Upeh Guling (Y2010)
BASIC INFORMATION
Trek: Y2010
Date: 2010
Location: Upeh Guling, Johor, Malaysia
Elevation: (Waterfall)
Duration: 1D
BRIEF ITINERARY
Day 1
Transport to Kuala Marong Campsite
Day 2
Day Trek to Upeh Guling Falls
Transport back to SG
Day 1
At about 07:00 most of the trekkers arrived and after re-packing bags and re-distributing logistics, we were finally on our way to the Malaysian customs at 07:45. Instead of taking 170, the group took Causeway Link! I would say that Causeway Link ranks higher in comfort as compared to that of SBS 170, but we were all scrambling to get enough small change to pay the bus driver as Causeway Link only accepts cash payment and no change will be given.
The team arrived at Larkin Bus Terminal at around 08:45 where we went for breakfast. Some of the trekkers made use of the time to do some last minute shopping for snacks and bottled water, while some went straight to the money-changer before settling down for breakfast at McDonald’s.
It was 09:30 – time for us to set off on our 2 hour bus journey towards Kluang Bus Station where we will be met by our next transport into Endau Rompin National Park.
We arrived at Kluang Bus Station at 11:30 and we moved on to our next transportation the four-wheel drive. The 4WD was going to take another 2 hours into the park and after bumping and bouncing around for 2 hours in the 4WD we took a 45-minute boat ride from the Kuala Jasin Jetty to the start of the trek. We trekked for another 2 hours through rainforests, suspension bridges and rivers filled with leeches before we reached the Kuala Marong Campsite, which would be our home for the night.
The trek to the campsite was fairly basic and simple which does not require any training beforehand. There was barely any gradient and most of the trek was flat with a few short 30 degrees slope and the only painful part of the trek was having to stop every few minutes to spam OFF! on your foot whenever you see/feel/sense the leeches. At the end of the trek, I do not think that there is anyone who hasn’t experienced a leech bite!
Though the weather was stormy before we started on the trek and it was still raining during the trek, we were lucky that it dropped to just a light drizzle and cleared up by the evening and we were able to take a dip in the “Blue Lagoon” which was about 5 minutes trek from the campsite.
At 1800, we started cooking our dinner and this particular campsite was so well equipped as compared to other campsites that we had toilets and showers, pavilions and even has dining area with shelter and tables and benches.
Dinner was a spread with a multitude of dishes from Angel Hair pasta to the usual fried chicken and to complete the meal we even had Chocolate Fondue with marshmallows and fruits – courtesy of Sameer’s team!! Most of us even took the marshmallows and roasted it with fire — though many marshmallows somehow ended up in flames.
After dinner, we had a session of the legendary “Tonight with Keng Phang” and Keng Phang also introduced to us our new Trek Team Manager, Zavier! By the time we were done with our “Tonight With Keng Phang” session it was almost close to midnight, and we were all worn out. The only problem was that, none of us have pitched our tents! So while some decided to pitch their tents in the pavilions sheltered from the rain and away from the bugs on the ground, some decided that they will skip the tent-pitching and just sleep in the sheltered dining area, in the end, the entire organizing committee together with Evelyn, Weixin, Chula and Hongquan slept in the sheltered area – some on the benches and some on the floor.
Day 2
Everyone was supposed to be awake at about 5:30am to prepare breakfast and we would set off on our trek to Upeh Guling Falls at 7:00am. However, at 5:30am, it was so cold and dark, that barely anyone wanted to get out of their sleeping bags, including the trek OIC. The only person that got up was Keng Phang and as he lited the gas-lamp in the dining area, most of the people sleeping there decidd that maybe it was time to get up. So after tossing around in the sleeping bags, most of us got up and prepared breakfast.
Breakfast was another meal with too much food! We had things like hot chocolate with marshmallows and freshly steamed dim sum and pancakes with honey! At about 6:45am, everyone started to clean up and pack their bags so that we will be ready to load up and leave after we come back from our trek to Upeh Guling Falls.
