Kampung Pertak waterfalls trip

Packed my surfboard n life-vest, n was all set for another trip to chilling Pertak Village waterfalls. My YMCA training mates, Shadow n Russell (JRTs) plus Lotus n Empress (Min Pins) tagged along for d ride this time.

At the falls, we were greeted by a pack of > 10 resident dogs belonging to d orang asli (indigenous people) village, laying claim to the turf. They looked pretty mean n tough, so we were very careful bout not stepping on their tails or even making any attempt to sniff their butts … even the JRTs amongst us, me included, decided to put on our best goody two shoes appearance.
At the cold stream, Shadow, Lotus n Empress needed more coaxing to get into doggie paddle mode, but they soon learnt enough strokes to get back onto the river bank on their own. I had my life-vest on so it was much easier for me to get around. Russell was a regular water baby, jumped straight in n was swimming laps around us. He swam here n there n showed off his paddling prowess. He would do very well in water sports but there’s hardly any in this part of the world, so that’s a pity.Think that swimming is best left to dogs who have large legs n big paws, even better if they are webbed. Dogs with long thin legs and nimble paws like mine, are more suited to running on dry ground … swimming isn’t exactly our forte. Nevertheless, I truly relish the splish-splash and damp cooling feeling when soaking by the river or beach. Also attempted mini dock-diving maneuvers by the side to create more splash and noise … to keep the resident dogs at bay.We were soon joined by d orang asli kids who had a ball giving us simulation rides on the surf board. Played games like ‘How many JRTs can you fit onto a surfboard?’, ‘How high can you go on a surfboard?’ Shadow in particular received special treatment and was hoisted in the air, very much like the village head procession.Meanwhile, Russell took on the kids in swimming races. He also spent a lot of time being my shadow, all keen for a race just to get a hold of my tennis ball. Everywhere I turned, he was right there beside me. He is a real character and has a fetish for toys, don’t matter what type of toy … as long as it belongs to another dog, he will want to chomp on it. Guess nobody taught him the 1st commandment in the Dog Bible, ‘Leave thy neighbour’s toys to thy neighbour.’ I tried to and must have spent a good part of the morning growling at him, but it was like talking to the washing machine. Thank goodness, I had my life-vest on or else I would have lost my ball to him permanently.With the kids keeping us occupied, our owners had an easy time stuffing themselves with snacks and cakes. Played till late noon and we had to go. Didn’t have time to check out the rougher swirling waters upstream, but we will be back again for that, no fear.