In April this year, fourteen Rover Scouts from the 70th K.L. went down the Perak River on two bamboo rafts. The 70th K.L. consists of former scouts of the 1st K.L. who have completed their Senior Scouting and have left school.

he people had just risen to start another morning when the thirteen of us arrived at the sleepy town of Kampong Karai which is situated beside the Perak River and about two miles from the Iskandar Bridge. Here we spent two days of hard work building two sturdy bamboo rafts for our trip down the Perak River. At our construction site, one could enjoy a serene view of the gentle flow of the Perak River and the mighty Victoria Bridge which spans the wide river; the banks of the river being bordered by bamboo clumps and jungle. At dusk on the second day, our task was completed. Our skins were burnt but our adventurous spirit stayed undaunted. In fact, the solid look of our rafts elevated our thoughts of success and further aroused our fighting spirit. That night we retired with confidence that our rafts - the Marilyn and Nya-ha-ha - would not fail us.

Monday morning was chilly as we loaded our equipment and supplies on to the rafts. There was much to carry from the school where we stayed to the pebble beach below - paddles, food, water and utensils. By eight o'clock, we secured everything and bade farewell to the town folk who waved from the top of Victoria Bridge. As we shoved off, little did we realise that our first obstacle lay no more than a few yards ahead. The water was too shallow and we had to drag the rafts forward for some distance. Finally, we reached deeper waters and started rowing. The sun was up and began to heat up the day. Slowly we rowed and at times, we had to get into the water to push the raft in order to gain speed. All the while the two rafts were always close together. The Marilyn carried seven while the other six. On each raft there was a navigator and also the cook-cum-cabin boy who served us our meals.

Trudging at a slow pace, we finally came in sight of the Iskandar Bridge. A few miles more and we would reach Kuala Kangsar, so we thought. But reaching it was not so easy. There were many sand bars across the river making rowing impossible. Pulling the rafts across them was no simple task especially when the bamboos were scraping the sand. After many such experiences and after passing stretches of silent jungle, we heard the familiar busy sounds of a town once more, at Kuala Kangsar.

We did not stop but rowed on. Occasionally, we came across some kampongs beside the river where the people stared at us with curiosity. Apart from that, the day was uneventful and dull with only distant sounds. By evening, we could hear the awakening of nocturnal insects and animals. But as we could find no suitable landing site we continued rowing. Then a drizzle followed, and ahead lay more sand bars. This, however, did not deter us from venturing on in the darkness till we reached a fishing village, Manong, at about ten o'clock at night. We wanted to land there but we drifted past the jetty without knowing it as it was too dark to see. Finally, we landed at Pulau Semat, about a mile away, on the edge of a mosquito-infested swamp. We were too tired to notice the mosquitoes around us as we turned in for the night.

After a refreshing sleep, we faced another challenging day. Now that we were to be in deep waters most of the journey, we tested our navigating skills. Close to the river banks there were occasional fishing stakes. Instead of avoiding them, we followed the river current and weaved through them. This was exciting but not so for the cook who was brewing tea and pancakes for our breakfast! (If we had collided with one, we might have spilled the boiling tea.) The river water was always filthy and blackish. Somehow we pulled through this because of our closely knit comradeship. At midday we were suddenly distracted by a persistent rumble that echoed through the air. Then we caught sight of the Parit Bridge. We temporarily halted our journey here and hitchhiked to Parit town where we bought some supplies and had lunch It was certainly good to see the busy town life and the food stalls which we missed so much. One more adventurer joined us here.

When we resumed rowing again heavy rain descended, speeding up the river flow. The swift waters enabled us to travel faster. Slowly, we passed the sites of kampongs, until we were alone once more in the middle of the river. Such loneliness in the middle of nowhere could only be broken by our laughter and singing. Mile after mile, both rafts proceeded side by side down the river. When dusk came, it was still raining, but there was nothing better than a hot dinner to cheer up things. By the time we finished our meals, we had drifted into Kampong Paloh. We spent the night at the quarters of a water filtration plant. Here we had a shower, clean clothes and even bunks for a pleasant sleep. It was luxurious!

After snapping some photographs together with the plant's personnel we continued towards our next stop - Kampong Gajah, some twenty miles away. During this day, we had some minor incidents. Somewhere along the way there was a cable stretching across the river. Had it not been for a sharp-eyed navigator both rafts would have run into trouble. Good judgement helped us lift the cable as we glided under. More villages appeared as we rounded the wide meanders. The Perak River grew wider and wider as we journeyed further. Once, we tried to hitch a free tow by a motor sampan. To our dismay it had insufficient power and the Nya-ha-ha was pulled sideways rather than forward. This ended with the Marilyn way ahead of us. Catching up again was a tiring process - all of us had to row hard without stopping. Towards evening, whenever we came across villagers, we enquired about the distance to Kampong Gajah. Each time we received vague and misleading answers - some replied that it was a few miles more, some said many more, while still others said that it was five hours away!

When night fell, we realised that we had left a village way behind. The rafts were allowed to drift with the current, near to the banks but always close together. Through the light from our torches and lamps, we could see trees, plantations and hundreds of insects. We never could guess where that kampong was until we saw a distant glow. By the time we came into full view of it, we realised that the town was already behind us and not in front. So we had to be contented to stop at a steep slope further downstream. That night, some of us stayed on the rafts while the others walked to the Community Hall at Kampong Gajah. (With regret, we point out here that we missed the opportunity to see the tomb of the legendary Tun Perak and the James Birch Memorial in the darkness.)

The next day was our final lap and proved to be most exciting. From here to Telok Anson, villagers warned us of the Ekor Panjang - the crocodile! But we never encountered any along the way. Again, along the way, we missed seeing the tombs of the other Sultans of the Malacca Sultanate era except that of Sultan Mahmud. After we missed Kampong Gajah, we mainly coasted along mangrove swampland. The Perak River meanders here are at least half a mile wide. Moreover, it flows at a very sluggish rate. The main problem of the day, however, was to beat the incoming tide. The Marilyn managed to reach Telok Anson safely while the other raft was caught in the incoming tide. We rowed forward in vain but the tide just carried us upstream again! We were in danger of being carried into the mangrove swamps or up into the Sungei Bidor tributary. However, a motor launch rescued us by towing us to the Telok Anson jetty downstream.

Finally, with our journey completed, all of us gazed once more at the Perak River and swelled with pride at our achievement. People have travelled up and down the river on junks and sampans through the decades, but we made it on rafts. This was one more successful accomplishment for us, one more chapter in our life ....

The V.I. Web Page