When was the last time you spent a day without checking your mobile phone or gadgets? I can’t even remember when. During this day and age, everyone is prisoner of technology. Somehow, it is good to unplug and disconnect for a while to the internet world and live simply and enjoy each other’s company.
I was searching what to do on a weekend on Meetup group. Checked some outdoor activities being offered. But my attention was caught on Sendat Waterfall Camping Adventure. I was really interested as I haven't experienced any campings here in Malaysia plus the fact that I haven’t camped for more than a decade. But my friend was inviting me to go to Sky Mirror. I was really torn. I dont want to let this opportunity pass. After 3 days, I haven’t heard from my friend if we are pushing through to Sky Mirror. So I then contacted the organizer of the camping. Unfortunately, it was already closed. Aravind, the organizer, told me if someone backed-out they would put me in the list. The next day, he messaged me. I can join. Yehey!
The good thing about meetup is that they have a carpool. For those who do not have any transportation, you can just fill up a form and they will offer a ride for you. Depending on the agreed meet up place.
I saw Hanson on the list. I contacted him via Whatsapp if he can accommodate me. He decided to fetch me in my house though he lives 12km away from my place. Whew! It was a sigh of relief for me. I already have a ride.
Saturday came. I was anxious if the event would be cancelled or not as the rain didn't stop from Friday afternoon until 3AM (the last time I checked). I received a call from him that he’s about to leave his place. I was still preparing my food. My housemate, MM, helped to prepare my ham sandwich and boiled eggs. Thank you MM hehehe.
He arrived around 9AM. He’s riding his white 4x4. It was my first time meeting him. He is Chinese Malaysian and is 19 years old. We’re supposed to have another companion, but he didn't join.
We headed to the campsite. Since we don't know anything about each other, we had a good conversation especially since we came from 2 different countries. Non-stop conversation as we both are talkative hahaha.
It was a 1.5 hrs trip. I enjoyed the scenery as it was my first time to go to that part of Malaysia. Several minutes away from the campsite, we lost our internet connection. We just followed the road until we reached the campsite. We saw lots of cars parked and far north some were pitching their tents.
We looked for Aravind for my tent. The camping area was surrounded by bamboo trees. It will be a great cover from sun and rain.
I strategically placed my tent opening facing the fish pond so I can have a good view of the fishes. Hanson pitched his tent next to mine.
Few moments later, an Indian came in and decided to pitch his tent next to Hanson’s. We helped him with his tent. He’s Arun. A solo joiner too.
Aravind called all of us for a briefing and of course - to get to know each other. We were asked to form a circle and we needed to introduce ourselves with 1 adjective. Hashed (a Yemen national) started the introduction. I was the seventh, I just said..Im Jhune, just like the month, from the Philippines. For the adjective, I just simply said.. Jolly Jhune hihihi.
We were 16. I would say we were diverse. 5 ladies and 11 guys. We came from different parts of the globe. Yemen, Libya, Zimbabwe, Malaysia, India, Philippines and Italy. See? Hehehe
We headed to the waterfalls. We brought our packed lunch. It was merely 600 meters from the campsite on a paved road. While walking, we’ve been chatting with each other.
I have been hearing Hanson practicing his Spanish language with Tamara and Daniela, both Italian and speak Spanish too.
I met Adi, a devops Engineer from Zimbabwe. I enjoyed talking to him. We both took Computer Engineering in college. And I found out that 8 of us had that degree.
We reached the waterfalls and everyone was so excited to take a dip in the water. The waterfall is not that tall, approximately 20 feet high. The water is not clear perhaps because of the continuous rain but it is clean. Hashed jumped in immediately. We then followed. The water is very cold. The good thing is, the basin was shallow (most parts) so we enjoyed playing in the water.
We were in that scenario for 20 minutes and we decided to take our lunch. I ate my ham sandwich and Shekhar prepared us coffee and tea. I chose the latter. He gave me an Indian delicacy and grabbed a bite. It’s not bad I would say. After a few chitchats, we decided to swim again. We were like kids enjoying the cold water. Mervin and Rais (both locals) kept on jumping from the (sort of) cliff.
Around 1PM we decided to go back to the campsite. But before that, we had our first mandatory group photo. It started to rain again.
We played tug of war while it was raining. 6 per team. We used the squid game tactics but we didn't win hahaha. It didn't work for us. We started to prepare our afternoon snack.
Since we were wet and somehow dirty as we slid, slipped and stumbled on mud, we decided to go to the river. But we enjoyed it a lot.
After a while, they decided to go back to the campsite. But, Hanson, Arun and I decided to stay and talked about anything under the sun. Arun brought an Indian whisky. My first time to drink that whisky. It was smooth. Adi arrived and we finished the small bottle. We talked about AIs, cryptos, history, sports and our cultures. Imagine, we were 4 and from different countries. We stayed there until sunset and it was still raining hard.
It was dinner time when we got back. They prepared grilled chicken paired with pilau. Pilau is a rice dish soaked in stock or broth, adding meat, spices, and vegetables. It was my first time trying that food. It was good actually. Being the picky eater, I actually liked it. There’s one like salad, but it’s made with yogurt. I didn't try it as I don't eat yogurt. After our dinner, it’s social night. By the way, Mervin, Raiz and Muhammad took the initiative to have a bonfire.
But the rain doesn't show any signs of stopping. Everyone gathered there except for Tamara and Daniela as they opted to take a rest early. Shared some ghost stories, travel stories and showed our dancing skills. We checked our tents and all were soaking wet. Though it was waterproof, with the amount of rain poured on for several hours, water began to penetrate. We don’t know how we can go to sleep. But Arun asked me to accompany him to the caretaker and asked about the big tent. The big tent can house 4 people. We started haggling from 150RM and settled with 70RM. It was a sigh of relief for us. We then invited Adi and Hanson to sleep there.
The tent was nice and huge. I think 6-8 people can fit in. I believe we stopped talking at 3:30AM But I hardly slept. Actually, I had no sleep at all. I’m not used to sleeping on an air bed. When someone moves, everyone moves too hahaha.
Before 7AM, I left the tent, and the rain had stopped already. Aravind and Shekhar were busy preparing for our breakfast. It was an egg omelet with bread, fruits and tea.
After our breakfast, we started to dismantle our tents (that we never had the chance to use hehehe).
We decided to go back to the river and have some photos. Water was still high.
As they say, good things must come to an end. We gathered again, Aravind let us vote 1 person each whom we should be thankful for from the group. I chose Hanson, it was simply because, I can’t be there if I didn't have a ride. The campsite was remote. But it was Mervin won via landslide. He deserved it. He was the comedian and very approachable too.
We had our last group photo and everyone was preparing to leave. It started to rain again. Hanson and I left around 11:15AM together with Adi and Shiva from the other car. After 1.5hrs, I was in my place. Tired but happy and definitely one for the books.
For 2 days, we were disconnected to the world. Social media detox. Undivided attention. Only us. I joined this event without knowing anybody (most of us were solo joiners too) but ended up being friends to everyone. Knowing everyone from different parts of the world is a rewarding feeling and a remarkable one. We may have differences in color, race or religion but what matters most is..you opt to be a good person.
I wouldn't trade this experience for spending my weekend at home tied to my gadgets.
I know this will not be the last but the start of our friendship. Till I see you again guys 🇾🇪🇱🇾🇿🇼🇲🇾🇮🇳🇵🇭🇮🇹
