Kampung Kiding: A Gem Above Clouds (Our 2nd Trip)

Back in Kampung Kiding

It’s a week after Chinese New Year, roughly a week after our first trip there and we were back in Kampung Kiding. We started our journey by buying some fresh produce such as meat and canned food for our host. We bought those because they are rarely available in the village. It is also very far away from town and there is no electric supply. Therefore, they don’t have refrigerators to keep meat and stuff. All fresh produce must be cooked and consumed within a day or two.

Roughly an hour and a half drive we’re at the foothill of the mountain. Kampung Kiding is located somewhere near the top, which is covered in clouds in this picture and we had to walk all the way up.

Hiking up from foothill

And off we go, 2 hours of awe and agony awaits. Well, it’s not that bad. There’s a rocky road that goes all the way up and a heavy duty four-wheel-drive can drive up. We don’t have that, neither do any of the villagers. But walking is part of experiencing the way of life there, and the view along the way, magnificent.

Still Hiking – Climbing up and down the hills

See the old men with a walking stick in the background? He walked pass us while we’re gasping for air and he’s probably in his 70’s or 80’s, what a shame on us young people. The journey is full of steep climbs up and down hills. We just have to stop for rest roughly every 10 minutes and considering that our target group are the rural community, there’s gonna be many more such journey. Hopefully we’ll have the stamina of that old man soon, or young man rather. After an hour plus of walking (and panting), we finally saw some houses, but yet we’re still not there yet. This is Kampung Kakas, a village situated halfway between the foothill and Kampung Kiding.

Pass by Kampung Kakas

After an hour plus of walking (and panting), we finally saw some houses, but yet we’re still not there yet. This is Kampung Kakas, a village situated halfway between the foothill and Kampung Kiding.

Well, that’s not to bad, at least we’re getting somewhere. But we had another problem; it’s seemed like it’s gonna rain soon. We gotta be there before the rain comes; meaning less rest stops, otherwise we’re all gonna be wet.

Singapore Waterfall

After some time, we finally reached the Singapore Waterfall, which meant we’re almost there. But wait, what on earth is Singapore doing here. Well, the story goes like this, a few Singaporean students came and visited Kiding a few years back and decided to clean up the waterfall as part of their community project. Since the waterfall didn’t have a name, the villagers named it Singapore Waterfall as a goodwill of their work. Interesting, huh… and till this day it’s very clean, like Singapore. Well, great job, Singapore =)

Finally Arrived!

Soon, we saw houses and well done, we’re here.

But challenge is not over yet. We reached for most of us in the team our very first bamboo bridge.

Our heartbeat sped up for a while bridge as we feared the bride may break but soon it’ll become such a common sight that crossing it is just normal. By the way, rubber shoes or the locals called it “adidas kampung” is absolutely helpful for this kind of trekking as they have good grip.

We reached the house that we gonna stay in shortly after and as you can see, it started drizzling. Thank God, we made it in time.

We lazed around in the afternoon and in the evening we climbed up to the view point and it’s even more breathtaking.

Panoramic view of the mountaintop in Kampung Kiding with Backyard Tour Malaysia

Training Session

At night after dinner we went over to the ketua kampung’s house to conduct the train. 5 youths joined the program and the Ketua Kampung will be their mentor.

And it’s time to have a good night sleep before another extreme trekking tomorrow.

Trekking to Gareg Fall

We woke up early to start our journey to Gareg Fall. It’s located in the same mountain range which we’re in but it’s on the opposite side of the mountain. So we had to climb up and down to get to the other side of the mountain. This area was proposed to be a national park. However, it didn’t go through as there were land disputes between the natives and the government which was won by the natives in court.

The journey there was relatively easy as it required us to climb just a small stretch and the of the terrain was relatively flat. It took us 2 hours and on the way, many spectacular views.

As we were nearing the waterfall, still quite far though, we started to hear the roar of the waterfalls. There’re two in the vicinity, Gareg and Susung Falls. The one we’re going is Gareg, which belongs to Kiding while Susung belongs to Semban.

Trekking upstream a bit more and we reach our prize, the mighty Gareg Falls. Our team was so excited and can’t wait to take a dip.

After fully enjoying our time down there, we climbed up to the top of Gareg to have our lunch. Once again, the view was breathtaking.

Lunch is on a huge flat stone by the river under shady trees. After tiring day of trekking and enjoying yourself, our stomachs are growling for food. And of course, in pristine nature with refreshing air and the roaring the falls, food that was simple and delicious already, tasted even better.

When we reached back home, we bathed and sleep straight away. What a day? But it hasn’t ended as there was training at night again. After some rest, one of our team members went up to the viewpoint to take pictures again.

Training finish early that night and after a good night sleep, it’s time to go back. We thank our host family who have been so hospitable and helpful.

We’ve had a truly wonderful time here in Kampung Kiding and it’s an experience you’ll have to come over and experience it yourself. For more information on how you can experience what you’ve see here, click here.