DIARY OF SMALL HIKER

Tanjung Tuan Forest Reserve

2012-02-07T07:39:00.000+08:00

I've been to this place and it was for raptor watch last year. I was here again during the long weekend break for camping and jungle trekking. Before leaving, I checked the PLUSTrafik Update and found out that the traffic was slow moving on PLUS highway to Seremban and I decided to drive here using the old road instead, passing through Bandar Enstek and Sepang. I enjoyed the road trip!

We were on the west coast of Malaysia but we couldn't see the sunset as this place was located in a bay area facing the east side. Nevertheless, the weather was good and I enjoyed the sunrise instead.

This campsite was well maintained and it has the basic facilities including gazebos, toilet and kitchen. However, we have to inform the management if we want to use these facilities. I didn't inform them and in fact I entered the area without registering. As for fresh water, there's a well that supplies clean fresh water. It was so clean, we can drink the water straight. I didn't dare to try though.

I was here for one night only. I could hardly sleep as it was warm inside the tent. It was cool outside the tent but then there were a lot of mosquitoes and sand flies.

After breakfast of scrambled egg and sausage, we packed our things and put them in the tent before starting our jungle trekking. The trek was right at the end of the campsite, near the well. The trek led us to the Tanjung Tuan Light House and it took us about 20 minutes. We stayed there for a few minutes before heading to Pulau Intan.

The above picture was taken near Pulau Intan and apparently this was one of the areas where it's not muddy. I should've taken a dip here instead. We met a few campers here and apparently they brought in their fresh water from outside. It was a nice spot but I prefer the proper campsite with fresh water supply.

Upon reaching the campsite, we took a dip into the sea, it was a short one as it was muddy and I felt so 'geli' and not comfortable stepping on mud. After a shower from the well, we left by using the trek along the beach. It was another experience by itself and this route is only accessible during low tide. By the time we reached the parking lot, it was past noon and it was rally time for lunch.

I enjoyed this trip as though I was here for the first time and I'll come back here again and again.

Swimming - Pusat Akuatik Darul Ehsan

2012-01-28T17:33:00.000+08:00

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

2012-01-23T07:58:00.000+08:00

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

2011-08-06T07:33:00.001+08:00

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

2011-07-17T07:15:00.001+08:00


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

2011-07-09T03:43:00.002+08:00

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

2011-06-28T08:39:00.000+08:00

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

2011-06-26T22:36:00.000+08:00

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!

Gunung Berembun

2011-05-22T06:18:00.000+08:00


Gunung Berembun is located at Cameron Highlands. Peaked at 1,836m above sea level, it normally takes about three hours to reach the summit. We used the trail labeled as Jungle Walk No. 6 located right behind Kem Sungai Pauh. The mountain is quite high but why doesn't it take long to reach the summit? The answer is Cameron Highlands itself is an elevated land that is 1,500 meters above sea-level. If that was true, we only climbed for about 300 meters? Yup! The next question; but then if it was only 300 meters why did it take so long to reach the summit? The answer to that is the height doesn't matter much but the distance to reach the summit that matters. The first CheckPoint; Persinggahan LBT is about 2 km from the campsite!

I had a good sleep after popping in panadol and piriton due to sneezing. The dusty tent must have caused me to sneeze incessantly. I never got the time to clean the tent, after using it, I folded it and put it in my backpack and it stayed there until the next camping trip! The temperature must have dropped to 15 ˚C that night , it was cold and the sleeping bag helped me a lot to stay warm! It was a sunny day when we started hiking at 8.30am. The signboard at the entrance stated that the journey to reach the peak was 3 hours. We were ready for that with enough snacks and water. And we left after a breakfast of burnt pancake!

After going through muddy traps at the beginning of Jungle Walk no. 6, we were welcomed by breath taking view of the forest. It was unlike any other forest area that we have been, we had the feel of being in high country with cool climate. Any of our pictures may not be able to depict the beauty of the forest area. We felt as though somebody had laid out carpet for us to walk on as the ground was covered with dry pine leaves. However, the same feeling was gone when we came down as the dry leaves can be slippery!

This picture was taken at Persinggahan LBT, the first Check Point, about 2 km from the campsite. It was also the end of Jungle Walk No. 6. We didn't know that Persinggahan LBT was a Check Point with good facilities to rest, about 10 minutes before that we took our first 'take five' that lasted about 10 minutes. On the way back, we stopped here again and we met a Caucasian couple. They were already thinking of going back using Jungle Walk No. 6 (to Mardi) but we convinced them to go up the peak of Gunung Berembun. When it rained upon reaching the campsite I wondered how they were like trekking in the rain!

Yes, it was only 3 hours but the trails were challenging too. When we saw this window of light, we were excited as we thought the summit was just around the corner! Our excitement was short-lived as the summit was no where in sight and it was just a false peak!

When we reached this area, again, we thought that the summit was just around the corner. And this time, we were right, the summit was just about 5 minutes away.

We reached the summit in 2 hours including a 10 minutes 'take five' in between. Yes, another mountain conquered and a lot more to go! From here we had a good view of Cameron Highlands (not sure which side though) and the temperature was slightly cooler even though it was already bright and sunny. We rested for about 30 minutes by having snacks and taking a lot of pictures! As usual, going back was faster and we completed the journey in less than 4 hours.

At the peak I saw this trail, it seemed heading to another mountain that I had no idea what it was! And I wasn't ready to explore either as we had other plans at the campsite!

As a summary, if someone were to ask me, how difficult it is to climb Gunung Berembun? It wasn't a walk in the park but it was close, perhaps slightly more challenging. And I don't mind to come here again with my colleagues!

Kem Sungai Pauh

2011-05-17T09:10:00.002+08:00

How to Get There?

It's located in Cameron Highlands, inside the compound of Jabatan Hutan Cameron Highlands. To those who are familiar with Cameron Highlands, the exit from the main road is at Smokehouse Guest House. Upon taking the exit, you will pass Telekom Malaysia building until you reach a small round about. Take a 3 o'clock turn and drive down until you see Jabatan Hutan at the corner. Upon entering, you will pass through a security booth. Drive further inside by taking the first left turn until you reach a dead road where you can park your car.

The place can be quite popular during weekend, therefore it's advisable to call them first to check whether there's any spot left at the campsite. I was busy at the office and forgot completely to call them before going there. Yet, I was lucky as there were not many campers at that time.

We parked the car right at the entrance of the campsite. The entrance fee is RM5. However, they never came to collect the money from us and we left without paying. The parking area is just in walking distance, therefore it's okay if you were to bring along of stuffs.

The campsite is furnished with the basic amenities like toilet, shower room, surau, gazebo and BBQ area. The water from the tap is supplied from the mountain, therefore it's freezing cold. You must be adventurous to stay here otherwise you'd end up complaining there was no hot shower! Unfortunately, the cleanliness of the toilet is not up to the mark. The doorknobs were gone and the toilet flush was not working too. It's also advisable to bring a lot of bottled water, the water can be dirty when it rains!

One of the many gazebos located at the campsite. The water from the stream may not be as cold as those from the tap. However, it's still freezing cold. Nevertheless, I took a dip in the water in the morning before leaving for KL.

The campsite was lighted at night so it's okay if you don't bring your torchlight. And you can bring along your handphone charger too as the power sockets are available at some gazebos and in the surau.

It can be chilly at night especailly when it rains. Don't forget to bring along your sleeping bag. Blanket may not be thick enough!

This is the BBQ area. Please bring along your charcoal and portable stove. It was funny as I bought my portable stove and gas but I forgot completely to take it out from my car. We ended up buying new stove. I am not a regular coffee drinker, but I must say when I had my coffee there it tasted so good. Must be the weather!

This is the bridge that links the campsite and the amenities area.

We were here as we planned to climb Gunung Berembun. The trails were located right at the back of the campsite and it's labeled as Jungle walk No. 6.

I will talk about Gunung Berembun in my next entry!

Gunung Bunga Buah

2011-04-25T04:34:00.002+08:00

When a friend in FB invited me to this trip, I clicked 'Attending' without much hesitation, after all I had nothing planned on the same date and I have never been to Gunung Bunga Buah. After a few messages, we decided that we'd meet immediately after the first Karak toll in Gombak. In FB, there were 4 of only who clicked 'Attending', however, after breakfast I was told there was a group of 20 odd hikers joining us. They had already parked their cars while we had our breakfast. True enough, there were 31 of us after the final headcount. 31 of us of various fitness levels! It was a big group and we expected that a few of us might not make it to the peak. We started at 9.00am and everyone was told to turn back at 2.00pm regardless where their locations were at that time. Otherwise, they might not make it to the entrance under the sunlight!

I read at one time that the access to the mountain was blocked as the land belonged to GohTong family. I am not sure whether we were still using the same entrance. The entrance that we used was just behind a row of shop houses at Gohtong Jaya. We had to trek through vegetable farms before we started with the first ascend. It was a steep slope and it took us about 20 minutes to reach the first checkpoint. Joining the trip was a 12 year old girl who reminded me of my daughter when she was of the same age. I helped her especially at some steep trails. It had been raining non-stop a few days before that, therefore the trails were wet and slippery.

After the first stop, we continued the journey along the old Genting road. The road was already abandoned and inaccessible even by 4WD. It took about 45 minutes before we reached the 'real' entrance to the jungle! On the way back, we felt that the same road was longer and tougher. To a certain extend, it reminded me the never ending trails of Nuang.

This is a 'must' place for photo opportunity as there is cliff at the background. It was foggy as it was still early in the morning and we didn't get to take that many good picture as the cliff was covered by fog.

Typical wild orchids that can be seen on other mountains like Gunung Besar Hantu!

The typical trails all the way up! The trails were almost as tough as Nuang. Some said it was tougher. At one point, there was a checkpoint that reminded me of Gunung Tahan! Like Nuang, there was a false peak too, It was stunning view from here. A few of us couldn't make it to the peak and they stopped here at the false peak! We were told that the distance to the peak was about 20 minutes or 'sebatang rokok' and it turned we had to trek for another 45 minutes! After the false peak, the trails were rocky like Bukit Tabur for about two hundred meters.

I made it to the peak after a 3 and half hours of hard work. I thanked my friend who invited me and told him that I made it somehow, he replied 'You're most welcome, friend. Some even say this was tougher than Nuang! And you didn't make it "somehow", it was with plenty of strength, pails of sweat, and with enough determination and resolve! Pat on the back for you! And all those who attempted as well! And the weather was very kind to us - beautiful clouds, cool winds ... and best of all, no leech bites . . . although the few that were sighted were knocked out with Mosi-guard!!!'. Thank you again, Henry! I found out later on the way back that the 12 year old girl made it to the peak too. Congratulations!

Crawly creature that we saw just on the way out of the jungle!

I was dragging my feet back and the 'never ending road' seemed longer and I could feel the pain from my recent slip disc. It was still there and it hasn't recovered as yet. That was the reason I said to Henry that I made it 'somehow' as I really had to struggle more as compared to other people who had no medical condition. Anyway, my slip disc wasn't a severe one and it doesn't stop me from doing all my physical works, except it has slowed me a bit!

On the way back, I stopped over at Gombak R&T to clean myself and to pray. Unfortunately, there was no shower room here for me to bathe. I took the opportunity to take the picture of Bukit Tabur. Yup! It used to be my favorite hiking place. And then I got my slip disc. That was the end of Bukit Tabur being my favourite hiking spot! Well, I think I am ready soon! I will make it there before leaving to Merapi!

RAPTOR WATCH - TANJUNG TUAN

2011-04-05T22:24:00.000+08:00

We were here in Tanjung Tuan by the invitation of our PD friends and Malaysian Nature Society to enjoy raptor watch. Raptor watch is an annual event organised by Malaysian Nature Society to raise awareness on these preying birds that are migratory in nature. They make a stop in Tanjung Tuan while waiting for the cold weather in the northern hemisphere to end and when the winter is over, they will fly back home to their habitat . These birds come from as far away as Siberia.

The exhibition for Raptor Watch was held at Ilham Resort, just by the seaside facing Straits of Malacca. Most people went inside Tanjung Tuan Wildlife Sanctuary to see the preying birds. Armed with their 2 feet long lenses and DSLR, these people hiked up the tarred road to the lighthouse to wait for that opportunity to snap the picture of the preying birds. As for us, we were there not only to join the raptor watch but also to do jungle trekking along the many trails of Tanjung Tuan Wildlife Sanctuary.

