Chasing Waterfalls [Outdoors, Malaysia]

I mislike the outdoors very much, but if I were to have my way, I'd hole up in my apartment together forever with my internet and have nothing to blog about except my reactions to tumblr posts. I suffer thusly for art, youguyzzz. 

The worst part about the outdoors, apart from itself as a whole, is the heat. I can't even. How do you enjoy anything in the discomfort of sweat gluing your outfit to your body and the humidity frizzing up your hair? No. 

Sometimes, though, it's worth the complaining when you behold nature. This waterfall, for instance, shut me up. I was like a bratty, complainer child shushed by that angry adult my parents would warn me about ("If you don't stop right this moment, I'll have Auntie XY come over and snap you in two."). How angry it was. Like a caged animal being watched by idiot humans in a zoo. 

This is the Chamang Waterfall in Bentong, Pahang, where friends and I went on an unplanned trip a few weeks ago. Part of our non-organized itinerary was the hanging bridge opposite this waterfall, the first one I've seen IRL and actually crossed back and forth. My legs were jelly. 

Not in picture: the wobbling caused by a sudden strong breeze (it rained as soon as I started walking on it, of course), and the missing wood planks through which you could see the rushing river below in preparation for your death.

This isn't a bad place to go to for some change of scenery if that's what you're looking for: there's places for people to sit and have a picnic, and you can also dip into the waters to cool off. I did none of that – I just wanted to get back into the airconditioning of the car. 

On our way back to KL, we made a short stopover at the Berjaya Hills, a kind of resort/retreat area way up in the hills. The drive up was horribly zig-zaggy (I counted 114 sharp turns from the main road to our destination) and it was nauseating, so be prepared. There's an RM 12 (USD 2.50) entrance fee for adults. One of the main attractions was the Japanese Tea Garden & Botanical Garden, where I tried my best to keep the complaining to a minimum, because it was so pretty. 

Tea houses and spas dotted this expanse of greenery with natural zen water things. 

It's a very tourist-y place – you can borrow Japanese kimonos to wear for your photos while standing next to the costumed "Japanese" people (local employees, really), and there's a tea ceremony you can pay RM 25 (USD 6.50) to witness. We didn't, but I could tell it was frightfully boring. 

The main attraction was the French village, which is a bunch of "medieval" French houses in bad paint jobs. Inside the houses were over-priced western/Malaysian restaurants. The only thing that attracted my attention were the swans. 

Because I'd never seen swans IRL before. They're adorable – they make "meep meep" noises and like to photo-bomb.

But then these assholes decided to cut a tree and let it fall right into their pond. WTF. 

We walked around for a bit and enjoyed the view, because it did give a lovely view of the city, but that's it. It's worth a visit if you're in town, and it's not that expensive, considering it's a tourist spot. 

I'm horrible at blogging about outdoorsy stuff. Thank you for reading.