If you're an adventurer, make sure you don't miss rafting when you're at Sabah! Believe me, it would definitely thrill you as you rush down the wild rapids!
Situating in the interior of southwestern part of Kota Kinabalu, Padas River is only accessible by train. Yes, a 2-hours ride in an antique train. A truly antique train! I'm not sure if it is fully operated with a steam engine, but I did see steam bubble out from the train head. And, I was extremely excited when I heard the whistles and horns from the train! Heh, it was my first time to take a ride in an antique train. The feel was, sooooo good~
The ride through the countryside gives you a breathtaking scenic view of nature - the Kinabatangan river embraced by the luxuriant forest. While surrounded with the sounds of railroad, I was sophisticated with the calming and refreshing wind blown on my face. SOooo relaxing~
You wouldn't want to miss this. You could notice the train actually stopped by from time to time. Apparently, this train is the only transportation the villagers have to connect themselves with the world outside. I was told that the village across the railway is habituated by the Murut, an indigenous ethnic group in Borneo. At each stop, you could see a 'train stop' and people get into and out of the train.
I met a mak cik carrying her shopping basket with her. Later, I got to know that it was a handicraft from the Bajau people. As far as I concern, the multipurpose basket is handwoven using Serdang leaves. I know the image is blur but I just want to show here. I remembered my mum once asked me to get something like this from Sabah. She is a keen collector of those stuffs though.
Before you get there, you have to make your journey to Beaufort train station. To make it there, you can either take the Sabah State Railway from Jesselton, which would be a really slow journey, OR simply get a cab from Kota Kinabalu.
We were in a group of 12 people and thus we took up the package from Riverbug. It costed us ~RM120 covering the transport to and forth from Kota Kinabalu, the train fare, the rafting activity and a lunch.
It was my first ever experience water rafting experience though. We were first briefed on the safety measures and some basic techniques. Now, here we go for the adrenaline-stimulating adventure!
Interestingly, the 7 rapids are named with amusing titles. Along the 9-km excursion of class III-IV river, they were introduced by the rafting guide one by one before we reach the points. The names are imaginative and you can relate them with the extremeness of the rapids. Of course I couldn't remember all of them and I googled them afterwards: Merry-Go-Round Rapid, Break Point Rapid, Scooby Doo Rapid, Cobra Rapid, Washing Machine Rapid, Lambada Rapid and Head Hunter Rapid.
Still in steady mode before we encountered any rapid. Kayak, kayak, kayak~
The water is muddy yellow in colour!
Spinning spinning and sank!
Going through the first few rapids, it got more and more interesting!
And here we sank again~
It wouldn't disappoint you if you love extreme water sports. Even someone like me who don't do extreme water sports are addicted to it! The only hesitation I have is the long long journey required to get there. :( Or else, I think I would do it really frequently (and if I'm rich enough =P).
As updated June 19, 2013
