FG removes fuel subsidy, says petrol to sell for N85 by Jan 1st 2016

After an hours sleep we headed back out in the car to pick up Chen, one of Fathiyah’s friends and then made our way to the meeting point which was the side of the motorway.

As we pulled up there were a few cars already there and the guys were just waiting on the side of the road. We got out and a few guys came over and introduced themselves. The only name I can remember is Rambo (awesome name). We were waiting for some others who had just finished playing a reggae gig.

Most of the people didn’t know each other before the trip. What happens is they join a Facebook group for Malays that like to travel and trips are organised this way. I really was getting a backstage pass to something that most travellers wouldn’t have access to without having to book the usual trips through an agency where you end up with a load of other tourists. I was the only Mat Saleh (foreigner).

So after a few minutes we headed off again and one of the guys (Zam) drove for Fathiyah for part of the 5 hour journey so that she could get some sleep. I’m not very good at sleeping in cars so I managed to get a few minutes here and there but by the time we got to the pick up point I had gone passed the point of caring.

The pick up point was at a roadside restaurant next to a mosque. So while some of the others went to pray, I laid down in the back of the car and got half hours sleep. This was around sunrise. (I’m 8 hours ahead of GMT now).

After some food two pickup trucks arrived to take the now 20 or so group into the jungle. On the back of my pickup truck I got to know some of the guys a bit including Rambo, Zam and a guy nicknamed chicken. He was really funny and basically just made stuff up all the time.

After a 40 minute bumpy ride along dirt tracks with us all clinging onto each other we arrived at the drop off point at the bottom of a path leading through the jungle. We all grabbed our bags and anything else; I ended up carrying one of the guys acoustic guitar, before making our way up the path. The well trodden path was surrounded by trees either side and lead us to the river which we crossed using the slippery rock face. We made it to an clearing that stopped at a small waterfall with bamboo structures for tarpaulin set on the hard floor either side of a small stream. Large rocks were scattered around the area and looking up all you could see was the sky with trees running up verges to the left and right.

Everyone started setting up the camp and by 9am food was being cooked in the make shift kitchen in the corner and people were heading down to one of the various pools for a swim. The water was amazing and you could jump off large rocks sat alongside the edge.

After lunch we hiked for an hour up through the jungle making our way to the very top of the waterfall. We stopped off at each level along the way for a swim and to take in the views. I was doing it in flip flops because I couldn’t be bothered with putting my trainers on again. My feet paid for it at the end of the day as a lot of the tricky hike was done barefoot as it was easier then flip flops.

We crossed slippery rock faces and used trees to pull ourselves up steep sections of jungle. There were make shift wooden bridges over ravines and ropes to pull you up large rocks. For the last part of the hike I was pulling Fathiyah as well as myself up through the jungle as it did get very steep at times.

Once we made it to the top we had one more tricky bit of navigation along one of the streams before we were greeted with the most amazing view of the huge waterfall just dropping off the edge right in front of us. Some of the more daring/crazy Malay guys made their way to the rocks either side of the actual drop. I enjoyed the view from where I was. This was where my long sleeved top and towel decided to just roll down into the first small waterfall before being taken quite rapidly to the massive drop. I tried to grab them as they rolled but I didn’t want to slip in myself as the current was quite strong. So I just watched them float away.

The hike down was a sweaty and slow process with lots of swinging off trees to slow me down the steep parts. Once we made it back after another hour I had a much needed swim and wash in the pool by our campsite. Washing in a pool in front of a waterfall was amazing. Beats any power shower hands down.

That evening everyone ate and people were playing guitar and singing and playing card games which involved painting the losers face with white paint. A couple of the guys ended up with lipstick on too. Most of us went to bed by midnight. My bed was on the tarpaulin floor in between Zam and Chicken. Looking out from under the tarpaulin cover all you could see were hundreds of stars piercing through the pitch black while the constant sounds of insects rang throughout the night.

The next day we just relaxed by the waterfall until 3pm. I tried a proper dive for the first time off of one of the rocks. 1 out of 3 of the attempts was OK while the others were pretty much belly flops. Need to get some more practice in. A sweaty packing session, carrying everything back down to where we were dropped off, 40 minute pickup truck back to the roadside restaurant and the five hour journey back and I was exhausted. My phone died so I hardly took any photos but lots of others were taking loads so I’ll be able to grab some from them.

Fathiyah was so tired she pulled a sicky on Monday and we went to IKEA for a laugh and had some meatballs. We also had this amazing iced slushy rice dish at a roadside restaurant by a petrol station. I’ll have to get the name of the dish again.

Overall it was a brilliant weekend with brilliant food: noodles, rice, fish balls, fried chicken, delicious sauces, lime sweet tea…), brilliant people and beautiful surroundings. Fathiyah has been testing my Malay every day too and I’m gradually picking up more of the language. So far I can say hello/how are you, thank you, no problem, goodbye, good evening, good morning, I want, I don’t want, I like, I don’t know, stupid idiot, mind your head (great for the pickup trucks) and I can count from 0-10.

During the week I’m helping Fathiyah decorate her apartment while she’s at work, as a thank you for letting me stay and because I feel like a lazy bastard. Other plans coming up for the weekends are hiking and camping up a mountain in the Cameron Highlands and fishing for squid near some of the islands.

I feel very lucky to be getting a real insight into living in a Malaysian city such as KL while I get to explore the rest of Malaysia at the weekends with my awesome new friend Fathiyah.

Pretty sweet if you ask me.