Swimming - Pusat Akuatik Darul Ehsan

Jan 23 (Mon)
It was the first day of Chinese New Year and my back was still in pain.  Carrying my son on my back crossing the river at Sungei Chilling had its toll on me.  I was walking like a robot and could hardly walk straight.  I did my physio work-outs (perhaps I should blog about it too) to alleviate the pain.  It helped a lot as I always did whenever the back pain relapsed. 

I wanted to go swimming as that's the only exercise that I could do in that situation and also it could help further to strengthen my back.  However, the swimming pools were mostly close on Monday for maintenance.

Jan 24 (Tue)
Today, the swimming pool was open.

There are only two public swimming pools in Shah Alam.  I go to both of them; Pusat Akuatik Darul Ehsan (PADE) and MSN Swimming Pool. 

I am only good at breaststroke and I normally do 20 laps in the pool.  I learned to do freestyle but I could never get my feet coordinated.

These days, I go to the pool with my youngest son as I want him to learn swimming and it's for him not to be scared of water.  

However, as I wanted to focus on my swimming and to do 20 laps non-stop I went to PADE alone.

Yup! I did my 20 laps non-stop.  My twitter friend didn't believe that I did that.  My comment was in actual fact, with the right technique, swimming is slightly more tiring than brisk walking!

The operation hours of the pool and it's closed on Monday.

There are four pools in this swimming complex; two outdoor pools (Olympic sized pool and wading pool for children) and two indoor pools (Olympic sized pool and diving pool).  As I was here alone, I opted for the indoor pool.

As for the ticket price, weekends and Public Holidays - RM3.50 for Adult (indoor), Tue - Fri (RM3.00).  Outdoor Pool - RM2.50 (weekends and Public Holiday) and RM2.00 (Tue - Fri).  The ticket counter can also be contacted at 03-5511 1648. 

The toilet facilities used to be very dirty and it was okay now and when it comes to cleanliness I'd rate it as 2.5/5. 

Happy Swimming!

Sg. Chilling Campsite

I haven't been updating this blog for ages.  Somehow the urge to update it hasn't been there.  I still do a lot of hiking activities.  However, there was a long pause during the last monsoon season. 

Just to show that that I still do the hiking activities, I have just been to Sg. Chilling Campsite over the last weekend.  Below is my diary!

Jan 21 (Sat)
It was a busy day for me and I had to say 'No' to a breakfast invitation by a friend.  A plumber was coming to the house and I had to send my wife's car for repair.  By the time, everything was done, it was already 3.00pm.  And I had to rush for last minute grocery shopping before having my lunch and doing my last minute packing.

There were four of us in this trip, my two sons and my elder's son's friend.  We left at about 4pm and it was a mistake! The road was jammed from Sungei Buloh Hospital all the way to the exit of Bukit Beruntung.  My only worry was I didn't want to reach the campsite when it was dark.

We had our dinner at about 8pm and dinner was roast chicken sandwich.  We decided to retire early and it was a good decision and it started to rain at about 10.30pm. It was a heavy rain and it continued for about one hour.  And it rained again the next morning.

Jan 22 (Sun)
We started trekking to the waterfall after having breakfast of scrambled egg, sausage and hot milo.  Due to the heavy rain, the trek became more like small stream.  And I could see that that the water level was high and the current was strong.  Nevertheless, I wanted to give it a go. 

We did the first crossing without any problem at all.  And my eldest son lost one of his slippers in the strong current.  It reminded me of the same incident happened to a friend in my previous trip.  As for my youngest son, I had to carry him on my back to cross the river. 

When we reached the second crossing, a group of 8 trekkers who were ahead of us were struggling to cross by putting up a bamboo across the river.  It helped us as well but I could really feel that the current was strong and a slip could just end up being swept by the current.

I decided not to proceed and turned back as it was too risky to take my children along.  We decided to have fun in the water at the campsite instead.  For my children, they enjoyed themselves there.  That was the important thing.

It was a good trip nonetheless.  We enjoyed the camping despite the heavy rain.  As for me, I had the excuse of not worrying about diet and had those camping foods!

I'll go there again later on this year definitely.

Sungai Chiling - Before Ramadan

Two days before Ramadan, I went to Sg Chiling with a friend and we planned to explore the second and third level waterfalls.   All the while when I went there, we never explored the other levels.  I know that people can go up to the other levels as I saw them up at the second level at one time.  At the last crossing, we didn't cross, instead we hiked up following established trek until we reached the second level.  It was very high and I guessed that the water was deep too.  I don't think people can swim here unless Via Ferrata team of Mount Kinabalu do something about it!  Standing at the edge made feel aerophobic!

After a few snaps on the camera, we went up further to the third level.  Wow, it's just as beautiful. It was raining when we reached here and we took refuge under the trees and at higher ground too.  I have read and seen video of 'ibu air' and I didn't want to take the risk. 

There was another level, a smaller one but it was inaccessible.  We decided to take a dip once the rain stopped.  The water didn't look clear enough that day as the water level was very low.  Nevertheless, it didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves far from people at level 1. 

We left Sg Chiling at about 1pm and on the way back we treated ourselves to a 'durian feast' at Kg. Rasa.  We paid RM7.50 each for the feast of 101 and 'udang merah'.  It was a steal as compared to the price in KL.  We ended the day with the expensive banana leaf rice at Raju's.  Salam Ramadan to all!

