The walk up to Semban; village above the clouds. Part III

Part of the trail leading up to Semban village- Pic by Meun

The walk up to Semban village, while painfully slow and tiring for me personally is nevertheless one of the most interesting and rewarding experiences. The trail is a mixture of good jungle, adventure and man’s ability to co-exist with the world around him.
It took our group almost 5 and half hours to arrive at Semban village from the trail head with several stops along the way and a lunch break at a waterfall at Kampung Bojong. Our guide Danny walked much faster than most of us, often leading the way and stopping some meters away to wait for us. As we walked, chatted and marveled at the many things ‘new’ to us.

The bridges along the trail were most interesting. Depending on the width of the area to be crossed as well as flood risks, the bridges range from proper sturdy plank bridges to bamboo bridges hung on two suspended steel wire cables. These hanging bamboo bridges were the scariest for us visitors. I can literally feel my knees wobble and the fact the steel wire cables were anchored to dead trees didn’t help either.

The villagers got together to build/ repair most of the bridges

One of the suspended bamboo bridges- Pic by Meun

Soon, all these bridges will be submerged under water once the dam is completed

The beginning of the trail was relatively easy. It is clear and maintained by the villagers who ply the route almost on a daily basis. Some muddy and slippery walking path has been laid and reinforced with bamboo pieces as well as specially cut logged to help people walk. On certain stretches with steep ledges, the villager’s ingenuity created railings to help keep people safe using just bamboo found in abundance in the area.

The step carved logs really helps

The bamboo steps and hand railings built by the locals

The stops with shade and benches were a definite welcoming sight. With the afternoon sun directly upon us, we took every opportunity to stop and rehydrate ourselves. It is also at these stops that we met some of the locals who are also taking breaks. Some were on their way down with their children while many are making their way up with all sorts of goods, including gas tanks and crates of canned drinks.

A full gas tank making its way up to Semban

Some huts however are more of working sheds. There are several areas we saw been cleared where locals work, especially in harvesting and processing timber for the own use.

A place where locals process timber for use

Planks stacked to dry before use

We stopped for lunch at a waterfall at Kampung Bojong. This according to Danny is the ‘final’ rest before we tackle the ‘stairway to heaven’, a stretch of the trail that is up and up and up. We had a quick lunch and enjoyed a cool dip in the river.

The waterfall offered us a much needed break from the scorching sun

The sun so hot, pieces of river mud rocks literally cracked

Danny’s packed lunch at Bojong waterfall. Awesome stuff

Well, true to Danny’s words, the trail to Semban after the Kg Bojong waterfall break was mostly uphill. Though it was the tougher section of the walk, the trail seems to be much more shaded with trees. I huffed and puffed, many times trying to catch up with Meun and eventually made it to Kampung Semban.