Camping in Gopeng

With much thought , we finally agreed on a camping trip. A first ,in 42 years .We were meant to leave KL early but only  managed at 10 am.The drive took us about 2 hours to Gopeng.

I had wanted to visit the Gaharu Tea Valley and really glad we did. It was RM 10 for adults and RM 5 for kids. There are regular vans that transport you to three interest points  . We never needed to wait for more than 5 minutes for each pick up. This is not a guided tour , by the way.

Viewing stage – amazing views of the gaharu trees

 

Mini Zoo

Lots of fish feeding , turtle feeding and walking through a forest trail

 

Lovers point

This place was named lovers point because during the time of land clearning ,  they had tried to cut down these two intertwined “not- gaharu” trees . Every time they tried to , the machines would automatically switch off . Eventually the task was called off , and these trees were cordoned off in the name of everlasting love.

• dont forget the ice-cream on your way out of here

After an hour at the tea valley  , it was a  5 minute drive to  Radak HQ where we had lunch at the neighboring restaurant . Since the other 3 families were already guided to the site  , they weren’t too keen on guiding us for the 4 th time!  ( apparently , when booked as a group, we are  supposed to arrive as a group,too  ). With slight difficulty , we managed to find our way to the campsite , about 20 minutes away from HQ.

the drive into Radak Riverside Campsite – rubber trees accompanying us thru

It was perfect weather , everybody was already in the stream.Not rocky , shallow enough for the kids , it was an ideal afternoon. Beers were passed around , while we waited for ice for our Tanqueray.

the kids

 

After 4 hours , kids were finally ready to change out of their swim gear.This was the tricky bit. Electricity only comes on at 7 pm till 7 am ( but there are no lights in the toilets – pray you don’t need to pee at the wee hours of the morning )  . I managed to bathe the kids with the doors wide open , with the help of the fading sunset rays . Bathing was communal style – a large tub filled with water , icy cold water. If you’re looking at dry toilets , this is not the place to be. When it came to my turn to have my shower, I could hardly see anything as I needed to close the door and there was really no more sunlight ! The only downfall to this trip.

Enjoying our gin and tonic , and bags full of junk food 

Meals are served at stipulated timings. What was supposed to be at 8 pm ….got postponed till 8:30 pm , but nobody was complaining. We had bags full of junk through out the evening , so kids weren’t hungry. Dinner included sausages, fries , fried rice , noodles, bbq chicken and lamb , salad , and skewers. Food was delicious. We chilled at their atap restaurant , followed by fireworks and the highlight was toasting marshmallows at the campsite . *fireworks and marshmallows our own

Marshmallow toasting

 

The kids played in our tent for an hour-ish before settling into their respective tents for a night’s sleep. Not all slept well, some moved into their cars to sleep with the airconditioning on , the girls slept in our tent ( all 4 of them) leaving Mahendra and I on the mat ,under the stars. I feared for my life , I was sure no repellent would save me from those insects/ mosquitoes but it did. I didn’t feel a single bite.I can’t say it was a comfortable sleep , but it was decent .

It was a memorable night, spent under the stars with the soothing sounds of water flowing.

huddled in the tent together , with no so great lighting

Night views

Most of us were up by 7 am , us especially , since it was bright and that was all our spines could take.Let’s just say , the washbasins were so filthy , everybody skipped bath time and some dropped the idea of  brushing their teeth . After all , we could do it at home , in a few hours.

Sleeping under the stars …on a mat

Breakfast was roti canai , noodles , sandwiches with kopi-0 and milo. Decent.

We hung around the stream for a bit  . We opted to skip lunch for a hot shower back home instead.We were home by 1 pm  , after a quick pit stop for durian by the road.

Story and Ray

If I had known better-

I would have requested for  2 tents and brought air mattresses.Portable fans and repellents are a must.

They mentioned mattresses would be provided –  those were yoga mats , for goodness sake!

I would have checked – to make sure there were personalized showers ( not communal bathing) , wash basins that worked and cleaned , and proper lighting.

Also bring drinking water , we went home to 4 ill kids who were down with food poisoning.

Radak organizes many outdoor activities , I would have liked to try some , next time perhaps.Day trip , it would be a day trip for sure.

 

Out cold