Stong Ayam 2010
Cheng Tng for the soul.
Location: Dabong, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia
Date: 24th to 29th April 2010
Remember the adventure playground Quest Zone that used to be at Suntec City when we were kids? Gunung Stong-Ayam reminds me of that, a giant playground set in nature for the kid in every one of us. With flowing water from the waterfalls to splash in, stones of various shapes and sizes to leap over, chains to climb on and interesting trails to navigate, this place allows your inner monkey a chance to show your skills without being too strenuous. There is also a gorgeous view of the sunrise and surrounding town at the campsite. This combination of a physical and mental treat is perhaps why Gunung Stong-Ayam has such a magnetic appeal, drawing many seniors to return to Stong again and again.
Day 1
As per the usual routine, we met at 4pm at Kranji MRT to distribute logistics, before heading off to City Square, Johor Bahru for dinner. We then walked across City Square to board the KTM train towards Dabong at 9 pm. Each of us had a sleeper cabin in the train, and an overnight ride in the train was more restful compared to an overnight journey in the bus.
Day 2
After an 11 hour train ride, we arrived at Dabong station at 6am. There was a little tea shop there where we had breakfast of nasi lemak, and changed into trekking attire while waiting for the guides to arrive to drive us to the resort where we would start our trek to Baha Camp.
We met up with our 3 guides, who turned out to be very friendly and helpful over the course of the trek. We took on the more challenging waterfall route (compared to the forest trail) up to Baha camp. There were some steep slopes, but it was still manageable with many rest points. Trekking on the wet, rocky terrain offered a different experience from trekking the forest trail, and it requires some agility and good grip. (:
We had lunch on the go, and reached Baha campsite slightly after lunch. The campsite was spacious with good access to water as it was next to the river. After setting up camp, the groups had a good amount of time to begin cooking dinner. For once, dinner was cooked under daylight and without the use of headlamps!
Day 3
We set off for Gunung Ayam summit from the campsite at 8.30am. The trail was narrow and undulating, with several steep ascents and descends. At 9am, we hit our first water source, the Chain River, and stopped to take some group photos.
We then passed through an area known as Logs camp because of the many fallen trees and big logs that we have to climb over. By 9.45am, we reached a rest point with a hut. At 10.45am, we reached a second water source known as Baha’s river.
On the way up, one of our trekkers got stung by an unknown insect, and developed a severe allergic reaction. Since she was unable to continue trekking, she returned to the campsite. We reached Baha’s summit at 1pm, and had a 20 minute lunch break there. From Baha’s summit, we reached a 3rd water source in 20 minutes’ time. This water source is only reachable after a 5 minute walk down a steep slope. Although it is a stagnant pool of water, we drank from it after adding Puritabs.
With quick paces, we managed to reach Gunung Ayam summit in 30 minutes from the 3rd water source. Yay!
We then returned to Baha Camp using the same path, and managed to reach back around 7pm. The trek to Gunung Ayam was more challenging compared to trekking up to Gunung Stong, and the trekkers started to show signs of being tired out at the end of the day.
Day 4
We woke up to cook ourselves a sumptuous breakfast on the rocks, to the backdrop of a gorgeous sunrise.
When given a choice between trekking up to Gunung Stong or taking a shorter “survival trail” with an introduction to the floral and fauna by the guides, most chose the latter. Hence, we decided not to summit Gunung Stong, and went on the “survival trail”. The trail was narrow, with many logs that we had to cross, and overgrowing foliage. Along the way, the guides pointed out interesting local plants and animals.
We stopped by a larger waterfall that was located higher up, and played there.
The route back to the lower waterfall nearer to Baha campsite, the Princess Pool was interesting, with obstacles such as a small cave that we passed by.
We then stopped at the Princess Pool, and played for an hour in the pool with the natural slides.
After spending 1 hour in the princess pool, at around 2pm we started to pack up. After 2 hours of packing and clearing of camp site, we descended using the forest trail which was around 2 hours away from the resort. Descending was difficult for some as the path down was steep, and covered with leaves. Many slipped as a result. On hindsight, it was a good thing that the weather was fine, for descending the steep slope that would have been made slippery and muddy under bad weather would be even more challenging.
We reached the resort around 5.45pm and all of us had time to bathe and change. At around 6.45pm, the first 3 groups were sent to the restaurant to place order for their food and to chope seats for the 2 other groups.
We had dinner at a local shop selling Thai-Malay cuisine 10min away from the resort where the guides brought us. As the food was cooked plate by plate, and served to each table according to the table no. it took a long while before the last of the dishes were served. After waiting very long for the receipts for payment for our dinner, we headed to Dabong train station which was 5 minutes away. At 11.10pm sharp, our train to JB arrived. We reached JB at 9.40am the next day and were dismissed from there. Each of the groups went ahead with to have their own breakfast in City square or in the vicinity.