It was a busy day for me, I dashed home immediately after attending a wedding reception of nieces in law (two of them at one reception!) and prepared the meal to bring along for the trip. It was a simple chicken bolognese spaghetti that was ready in less than one hour. The trip to PD took about 1 hour 40 minutes from Subang Jaya. When we reached there, there were already huge crowd, some of them leaving the area after a few hours of raptor watch. From the parking lot at Ilham Resort, it took us about 25 minutes to reach the campsite. Each one of carried at least two bags consisting dinner, tent, water, etc. The campsite was large enough to accommodate 60 campers and I got the tent ready in no time at all and there was god supply of fresh water from a well nearby.

I thought we were facing the west and expected to see sunrise. Much to may surprise, we were facing the east at a lagoon area and I was delighted to see sunrise the next morning. I slept in my tent and was restless the whole night. I am always restless, tossing and turning in the tent when I go camping. That's why I always try to avoid camping.

The light house here in Tanjung Tuan is known as the oldest in Malaysia. From the raptor watch exhibition, we walked all the way up to the light house. From here, we followed the trail down to the beach.

We were supposed to follow our PD friends for cliff climbing but we changed our mind and we ventured out on our own. Upon reaching the beach area, I decided to trek along the rocky beach to go to the campsite. It was a fun thing to do but I opted for the land trail after a while considering it turned out to be tough for my female colleagues.

This is the cliff that I'd climb one of these days!

We reached back the campsite about noon and after a long rest, we went back to our car. It was an enjoyable experience for all of us. It was the first time camping for some of us. Personally, I don't mind to come back again for camping and to explore the other trails in Tanjung Tuan and to cliff climbing.

Nuang Via Janda Baik

2011-03-24T03:08:00.002+08:00

I have been to Gunung Nuang via Ulu Langat twice. The first time was part of the preparation to climb Mount Kinabalu and the second was to prepare for Mount Tahan.

We spent 11 hours of hiking when we went there the first time. For the second time, we camped for one night. From the experience of both trips, I can conclude that climbing Gunung Nuang is very challenging. It's not first timers and not for new comers either.

I have often heard that Nuang via Janda Baik is less tough and hikers spend less time to complete the climb. With that in mind, I planned another Nuang trip (via Janda Baik of course) with my group. We were told it'd take us between 3.5 to 4 hours of hiking to the peak.

If I were to go there again, perhaps I will not climb Gunung Nuang, I will just do jungle trekking up to the waterfall area and enjoy myself there. And come back to Zaini's Guest House to have BBQ dinner. Gunung Nuang is definitely more fun via Ulu Langat and camping is recommended due to distance.

We were supposed to follow a group of friends from PD but eventually we went ahead in our smaller group with the help of John and Joey (J&J) who were kind enough to be our guides. Thank you to both of them, whom I met in my previous trip to Gunung Angsi. We planned to start the trekking early in the morning. So as not to trouble anyone, having to get up early at around 4am, we decided to come one day earlier and stayed at Zaini's Guest House. The chalet is located about 500 meters from the starting point. We liked the ambiance at the chalet and enjoyed our short stay there. We got up as early as 5.00am and after a quick breakfast at about 6.15am, we went to our car to get ready and joined J&J at about 6.40am.

After a short introduction and pleasantries, we started our trekking and the first challenge was to cross the stream. It was still early in the morning and the water was very cold. We crossed at the second spot to do so as water level at the first place was higher. The water was very cold as it was still early in the morning.

Along the way, we saw agri crops like french beans and four angled beans. We thought of picking up some and pay the caretaker when we got back. By the time, we got back, we were already very tired and no longer excited about the idea.

This signboard was very important to us. We were kind of lost, trying to figure out which way to go. One of the farm caretakers told us to go to the signboard and follow the trail from there. From then on, we were sure of our trail and never looked back.

Amongst the differences between between the trail of Ulu Langat and Janda that I noticed are the trails at Janda Baik are not as established as Ulu Langat due to the fact it's less popular and less number of people using the trail. I prefer Ulu Langat trails as it's more fun, there are Check Points to look forward to namely Kem Lolo, Kem Pacat and Puncak Pengasih (false peak). There were none of those in Janda Baik. The trail between Kem Pacat and Puncak Pengasih was the one that differentiate Gunung Nuang from other mountains and we didn't see that in Janda Baik. I must say that the trails in Janda Baik are less challenging, nevertheless, it takes almost the same number of hours.

We were prepard with confetti to be left along the trails. As it turned out, we didn't have enough up to the peak. I like leaving confetti trails as it gives the confidence to the people behind that they are not on the right track.

We had to go through so many bamboo tunnels along the way. There are bamboos along the never ending road via Ulu Langat but we don't have to pass through any tunnel. The trails were cleared off of bamboo hurdles. That's not the case here in Janda Baik. The trails were slippery especially when we came back as there were so may people hiking on that day. And it was raining heavily for two days in a row!

We reached the peak about 5 hours later. There were already many people hikers when we reached there and majority of them were using Ulu Langat trails. As expected, my friends from PD overtook us along the way too.

Update!

2011-03-06T18:57:00.000+08:00

I go through my blog updates lately and I noticed that I haven't been updating much about hiking activities anymore.

The fact is I still go out and hike but I haven't been exploring new places as yet. Hiking is my favourite outdoor activities that I do it very often over the weekend. These days, it's a fortnightly event that I do with either family members, colleagues or friends. There was one time I had no one to follow me as it was unplanned so I went alone to Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve in Puchong. It's not advisable to hike alone but it's okay to do so in places like Bukit Gasing, Ayer Hitam FR, Broga Hill and several others at the fringe of KL area as these places are frequented by a lot of people over the weekend.

When I was hiking alone in Ayer Hitam FR, I took the time to read at least a chapter from the book that I was reading at that time.

For the first time ever, I went jungle trekking with my family members. We are not from Selangor but all of us with the exception of one brother are currently staying in Shah Alam and Klang area. Eight of us including my eldest brother and his wife, my sisters, youngest brother, a niece and a nephew went for jungle trekking at Ayer Hitam FR last month. It's a beautiful and memorable experience to have an outdoor family outing like that. It was the first time that we had such outing and we plan not to make it as the last one as well. We now plan to do it at least once a quarter.

I have got my hiking activities planned with at least one monthly event up to July this year. The curtain closure before the fasting month will be the trip to Bukittinggi, Padang, Indonesia. Other than that, we are also planning to go to Port Dickson for raptor watch and cliff climbing, to Penang for hiking, swimming at Pantai Kerachut and makan-makan and to Cameron Highlands for hiking and shopping for fresh agri produces.

I am happy as everything is going on smoothly and we have implemented two trips planned for the month of January and February namely Angsi via Bukit Putus and Nuang via Janda Baik. I'll blog about our experience at Nuang soon.

How about the update on the wight loss initiative - KL's Biggest Loser? The second update is due and I lost almost two kilos within two months. We were ready for the third weigh-in but the scale at the gym was broken. It was a relief to some of us as the result hasn't been encouraging. Losing weight and dieting should be a life long journey instead of a destination. It should be a mental state of being, being conscious of what we eat all the times, being conscious about exercise and living healthy lifestyle. It's also about commitment and not about interest. Everyone is interested to lose weight and do a lot of exercise, but how many can say that they are committed to it? Commitment is about not accepting any excuses, just results!

Books? I am currently reading a local book on coaching. It's my new passion at work as part of the company's initiative towards crating coaching culture. I am reading the book to equip myself to be a better coach. I am planning to be a certified coach and amongst the requirements is I need to do at least 100 hours of coaching. Coaching is about empowering the employees to come up with their own solutions towards improving their performance at work. I will not talk much about it except for the book that I am currently reading. This is the third book for this year. I am also planning to finish reading some books that I read half way, there was biography of Anita Roddick, the founder of Body Shop that I read half way. I couldn't relate to her mid way through. What the heck, I'll finish it soon. It was one of those cheap books that I bought at exhibition for old books.

Other than the above, it's business as usual!

Small Hiker's Book Series - The Power of Subconscious Mind

2011-03-06T17:48:00.001+08:00

I bought this book about three years ago. I read it half way and put it down as I wasn't comfortable about the references to bible in almost all chapters. The book is about the power of subconscious mind towards self healing and removing some mental blocks in achieving success.

I was about to spend some money to buy more books to read during the last CNY holiday but then I remembered that I still had books that I read half way and this was one of them.

I decided to give it one last try and finish it. And I also decided to filter what I read and digested only the universal values shared by the author. After all, all religions in the world are about propagating better individuals in the context of the community at large using the values of good deeds. With that in mind, I finished reading the book within a week.

It's a practical book and it talks a lot about self affirmations and the inner self. As one saying goes 'we are the sum of our thoughts'. That's what I do these days, I start the day by having the attitude of gratitude, by being grateful of what I have, my good health, good career, good family, wife and children. By being grateful I remove the worry of not having enough and I am in a positive emotional state for the rest of the day.

Being grateful is an energizing way to start the day and a relaxing way to end it. Give it a try!

Small Hiker's Book Series - The Last Lecture

2011-02-13T04:49:00.000+08:00

I always put in reading as one of my hobbies when asked to do so. However, I don't do that much of it these days with the exception of reading through the online pages of TIME, The Star and Google News. That's why it was an event for me after I finished reading this book.

Randy Pausch (October 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008) was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and he had only months to live. The book was based on the last lecture that he gave at the University he was teaching, Last Lecture was a series of talk where top academics are asked to think deeply about what matters to them, and then give a hypothetical "final talk", with a topic such as "what wisdom would you try to impart to the world if you knew it was your last chance?" His lecture was very popular on Youtube and he gave the abridged version in Oprah.

When I was reading the book, I updated the lessons learned. Here they are:

Lesson #1 - 'when you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you anymore, that means they've given up on you'

February 3 at 10:08am

Lesson #2 on Time Management

a. Time must be explicitly managed, like money

b. You can always change your plan, but if only you have one

c. Are you spending your time on the right thing?

February 3 at 2:43pm

Lesson #3 - too many people complaining about their problems. If you took one-tenth energy you put into complaining and applied it to solving problem, you'd be surprised by how well things can work out.

February 3 at 6:02pm

Lesson #4 - experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. Failure is not just acceptable , it's often essential.

February 3 at 6:27pm

Lesson #5 - when you can't pay someone back, pay it forward. Go out and do good for others what somebody did good to you

February 3 at 6:45pm

Lesson #6 - when giving an apology, any performance lower than an A really doesn't cut it. A good apology is like an antibiotic; a bad apology is like rubbing salt in the wound

February 3 at 7:23pm

And I finished reading it the next day with this update:

Watammat! Now, I have the urge to read another book! Perhaps one of those that I stopped half way!

February 4 at 8:54am

Avoiding the Diet Pitfalls

2011-02-05T06:38:00.000+08:00

The weigh-in time is coming soon and I'll get to know the diet result of yet another long break and celebrations. It's the time to 'balik kampung' and enjoy the home cooking of our beloved parents. I see updates every now and then FB on how my friends were enjoying their time having holiday with their family members. And I was there to spoil the mood of a few of them by reminding them not be such a glutton. Or else, they'd have to have self-imposed penance of crash diet for one week.

Crash diet is one of the common pitfalls of dieting as it will not have lasting result. In fact it's detrimental to the whole idea of dieting. I came across a list of habits that will wreck any dieting plan. Here they are:

Relying on Crash Diets
Decided to lose 10kgs fast, you turn to crash diets for no meal except fruits and vegetable or the famous 'liquid diet'. You take less than 1,000 calories a day. True enough, the extra weight goes away. However, when you eat less calories, you train your metabolism to slowdown. When the diet is over, your body is used to slow metabolism and you gain weight more than ever before

Skipping Breakfast
Skipping breakfast sounds like an easy way to cut calorie but you end up having the hunger pang for the rest of the day. Breakfasts that are high in protein and fiber can reduce hunger throughout the day.

Losing Track of Your Snacks
There is a difference between having more frequency of meals yet in small portion than having snacks in between meals. The culprit has always been the free snacks being offered by colleagues at the office, cake from birthday party, goreng pisang by a colleague who just comes in from visiting clients, etc. All these snacks could sabotage a well planned diet

Not Snacking at All
Unplanned snacks can increase your waistline but thoughtful and planned snacks may do the opposite. People who eat several small meals and snacks a day are more likely to control hunger and lose weight. Snacking helps keep your metabolism in high gear, especially if the snacks are protein-rich. Nuts are a good, high-protein choice, and research suggests people who snack on nuts tend to be slimmer than those who don't.

Loading Up on Low-Fat
Low-fat products can play an important role in your diet. Just remember that low-fat isn't the same as low-calorie and it's not a license to take second and third helpings. If you pile your plate with low-fat cake, you may end up eating more calories than if you had a smaller slice of regular cake.

Sipping Too Many Calories
Personally, this is the biggest diet wrecker. Some fancy coffees and alcoholic beverages have more than 500 calories. What's worse is that liquid calories don't curb hunger. You're not going to eat any less after a high-calorie drink.