At 7am, our actual departure time, I am proud to say that everyone was ready to leave for the waterfalls, however, our dear guides were still soundly asleep. So by the time they got up and had their breakfast, it was about 7:10am and we started on our walk to the Upeh Guling Waterfalls.
The trek to the waterfalls seemed to move a lot faster even though there were a couple of short steep ascends and descends – maybe it was because we were not carrying our trek bags! And after a good 30 minutes, we finally reached Upeh Guling Waterfalls!
We started off with a safety briefing from our Safety I/C Zavier and after that, everyone jumped into the waterfall. At first most of the trekkers just started with dipping their feet into the cold water and washed the mud away from their sandals. But after seeing Sameer swim in the waterfall and going on to higher parts of the waterfall and after seeing how Leroy and Weiquan were enjoying their soak in the waterfall, most of us just jumped in and joined them. Of course while most of us emerged from the waterfall without slipping because we were all walking oh-so-carefully, Shih Haur, our marketing I/C managed to slip 5 times and as the trek I/C after countless times of telling the group to watch where they were walking and be careful, I slipped once, right before we took our group shot.
After the taking of group photos and a little more of splashing around in the waterfalls and attempting to swim back to shore against the current, it was sadly time to make our way back to the campsite.
It was about 9:30am when we reached our campsite, and while some of the trekkers washed up, some simply had a change of clothes because on our trek back to the campsite from the waterfall, we had to trek through another river.
So after washing-up, and loading-up it was time to make our way back to the jetty where we would depart for the main office of the park where we would meet our 4WD transports and bump and bounce our way back out to the city in the 4WD again.
The trek back towards the jetty was longer because the guide decided to take the route where there will be lesser leeches so that the group does not have to stop repeatedly to take the leeches off of our feet! The trek back also consisted of generally flat terrain and only two to three 40 to 50 degree upward slopes.
So we hit reached the jetty and loaded most people onto the first boat back to the main office. And because the second boat took only about another 30 minutes to reach, the remaining trekkers decided to take their shower in the river. Those in the first boat had the luxury of showering in the shower area at the main office.
By about 12:45pm the trekkers on the second boat arrived and we were all set and ready to take the 4WD back to Kluang Bus Terminal. The 4WD back towards Kluang Bus Terminal took slightly more then 2hrs and after 2 hours plus of bumping and bouncing around, we finally reached Kluang Bus Terminal.
4 our of 5 of the 4WD reached Kluang Bus Terminal at about 2:45pm while one of the 4WD driver lost his way. So while waiting for the fifth 4WD to arrive, we decided that we will push the bus timing back by around 30 minutes so that everyone can grab a bite from the surrounding food outlets. Most of us went for Marrybrown while some decided to grab food from the roadside vendors.
At 3:30pm, we promptly boarded the bus back to Larkin Bus Terminal. The entire bus was quiet during the ride back to Larkin and almost everyone was sound asleep. Upon reaching Larkin Bus Terminal, the group spilt into two, those who were going for Seafood at Taman Sentosa and those who were going straight back to Singapore. For those going for seafood dinner at Taman Sentosa, we squeezed about 5 people into each taxi and headed for seafood dinner!
Advise for future trekkers going to Upeh Guling Waterfall:
It is a super relaxing and generically simple and fuss-free trek, there is no need for pre-training – but do remember to bring along insect/leech repellent because there really is a lot a lot of leech.
For those who are afraid of slipping and losing their footing while crossing rivers, it is good to ensure that your shoes/sandals have well-gripped soles and if you are really worried, put on a pair of Kampung Adidas and you shouldn’t slip at all!
Do mentally prepare your trekkers for the amount of travelling that will be done because you would be travelling for at least 8 hours before you even start on your trek. The travelling includes 4WD and the boat (sampan-kind) ride and those can be nausea inducing, so remember to prepare motion-sickness pills or enough chewing gum to prevent people from puking!
Written by: Gillian Goh, Trek IC
