Malaysia Week~ ULU PERAK

I was sitting on the edge of my seat on the bus, because today we would find out what Malaysia Week site we were assigned to. I hoped that I would be able to go with one of my best friends. When we arrived at school, I was so excited. YES! I was going to Ulu Perak, with Riley!!! So a week before departing, we had boat family challenges. My boat family was Kaleigh, Elisabeth, and Casey. The first xchallenge was that we had to make a stable and tall structure, using newspaper! They would judge you depending on the height. We came 2nd. Then you had to find a way for everyone to get across the room and back without touching the floor. We came 1st! Then we had to pick up garbage. We came second. The packing was the hardest part! They gave us a one and a half foot bag and wanted us to pack for 5 days!!! In the end I got everything in! The bus ride up was six hours. Then we hiked for three hours and fourty five minutes. Our time beat the previous times, so that night we celebrated with MILO.

The next day we woke up to the sound of the river. When Lala got up, she had a leech right under her nose! We got up, packed our bags, and gave them to the hikers, who would hike with them to the next campsite. We got with our boat groups and were given the names of 5 pairs of guides. Mine were Nanyang and Gas. Then we had to come up with a creative theme song and name. M group's name was The Blue Punishers (don't ask...) and our theme song went to the tune of, row row row your boat. It goes, "Raft with Nanyang and Gas, roughly down the rapids, if you fall out of the boat don't forget to SCREAM! *scream*" When we presented it to the guides, ours came third. The days following were also like that, with the olympics on day three. The rafting was the BEST!! We went down level 5 rapids on day two, three and four.

On day two, Say Yr Prayers, a boat group, had a scary moment. Riley and Carmen were sitting on the left side of the raft, and when their boat hit the rock, they were carried down the river, on a heavy current. From my position, I could see their heads from the water. Why weren't the guides jumping in to rescue them?? Where are the safety lines??? Somebody help them!!! Riley was being dragged along by the current. Carmen had reached the shore safely, but where was Riley?? Then I saw her, she was about five feet away from a level six drop. She was franticaly trying to swim to shore, but she couldn't reach. So Carmen jumped in the water, and swam out to Riley and dragged her back to shore. Riley was shaking like a terrified kitten and Carmen was silently weeping.

My trip to Ulu Perak was truly memorable, and I had the best time! I learnt that you have to communicate in those situations.