Drinking Too Little Water
I am guilty of drinking less water in the office. The cold air-cond in the office doesn't make me thirsty that fast. However, this is one of the simplest diet blunders to fix. Water is essential for burning calories. If you let yourself get dehydrated, your metabolism drags -- and that means slower weight loss

Weighing Yourself Every Day
Weighing yourself daily is not advisable and doesn't yield useful information. It's more important to look for a long-term trend with weekly weigh-ins. If your goal is to lose 1kg a week, you'll be satisfied to see those full-pound drops when you step on the scale. The result is more motivating that the confusing swings that may accompany daily weigh-ins.

Avoiding Exercise
When you don't exercise, you place the entire burden of weight loss on your diet. If you become more active, you can eat more of the things you like -- and still lose weight. The key is finding an exercise you enjoy. If the treadmill seems tedious, try hiking or cross training! Spend time at different activities until you find one you want to do regularly

Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve - Tinnitus

2011-01-30T14:00:00.001+08:00

The latest trip to Ayer Hitan Forest Reserve in Puchong is my first hiking trip this year. Since the slip disc incidence in Sg Chilling, I switched back my weekend exercise to brisk walking and swimming. I enjoy swimming as it helps to strengthen my back. In fact when I go to the gym these days, I don't miss doing the physio routines that I learned from the physio team in Subang Jaya Medical Centre. Thank God, I am in much better condition now. However, I don't think I am ready for major hiking trip!

Now, I added another health condition to my present state. The medical condition is called tinnitus, the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound or in short a ringing or similar sensation of sound in the ears! I always hear hissing, buzzing and whistling sounds in my left ear. It made feel imbalanced and caused me to have headache. Since that incidence I have been on MC for 4 days.

What I learned from this trip, the noises from the jungle help to neutralize whatever sounds that I had in my left ear. I felt so relaxed and the buzzing and hissing sound were gone temporarily. As of today, the sounds were still there and I really hope it's not permanent. In the meantime, I always put on my earphone to listen to nature sounds to help me neutralize the cricket's sounds in my left ear!

KL'S BIGGEST LOSER - Update #1

2011-01-24T03:24:00.001+08:00

First Update on KL's Biggest Loser: Two weeks since its launch, this is our first update. Loser #1 - lost 700g, Loser #2 - gained 1kg and Loser #3 - gained 2kg! Apa dah jadi? The blame is on year end celebrations that didn't end up until the first two weeks of the new year. Beginning of the year is the continuation of year end celebrations with free flow of delicious foods and drinks. It's no exception for Loser #1. However, a few days prior to weighing day, he attended a free seminar and he skipped all the meals (coffee break and lunch)! He came back to the office joining other colleagues having salad instead for lunch!

Other than skipping those foods that are rich in fats and carbs, he also did his exercise regularly. He worked out on Cross Training machine that burned around 150calories at any one time for 3 days a week. And he did his brisk walking/jogging and swimming over the weekends!

The challenge is how to reduce more weight and when we reach the target, it's the biggest challenge of all; how to maintain it? It's really about moderation and taking the right amount and types of foods. It's always about less carb and fats; and more fiber and protein!


Loser #1 has also started his breakfast diet on muesli! It's a very healthy breakfast and the oat content and other fibers helped in bringing down cholesterol level. Stay on for more updates!

Online News

2011-01-21T05:20:00.000+08:00

These days, it's so convenient to look for news and information; there almost isn't anything that you can't find on the internet. I used to take pride the fact that I don't read newspaper. It was true as I hate turning the pages of newspaper to go through the news that I hate on murder, rape, robbery, etc. If I were to read news, I'd want to go straight away to the sections that I am interested in, namely business, technology, health & fitness and sports. With the latest technology, I can be alerted on the latest news via twitter on my blackberry. I'd just need to scroll down the news items and choose the one that I am interested to read.

I also have the options of subscribing to the international news via the free applications. My two favourite news channels/magazines are Time and MSNBC. It's all on my palm these days and I really don't have to read newspaper anymore. Instead, I'd just read the online version!

How about social networking? It goes without saying, with the proliferation of smart phones of various brands, it's now social networking on the go (mobile social network). No wonder more than 39% of Malaysians are connected to Facebook these days, that accounts for more than 9 millions population of this country.
The above is my latest status update. Happy Thaipusam!

Mount Marapi Bukittinggi: Update #1

2011-01-18T22:15:00.002+08:00

I am very excited about the trip to Mount Marapi, Bukittinggi. So far, I have got 6 people confirmed their participation. It's just a nice number as I don't want to have that many people in the first place.
So far, one person has already booked his ticket. As for me, I'll do that either thsi week or next week, the latest.
As for the itinerary there, I just 'copy and paste' the email from the tour agent in Padang as below:

DAY 01. PADANG – BUKITTINGGI - MT.MARAPI CLIMBING ( L, D )

You will be met and greet service at Bandara International Minangkabau, then we take you to local restaurant to have breakfast ( Optional ), after that we drive up to Bukittinggi on the way stop at Anai Valley Water Fall and Nature Reserve, arrive in Bukittinggi check in to your hotel choice. Late at night 11 PM transfer to Koto Baru Village for climbing Mt. Marapi.

DAY 02.MT.MARAPI - BUKITTINGGI FREE & EASY ( B, D )

Pickup from Koto Baru Village and transfer to your Hotel.

Day time free on your own leasure.

DAY 03. BUKITTINGGI – BATU SANGKAR – PADANG ( B, L, D )

After breakfast, we then check out hotel, after that we drive you to Batu Sangkar on the way stop at Hj. Rosma Embroidery, Kiniko Coffee Milling after lunch at local restaurant we proceed to Padang, arrive in Padang city tour visit Muara Padang Beach, Old Harbor, Siti Nurbaya Bridge, Old Padang Town and Padang market, after dinner at local restaurant check in to your hotel choice

DAY 04. HOTEL – AIR PORT ( B )

After early breakfast, we then check out from the hotel and transfer to Airport and tour is end.

Mount Merapi, Bukittinggi, Padang, Indonesia

2011-01-11T04:05:00.001+08:00

We are planning a hiking trip to Indonesia to climb Mount Merapi, Bukittinggi, Padang from Jul 9 - 12. I am short of 1 person and I'd like to invite those who are interested to join us there to leave a message here. It's 4D 3N and it costs about RM900 for full package that includes flight (have to book yourself), accommodation, meals, transfers and hiking fees.

Taman Rekreasi Raja Lumu

2011-01-10T03:37:00.000+08:00


I am still suffering from my slip disc. And I am in no mood of doing any hiking exercise. My weekends are filled with swimming activities instead. My two favorite swimming pools are located in Shah Alam, they are MSN and PADE swimming pools. I will go swimming with one of two of my friends. Anyway, I don't mind going swimming alone. When I swim, it's not the time for me to play in the water. It's another exercise of which I target to do 20 laps on Olympic size swimming pool. That's 1 km!

Last Saturday, I decided to go to Taman Rekreasi Raja Lumu for a brisk walk. That's the most I'd do these days; brisk walking! I have been here once and this time around I decided to document the trip with some pictures. As for the location, from Shah Alam mosque, head down to the round about and take 3 o'clock turn. The park is on the right side of the road, make a U turn further down the road.

It's a beautiful place. However due to its vicinity to housing area, it's full of mosquitoes. I'd go with long sleeve shirt and long pant if I were to come here again.

At the peak of the park, we reach the mausoleum area located next to the State Secretarial Building Complex.

Enjoy the pictures. They were all taken using my Blackberry device.

KL's BIGGEST LOSER

2011-01-09T06:23:00.000+08:00

These days a lot of people complain that they have put on weight and they are struggling to lose it. Once we enter the work life, our lives changed dramatically. We no longer move about that long and our desk bound jobs chain us to our desk and thus sedentary lives. It's all about rest, work and eat on a daily basis.
And the food intakes have also changed when we enter the work life. To majority of us, we don't get to eat home cooked foods anymore as we are at the office during day time. We have our breakfast, lunches, dinners and high teas at restaurants near our offices. Typically, they are all carb laden diet. We can't get healthy foods that easily here in KL. Even if we can, it's normally more expensive than the usual local breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Therefore, it's no surprise that we put on weight easily. Even when we exercise, we can't seem to get rid of the bulging tummy. I am no exception. Why is it so? I am not an expert, however it's all about the calorie intake. How much can we exercise to lose a kg? 1kg is equivalent to 3,850 calories per week or 550 calories per day. Can you burn it by exercise alone? No way! We are all busy executives and we are not super fit to endure 1 hour or more on treadmill. 30 mins of treadmill will burn about 200 calories.
So, how to lose weight? The answer to that is a combination of diet and exercise. Perhaps we can exercise 3 days a week and burn around 200 calories (that’s 600 calories weekly) and more rigorous exercise during weekends to burn 500 – 700 calories (hiking, jogging, swimming, etc). That means the exercise will burn about 1,300 calories. And we need to reduce the calorie intake by another 2,550 calories less a week (that means about 510 for 5 days consecutively). 510 calories is quite easy right? Perhaps, no more heavy breakfast, perhaps instead of full serving of rice for lunch, go for half serving (not even half serving) and perhaps can skip dinner on alternate day.
With that note, I am pleased to launch KL's Biggest Loser (what a name!). A campaign for me and two other usual suspects to lose weight. And I'll monitor and update here. Good luck to three of us!

Enjoying Roti Canai The Small Hiker's Way

2011-01-02T23:48:00.000+08:00

I have a weird way of enjoying my roti canai. I haven't been eating the curry that comes together with it since I know how to enjoy it my weird way! I think the reason I like it this way is because I have sweet tooth! And I must say, it tastes really nice at the same time!

The ingredients are roti canai, condensed milk (not in the pic), nutmeg powder and cinnamon powder!

Put a generous amount of condensed milk on the roti canai (Alamak, terlebih banyaklah pulak!)

Sprinkle generous amount of cinnamon powder and 5 or 5 sprinkles of nutmeg powder. When did I begin to enjoy roti canai this way? I really have no idea and all I know is I am not the only one.

Roll it (macam kueh ketayap!) and it's ready! Try it!

My daughter loves it too!

Happy New Year!

Sg. Chilling Waterfall - Misadventure & Beautiful Moments

2010-12-31T10:57:00.000+08:00

Sg Chilling Fish Sanctuary

Located about 105km from Shah Alam, Sg. Chilling Fish Sanctuary is a popular picnic spot during weekends. From Kuala Kubu Bharu, we had to drive towards Fraser's Hill passing Sungai Selangor Dam. The entrance is located on the right side of the road about 200 meters after the dam. It's hard to miss it especially if you reach there after 9am. This is the only stretch before the exit to Fraser's Hill where there are a lot of cars lining up the left side of the road.

My story

There were 5 of us including my son who was the official photographer for this trip.

We reached the campsite early, at around 9am. There were already tents being put up everywhere by overnight campers!

We were told that we didn't have to wait for the caretaker to pay for the trekking permit to the waterfall. So, we simply went ahead with our jungle trekking 15 minutes later. We paid for the permit when we came back to the campsite.

We had to cross the same river 6 times to reach the waterfall area and the first one was by using the suspension bridge.

My son was carrying our backpack that was half filled with tent, clothes for change and camera. And I carried the day pack that was filled with snacks, fruits, chocolate and nuts.

It was raining heavily the night before and it rained again a few minutes after we left Shah Alam. So the water was not that clear. However, it was so cold, it's chilling!

Due to the rain the trails heading to the waterfall was filled with water and it looked more like small stream.

We missed the trail, instead of heading to the waterfall, we ended up on a hill in a middle of no where. It was a pleasant misadventure though as the surrounding view was stunning. We spent about one hour getting lost and finding our way back. We were told by the caretaker that the trails were the alternative route to Bukit Kutu. Perhaps we will go to Bukit Kutu again using this trail!

Using the right trails later on, we met our friends from Port Dickson and Seremban mid way through. The trail was quite flat after all with a few steep terrains that didn't pose any challenge at all.

Over an hour later and after crossing the same river 6 times, we reached the waterfall area. It was a stunning view, with the water gushing down over two levels. It could be 20 feet high! And the water at the bottom of the waterfall could be 7 - 8 feet deep! Like the rest of the picnickers, I took the opportunity to jump into the water and I didn't get to reach to the bottom!

The sanctuary is a protected area for kelah fish. Over the years, the population of the fish has grown and the size of the fish has also grown. Here at the waterfall, we could play along with 6 -8 inches long kelah fish. There were so many of them. It was such a nice feeling swimming and playing along with the fish. Feeding the fish is prohibited and that didn't stop some people from doing that!