Mount Marapi

Gunung Merapi or Marapi is located in Bukittinggi, Padang, Indonesia.  It's an active volcanic mountain and it normally takes about 6 hours to scale to the peak.  It's 2,891m above sea level, therefore the temperature at the peak can be chilly to most people.   It's advisable to wear three layer of clothes with thick windbreaker. 

There were seven of us, 4 guys and 3 ladies and I really looked forward to this trip as this is my first oversea hiking trip.  I have been to other parts of Indonesia but it was never for hiking.  We arrived at Minangkabau International Airport at about 8.30am after an hour flight.  Our tour agent was there waiting for us outside the arrival hall and after short pleasantries,we were taken in a van to Bukittinggi.  It's 4 hours drive from the airport.  Along the way, we stopped for for breakfast, lunch, sightseeing sthat included Rumah Gadang. 

We started hiking at about 11.20pm, local time (past midnight Malaysian time). I was really excited as it was also the first time that I hike at night.  I enjoyed it immensely.    I hiked at night before but it wasn't a complete hiking trip from the base to the peak in one day.  There was night hiking from Laban Rata to Low's Peak in Mount Kinabalu and there was also a trip in Nuang to go to campsite, Kem Lolo.  I find hiking at night as fun and very effective as we are not distracted by the surroundings and no stops for pictures.  After 5 hours of hiking, we reached the last checkpoint called Chadas and we stopped for coffee before continuing with the final push to the peak.  

We were told that it'd take another hour to reach the peak and it turned out it took more than that.  It took us one and a half hours instead.  When we reached the peak, there were already about 10 people there waiting for the sunrise.  It was an awesome feeling upon reaching the peak as the hiking wasn't easy.  The peak was covered with dried volcanic ashes and soil.  It was dusty too as the morning breeze at the peak was quite strong.  I was told there was crater at the other end of the peak but I didn't dare to go as the trail was very narrow and small. 

There were smokes coming out from the caldera.  

This is the mountain opposite of Mount Merapi and it's called Mount Singgalang.  It's not a volcanic mountain and we don't have the intention to come back for this mountain.  This mountain is very common in Malaysia. 

A close look at the caldera!

The trail from the last checkpoint to the peak was full of these volcanic stones and the surface can be very loose.  We were very careful and took it slow at the same time. 

More picture of the caldera.

On the way back, we saw the trail that we took to reach the peak clearly.  It could be dangerous if we were not careful and at some slopes, not only the surface was loose but also steep. It's really not for someone with aerophobia. 

I took the pictures below on the trip back from the peak when we were almost reaching the base.  When it comes to speed, the group was divided into three, the fastest ones completed the trip within 12 hours, followed by 13 hours by those with moderate speed and the slowest with the sweeper completed it within 14 hours.  A few of us swear that they'd never do any more hiking that takes more than 5 hours!

Bukittinggi is about 900 m above sea level.  It's not as cold as Cameron Highlands.  Avocado trees were very common and we saw a lot of them at their backyard.  It was also my favourite drink!  I had avocado juice at all meals except the last dinner. 

This picture was taken at the peak with Mount Singgalang at the background.  Will I come back to this mountain again?  Perhaps not.  There are so many other volcanic mountains in Indonesia and we were already talking about Rinjani, Agong, Batur and Bromo.  We'll decide by early next year!

Leaving for Bandar Udara Internasional Minangkabau

In less than 2 hours, I'll be leaving for LCCT, taking a flight to Padang, Indonesia.  I am excited as this is my first oversea hiking trip.  There are 7 of us, 5 from the same office and another 2 friends from outside.  Our group is made up of 4 Malays, 2 Chinese and 1 Indian.  It's really a muhibah trip. 

Bukit Tabur - 2011

  

I haven't been to Bukit Tabur for a long time.  I don't think I have been there this year.  I decided to go there with a friend a few weeks ago.  When I reached there, there were a group of hikers from Singapore who reached the starting point almost at the same time with us.  Later on I found out that they are related, a mother and a son, her sister and a niece!  I hope I got it right!  I promised that I'd put up our picture together here in my blog!  It's nice knowing you guys.  if you decide to go to Sg. Chilling waterfall, please let me know!

Janda Baik - Waterfall

This trip was just an excuse for me and some friends to have a retreat at Janda Baik.  We were here when we climbed Gunung Nuang a few months ago.  We saw the waterfall, unfortunately we were so tired to enjoy it and we made a promise to come back.  It was also an activity for us to know each other better as majority of us will be climbing Gunung Merapi, Padang in July,  

  

The jungle trekking to the waterfall took about 1 hour 30 mins.  It's the same trail that people use to climb Gunung Nuang.  I don't think there were other people going to Nuang that day.  The trail was quite dry and we had no problem at all to reach the waterfall. 

I didn't realise that the rock formation looked scary in picture.  The water was cool and it felt as though it was just coming out from a fridge! My friends were saying that the water was cooler than that of Sungai Chilling.  The place is really pristine, secluded and untouched.  There were no other people and we had the place to ourselves! We left feeling satisfied after spending about one hour there. 

Tagging along in this trip was our resident 'Herpetologist' or I called him 'ularologist'.  It was his lucky day as we came across this rare baby reptile! 

Apparently, there are more than 5 waterfalls in Janda Baik area.  Perhaps, I'll come here again and again in the search for the other waterfalls!  In the meantime, I am ready for Gunung Merapi and I will start packing this week!