls. This trek takes one along a well-trodden path with a gradual slope, with one short steep section only. On average, most people would have taken two hours to get to their destination. We took only an hour and a half; taking that into consideration, I’d rate this trek as moderately easy.

At this moment in time, I am still more inclined to choose Chiling Falls over this one if I am asked to go to a waterfall again.

But then, that may be a biased opinion because I have been to Chiling Falls three times now, and with so many other people. Perhaps it’s this all guy outing thing that didn’t quite rub upon me. Also, I was going to this waterfall just to find ot how the trail is like; so this was more like a trek with a mission than one where the aim is to have absolute fun. I shall re-evaluate when I come back to this waterfall in 2007.

On the Lepok Water Slide. Video Capture by Nee On

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Lepok Waterfall Overview
Latitude: 3° 15.03′
Longitude: 101° 51.94′