Geography Trip to Gua Kandu, Perak

When they said that we were visiting a cave, we weren't expecting to be climbing, crawling and clutching onto ropes, hanging on for dear life.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened.

Gua Kandu

HELLO AND GREETINGS, LOUBRITRI READERS!

It is us again, and we're back with another adventure story, this time, of our unforgettable experience at Gua Kandu, Gopeng, Perak.

This year, the geography department of our school decided: "What better way to make the students learn about limestones and caves than to visit one themselves?" So a trip was organised for all the Year 8 students that would be carried out on the 2nd of September. 

Originally, it was planned to be a day trip to Gua Tempurung, a cave located in Gopeng, Kampar District, Perak.  It is popular among spelunkers, or cave enthusiasts. Being more than 3 km long, it is one of the longest caves in Peninsula Malaysia! Part of it has been developed as a show cave with electric lighting and walkways, so we thought: "This is going to be SOOO chill because there are nice walkways for us to follow."

Gua Tempurung (image from Google)

But OH HO HO HO how wrong we were, because we didn't go to the nice, beautifully well-lit Gua Tempurung, but to the muddy, dust filled Gua Kandu. 

"Why the sudden change?" you might ask. 

Well, unfortunately Gua Tempurung had to be temporarily closed down for construction work so we had no choice but to switch locations. We were excited nonetheless and couldn't wait for the day to come. So to Gua Kandu we went!

Random scenery

On the 2nd of September, all the students of Year 8 arrived early to school as we had to board the bus early to reach our destination in time before they closed the entrance. (You can't enter after 11 a.m, we were told) We lined up according to our groups, ranging from groups 1 to 10. LouBriTri was in no luck that day as we were not placed in the same groups. Nonetheless, we had classmates and friends from our respective groups and still had an amazing time. Some of us even managed to make some new friends and get acquainted with new people, which was quite surprising as we lack greatly in the socialising department.

(Bridget fooling around)

The long 2 and a half hour bus journey to Perak was filled with laughter and entertainment. Whether it was prodding our friends while they were sleeping or sharing chips with the entire bus, it was full of fun :) There were televisions in some of the buses, so movies were played to keep us entertained. (Though, about 60% of the people were sleeping in the bus :D)

As the clock ticked 10.30, we had arrived at our destination. With that, we descended off the bus and got ready to enter the cave. Bags were arranged, bread was consumed, torches were taken out and a wild chatter brewed.

Taking one last sip of water, we headed on our journey to the cave. Little did we know, we would be extremely dehydrated during our climb and not have any liquids with us as we weren't allowed to carry our own water bottles in (-_-)

The cave itself?
All I can say is: be ready to step in mud, get cave dust everywhere and scratch yourself on rocks, because BOY THAT PLACE IS EXTREME. (unfortunately LouBriTri did not bring their cameras in to film the INTENSITY and the EXTREMENESS of the cave)
*cough* *cough* we, LouBriTri, are not really athletic people so *cough* *cough* It was indeed an INTENSE and EXTREME 4-HOUR experience for us. Yup... 

During our little adventure in the cave, we had to look down on the ground so we didn't slip, while looking on top of our heads so we wouldn't bang our skulls on low rocks. Mind you, it wasn't an easy task because we had only one torch in hand (per person) in a completely dark place, so a choice had to be made as to where the light should be shone (Bridget didn't even have a torch so you can imagine what she got herself into)

WORD OF ADVICE: If you ever visit, Gua Kandu: BEWARE OF MUD PUDDLES. Not only do they make your shoes a mess, but they can potentially make you slip and we don't want any concussions happening in there.

Some parts were this low (image from Google)

Doesn't look hard but man, it was (image from Google)

There were even some parts of the cave where we had to climb a few metres down or up with the help of ropes. To be honest, it was quite scary. Especially so when the rangers told you that you could break a few bones if you put your foot on the wrong rock which could cause you to fall and hit the cold, hard ground.(Talk about pressure.) The climbs definitely weren't easy but it made you feel a sense of accomplishment once you reached the ground because hey, you didn't break any bones. :D

Because there were so many people (240 over students, if we remember accurately) that had to climb through the cave, it took very long for everyone to finish, especially because each course had to be done one by one. In addition, we had to wait for the people at the back to finish before we could move on. At one point, groups 8, 9 and 10 had to wait at one spot for about 30 minutes because everyone else hadn't caught up yet and there were no rangers in sight to guide us where we had to go next.

At about  3 in the afternoon, we finally saw sunlight after having spent 4 hours in darkness. Ahhh the complete feeling of bliss.

I think at that point, half of us were half dead and feeling like zombies because: 1) Tiredness 2) Thirst 3) Hunger.

Ultimately, reaching the exit of the cave became our only goal and lunch became our prize.

Bri exploring the surroundings

The highway on the journey back

All in all, even though it was tiring and frustrating at times, it was an incredible experience  that we couldn't have had a chance to try if the school hadn't decided to bring us there. (Because let's be honest, no one would go climb a cave unless someone forced you to.)

We are sure none of us would forget this trip any time soon and the memories of having to climb up and down rocks will remain for a long time to come.

Amazing experience?
LOU:Yes! Apart from almost falling and slipping a few times, everything was great.
BRI: Of course!
TRI: Well... 'amazing' would be a understatement. Maybe amazingly frustrating or frustratingly amazing...?

Would I ever do it again? 

LOU: Sure, I mean why not? This time maybe with water prepared though. Definitely don't want to go through that feeling of dehydration again.
BRI: Definitely! I would like to try out another cave with more of a challenge.
TRI: Maybe in another life. Otherwise, I think my answer is a definite 'no'.

Conclusion: Bri and Tri are exact opposites.

As the sun descended down the skyline, we headed back to school. And soon enough, each and every one of us were back in our homes.

The next day of school was filled with buzzing about the trip and how each of us thought about it. And most importantly, how much our bodies ached after the strenuous exercise. Needless to say, we weren't very energetic that day. We're pretty sure three quarters of the our grade had become zombies. :/

Well it seems that is all for our little adventure in Gua Kandu, Perak. We hope you had a fun time reading this post and we'll be back soon! Farewell for now!

xxLouBriTri