If you are itching to do something different and perhaps upped your macho-ness level, you can’t go wrong with Gopeng, Perak. It’s a place where you can explore caves, try to conquer a raging river and test your balance walking ninety degrees on a slippery surface.

Sounds fun, don’t you think? And that is exactly what I did last year when I signed for a package ‘tour’. Board and food included, I managed to cajole five other friends into joining me.

We were placed at Gopeng Rainforest Resort which had kampong houses of all sizes to suit different group size. Ours had a living room and two bedrooms with six mattresses and pillows waiting for us. But we decided on lugging out those mattresses from the bedrooms so that we can all sleep together in the living room .

And the toilets? Well, these were in the communal area where there was also a leisure area (to play ping pong, sing karaoke, lepak), eating area and the kitchen. Lucky for us, no other groups were there then, so we hogged the three toilets and bathrooms which were kept spotless.

I must say that I had a moment of doubt upon my arrival but the owners (husband and wife team) put us all at ease and showed first class Malaysian hospitality.

Then we were off to Sungai Gopeng for activity number 1 – white water rafting. At the river, you would be forgiven if you thought the name was Sungai Teh Tarik as the water looked just like teh tarik. Lots and lots of teh tarik gushing downstream. Oh and big, evil looking rocks lurking here and there, ready to throw you overboard.

Overall, it was really good fun although at the end of the two-hour side, I was cold and wet with a sore bum and arms that felt like they were going to drop off. I was wet, not only from the river water that splashed up but also because our guide was mischievous. He relished in scooping up water with his helmet and pouring it over each and every one of us!

Thankfully, we had a hot meal waiting for us at the end of the ride. Although it was just rice with veggie and chicken, it was really delicious!

After that, on to the next activity – exploring Gua Kandu. Arriving at the entrance, we were aghast at the steep climb down to actually enter the cave. And to think the cave was used by communists years ago! Those guys must be as steady as mountain goats!

If you decide to explore this cave, do get a headlight that you can wear as you will need both hands to climb up and down inside the cave. And wear a scarf around your face if you are sensitive to dust. When we came out, our shoes and outfits underwent a colour change!

Then, it was back to the resort where we really had to scrub to get clean again. Then it was just time to chill and check out the place before dinner. What I enjoyed was the fact that the area was surrounded by shady trees so the air felt cool. We were told there was a fish pond nearby but we were too lazy to explore too far. Mainly, we kept around the leisure area and goofed around.

Dinner was buffet style where we had rice with chicken, fish (from the fish pond), veggie, BBQ corn, beancurd and curry waiting for us. I must confess that I had second helpings simply because the food was good!

Then we had our slumber party… hahaha… there were plans to tell ghost stories but most of us fell asleep pretty quickly. And before I knew it, it was morning again.

And on the menu was breakfast, to be followed by waterfall abseiling. We tucked into a hearty meal of toasts, eggs, sausages, fried beehoon and teh tarik (the real one) and then the guide came.

We were brought to this clearing with trees and the waterfall cascaded into a river. Although not a big waterfall, it still gave me butterflies in my stomach as I thought of abseiling down the falls. I was impressed that the locals kept the area clean and thought the place was beautiful.

And I guess the local inhabitants there (leeches) really loved us as one took the opportunity to make my acquaintance and sucked my blood.

After the safety lecture, we then hiked up (no easy task) and waited for our turn. I would advise going first in your group as the longer you wait, the more nervous you get. I could feel my heart in my throat when I took the first step and tried to lean back so that I am at right angle with the waterfall.

At the end of it though, you get a high that makes you want to do it again. And you can! The guides allow each person two go-s. The second time around, you won’t be so nervous so you can enjoy the water spray and the cool breeze as you hang on a rope and make your way down. Alternatively, you can also choose to soak in the freezing cold water.

All too soon, we were packing our stuff and heading back to the city. Away from the kampong house and the unspoilt beauty of Gopeng. We’ll be back though…