Sungai Sedim Whitewater Rafting

Yahooooo! AsiaExplorers members whitewater rafting at Sungai Sedim.

The Sungai Sedim Whitewater Rafting is something I have tried once, and that's quite enough for me. For RM100, you have the opportunity to bruise and blue-black your whole body, wound limbs and torso, and if you're really lucky, you could even bash your head on the rocks, and earn yourself a cut in the forehead deep enough to require stitches. That, my friend, is whitewater rafting. Fun, isn't it?

Before delving deeper into this narrative, I want to thank Yew Yong for organising this event - even though she did not participate in it herself. Smart. Well, despite all the scary parts, I had a great time, I do too.

Having tried out the whitewater rafting at Sungai Sedim, I must state that it's one of those things you'd do that falls into the category of "chiak pah ua yau." That's Hokkien for "trading a full stomach for an empty one," in other words, engaging in an activity of no productive value. My only consolation is that I can now add whitewater rafting to my list of been-there-done-thats.

The Journey There

I car-pooled with CY Tan and Alex Lee on that day. CY came to fetch me at 7:10am, and by 7:35am, we have arrived at the waiting place after the Lunas toll booth of the Butterworth-Kulim Expressway. Already waiting for us was Yew Yong, who had helped to arrange this outing for us. Eventually all the participants arrived, and we headed off to a nearby coffee shop for breakfast.

When we arrived at Sungai Sedim, the place was deserted. So while Yew Yong went off in search of the instructors, took some shots of the river. There were only two rafts, each taking a maximum of six people, so we have to split our group of 18 into two sessions, one morning and one afternoon. While one group goes rafting, the other go tubing. I fall into the group that does tubing first.

Is this the helmet? Really?

We were each given a plastic helmet that came from Toys R Us ... or even more likely, from the toy section of your local sundry shop. Okay, I exaggerate, but I am not too distant from the truth. I don't see any padding in the helmet to really give us adequate protection, and the strap isn't working properly either. Also, once you put it on, it tends to cover your eyes as well. A piece of advice for would-be rafters here:

If you intend to do it at Sungai Sedim, bring along your own protective gear - your own helmet, knee and elbow pads, and good diving shoes that will allow you to walk over rocks.

I brought none of these things, but I was not informed to.

The instructors decided to get us ready to face the challenges ahead. Each of us had to jump from a bridge into the running current, a full ten feet below. It was very scary, and it took us a while before anyone of us collected enough courage to make the leap.

I am no risk taker. Certainly not a candidate for extreme sports. To me, there is so much to do in this life that I wouldn't want to engage in activities that may interrupt or interfere with all future enjoyment. Also, I bruise and scar easily. So I was pretty reluctant to do the jump.

But I did it anyway!

As soon as you hit the water, it blast at your face and up your nostrils. I was gulping for a split second and then I recovered. Swimming was not an issue for me, but the current was swift, there were plenty of rocks, and the water was not deep enough to swim properly. Anyway I managed to pull myself to the riverbank.

The Whitewater Rafting Gang

The tubings were brought out. They were actually the inner rubber tubes for the wheels of some heavy vehicle, and looked like black giant donuts. We had to carry them upstream.

There's no way to control your movement in the rubber tube. Your fate is tied to the flow. But it's actually quite fun when you're moving. At other times, you just get stuck over the rocks and you have to "do the twist" to get moving again.

Within seconds of boarding the tube, my slipper fell off. So I frantically chased after it over slippery rocks. Fortunately it came to rest among a clump of rocks. I firmly decided that wearing slippers is a wrong move, and stuffed them into my t-shirt.

I think it would be even more fun if the water level is higher. As it was, the level was so low that we kept hitting the rocks, making movement less swift and also more dangerous.

The rapids are pretty scary. When your tube falls into it, quite often you and your tube go in separate directions, boinnngg! So you'd better grab hold of it before it leaves you, or it'll be out of reach in a second.

Say a little prayer ...

The water feels kinda hard ....

Also, under the fall of the rapid, the current tends to rotate, trapping you underneath. This is quite dangerous if you aren't strong enough to break through.

Luckily, the guide was around to pull you out in case it seems that you're in trouble. But with nine people spread through the length of the river, it's impossible for the guide to be everywhere at the same time. Nevertheless we enjoyed the tubing so much (call us stupid -- pleeeease, call us stupid!) that we decided to do it twice.

And then it was time for lunch. We boarded the van - whose back door couldn't shut properly - and off we went to the warung. We had to wait for ages before our orders were taken, an example of poor business skills of country villagers.

The Accident

When we reached the warung, we got news that Ho Weng Leong, who joined the morning rafting, had injured himself. During one of the falls, he hit his forehead resulting in a deep cut. So the rafting guide and Weng Heng rushed him to the nearby hospital.

While waiting for lunch, we discussed the accident, and some of us especially myself, pretty much freaked out. I weighed heavily the possibility of sustaining injuries. No way, man, if I am going to injure myself for a few seconds of thrill!

If I disappear down Sungai Sedim and is never found again, there will be no more AsiaExplorers! This must be a mistake - they have mixed up Travel Channel with Fear Factor!

Lunch Time

At last our lunch orders were taken. Everybody opted for fried rice.

Unfortunately, not everybody received fried rice. The warung ran out of rice, so the next few people got fried koay teow instead. Then the warung also ran out of koay teow, and the remaining people got mee.

