It was a hot sweltering afternoon when we reached the Sungai Serai Hotsprings. The air was still and heavy. The sun blazed mercilessly atop our heads. The natural hotsprings pool was visible from the main road. We parked our vehicle by the ample parking space by the road side and trudged wearily towards a Chinese man sitting underneath a shady tree. 

He was dressed only in shorts. Numerous droplets of sweat dotted his pink face, arms and torso. Apparently, he had just immersed himself in the clear water pool that appeared brown due to its muddy bottom. Two others – a man and a woman – were on the other side scooping pleasantly warm water from a hot spring well onto their bodies. Once their bodies were nicely warmed up, they proceeded to dip themselves in the natural clear water pool.

Tempted by the inviting pool, we quickly followed suit – pouring the warm water from the well onto our legs before stepping in gingerly into the natural pool. 

It was almost unbearably hot! We grimaced and stood stock still in the knee-deep pool until our poor legs adjusted to the temperature. 

“It’s not hot enough to boil eggs, so don’t worry,” said the Chinese man as he drank big gulps of bottled water. “Just make sure you don’t soak in the hot water too long and drink lots of water after that to hydrate yourselves.”

Once we got used to the water’s high temperature (it felt about 40 degrees Celsius), we slowly made our way to the plastic chairs peppered in strategic spots all over the pool and sat there. 

My friend who was suffering from a bad cough claimed that he felt better after 5 minutes of soaking his feet in the water. His nasal passages were cleared and he could breathe better. All of us felt our soreness of our leg muscles being eased away by the heat of the water. Needless to say, just being in the tranquil and scenic place with so few people around was a rejuvenating experience for us all.   

According to the Chinese man, a local Haji owned the place and opened it to the public for free. When we passed by the hot springs later in the evening, the place was packed with people. And more cars were still trying to find spaces in the parking lot. Such is the case when good things come free.

What a contrast it was compared to our quiet and serene dip earlier in the afternoon!