We spent about one hour enjoying the beauty of the waterfall and playing in the water while taking a break enjoying our snacks as lunch every now and then. When it was time for me to get back into the water I couldn't do it! Oh God, I got my slip disc back and I could hardly stand straight due to the pain. We had to cut short the trip and made our way back to the campsite immediately. And I had to grab whatever stick that was close to me to use as my walking stick! Luckily the pain was bearable.

Upon reaching the campsite, while my friends continued to dip into the water and cleaning themselves up, I was busy doing my physio work-outs. It helped slightly and gave me the confidence to drive back home.

Six days have passed since the incident and I feel so much better now. I thought of seeing my Orthopaedic again but I didn't as I don't want to go through the long physio sessions at the hospital.

My son who also enjoyed himself during the trip is planning to go there again with his friends. And I don't dare to leave them by themselves. Therefore, I am going there again this week! I don't mind it all I am okay now and I really like the place!

BUKIT KUTU - Lost & Rescued

2010-12-23T04:46:00.001+08:00

Bukit Kutu

Bukit Kutu is located in Kuala Kubu Bahru and I must say it is an interesting place. Although it's called a “bukit” (hill), peaked at 3456 feet above sea level, it can be classified as a mountain. In fact, based on the challenging trails, I refuse to call it a hill. The aborigines in the area called it Bukit Sekutu. It was renamed Treachers’s Hill by the British. They built a bungalow complete with a cart rail to reach the peak. Later on, a sanatorium was also built. I was told that the place was bombed during the Japanese occupation. These days the mountain is popularly known as Bukit Kutu instead! Or better still; Gunung Kutu.

How to get there
It's quite easy. From Kuala Kubu town, head down to Fraser's Hill. We passed Empangan Selangor and immediately after the bridge, we turned to the right at Kg. Pertak, it's a settlement village for the aborigines. From far the village looks like a resort!

The Trails

We underestimated the trails, just because the name is a hill and a bungalow was built at the peak, we thought how tough could it be? We were wrong, we all agreed it's rather tough with steep trails almost all the way up. The trails could be confusing at certain stretches, therefore it's advisable for first timers to have experienced hiker along.

It took us approximately 1 hour 30 minutes from the last stream to reach the most popular check point before reaching the peak. It's the gigantic rock formation that provides shelter to hikers. I was awed by the sheer size of the rock. With the top of the rock formation jutting out from its base, it must have looked like a mushroom from a bird's eye view!

From this check point it took us almost 1 hour to reach the peak after passing through some 'bamboo traps' and some slippery trails. The hill is not that high so there is not much change in temperature! It's slightly cooler at the peak!

My Story

I have been wanting to go to Gunung Kutu for quite some times and the last time I was supposed to go there I had to cancel it at the last minute due to health problem.

I heard that the trails can be confusing at certain stretches so when I planned to do it again, I prefer not to venture out on my own. I asked around from my fellow hikers in Facebook and my friend Lucas agreed to lead us there.

There were supposed to be seven of us but only 5 turned up on the event day. Four of us left in two separate cars from Shah Alam and stopped over for prayers and breakfast at Rawang R&R. Breakfast was home cooked Nasi Lemak prepared by Azinda. Thank you, and I really enjoyed it. We met Lucas in Kuala Kubu Bahru town at 7.15am.

It's Lucas' second trip to Bukit Kutu and when he was there the first time, the group got lost and couldn't find the trails to the peak. I really couldn't blame Lucas when he was lost again with us! We spent almost two hours looking for the right trails.

At one time his leg got caught in the trap being put by the aborigines for fowls, was it meant for wild boar instead? Luckily he wasn't injured!

We almost gave up and wanted to change the location to Sg. Chilling waterfalls nearby instead.

However, when we were ready to make the move we saw a big group of recruits from Fire & Rescue Department heading to the peak. After exchanging greetings, we took the opportunity to join them. Thank you, they didn't know it but they rescued us!

Gunung Kutu, unlike its name, you'd never see lice there. However there were 'dancing queens' and they were were everywhere. Each one of us got at least 5 bites from these leeches!

We reached the peak 2 hours 45 minutes later. I must say this is one of the most satisfying hiking trip ever and intriguing too! I wanted to know more about the place and I searched for more info in the web about this hill. I even went into the website of Arkib Negara to look for more info!

We spent almost 1 hour at the peak and to those who are not acrophobic, they can go up to the top of the rock and have a stunning 360 degrees view of the surroundings including Selangor Dam. Be careful, the big rock is not that stable and at any one time it can accommodate up to two people only!

We were ready to leave when suddenly we met Ah Fatt, a fellow hiker that I met at at Gunung Besar Hantu. He led us to what he said a fortress which was 15 minutes away from the peak. However, I believe it was a sanatorium. Thank you Ah Fatt, this was really the icing on the cake, we enjoyed the historical ruins of the sanatorium.

As a summary, I really enjoyed the trip, it was challenging and tough (I still have my slip disc!) but it was worth the effort. I don't mind to go up there again and when I go I know what to expect. As it was, we underestimated the 'hill'!

PENANG NATIONAL PARK

2010-12-12T04:25:00.001+08:00

I was in Penang two weeks ago and I must say that I enjoyed the trip. Top in my list, I enjoyed the food, mamak food at Line Clear, hawkers' food at Gurney Drive and Batu Ferringhi! I can't forget the steamed calamari with dipping at Gurney Drive and mixed fruit pancake at Batu Ferringhi. Other than the foods, I enjoyed the only hiking activity that I did there.

I took the opportunity to go to Penang National Park, located in Teluk Bahang, about 4 km from Batu Feringghi. It's the smallest national park in the world covering an area of 9.9 square miles and it boasts a
collection of habitats not found in other national parks in Malaysia: meromictic lake, wetlands, mangroves, mudflats, coral reefs and turtle nesting beaches!

There are eight beaches in the park and due to the fact that they are not easily accessible, these are some of the beautiful beaches in Penang. Most of the beaches can only be accessed via hiking for about 1 hour or so or via boat from the park's management office. There is no admission fee to the park. However, you have to pay RM5 if you opt for the canopy walk.

I planned to go to both destinations in the park; Muka Head (with light house and beaches as attractions) and Pantai Kerachut on the other side (with meromictic lake and other beautiful beaches as attractions). However, due to the weather condition, I managed to go to Pantai Kerachut only! Even then, we had to rent boat to go back. True enough, it started raining when we reached the park's management office.

The boat ride was an experience by itself and the friendly boat operator showed us around and pointed to rock formations in the form of turtle and crocodile head! It cost us RM80 per boat for 15 - 20 minutes ride.

This is the starting point for any hiking activity in the park.

This is the view of fisherman's jetty located next to the entrance of the park. The boat ride ends here and if you're lucky you can see the catch of the day by the fishermen!

We came across small waterfalls in the park, on the way to Pantai Kerachut. We were advised not to drink the water here just in case it was contaminated.

The bridge connecting the trail area to the beach with meromictic lake running beneath it.

Meromictic lake was the highlight of the trip. It's my first time seeing meromictic lake. There are not many of such places in the world. In Asia, it is only here in Penang and in Palau! It's called meromictic because both fresh water from the river and salt water from the sea do not mix. The low density of fresh waters layers the top of the high density of salt water.

The fresh water from the meromictic lake goes into the sea here at Pantai Kerachut. it's one of the beautiful beaches in Penang. I don't fancy the idea of swimming at Ferringghi beach. But not here! It's crazy to miss it. I was not prepared to come here for swimming. What the heck, I went in with my hiking pant! I had to cut short the trip as it was about to rain. I missed the canopy walk on the other side of the park; of which I had bought the ticket earlier. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the hiking experience at Penang National Park. I'll definitely come back!

GUNUNG ANGSI - ANNUAL DINNER

2010-11-30T06:20:00.000+08:00

We had the company's annual dinner last Saturday. I must say I enjoyed the shows being put up by the organiser. Instead of paying professional singers to entertain us, the organiser chose to have a talent time show with participation from the employees.

I participated in the talent time contest as a friend/colleague asked me to join his group. Originally we were supposed to sing a medley of two or three songs that include a song by Radiohead and Muse. However, before we even turned up for the practice, my friend had a better idea. Why not we play snippets of songs that use up to 4 chords only! With that concept, we ended up choosing the final selection of 22 song snippets. They include songs from Journey, John Denver, 3am, Muse, Lighthouse Family, Elton John, U2, Michael Jackson, etc!

It was tough memorising the sequence and the lyrics and we turned up for the audition with lyric sheets in hand. We were lucky as the management team selected all 7 groups to advance for the final during the annual dinner!


Small Hiker on stage with his colleagues!

As history had it, we were the 2nd runner up winners that walked away with RM2,000 cash for 4 of us. I had an enjoyable time performing for my fellow colleagues and I knew they were cheering us up and gave us standing ovation!

After the dinner show, I didn't wait that long as I needed to rest for the next day's hiking at Angsi via Bukit Putus. And as I promised I met my fellow hikers the next day at the foot of Mount Angsi.

I must have been tired from the excitement of the annual dinner as I felt exhausted going up the easy mountain. This is the mountain that I'd choose to climb if I want to have a retreat but today I felt it was rather challenging. Nevertheless, we reached the peak within 2 hours.

On the way up, we were lucky to see this scorpion and all of us took the pic for our own collection!

I was wearing a new t-shirt that I bought from John, the pathfinder! And I still owe him the money! I like the t-shirt as it's dry fit, suitable for hiking activity.

On the way back, we stopped over at the nearby orchard cum restaurant to have our cold drink. As for me, my favourite at this restaurant was ambarella juice. It had slightly bitter taste mixed with the sour taste from dried plum (asam boi). I enjoyed the drink!

And we left immediately after. As for me, late lunch was waiting for me at home!

Inspirational Quote

2010-11-19T02:53:00.000+08:00

Reading Habit - The Lost Symbol

2010-11-18T07:05:00.000+08:00

Phew! It took me such a along time to finish reading the novel. It's a very fascinating read but then I always have other distractions, most notably going online. Unlike a close colleague, she can finish a book in just one night!

I am known as an insomniac, the other end of insomniac, I wake up very early in the morning and never go back to sleep until the next evening. Just imagine, I am already awake at 2am and never go back to sleep the whole day and by 7pm, I'd really get sleepy and it's so common for me to sleep at around 9pm! And then, I'd sleep for about 4 hours and the biology clock wakes me up automatically! Therefore, it's not unusual for me to sleep during day time over the weekends! It's payback time. I have my ideal weekend when I exercise in the morning, to be followed with 3 - 4 hours of sleep!

Reading is a very good 'sleeping pill' and I always go back to sleep after reading something for about 1 hour. The novel did that for me at one time and I felt so good when I wake up in the morning, it was already 5.30am. However, the same trick didn't work at one time too, I got so engrossed with the reading and I did it from 2am until 5am, non-stop. It's okay I guess as I don't read Dan Brown's novel all the times!

As we are coming to the year end soon, I must say that I don't reach my target of reading 8 books this year. I'd end up with 3 books maybe. I am now reading a book on Coaching. It's related to my work as we're going to transform the company towards embracing he coaching culture from next year onwards. It's also part of my preparation towards becoming a coach!

Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve - The Trip

2010-11-14T07:11:00.000+08:00

As planned, we went for jungle trekking at Ayer hitam Forest Reserve yesterday. There were ten of us including John. Missing was Azinda, who really wanted to join but was sick on that day! Perhaps next time!

We met at Giant Bandar Puteri at around 7.45am. When I reached there, the early birds were already chirping away and having their worms! We had to wait for others but not long as the last car came in soon after that. We drove in convoy to Taman Wawasan,a 7 minutes drive away.

We started trekking at 7.50am and reached the first checkpoint 30 minutes later. There were 10 of us and I guessed they were very fit, when we reached the first checkpoint, they were not there, very much ahead of us! By the time we reached the 2nd checkpoint, we had trekked for more than 1.5hours.

At the second checkpoint, we had to decide whether to go to the pool that was 45 minutes away or to complete the round trip back to the starting point. We decided to go to the pool. And it was all worth it. For the first timers, they realised there was still such a place in KL area.

We stopped here to enjoy the tranquility and beauty of the surrounding area. It's beautiful and made the trip well worth it. I always enjoy feeding the fish here and it was therapeutic looking at the fish feeding on my sandwich bread.

Darah manis! dancing queen's bite!

Someone testing his waterproof camera!

We left the pool area 40 minutes later feeling satisfied. I believe if we skipped the pool, some of them may not return to this area for jungle trekking anymore as there was really nothing to look forward to!

