This is Annah Rais hot spring in Kuching. Please be warned that the
“Hot Spring” sign is pointing the wrong way. The correct route is not
straight through, as the sign would lead you to believe, but on the
turning to the left into Kampung Annah Rais. It’s the third bridge
after you make the turning, there’s no other signage to indicate that
there’s a hot spring here.
It’s one of the best kept secrets here…not many people actually
know about this place. We had a hell of a time finding it too, we
aborted the trip last Saturday due to other commitments, but we were
dead set to find the damn hot spring this Sunday. The picture above
shows the trail that leads there…there is no parking, basically you
just park beside the road and walk down that unmarked route.
You shall behold this sight when you reach the actual hot spring:
It’s a running river that seems cold, until the party that was just
leaving informed us that the “hot spring” is a little nook opposite the
river. There’s the obligatory Caucasian in the photo – he’s from
Amsterdam and he came with the group of tourists.
This is the view of the running river. It’s quite shallow and has a
moderate current which would carry you downstream if you float on the
water – very nice. Here’s a photo of the actual hot spring pool:
It’s basically a warm nook by the river surrounded by rocks. The
water and sand is truly hot, as I unfortunately found out when my
gonads came into contact with the hot spring. There are some places
where it’s extremely hot and there are bubbles and a smell of sulfur
permeating the area.
It’s fun to dig up the sand and see the contrasting colors of the
rocks. It gets hotter when you dig deeper. There are some parts which
are visibly bubbling in the hot spring:
We thought it’ll be nice to bring some eggs and bury it into the hot
spring sand and eat it later, but we forgot to bring eggs.
Nevertheless, it’s nice to soak in the hot spring and then switch to
drifting afloat in the cold river while blissfully sedated. Highly
recommended, it’s about 70+ km from Kuching. Here are some other shots
from that day:
OMG, the goo has got my leg!
Please do not attempt this unless you want to decrease your chances of producing offspring.
Ah Ming
Miriam
Ah Lung
