Sungai Gabai

I often used to cycle in this area and have been to the Sungai Gabai waterfall before. This isn't a remote and peaceful spot, but it is truly beautiful. The waterfall area is within a small and fairly well maintained 'recreational park'. Steps lead up past a series of waterfalls where the water pours down over well-smoothed rocks, including one very high drop. The volume of water isn't huge, rather it forms long delicate trailing veils as it falls. Following the steps up, there are a number of good viewpoints and well-used picnic spots.

As usual, the falls were quite busy with families preparing the most enormous picnics, boiling great vats of rice or unpacking dozens of take-away cartons. I like the whole local feel of the place, with dozens of people just enjoying an afternoon out. I've never seen any other foreigners there, so as usual our arrival caused a few interested glances and cheery greetings. At the top of the path the real fun begins - here there is a section of the river that flows over the rocks which form a natural waterslide before forming a safe swimming pool above the main fall. Like many groups of laughing adults and families our first priority was to cool off by sliding down. The rock is so smooth that it's quite comfortable even to slide down head-first on your stomach. Groups of young men like to try to stay on their feet, although their mates tend to try to take them out on the way down. However loud and raucous these guys are being they always make room for the children and help them over the slippery rocks at the top.

After I while I left my friends and the children playing and walked on up beside the river. Here there is no proper path and a bit of scrambling over muddy roots is necessary. Higher up, the lads were jumping into a narrow channel where the water gushed between two walls of rock. In another place they showed off to their girlfriends by diving quite impressively from higher rocks into another pool. Above all this, I had the river to myself. Quietly it burbled between the trees, looking like a true jungle stream. I watched a spider spin a picture-book perfect web in a matter of minutes. I paddled across to sit on a sunny rock and drink in this image of Malaysia, Malaysia as I'll always remember it.