We completed the trip within 4 hours. After resting a while under a shade, we left separately feeling satisfied. As for me, I'll definitely come back to this area for my hiking activity as it's so close to home.

AYER HITAM FOREST RESERVE - NOV 13

2010-11-07T02:00:00.000+08:00

I think I have fully recovered from my long fever. When I first got the fever about two weeks ago I was given antibiotic as I also had sore throat. I didn't take it as I thought it was too early to be on antibiotic. And when I went to see the doctor again three days after that I was lying to the doctor telling him that I had taken all the medicines. In fact, I took it just for one day and I thought my fever was gone but I was wrong it came back the next day. The doctor gave me antibiotic again. Just like the first time, I didn't take the antibiotic.

Last week I went to another clinic near the office and this time I asked for antibiotic. Now I'm taking it for 4 days already and I feel so much better. I hope I'd not get the temperature again. Why didn't I take the antibiotic when I got it the first time? How about the second time? I got the excuse for the first time as my sore throat wasn't that bad and I ran out of excuses when it happened for the second time! I guess I got tired of taking medicines!

Due to my fever, I missed the chance of leading my colleagues for their hiking trip to Bukit Gasing on Deepavali day. I cancelled it one day before and I don't think they'd have problem in finding the place and there'd always be big crowd there, they wouldn't get lost as well!

I really felt better today, so early in the morning I went to the park near my house and did my brisk walking. I felt good but at the same time weary as I could feel the temperature was coming back. I simply ignored it.

So this week, if everything goes as planned, I'll be taking my group to Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve in Puchong. The last time I went up hiking there with a friend, we were shown a notice that the forest reserve was a restricted area and RM10,000 will fined for trespassing. Prior to inviting my friends to join me there I did my recce and found that people went up there again! And from the news, I read that the state government has gazetted the area as education and forest research area. Amongst the reason why people are not allowed to go up was they tend to mess up with the research being conducted there where the trees were labelled and special parameters were erected!

I hope I will not disappoint the group and we will be free to go up! Insyaallah!

Orienteering - Birthday

2010-10-31T20:21:00.001+08:00

This is a report on the orienteering that I attended on my birthday. First of all, I knew it'd fall on my birthday but knowing how I celebrated all my previous birthdays, I'd like to do something different. Not much different though except I was away on my birthday. I liked it despite the displeasure shown by wife!

We left in two cars from the office on Friday afternoon at around 2.30pm. The road was clear but it rained after we exited PLUS highway. There was a stretch along the Simpang Pulai - Cameron Highlands road where it was very foggy especially after rain. It's no difference this time around and I really had to be careful. I was telling my colleagues wherever possible I'd speed as I'd need to slow down most of the time to tail other cars!

We met our colleagues from the other car around 8.00pm at Brinchang's pasar malam. I and several others decided to go vege for our dinner. Therefore the dinner was fried kimcan (day lily's buds), grilled corn, steamed sweet potatoes, sweet potato balls and not to forget strawberry ice cream for RM1, the best we ever tasted for that price! We cut short the shopping at the pasar malam as it started to pour again.

We reached the apartment an hour later. Thank you to another colleague for arranging the accommodation as it's a lot safer, comfortable and not to forget it's affordable too (nak sembahyang pun senang!). For six of us, we had to fork out for RM25 only for. After short pleasantries and teasing other colleagues, I retired at around 11.30pm after popping in n pills for my fever. I woke up 2 hours later when my HP rang. I didn't pick it up but I found out the next morning it was John who called and asked us to be at Parit Falls at 7am the next morning.

We were ready by 6am and with a lot of grumbles we left for Parit Falls nearby at around 7am. Much to our displeasure, John wasn't there and we were told that it'd only start at 9am. Since most of us didn't have breakfast, we left for Tanah Rata for breakfast. We had roti canai and nasi lemak there. When we came back at around 8.30am, no participants had arrived, except us. And we really had to wait for another 1.5 hours for the event to start. People who were punctual like us were punished and had to wait a long time as the organiser delayed the event to 10am!

Yup, the pic above was me pointing to the date, 30 October, 2010. It's my birthday that day!

We were in the second group that was flagged off at 10.25am. Right from the beginning, we didn't plan to win. I personally decided to participate as I wanted to learn to read compass and of course to support the activities of our friend, John. However, we did plan to enjoy the trip regardless!

In the end I didn't use the new compass as the direction in the map was already sufficient, starting from the gate of Parit Fall campsite. The other participants were really for it and dashed off immediately after the flag off including our younger male colleagues. We had to keep up with them and finally we decided not to tail them. We decided to venture out on our own and stopped over at strawberry farm operated by a Malay entrepreneur. We tasted their strawberry jam, fresh strawberry coated with chocolate fondue and more strawberry ice cream!

It didn't stop there. We went to their vegetable plantation and asked the helper to pluck fresh cabbage, English gourd, buah cinta and lettuce! I will never miss buying buah cinta (don't know the English name, is it tomarello?) and this time around I got it for free. I plucked it myself! I believe it's from brinjal family as the tree has some similarities! We reached back the starting point at 12noon, one hour earlier! We didn't wait for the lunch and left 2 hours later to the fruit and vege market! More shopping to do!

On the way to the market, we stopped at the roadside to eat Cameron's durian. Five us had two durians, it wasn't really a great taste. Since it's off season, therefore it's quite expensive as well. And we noticed that the durian was cold, as though it was refrigerated. Welcome to Cameron Highlands! A place of temperate weather in the tropic!

As planned we had fun, having free & easy activities, much different from the usual weekend hiking trips. I was tired yet satisfied when I reached home later!

Next activity is jungle trekking at Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve in Puchong. I can't wait for this as i haven't been there for almost a year!

Orienteering - Not Well

2010-10-28T05:17:00.001+08:00

1. I have been sick since last Sunday, having fever and bad sore throat. Went to see doctor and got MC on Monday. However, I didn't recover on the next day, instead of getting another MC I told my boss I'd take EL. That's me, I was recovering and I prefer not to see doctor just for MC.

2. And on Wednesday (yesterday), I thought I was okay and went to the office as usual. And I went to the gym too as it's my routine to go there every Mon, Wed and Fri. Everything went well until I took shower after the work-out. By the way, it's my first shower since the day I got sick!

3. Half hour after the shower, I developed temperature again and suddenly my sore throat got worse. To make the throat condition worse, I had to conduct the first part of induction program for the office. From there, it was sliding down.

4. I was just chatting with John and told him this kind of fever is not easy to go away. And I got it every now and then, it'd last for a week or two. I'd still go to work but I'd feel uncomfortable as I got mild fever, sore throat and headache. Years ago, I'd always remember to pop in vitamin C so as not to have fever towards end of the year! It had been super peak at the office, with so many renewal slides to do, renewal meetings to attend, negotiation and requote on renewals, never ending servicing issues and not to forget collection! But now, I am in Human Capital Division and there are no more peaks and super peaks when it comes to work. So, what's wrong with me?

5. I guess the vitamin C helps a lot regardless whether I want to be in good health to prepare for the year end rush or just to stay healthy! So, from now onwards, Small Hiker will make it a point to take his daily dosage of vitamin C. The question is how much to take? I used to take 2000mg daily and for a few years. Perhaps, I don't need that much and perhaps not daily?

6. Anyway, regardless of my condition, I'd still go for orienteering program that's been scheduled this week. I'll be driving there with two passengers in my car. I may not be actively participating but I will surely have fun and enjoy it!

ORIENTEERING AT CAMERON HIGHLANDS

2010-10-25T11:36:00.000+08:00

1. This week, I am going for orienteering in Cameron Highlands. I look forward to this activity as it's my first time doing orienteering and I haven't been to Cameron Highlands for a long time! Orienteering is a sport activity that requires the use of map and compass to navigate from point to point, usually in a forest area. We will be given a map with locations to go and the points depend on the distance of the locations!

2. There will be 6 of us from the company and we'll be leaving for Cameron on Friday afternoon. We have applied for either half day or full day leave. We'll leave KL around 2.30pm and hope to reach Brinchang 3 hours later. It was raining heavily the last time I drove to Cameron and I really had to be careful as the road was foggy and the view infront was for about 20 meters or so.

3. But before that, I must buy the compass as it's not provided for. The organiser, John advised us to buy Suunto brand! I hope to buy it before Friday or on Friday itself as I'll be on leave for the whole day. Where to buy? I saw compasses at Jusco Mid Valley at one time and perhaps I'll just go there. And perhaps, I'll just make do with whatever brand that they have!

4. The trip is worth the money as it costs us RM40 only for food and tent accommodation. We don't need to bring our own tent. However, I may bring one, just in case. Last but not least, I hope we will enjoy the activity! Otherwise, shopping awaits the next day!

GUNUNG ANGSI VIA BUKIT PUTUS - Vol. 2

2010-10-17T04:07:00.005+08:00

These days, I do my hiking activities once every fortnight. The other week, I'd normally go for swimming to strengthen my back. I believe my back injury is not fully recovered yet as proven by my experience in Gunung Datuk.

If I go on hiking, I will go on day trip instead. It's been like that anyway. I am not ready for big project as yet. I still have Korbu in mind. That'll have to wait until after June 2011.

So this week, I went to Angsi with another 4 partners in crime. They were the usual suspects -the two Taburians, a friend and a female colleague. For our colleague, it's her first time and she enjoyed it. And congratulations to her on her first conquer!

Angsi via Bukit Putus is very relaxing and not challenging at all. There is no rush to reach the peak as we have ample time and we can also spend longer time at the peak too. We started at around 7.50am and by 9.35am, we were already at the peak and by 11.40am we reached back the starting point!

In the car, I nearly made my passengers puke from listening to my theme song of the month, it's on repeat track mode almost the entire journey. The funny thing was, after lunch, one of them started humming the song even though the song was not played at the time. The power of music and repetition! It's the first song in small hiker's current hits!

A must pose for Taburians! This time around, 3 of us in one pic!

On the way back, we savoured satay for lunch. It's Satay Yus and I agreed with the statement of my brother-in-law, it tastes better than Samuri! Unfortunately, the others didn't eat much, a pathetic 5 sticks each only!

As a summary, Gunung Angsi via Bukit Putus is good for first time hikers and those who think they are not so fit!

The Star Online: Cholesterol - Friend or Foe?

2010-10-10T02:12:00.002+08:00

Despite the hype about cholesterol levels, 50% of heart attacks have normal readings prior to the catastrophic event.

CHOLESTEROL has such notoriety that whenever someone has a heart attack, it is always the first suspect. My friends come in all shapes and sizes, but two buddies come to mind.

The first is quite well endowed in the middle, eats what he sees, finds it hard to spare time for exercises, but is comforted by normal cholesterol levels. The other is mean and lean without an extra ounce of fat, watches his diet, runs marathons “part time”, and yet “suffers” from high cholesterol.

If I had to trade places, the choice would be the latter. Despite the hype about cholesterol levels, 50% of heart attacks have normal readings prior to the catastrophic event.
Progressive damage: Atherosclerosis is unavoidable but it is alarming when it happens prematurely as this accelerates the risk of dying unexpectedly and prematurely.

More than two decades ago, we classified risks of heart attack into major and minor. The three accepted major risk factors were, and still are, hypertension, high cholesterol, and smoking. Heart disease was the number one killer then. Today, medicine is making amazing advances with new drugs, diagnostic tools, and therapeutic techniques that have made old timers like myself obsolete. Yet, heart disease is still the chart topper in current-day mortality statistics.

At the risk of ruffling some feathers, diagnosis and treatment is like treating a sick tree with noxious chemical sprays on the leaves. Perhaps it may make good sense to nurture the roots before the tree becomes sick.

Quoting an article titled Are You Courting A Heart Attack by yours truly (Sunday Star, July 21, 1991), it was stated that “Death due to heart attacks will continue to rise for at least another decade before we can see the results of health education efforts. Awareness towards the importance of preventive health is rather limited, even among the ‘well-educated’ segment of our population. The prevailing attitude of ‘I don’t feel it, I don’t care’ should be discarded because, by the time you feel it, it will be too late.”

Twenty years later, the incidence of heart disease has in fact escalated and here we are still barking up the same tree, but missing the forest. However, the song that I am going to sing today bears the same title as the one 20 years ago, but the lyrics have certainly been rewritten. There is much better understanding of the genesis of heart disease today. Cholesterol is only one of the characters in this intricate play.

The origin of the story begins with the architect’s design of the human body. In the blueprints are the designated role of cholesterol. In an ideal state of harmonious equilibrium, cholesterol is not the bad guy it is portrayed to be. It is meant to carry out various crucial functions.

The membrane of every living cell in any tissue and organ is composed of cholesterol as its building block. There would be no sex and reproduction without cholesterol as both male and female hormones are dependent on its constant supply to keep the juices flowing.

Fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K have cholesterol incorporated within. Bile salts are made up of cholesterol and aids in the digestion of fat itself. Cholesterol also has a good heart in the opposing sense that it tries to heal heart disease but itself becomes embroiled in a bitter battle and gets in the cross-fire. Like the unfortunate scapegoat, it is ostracised as the scoundrel of heart disease.

On the average, the adult human body has in its reserve 35g of cholesterol. Dietary intake hovers around 200mg per day. The bulk of cholesterol is manufactured by our liver, estimated to be around 1g daily. We are therefore “absorbers” and “producers”. Here is some bad news. When cholesterol intake is reduced, the internal production steps up a notch as compensation.

It makes more sense to tackle the production rather than the absorption from food, since 80% of cholesterol is generated within. However, in individuals with exceptionally high cholesterol levels, it makes good sense to target reduction of both absorption and production.

Saturated and trans fats are transformed into cholesterol primarily in the liver by a series of enzymatic reactions. The saga begins once cholesterol leaves its factory. This waxy stuff does not enter the blood stream and floats freely to its customers. It engages a transport system, in the form of biological molecules consisting of fat and protein, collectively called lipoproteins.

The vehicle that carries cholesterol from the liver to various tissues is called the LDL-cholesterol, generally labelled as “bad cholesterol”. Unused and excess are redistributed from the tissues back to the liver by another vehicle called the HDL-cholesterol, or “good cholesterol”.
In reality, there is nothing bad or good about the passengers (cholesterol) or vehicle (the carrier, lipoprotein). The trouble starts as the level of LDL-cholesterol builds up, just like a convoy of heavy vehicles causing traffic congestion. It’s worse if the LDL-cholesterol becomes oxidised by a group of unstable oxygen molecules known as “free radicals”.

This sets off a cascade of reactions leading to the cholesterol being deposited in the artery walls supplying the heart. In this case, size does matter, as the larger LDL-cholesterol is just roaming around, but once it becomes oxidised, it shrinks in size and becomes “sticky”.

There are two issues to address here. A high level of LDL-cholesterol is certainly linked to heart disease and the oxidised state of the LDL-cholesterol is the final straw. Firstly, the reduction of the LDL-cholesterol can be achieved by slowing the liver’s rate of production, which is incidentally influenced by genetic programming.

Since we cannot change our parents no matter how hard we may try, we can alter our consumption of bad fats to good fats (monounsaturated, polyunsaturated essential fatty acids rather than saturated animal and trans fats). Secondly, if we were made of metal within, we would definitely rust. The reason why the LDL-cholesterol undergoes excessive oxidation is essentially because modern lifestyles induce a high “free radical” burden.

The first symptom of heart disease may be the last. There are often no warning symptoms, hence it is bestowed the infamous nickname “The silent killer”. A heart attack or “myocardial infarction” is a sudden event, but the process of the disease begins as early as childhood, with or without raised cholesterol levels.

Prior to the tragic episode, conventional investigations may fail to reveal underlying heart disease. Blood tests, resting ECG (electrocardiogram) and stress test are unable to detect early narrowing of the arteries.

A much respected and senior doctor once had a clean bill of health proclaimed after extensive tests, including a treadmill ECG. On a clear sunny day after, he was struck by a lightning heart attack on a tennis court. Why do we hear and read so often that someone of seemingly “good health” expires so suddenly at the prime of life?

My contractor friend once saved me from embarrassment when my sewage system became blocked and overflowed. He demonstrated that the problem was due to narrowing of the outlet as layer upon layer of oil from kitchen waste built up over the years to form an occluding crust.

Curiously, this is happening in our blood vessels. When we arrive in this challenging world, the arteries, just like new pipes, are patent and the insides smooth. As time moves on, the inner lining of the arteries undergo minute changes akin to the pipe building rust.

Cholesterol moves along, like passengers in a vehicle, in and out of the arteries. However, when LDL-cholesterol becomes oxidised, it adheres to these rough patches in an attempt to seal the damaged zones, but in the clumsy effort, actually sets off a series of events causing the arteries to harden, developing into a state known as atherosclerosis.

When the oxidised cholesterol deposits within the artery walls, it gets gobbled up by specialised white blood cells called macrophages. The latter becomes distended with bubbles of fat to aptly earn the label “foam cells”, giving rise to the formation of fatty streaks.These cells become so fat-laden that they literally burst at the seams, splattering fat and cholesterol within the wall of the artery. Now the battle really heats up, with the recruitment and incitement of other white blood cells, setting up an inflammatory response.

The mesh of fatty and cellular debris now form “plaques”, whose consistency is like toothpaste. At this stage, there is no discernable narrowing. In fact, as the plaque increases in size, the artery wall compensates by expansion around the plaque, eluding medical scrutiny. As the plaque builds up, it can rupture.

Two things can cause a heart attack. Firstly, a plaque fragment can dislodge and gets stuck in one of the smaller arteries, resulting in a sudden heart attack or stroke. Secondly, as blood flows across an abnormal surface, much like a river flowing over boulders, there is turbulence, resulting in a blood clot formation over the ruptured plaque, precipitating a massive pain in the chest. If one is lucky enough to escape sudden heart attack in middle age, the plaque deposition goes on insidiously over time, with fibrotic hardening (fibrous plaque) and progressive narrowing of the arteries, culminating in atherosclerosis.

History reminds us of the Korean war in the 1950s. What is not written in the battle annals are autopsy studies on the casualties of war. About 77% of the young soldiers who died in the line of duty were found to have evidence of atherosclerosis, and 40% had occlusive plaques. That was more than half a century ago, and it is not hard to fathom that the incidence of atherosclerosis is worse today.

Ageing is an inevitable process, and in a similar vein, our blood vessels definitely harden with time. Dying of a heart attack at age 95 deserves a standing ovation for a well run marathon and having lived life to the fullest. Atherosclerosis is unavoidable but it is alarming when it happens prematurely as this accelerates the risk of dying unexpectantly and prematurely.

Is cholesterol the sole culprit of heart disease it is often portrayed to be? If this was an espionage movie, cholesterol would actually fit the role of a double agent. A patriot at heart but coerced by treacherous conspiracy to take the fall as the traitor.

On this stage there are other players yet unmasked, one of them being homocysteine, a.k.a. the initiator of heart disease, to be discussed in the future.

Dr C.S. Foo is a medical practitioner.

GUNUNG DATUK - RAYA AT THE PEAK!

2010-10-03T10:16:00.004+08:00

At the last minute, I decided to go to Gunung Datuk on Saturday instead of Sunday as planned. At the last minute notice, I managed to get my fellow Taburians to join me, even though they have already got other plans for the weekend. Thank you very much for joining me.
We started hiking at 7.50am passing through all the too familiar areas like the above small dam!

As usual about 40 minutes later we reached the first check point. This time around, I must say that I struggled a lot to complete the climbing. I realised that my back injury hasn't recovered as yet. The heavy back pack (not so heavy lah, around 7 kilos I think!) had slowed me a lot. I felt the pain on my back and it ran through my hip and my calves!

Nevertheless, I reached the peak 1 hour 5o minutes later. At the peak, we had a pleasant surprise, our 'chipsmore' friend, John was already there. He camped there the night before with some friends to trace the trails of the Yam Tuan! We had a good time catching up at the peak of gunung Datuk!

It was planned for, we wanted to have fun by putting on our baju Raya and have some Raya cookies, as though we were visiting friend's open house! We really had fun. We put on our baju Raya, much to the amusement of another hiker who nodded in agreement and quickly we started snapping pictures. The weather was good, not windy and not hot. Since it's still early, the peak was ours to enjoy!

On the way back, I had to ask for help from my fellow Taburain to carry my backpack. it's too much for me. Thank you Azinda! And I had no problem at all descending from the peak and we reached back the starting base at around noon!

I really had fun and I don't mind coming back here again next Raya!

Bukit Tabur - Raya 2010

2010-09-26T03:02:00.008+08:00

It's my first trip to Bukit Tabur with my fellow Taburians after puasa month! It's a long break for all of us from hiking activities. It's now time to resume it!

Three of us have made Bukit Tabur our playground. Whenever we don't have anything planned for the weekend and we feel like doing hiking and rock climbing, Bukit Tabur will be our choice! This week, two colleagues joined us. Both of them enjoyed the experience and they don't mind coming back again!

SELAMAT HARI RAYA

2010-09-19T15:57:00.006+08:00

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri to all. It's never too late for Raya greetings, we are still in Syawal month. The above pic was shot by my son while we were on the way to Pasir Mas from Kuala Pilah. It took us 9.5 hours of driving to reach the destination. Otherwise, I don't think it'd take that long. It was jam around 60 km from Kota Bharu! We were caught in the jam at 3 different spots. The was simply too much traffic on the roads!

Driving around Kelantan during Raya was really no fun. The roads were jam wherever we went. We were caught in the jam again when we went for bekwah (kenduri) in Kuala Krai on the fourth day of Raya. It took us 3 hours for a distance that normally takes 1 hour of driving.

I guess I must have got enough of the jam. I drove quite fast on the way back to KL as though to compensate for the less enjoyable experience I had days before. It took me 7 hours only from Pasir Mas to Putra Heights including a long stop for lunch at Genting Sempah! That was on Thursday or 7th day of Raya!

Not many people make their ketupat this way anymore. I took this pic at my uncle's place in Kuala Pilah.

It's our first time celebrating Raya without our beloved parents. My mum passed away a few months ago. Nevertheless, we made lemang one day before Raya. So we had lemang panas for the last buka puasa. Told my sister about lemang jagung. We'd make this the next time we make lemang!

I had fun time plucking dokong at home too! I took the time to climb the tree and see whether it'd hurt my back or not. Thank God, it didn't! I can say I'm fully recovered from my slip disc! I hope so as I can't wait to resume my favourite activity! However, I didn;t bring back any dokong at all as the there was no storage area left in my car boot!

There were rambutans too. It's my favourite type, rambutan anak sekolah, which are grown mostly in Kelantan area!

RAMADHAN 4

2010-09-04T12:10:00.008+08:00

I went for a brisk walk at a park nearby my place this morning (Saturday). As usual I brisk walked for about 50 minutes or 5 rounds. During fasting month, there was less crowd at the park. I could count there were less than 5 Muslims at the park. I guess all forms of exercise is being put to a stop during Ramadhan among us Muslims.

This time around I went to the park with my basic DSLR. I always say it's basis as it's entry level kind of DSLR. And I didn't add anything more to it, no fancy lens, etc.

In fact, I don't really know how to use most of the functions. when I snapped pic, I always use the auto selection. All the pictures below were taken that way.

When it comes to taking pictures, I like portrait, landscape and close-up of flowers. For portrait, I take pictures of my relatives during family gatherings or pictures of my family members. As for landscape, my hiking activity provides me with ample opportunity to do that.

Enjoy the pictures!

Waterfall in Jelebu found not safe

2010-09-03T19:06:00.001+08:00

SEREMBAN: The Lata Kijang recreational forest in Jelebu near here has been temporarily closed after the soil structure in the area was found to have been destabilised following heavy rains in recent days.

Several landslips have also been reported in the area recently following incessant rain.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said all activities in the area had to be stopped until authorities gave the green light.

“No one will be allowed to use the facilities in the recreational area for whatever reason,” he said.

He said that the authorities have been monitoring the situation over the past few days.

Standing at 100m, Lata Kijang is among the highest waterfalls in the country.

Mohamad said Forestry Department officers have been patrolling the 380ha forest area to ensure no one violated the directive.

“The stairs built to take visitors right to the top of the waterfall is also unsafe.

We have discovered that the soil structure in the area has weakened,” he told reporters on Wednesday after the weekly state executive committee meeting.

Mohamad said a bailey bridge, toilets, resting area and the camping site were also sitting on unstable ground.

“There has been massive soil erosion in the area as large volumes of water have been brought down from upstream to the seven-storey high waterfall,” he added.

He said Sungai Kenaboi, which runs through the reserve, had also become shallow due to erosion and large amounts of sand being deposited in the river.

“The roof of a building being built at Taman Alam Liar caved in after a tree fell on it,” he said.

Prior to this, several scientific expeditions have been launched to the Lata Kijang forest area and Gunung Besar Hantu, which was a repository of flora and fauna.

Gunung Besar Hantu is among the cluster of mountains located at the tail end of the Titiwangsa Range. Standing at 1,462m above sea level, it is among the highest peaks in Peninsular Malaysia.

The state government recently gave a RM5mil grant to upgrade facilities at Lata Kijang and Gunung Besar Hantu.

Mohamad said the authorities, had since Aug 20, cordoned off the area and warning signs would be put up.

