March 29 - Bengoh Dam is located about 40 km away from Kuching and 2 km from Kampung Bengoh, Padawan. Everyone knows a dam functions as a water storage for the states in the foreseeable future, but does everyone know that there are more than just a dam? I went beyond the dam and it was an eye opening experience. Underneath this immense, man made 63 metre of water, there was a few villages beneath. Now, only about a few villages left along the mountainous side of the dam that is mostly populated by the elderly.

One of the villages that I have visited along the dam is called Pain Bojong. To get to the village, I had to cross the dam with a speed boat, which can only fit about 8 people. The boat ride took approximately 30 minutes and was accompanied by a breathtaking view of the vast dam and mountains. The water was so still that I could see the reflection of the skies and mountains on the surface and that was when I realized I was literally in the middle of an extensive surface of water that used to be someone’s village underneath it and the moment was really enthralling. Lives were suddenly uprooted and a dying culture drowned under water for the betterment of our water source.

Upon my reaching at Pain Bojong, I found out that there was no cellphone service at all, which means no Internet for me. I started to wonder if I could live like this as I have never experienced a day without the Internet. The homestay where I settled down has no electricity, clean water supplies are depended on the streams from mountains and rain. The hospitality was really warm and nice though. After everything was settled down, I was brought to a waterfall and the journey took about 20 minutes on the boat. However, to get to the waterfall, I had to trek on some steep, slippery, and rocky surfaces before I got to see the real gem. The waterfall is very pure, unpolluted. The atmosphere is peaceful, with the sounds of birds chirping and the water wildly drifts through the rocks. It was a worthy hike that allowed me to experience the raw beauty of this place.

Spending the night at the homestay was very memorable despite the lack of civilization. Electricity was generated using a manual generator. Everyone involved was communicating, and actually looking at each other’s faces when talking. This is one of the little things that needs to be appreciated when all we do nowadays is having our faces glued to the screens of sophisticated gadgets. The night was serene and was accompanied by the sound of crickets and slow breeze. Maybe this kind of tranquility and simplicity is all we need in our hectic life. The kind of tranquility that can be found beyond Bengoh Dam.

We went hiking today. I say hiking, but it feels more like exploring. My girls and I, all five of us, we were expecting an easy hike. Kind of like a walk-in-the-park hike. But, boy, we were wrong.

The first weird thing we encounter after narrow car path is a cemetery. We weren't really bothered by it. Car parked to the side of the small cemetery facing the sea, we looked around where we were. There was an old jetty, wrecked. Probably by the strong wind, said one of my friends.

Shortly after we walked down the paved road to the beach, another car parked behind our car. And they looked like they wanted to hike, too. Two boys and a girl.

We walked the beach till there was a small body of water blocking our way to the woods. There, we walked, but this time in water. The water reached to our waist, so it was kind of weird, too, as we were not expecting this hike to be like this. Again, we expected a walk in the park.

Past the small body of water we walked a good parameter of the beach till we saw a poor fish out of the water. It barely moved its fins and so we helped it into a small pool the size of a floatie. On our way to find route to the peak, a man walked opposite of us. We asked him where to next, and he told us we would see a steep climb and that there were rope nearby if we walked a bit more. So, we continued walking.

Three strangers hiked before us. They walked past and through the big rocks, then disappeared in the flurry of tall grass. We were stepping on the big rocks when one of us wanted to take five minutes breaks.

We ended up staying on the rocks overlooking a lagoon for brunch.

We had fried noodles and decided to dive in the water. The lagoon was ethereal. The water sparkling and the sound was peaceful and calming. No one was there except the five of us.

The turquoise colored water was inviting so we spent an hour and a half just splashing around and laughing. Photos were taken and videos recorded. Sand is everywhere. Between our toes, slipping inside our pants, stuck in our hair. The taste of saltwater on our lips made it all more real.

We continued our journey to the top and the first step was into the grassy cliffside. First few minutes of our journey took us in a not too adventurous way, but after about twenty minutes of walking it started to get much more steeper. On we walked and hiked through the bushes of tall grass under the unforgiving sunshine.

All seems lost when we could not seem to find a path leading to the top, but a swift look behind gave us the beautiful and glorious sight of the whole lagoon. Its turquoise water and white foams accompanying the waves. The simmering of the horizon and the blue sky, clear as it can be. Again, photos were taken and videos recorded. The hiked was resumed.

We made it to the top. The peak is a single tree with branches bare of any leaf.

Victory was ours, we made it through what was never a path in the first place and we made do with our determination. The sun was directly above our heads now, and now we had to figure out a way down. Back to the cemetery, to our car.

Yet again, on our way down, photos were taken and videos recorded, and we had to make out ways for ourselves. On we hiked and walked in silent and occasional "You okay?" in between huff and gasp. The first tree we encountered on our way down, we took shelter under its shades. The walk from the peak to the tree only took about twenty to thirty minutes. But then we discovered a potential problem.

There is no clear way down. The sides of the hills were adorned with dead leaves and branches. I said dead leaves and branches but it was worse than it sound. They were thorny. It was dangerous going through them. We spent about ten minutes trying to opt for the best way down.

Thankfully, we found one way.

We had to slide down, slowly. All five of us made slowly and carefully. Hanging on to trees along our slide down so we did not trip. We almost made it out of the woods. But then we discovered it was full with pineapples leaves. Those leaves were the only one truly challenge we almost couldn't overcome. They had thorns all over them. Those leaves were long and they swayed with the wind.

We had to chop the leaves, beat it down and walked through it really, really, slowly to make sure there was no scratch decorating our skin.

Of course. We made it through that one, too.

Out of the woods and we stepped onto the sand, again. We made our way to the cemetery and encountered the same fish. It was now swimming a little, and when we touched, it flopped. It was definitely in a much better condition than when we first found it. We then put it in the ocean as the sea level had risen since we came.

The small body of water we had to swim into has risen too. From waist level to mid-back. We swam and made it to our car.

All was well.

In conclusion: this hike was definitely not a walk in the park, but it was absolutely worth exploring.