How's the meal? Nobody gave it a thumbs up ... except me, but then, I was ravenous. Or something was wrong with my tongue.

After lunch, it was our turn to do rafting. I was still very nervous, and kept on repeating that no way was I going to go down a certain vertical portion where Weng Leong had injured himself. But I would not chicken out totally - no way, not after spending RM100!

An unidentified floating object.

So I boarded the raft with Vivien, Say Boon and Kok Kean. And you know what. First we were taught how to manoever the raft, which should be quite easy, but with the current, we seemed to go in any which direction, except the one we intended.

Raft Training

Next, we were taught what to do should the raft capsize. Do learn that, we had to capsize the raft. Kinda remind me of my training for canoe polo - which also freaked me out, but was not a problem, once I got used to it. In fact, I quite enjoyed the deliberate capsizing!

It's the unplanned one which I dread.

Off we rowed, rowed, rowed our raft, merrily down the steam. And got stuck. To move on, we pumped - that is to say, we sat up and down on our place, to mobilize the raft over the rocks where it lodged itself.

I suddenly felt rather empty in the tummy ...!

The Spot

Very soon we arrived at "The Spot", the place where the water seemed to careen from view. It made a thundering roar and spew vapour over the top. We had to go through that!. Now some of the girls are scared. Even Suja, who always stood out as the boldest, was nervous. But when I took a look at the fall, somehow my nervousness disappeared. Then the guide very effortlessly leap from the rock into the swirling pool, and climbed out, I became even less afraid. It was not as high as I had expected. Somehow, I am reminded that "what you don't know scare you more", and it's absolutely true here. As soon as I saw the danger, I know I can manage it.

But I'm also a person who don't hide my fear. If I am scared of something, I voice it. And if I don't fear it anymore, I say it too. So when asked whether I would chicken out, I said no, I will proceed - to much delight of everybody, I must say!

So Vivien, me, Say Boon and KK gingerly climbed into our raft (we had climbed out earlier to inspect the fall). We were the first of the two raft to go. Soon we were on our way.

"Boom!" yelled the guide, and we all ducked.

We passed! Done, habis in a split second. It was so fast, and such a relief.

Now its the turn of the second boat. There were five of them in it. I think their weight are too evenly spread out, because when they go in, the raft just dived headlong into the pool, and turned over, spilling everybody all over the place. We quickly pulled them out. Now that I managed to negotiate the first fall, I feel ready to conquer anything. And the "anything" is the next fall, the one where Weng Leong earned his cut. I tell you, its a scary one, for it falls directly into the path of rocks. I wish I had my camera with me so I could show you.

Danger Ahead!

The guide asked us to break into two new teams, one with heavier participants, and one with lighter ones. The four heaviest people took the first raft. Soon they were approaching the second fall ... and off they go! But again something happened, and they were all thrown overboard. My heart missed a leap seeing the four of them disappear into the water, and the raft capsized right over them.

They were rescued and the raft tugged to the side. Now it was the turn for the four girls and myself. Somehow, despite the "failure" of the first raft to pass this rapid successfully, I was determined to give it a try.

We boarded our raft, and began rowing toward the rapid. And as soon as the guide yelled "boom", we all tucked our heads down and I covered my hand over mine.

There was a violent plunge downwards, and then immediately we stabilised. We made it, we made it! We all yelled out loudly! We couldn't believe ourselves!

Twice I went through the falls and came out okay. Now that I have a chance to analyse the situation, I believe balancing is the most important aspect. To land properly, the back of the raft must be heavier than the front, or else it will simply flip over. I think keeping ourselves low on the raft helped as well in preventing us from being thrown out.

The rest of the journey is less scary. By the time we almost reached our destination, our guide even left us to our raft, and leaped to the banks, so that we can manoever it ourselves. We kept getting stuck on the rocks, but it was fun trying to get out.

Hooray, we made it!

I can't tell you how happy I was to reach the end of the ride ... and also, sorry that it ended. We simply got out of our rafts and then helped the guides load it back into the van.

What's my opinion of whitewater rafting in Sungai Sedim?

Tourism in Malaysia is still in a sorry state. I don't believe that Sungai Sedim is ready to expect mass tourism, definitely not foreign tourists. The facilities simply do not measure up. As with all the restrooms I have used in hot springs, waterfalls and other recreational places in this country, the one at Sungai Sedim was pretty gross. The toilet as well as the bathrooms were flooded, so you have to shower standing in two inches of used water. And to top it all, they have the gall to station someone at the door to collect 20 sen. I walked straight in, and nobody dared stop me.

Of the one hundred ringgit paid by each participant, I also question how much actually trickle back to the guides and instructors who risked limbs and lives for this peculiar choice of career. Would an insurance company step forward to insure them? And how about the participants: is this establishment throwing the standard mantra of, "This company is not responsible for blah blah blah ... ?"

Would I do whitewater rafting again?

Sure. But not in Sungai Sedim.

How to go to Sungai Sedim

Sungai Sedim Nature Park is located off Kulim, in South Kedah. To reach it from Penang, take the Butterworth-Kulim Highway till the end, and look for the roadsign pointing to Hutan Rekreasi Sungai Sedim. For a long while you will pass through fruit plantation, through a very narrow country road before you finally arrive at the recreational area.

Back to Discover Kedah mainpage; list of Forest Parks in Kedah and Forest Parks in Malaysia

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