RAMADHAN 3

2010-08-21T23:14:00.007+08:00

1. By now, people know that I don't stop doing my exercise during Ramadhan. I go to the gym during weekdays doing less routine than what I normally do.

2. During weekend, I do leisure walk around the park nearby my housing area. I normally jog there during non-Ramadhan months and do around 5 rounds (about 25 minutes). This time around, I only do leisure walk and I cover 5 rounds too.

3. I quite like leisure walk as it's less impact on my knees and very relaxing. It takes longer time but it's okay. I don't get tired at the end of the five rounds and neither do I feel thirsty.

Pic of flower in the park taken using my HP camera

Frangipani

RAMADHAN 2

2010-08-21T04:25:00.007+08:00

1. As much as possible I'll try to get home in time for buka puasa with my family everyday. However, that's not possible as I'd have buka puasa appointments outside or I stay back at the office due to deadlines.

2. However, when I am at home I have my own responsibility in the kitchen. Without fail, I'd be preparing drinks for buka puasa.

3. Our favourites are fruit juice from watermelon, orange, mango, lemon and apple. For fruits that are tangy and sour, I'd normally add natural yogurt.

4. How about cooking for buka puasa? I can cook but the passion is not there during Ramadhan. Perhaps, I will cook once at least. I am thinking of preparing beef stew with mashed potato. Very unlikely food for buka puasa. I prepare this once in a while when I am in the mood especially during festive season! See how lah!

RAMADHAN

2010-08-14T11:06:00.002+08:00

1. What a Ramadhan, I was hospitalised on the second day. It's rather embarrassing experience as I fell to the floor unconscious, not for long though, about a few seconds. But it was enough to give me cold sweats immediately after that. Since it's rather an embarrassing experience, I prefer not to dwell so much about it here.

2. Due to my strong family history of heart disease, my elder brothers either died of heart attack or had bypass or had heart attack, the doctor didn't allow me to go home, instead he retained me in the ward for further observations.

3. The next day, I had to undergo stress test and echo cardiogram. Both tests came out with good results. I know that for sure when it comes to stress test, just like my eldest brother, our hearts are strong as we exercise regularly. However, the culprit is the cholesterol that runs high in our family. We were all born with liver that is hyper, it produces more cholesterol than the average person, more than than the body could consume.

4. I was discharged immediately after the tests with an appointment to see the doctor again in 3 months.

5. There it goes, I missed two fasting days and this year, it's confirmed that I can't complete the fasting for one month!

6. I'm okay now and that is the experience that I dare not repeat!

GUNUNG ANGSI VIA BUKIT PUTUS (DIARY ENTRY)

2010-08-10T03:33:00.005+08:00

I made it to Gunung Angsi via Bukit Putus last Sunday. I was worried as I had just recovered from my slip disc. Worried that it'd be tough and it'd involve a lot of squatings and bendings. It turned out that the trail was very very simple and I had no problem at all in completing the journey. I felt the strain on my back but it was bearable.

When we reached there at around 8.15am, there were already so many cars lined up the roadsides and other hikers were already warming up to go up. We took the opportunity to be friendly to them to get more info about the trail. We were told it wouldn't take more than 2 hours to reach the summit. True enough, even though I was going at a slower pace yet I reached the summit within 1 hour 50 minutes.

It's the typical trails and it's quite steep as well. However, it wasn't that long. It was enough to make me sweat!

We stayed up at the peak for about 15 minutes and decided to come down as quickly as possible as it was very cloudy, rain was coming! It never did while we were there and it only rained for a while when we stopped at Senawang to have our lunch.

We joined a group of friends who had already got their permanent campsite around 30 minutes midway to the summit. They come here every Sunday to clean up the place and to hike. We can sleep here if we want too as tables, chairs and stools were there. On that day, they prepared 'bubur pulut hitam' using dead woods from the jungle for fire and water from the mountain for cooking. It was the most delicious bubur that I had ever tasted up on a mountain!

Back to the starting point in slightly less than 4 hours!

It was a very relaxing experience and I'll definitely come back again and again. It's going to be my other playground, after Bukit Tabur!

Short entry for a short hiking experience! Last kopek before Ramadhan and I wish everyone Selamat Berpuasa.

GUNUNG ANGSI VIA BUKIT PUTUS

2010-08-04T23:27:00.003+08:00

1. If all goes as planned, Insyaallah, I'll be hiking Gunung Angsi via Bukit Putus. I'll be joining a group of friends who always use this route instead of Ulu Bendol. It took us 8 hours for the whole group to complete Gunung Angsi via Ulu Bendol the last time.

2. In comparison, it takes about 1.5 hours to reach the summit of Gunung Angsi via Bukit Putus and about the same time to descend.

3. I guess the only thing that's missing is the sound from the streams and there will be no river crossings too.

4. I really look forward to this trip. My plan to go to Bukit Kutu last week was cancelled as my daughter was hospitalised. So, this is going to be my first hiking trip after Tahan Challenge and after recovering from my spinal problem!

5. Wish me luck!

BUKIT KUTU - CX

2010-08-01T05:19:00.002+08:00

1. I had to cancel the trip to Bukit Kutu as my daughter had been hospitalised due to appendicitis. She underwent her operation successfully and is now recovering at the hospital. My wife is there taking care of her (my princess!).

2. As for me, I have to be home taking care of the boys.

3. It seems there will be no hiking trip for me before Ramadhan. Next weekend, I'll be going 'balik kampung' with my sisters and brothers. It's going to be our first time "balik kampung' since the demise of our beloved mother, about two weeks ago. May do hiking again on much smaller scale after Raya this year.

BUKIT KUTU

2010-07-29T02:09:00.003+08:00

1. It's been sometime, I don't update this blog. I have been busy as usual, as part of my recovery process, I swim on weekends and I am pleased with myself as I can also jog. I start jogging about two weeks ago. A friend said if I can jog that means I am ready for hiking.

2. And just to test my readiness for hiking, I went to Bukit Gasing last week. Armed with my camera, I hiked for about 2 hours. It was fun and it really brought back fond memories, as though, my last hiking outing happened years ago. In fact I only stopped hiking about a month ago.

3. I am going to Bukit Kutu this week with my colleagues and some friends. Bukit Kutu is located in Kuala Kubu Bharu, it's 1100 m asl. This is really a test whether I am really fit for more hiking. Sad to say, this will be the last event too before Ramadhan and Syawal. Anyway, I really look forward to it.

TAKING A BREAK - PHYSIO TREATMENT

2010-07-13T02:51:00.005+08:00

Traction machine at the hospital

1. Since the last incidence of muscle spasm and slip disc, I haven't been updating my the blog. I have been on physio treatment and this week, I'll do the last two sessions.

2. To those who are familiar with slip disc may know that the physiotherapist will teach us some movements on how to strengthen the spine. I have been doing the exercise everyday without fail.

3. As part of the physio treatment, I also have to do traction. Traction treatment help me to relive my back pain. It helps to stretch the tight spinal muscles and relieve me from the nerve root impingement.

4. Another treatment is Interferential Therapy (IFT), a form electrotherapy treatment.

5. After doing more than 4 treatments, I am almost back to my previous physical fitness, prior to Gunung Tahan.

6. I am still taking a break from hiking activities. If everything is okay, at least I want to go to our playground (Bukit Tabur) before Ramadhan.

GUNUNG TAHAN - THE COMPLETE DIARY

2010-06-23T23:41:00.013+08:00

Yes, I made it to the summit of Gunung Tahan. A feat that I never thought possible and I never dreamt about.

Personally, I prefer day hiking activities as I don't have to carry heavy back pack and I don't have to apply for leave from work as it always takes place over the weekend.

Reaching the summit of Gunung Tahan is a very important milestone in my hiking activities. With this achievement, I am confident that I can climb any of those mountains listed in G7 namely, Korbu, Gayung, Yong Belar, Chamah, Yong Yap and Ulu Sepat and Ulu Sepat. A friend who is 50 years old that I met in Tahan, was already going for his 2nd G7 (Chamah) last week.

As for me, I am thinking about doing Korbu and Gayung, no date as yet as I am now recovering from my back problem. It could be next year.

In the meantime, let me complete the diary on Gunung Tahan.

May 29
The biggest challenge for me on the first day was carrying heavy back pack. Being a day hiker, I am not used to carrying heavy load at all. The heavy back pack had slowed me a lot. In fact until today, I still have the mark of the back pack strap on my chest! That should explain how heavy the back pack was!

On the second day, the challenges were to ascend from 750 meter to 1,943 meters, going through slippery trails with heavy back pack. I had reduced the weight by leaving behind some rations and clothes at Kem Kor, however the back pack still felt heavy.

The climb on the second day was to reach Kem Botak (1,943 meters) where we will camp for another night. We went through several check points along the way namely Permatang (874 m), Kubang (1,406m), Belumut (1,493m) and Bonsai (1,705m). The distance was around 15km.

From Kubang onwards, the temperature had dropped by a few degrees. As it was quite cold already and we were sweating, I told myself that I couldn't stop for long. No stop for proper meal as we also lost the appetite. We were really tired and lunch lunch was just apple, raisin and nuts.

From Bonsai onwards, the view was beautiful and the vegetation was shorter and stunted. Conifers were abundant.

We reached Kem Botak around 5.30pm, after hiking for 10 hours. It was very tiring and at times, I was just dragging my feet. I had more and more stops. After a few steps, I stopped to catch my breath. I was in the last group with another 3 climbers and by the time we reached Kem Botak, some of our friends had already been there for 3 hours and they had their tents ready. These people were super fast!

That night, it rained heavily after dinner. It lasted for almost two hours. We were lucky as our tent was on a slope. For others, their tents were flooded.

May 30
It's the day that we'd hike up to the summit which was an hour away. We left at 6.45am and 45 minutes later, we reached the summit. Yes! I made it.

Nothing much to say about the peak, no 360 degrees view of the surroundings! Nevertheless, it was an ecstatic feeling being at the highest peak of Peninsular Malaysia!

Upon reaching back Kem Botak, we had our breakfast, packed up everything and left for Kem Kor again for the last camping night. On the way down, it was raining. I was always scared of rain while hiking, first the surface will be slippery and then it's going to be cold. Much to my surprise, I welcomed the rain as helped me cool down my body temperature.

Another thing that I always try to avoid is to hike at night. The group that we met at the first night at Kem Kor, they reached there at around 9.00pm. Considering it took us 10 hours to climb up and if it took us the same time, we'd reach Kem Kor when it was already dark. The descend took only 7 hours and by 5.00pm, we reached back Kem Kor. I was relieved!

May 31
It's the final day and the pressure is off. We left at 9.00am and took 3 hours to reach back the starting point.

In conclusion, it was very challenging for me. However, all the preparations have helped a lot. By conquering this mountain, all other G7 seems possible.

In the meantime, I'll take a long break to recover from the spinal problem that has deteriorated. There will be physio sessions to attend!

BUKIT MERAH LAKE TOWN RESORT - SEVERE PAIN

2010-06-20T05:32:00.007+08:00

It's the last week of mid-term school holiday and as planned we left for Bukit Merah Lake Town resort for 3D 2N holiday.

The children were having fun, the eldest two went into the theme park, while the youngest two boys enjoyed themselves in the swimming pool at the apartment.

On the day that we were supposed to check out and left for Penang to attend a wedding of our niece, I had a bad sneeze that affected my health until today.

Before leaving, I was already not feeling well. I had my MRI done and based on the result I had to undergo physio treatment as I had slip disc (no too serious as the nerves were not affected!) between L4 & L5 and between L5 and S1.

When I sneezed that day before performing my solat subuh, I guess that I was in bad posture, it caused me severe pain on my back as if it's going to rip apart and break into two. I continued praying on sitting position. When I was done praying, I realised that I couldn't walk anymore, the pain was so unbearable. I couldn't even lie in bed! We decided to cancel the trip to Penang and headed home instead.

Luckily I had hiking stick in the car that I can use as support to help me move about. The hotel staff was surprised to see me again as I was okay and could still swim the day before.

Luckily, I had my wife who could drive us back home. Upon reaching home, the pain had subsided but I still couldn't move about freely without the help of walking stick.

I am resting at home now and will see the Orthopedic again on Monday!

What a holiday!

PINE TREE HILL - SEEING AN ORTHOPEDIC

2010-06-05T15:52:00.003+08:00

I am sad as I had to cancel the hiking plan to Pine Tree Hill with my colleagues. We have made the preparation for over a month and everyone was looking forward to it. We were supposed to leave on Friday afternoon next week and spend a night at Fraser's Hill.

