White Water Rafting and Hot Springs - July 11, 2008

Bright and early is how we started our day off today. In order to be ready for today’s outings, we had to be up at 6am. Despite being so tired, breakfast was filled with excitement for the day’s events: White water rafting and visiting the hot springs. We were supposed to leave UPSI at 7am but for some reason the bus was later and we didn’t end up leaving until 7:45. The ride there, to the river we’d be rafting down, was about an hour. Typically I would wear a bathing suit with short shorts and a tank-top on such an excursion, but since we were are not at home I wore longer shorts and a full on t-shirt. It’s just one of those cultural differences I have to be conscious of everyday.
We arrived at the river just a little after 9. Before we could actually get in, we had a short safety lesson from one of the directors of UPSI’s sports science department. Each of us was also given a heavy-duty lifejacket (PFD), a helmet, and a paddle. Our group was split up into 5 boats. I rode with the other Katie on the trip, 2 professional guides, a Malaysian student from UPSI, and a crazy cameraman who kept yelling “Capsize, capsize!” the entire time. And for some strange reason, the Malaysians found it so interesting there were 2 Katies in the boat with them. They kept saying, “Katie, Katie” and then something in Malay that made them laugh.
The first half of the rafting trip took us over 5 or 6 small rapids. While they weren’t very big or steep, we got soaked almost every time we went over. After each big rapid, our raft would pull off to the side of the river and the professionals would rest and wait for the 4 other rafts following us. I would also like to mention the water felt like Lake Michigan, a little chilly unless you had been sitting in the sun. At one of the drops, we heard whistles being blown, which signaled that someone had fell out of their boat. Sri and one of the other girls, Courtney had capsized and went under the water. As concerning as this should have been, all of us laughed while watching them float down the river with the current. They made it safely back in their boat though and were fine. At the end of the halfway point, we took a small break for a snack and juice. Our group had also stopped at a part in the river that if you walked far enough out into the middle, you could catch the current and float downstream a bit. It was fun to swim and feel how strong the current really was, despite the small size of the river.
The second half of the rafting trip was shorter but the drops and the rocks were a lot bigger. We had to sit in the bottom of the raft rather than the edges to keep from falling overboard. Most of the time I stuck my paddle in my lap and held onto the ropes along the edge of the boat to keep myself inside. In total the entire rafting trip took about 2 ½ hours and was so much fun. I really hope I can do this again sometime at home. And looking back, I think it would be a lot more enjoyable if the guides spoke a bit more English because I would have like to have known what exactly to do with my paddle, and how to maneuver better in the boat. Like most other events our group participates in, we had to take about a million photos before we could get back on the bus.
From the river we drove about 10 minutes to the hot springs in the area. Here there were warm water pools, cool water pools, and a fancy family area with waterfalls, water jets, and swimming area. Our group spent about an hour lazing about in the warm water pool. This was one of the most relaxing things I have done since leaving home. The water was 35 degrees Celsius or about 85 degrees Fahrenheit. It felt so nice to just float, swim under the small falls, and lay at the edge of the pool with the warm water relaxing my muscles after the intense paddling. It amazes me how natural water can be so warm. About 2pm everyone got out, changed into some dry clothes and then went to see the spring hot enough to boil eggs. Seriously, it was that hot. We even bought eggs, put them in a metal basket, and after 6-7 minutes they were completely boiled and ready to eat.
We headed back to the university around 3:30pm but stopped for teatime on the way. At the little restaurant, open air of course, I tried a new dish called gadu gadu that had spicy rice, eggs, and tofu in it. I also tried a drink called ABC. It was shaved ice with ice cream on top, milk, bean rice, and corn on the bottom. This was so yummy! I know it sounds like a strange concoction but for some reason all the flavors really mesh. We arrived back at the dorms around 4:30. I was exhausted from the rafting and hot springs so I decided to take a shower and a nap. The evening ended with dinner at 8 as usual. Since we missed our class time during the day, we had to have a short meeting in our dorm room with our teachers. Most of us spent time working on our readings and daily journals and headed to bed early. I don’t know about everyone else, but it was hard to for me to fall asleep knowing the following day I’d be able to move in with my host family.