ATV adventure

My holiday back home will never be complete without going for an adventure trip ever since my very first one not too long ago.

This time round i opted for the atv biking adventure over the others cos it looks so much fun annnnndd it was!

The trip lasted for only half a day. Too bad my second sister's schedule didn't coincide with mine for this holiday - she's only going back mid of next month - so what she did was to call us twice when we were in the jungle. Heh.

She was like bad bad me! For organizing one without her. Lol :P

Sorry sis!

Anyway, the atv looks pretty easy and not challenging at all.. at least, that was what i thought initially and bet you feel the same too but it is so not.

Before we embarked on our adventure, the guide had to trained us for 15 mins on how to operate the atv [very complicated but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty ok], which has a manual gear - that means, we had to adjust the gear accordingly just like a car or a motorbike - and also, we had ride on it for many many rounds in the training area for us to feel comfortable and confidence.

The trainer would watch each of us to see how we fare.

If he feels that we couldn't make it, he will not allow us to continue on with our trip... Safety always comes first.

Unfortunately, my mom didn't manage to pass the test. Yep, mom came along too! She's one sporting mom yeah? She loves outings like these in fact. And my youngest sister almost couldn't make it too! That baby.. ha!

So the mother was not allowed to ride on her own atv. She was told to follow the trainer as a pillion rider instead.. very much to her relief. Yes yes. She was relieved to know that :)

Because the whole thing sounds pretty scary to her.. and to most of us too especially the going up the hill part which the steepness is around 60 degree!

There were so many stuff to remember especially when we are on the slope. Eg :

. No putting our feet down when the atv is not balanced - one or two wheels are not on touching the ground due to the unevenness because it's a jungle track after all. According to the trainer, such reaction is a reflex. But we have to counter it. We have to keep our feet on the atv at all times

. must lean forward at all times else we'll really feel like we are gonna topple

. must accelerate gradually. Sudden acceleration = backward summersault and we definitely would not want that, would we?

. no avoiding holes on the track. So that's back to point 1.. which means the atv will have one or 2 wheels in the air

. no stopping in the middle of the slope. We have to keep on moving no matter how scary it is

Honestly, we were all pretty scared and the guide was worried for us too!

Even though the very nice guide wasn't oblige to come with us, he actually followed us till the slope and helped out through the riding up, holding on to our atv so that we really wouldn't do a backward summersault.

When we first saw the slope, we all wished we were in our mother's position, that is.. as the trainer's pillion rider. I felt giddy by just looking at it. We all went 'oh shittttttt...' ahahaha. I had tons and millions of butterflies in the stomach i tell you and i am so not joking about it.

All ready to go.. see the big rock? We went round and round around it for more than 30 times!

My heart beat darn fast.

I was scared. So were the sisters. Hehe... All of us were worried about 1 thing only. Which is - sudden acceleration = backward somersault. Heh.

Anyway, we turned out doing exceptionally well. We made it! Woo hoooo~

The trainer was really pleased. So was the guide.

In fact, the trainer was pretty taken by us that at the end of the journey, he actually told us that we were alot more skillful and 'terel' than he had first anticipated. He thought it was his doomed day that day when we 5 ladies went marching in to his shop that morning. Lol.



After the first slope, we rode a little while before the slope no.2 came.. a more dangerous one definitely.

The thing is, usually after you managed to go through the first obstacle successfully, the second one doesn't seem so scary anymore though the fear is still there. We were definitely more confident compare to our first attempt on the slope.



The ride through the jungle was a pretty scenic one. Not sure what type of jungle it was but we sure saw many bamboo trees or rather, we were surrounded by them. I almost could imagine myself in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Heh.

For our final adventure, we were asked to leave our atvs and hiked for a good 10 minutes ONLY to the waterfall.


Hiking time!

The short hike wasn't tough but there were some difficulties eg; crossing a wobbly handmade bridge. However, it was good fun!

I wish the hike could be longer. I enjoy leisure walking in the jungle tremendously [sans leeches that is].

Finally..



The waterfall!

From here, we hiked up further, to almost the top of the waterfall at about 2 storey high.

But not before the sister spotted my bleeding leg.


Initially, the sisters thought i had hurt myself during the ride, scratched against something etc but i was VERY sure i didn't.

Then.

Almost simultaneously, our heads screamed LEECHES!!!

The sisters, especially the eldest sister and my mother instructed me to pull up my pants further to check if the leech was still there. It wasn't.

I tell you, i almost wanted to strip down to butt naked if not for the 2 men there. I cannot imagine how high up the leech could have gone!

Not to mention holes >.<
Then, the sisters and mother started to squeeze my whole upper thigh damn hard and did the rub down motion, hoping they could squeeze the leech to death and bring it down too.

Guess what?

It worked!

The sister got the leech but alive, stucked to her finger. Now.. it was her turn to scream. Hehe... The very amused trainer [after witnessing the whole incident] offered his expertise then. Just dip the finger to the water and the leech will let go. Easy peasy.

Yeah, so the sister saved my life! *phew*

Just before we leave the waterfall to resume our atv biking, the sisters spotted this.

Aarrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh~

Why oh why?



Me again!!!

That #$%^&* leech!

This time, the trainer came forward to save me by offering his finger to the leech. By then, we were pretty cool by these leeches already which explained the photograph. The sister told me to hold still and snapped a couple of photos of it before the trainer stepped in and told us that if i don't want any scars on the leg, i better get it out fast.

He proceeded on to show us his 10cent scars on his legs.. due to scratching.

This, i can attest to it.

The first bite on the leg near the shin that i had on this trip?

Until today, the little punctured hole is still there and i scratch it like nobody's business but still with a little conscience thankfully. Extremely itchy. Sigh. I wonder when it will stop itching and go away forever... grrr.

Nevertheless, the trip was a good one. Everyone enjoys it and so did i.

If you need more information, go here.

ppssssstttt : the guide is quite a cutie! Reminds me of my Hyun Bin.. hahaha. Sshhhhhh.. don't tell the husband!

For first timer, it's advisable to do the Khamisah Waterfall Adventure first. No kidding. You will need the basics and familiarity before embarking on the tougher trails. I almost wanted to take up the harder trail initially and i'm glad i didn't :P