Kanching Falls

Kanching is in Rawang, less than an hour from Kuala Lumpur, and I still find that a bit hard to believe. You walk in, and within a few minutes the city just stops. Trees, a stream, that's it. We turned up at 10am the first time, which was dumb. No parking. We sat around waiting for a space like everyone else on a weekend. Entry was RM5 each and RM5 for the car, at least when I went, so have some cash on you. There are seven levels of falls, one above the other, and you pick how far you're willing to go. The bottom three are so easy that people just set up a picnic next to the water and stay there. Level four is where the stairs start, and that's where I started puffing. By five and six you can finally see the waterfall properly, so out came the phone. Then seven. You walk right up and stand under it, and the water pressure is ridiculous, like a massage you didn't ask for. I loved it. The whole climb took me about half an hour, some of it dirt path and some of it steps, and the higher you go the more it turns into rocks and jungle track. Not hard, just a bit of a workout. There are pools all the way up, so I'd climb a stretch, jump in, cool off and climb some more. Very good system. Funny thing is, my favourites were three and four, not the top. About the monkeys Everybody warns you about them. They steal bags, they steal food. So for that whole trip I walked with one hand clamped on my bag and my eyes on the trees, like a bodyguard. Last month I went by myself and they didn't look at me once. Typical. Going alone That trip I only did the staircase section. My legs weren't up to more, and heading up the rough part on my own didn't seem like a great idea anyway. I didn't mind. It was green everywhere, the stream was noisy in a nice way, there was a proper breeze, and the sun came through the leaves onto the water. I sat there for ages. There are toilets, and you can have a shower for 50 sen. Bring dry clothes and a towel, because you will get in. And a bottle of water. Go before ten.