However, I had to cancel the trip as I was scheduled to see an orthopedic on the same day. Seeing the orthopedic on the same day is not really the reason to cancel the plan. The persistent pain on my back is the reason for it.

I have been having back pain for almost a year. It all happened when I was cleaning up my storage room when it was attacked by termites. I was overcome with emotions as I had to throw away some books and other paper products that had sentimental value from the storage room. I didn't pay any attention to my posture. And as fate had it, I injured my back then!

Anyway, it was a slight injury, I thought so as I could move freely and it only caused me pain every now and then when I exerted myself too much.

After coming back from Gunung Tahan, the pain was becoming unbearable, the numbness on my right leg would cause me pain right to the sole of my foot. And it always happens when I am in the car for a long time (that's always the case as I drive for more than 1 hour a day). At times, it was no longer numb but it was also painful!

So I have no choice, I am scheduled to see an orthopedic to see the extent of my injury. I don't want to write much of what I have in mind now until the specialist assesses my condition. After that, I can plan of what to do with my life especially when it comes to fitness exercises!

GUNUNG TAHAN - DAY 1 & 2

2010-06-02T08:47:00.011+08:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِي

Three words that sum up my Gunung Tahan experience. I Made It!

How did I make it? That's another story and the diary entries on my experience will shed some lights on the how!

May 27

After packing up everything in the backpack, we left for KL Sentral to meet with the others and to board the train to Merapoh that was scheduled to leave at 8.35pm.

The road was jammed as it was the peak time for people to leave their office. Nevertheless, we made it to the station at 7.30pm, enough time for us to have our dinner at the food court.

We lined up our backpacks near KFC

The train was delayed by half hour. We were all booked in 2nd class coach with sleeping berth. I chose the lower deck as I didn't think I could sleep at the upper deck. For this trip, I really had to have a good rest, especially so I wasn't fully recovered yet from my fever. I popped in panadol and piriton to help me to sleep and have a good rest.

May 28

The train reached Merapoh station at 8.30am. Everybody was excited and started snapping pictures the moment we saw Merapoh signboard. I believe everybody wanted to document their trip. I was told it's everyone's first trip to Gunung Tahan.

Breakfast was a simple nasi kerabu yet delicious!

Our guide and 4WD driver were already there waiting for us while we had our breakfast. There were two 4WDs for 16 of us. It was a short 7 minutes ride to Taman Negara Pahang office. Here we had to wait until 11am for the officer to settle our registration and for him to inspect our stuffs. We had to lay down on the floor all the stuffs from the backpack for him to inspect. Items that they were particular about including bottled drinks, plastic wrapped food items, batteries, cooking gas and clothing items.

My items were on the floor for the inspection

There were 16 of us including 2 ladies. Both ladies and another 3 guys were going for 9D challenge. As for 11 of us, we were going for 4D challenge, Merapoh - Summit - Merapoh. It's going to be 64km return trip of hilly terrains, steep slopes, river crossings and muddy trails! I guess everyone was ready for it. As for me, I was ready too, all the hiking trips for the past two years had already prepared me for this trip.

After the administrative matters were over, we were taken to the starting point by 4WD. It was a roller coaster ride through bumpy and hilly narrow road for about 17 minutes. On the first day of hiking, we were scheduled to camp at Kem Kor (750 meter asl), 13 km away from the starting point. There were two check points, Kuala Luis and Lata Luis.

Here I had the first taste of my heavy backpack of at least 15 kgs of rations, clothes and tent. I felt as though someone was strangling me from the back and it was so constricting. A buff that I used to wrap around my neck was such a heavy item too and I had to wear it on my hand instead. The 13km trekking seemed to take almost forever and the heavy backpack had really slowed me down.

We had to cross over the river four times and thank God, the water lever was up to 3 feet high only. I was told that the water level could be as high as 5 feet and it's there on video on You Tube! After crossing smaller river for another 3 times, we finally reached Kem Kor at around 5.30pm. That means it took us 5 hours. That's the average time allocated to reach Kem Kor. And of course, there were a few of us who made it in just 3 hours including the two iron ladies! Boy, they were fast!

The last river crossing

After resting for a few minutes, we quickly set our tent and prepared the dinner. Dinner was rice and chicken curry. After dinner, I popped in panadol and piriton again. I was really hooked onto the pills during my trip as that was the only way for me to have a good rest. Otherwise, I may end up having sleepless nights and and didn't have enough rest. For any camping trip that I have been, I could only sleep for less than 3 hours.

I also learned a few days later that another two hikers were also having similar problems and I had to share the pills with them.

I woke at 3am and managed to sleep again until 5.20am when I heard azan prayers. A group of students reached back Kem Kor from the summit the night before and I didn't notice it at all. I was told that they reached Kem Kor around 9pm! I took the opportunity to join them for subuh prayers.

May 29

By 7.30am the next day, we had to leave for even bigger challenges, going from 750 meter asl ascending to 1,943 meter asl.

Here at Kem Kor, we were advised to leave behind rations and some clothing items that we don't need for the next one night. It helped to reduce the wight of our back pack. As for me, I felt it was just as heavy as there weren't that many items that I left behind!

To be continued for Day 2, 3 and 4!

GUNUNG TAHAN - HERE I COME

2010-05-27T18:20:00.003+08:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِي

This is going to be a very short entry.

I'll be leaving in a few minutes to KL Sentral to catch 8.30pm train to Merapoh. The train is expected to reach Merapoh station 9 hours later at 5.30am. After breakfast, we will take 4WD ride to Taman Negara where we will do the registration and declare all the things that we have in our back pack!

I am excited as my biggest hiking project this year is already here. And I pray that the weather is good for the next five days!

GUNUNG TAHAN - LESS THAN A WEEK TO GO!

2010-05-21T19:34:00.004+08:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِي
I'll be leaving for Merapoh by train on Thursday night next week. I have less than 6 days to buy things for the trip. I have got most of the items to bring with the exception of some food stuffs. Included in the to-buy list are serunding daging, pita bread, fried ikan bilis, raisins and chocolates.
Other than food stuffs, I also need to buy/get medicines like panadol, buscopan, and medicines for diarrhoea. This time around I will have no choice but to depend on water source in the jungle. I hope I'll be able to boil the water first before consumption. But who knows? I may need to drink raw water from the mountain! If I have to, it's not going to be the first time as I drank raw water twice already in my previous hiking trip in Nuang and Angsi.
As for the training, I really hope that I am physically prepared. With the exception of the two weeks in early May, I have never stopped going to the gym and hiking during weekend. Health wise, I am almost recovered from the fever and flu that I got for more than 2 weeks. I am still coughing a little bit. I expect to be fully recovered by Sunday.
The sad part is my wife and two children are not okay now. I had to go on half day EL in the afternoon (today) as I had to look after them and also to send my eldest son to his tuition class. Because of this, I had also cancelled the plan to go to Angsi via Bukit Putus tomorrow. However, they will recover just in time for me to join the other group on Sunday. Insyaallah!
I am ready for Tahan now and my only pray is for us to have clear sky all day long! It's only for 4 days and I hope the weather will be friendly to me during that time!
Dear readers! wish me all the best!

BUKIT TABUR - WEST SIDE (Update)

2010-05-15T21:05:00.005+08:00

Yes! I went to Tabur West today with another two colleagues. I know that I haven't fully recovered as yet. I had to do it as I haven't been exercising for the past two weeks. Missed my gym exercise and no sport activities over the last two weekends.

There were a lot of hikers today and it was like a carnival up there! Every now and then, there were human traffic jams as everyone took their turn to do their rock climbing, up and down the steep slopes.

We were going slow too and we stopped a lot to enjoy the breathtaking views and to snap pictures! As opposed to the popular choice of going down through the orchard, we came back using the same route! It was challenging and it was fun! However, the weather was a bit too hot for me and I could feel that my body temperature rose again!

By the time, we had our lunch at the Melawati Hawkers Centre, I started sneezing and had to excuse myself to get into the car earlier after completing my lunch!

Upon reaching home, after taking shower and zohor prayers, I popped in panadol and piriton and went to sleep. I dozed off until 6.30pm!

I really hope that I got over this flu and fever bugs by this week as I need to be at the top of my health when I go for my Tahan Challenge!

BUKIT TABUR - WEST SIDE (NOT WELL)

2010-05-12T23:32:00.002+08:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِي
I am still not well as yet.
Finally, I went to see our in-house Dr. yesterday and told her that I gave up on self healing. I didn't take that much of medicine as I didn't feel the need for it, I didn't have high fever or bad flu. And no body ache too! I thought it'd just go away after 2 or 3 days.
10 days have gone by and I am still not okay as yet. I am now on antibiotic for 5 days. If I still haven't recovered yet after taking the full course of the anti-biotic, I think I need to see a Specialist. I hope not!
This reminds me of my trip to Mt. Kinabalu last year. A few weeks prior to the climbing day, I had bad gastritis and it lasted a while until I had to cancel some of the hiking trips planned as part of the training. I had to OGDS scope and when I was there on the mountain, I had to make a few stops just to go to the toilet!
And I am now praying that I'd be okay and can do some more hiking trips before leaving for Merapuh on May 27.
For that I visualise that I am okay by Friday morning and by Saturday I can go to Bukit Tabur West Side. Insyaallah!

Gunung Angsi - not well!

2010-05-05T05:00:00.004+08:00

I haven't been well since I came down from Pine Tree Hill last Saturday. In fact the symptoms were there when I reached Fraser's Hill on Friday. Was it the driving through long and winding road that made me giddy at first? Or was it the dust at The Pines Resort? The apartment at Pines Resort was dusty, dirty and smelly. It must be the combination of both and later on the 7 hours hiking made it worse!

I popped in panadol and piriton before going to sleep last Friday. And with that I had a good sleep. And when we started hiking at 9am, I could feel that my throat was dry and felt uneasy!
Yesterday at the office, we just heard that a child of a colleague at the same floor was down with H1N1. I think our colleague must be home quarantined by now! My boss who heard that I wasn't well suggested that I went to see our in-house Dr. I don't think I'd do that as I am okay, slight fever and sore throat only. The sore throat was really making me feel unpleasant!
Anyway, I don't have any major hiking activity to do this week. In fact, I didn't have anything planned at all. As usual, I always have Bukit Tabur in mind when I don't have any place to go!
However, for this week, I am planning to go to Gunung Angsi via Bukit Putus. I was told it's much shorter route and it takes around 4 hours to complete it. Yup! Gunung Angsi, I am going to see you again! Let's have a date on Sunday this week!

PINE TREE HILL

2010-05-02T05:07:00.003+08:00

My first blog entry on Pine Tree Hill was last year on July 22. My planned trip to Pine Tree Hill was cancelled then.

When a friend posted on Facebook that he's going to Pine Tree Hill, I jumped into it by inviting myself in. The reason I said I invited myself in was because there was no invitation extended to me. Being a 'muka tak malu' myslef and the fact that Pine Tree Hill was in my list of mountains to climb this year, I asked my friend whether I could join him and his gang! The answer was a resounding Yes!

This trip was going to be back-to-back with Gunung Ledang of which I did last week. My energy level is good and my health, couldn't be better, so I made all the preparations to Pine Tree Hill. Amongst others, I got my sweater ready just in case the weather becomes too chilly!

I left my office earlier last Friday and headed down to Rawang straight away using the old road. Much to my dislike the road was jammed a few kilometers after Selayang heading down to Rawang! I was worried as I needed to reach the gate by 7.40pm before it closed for the day. Thank God, I reached there at 7.15pm! It was already dark and I had to be very careful going up the narrow, long and winding road to Fraser's Hill.

We met up with the team leader who told us that we'd gather around 8.30am the next day to go to Pine Tree Hill.

The next day, we gathered at Puncak Inn and left for the starting point in 5 cars. I thought there weren't that many of us but I was surprised when the final headcount was done, there were 23 of us. Majority of us were first timers at Pine Tree Hill with the exception of one guy, who was on his first climbing trip!

After a short briefing by the team leader, we started the hiking at 9.00am. We were told that it'd take around 5-6 hours to complete the climb. The climb to the summit itself will take 3 hours and we were told that we'd also cover Twin Peaks, which was just 30 minutes away from Pine Tree Hill!

For the first 3 km of the trip, we had to go down and up of steps made of planks and concrete. It's very helpful for us especially when the land surface was wet. However, when we came back using the same route, the steps proved to be very challenging!

Our team leader was going very fast and he and his gang was like 30 minutes ahead of us. At times, we were clueless with the next trail to take. And we didn't even know that we have reached the peak for Pine Tree Hill!

Instead, 7 of us proceeded to go to the next peak, Twin Peaks which was 30 minutes away! We reached Twin Peaks after climbing for 3 hours 15 minutes!

It was very hot at the summit as there were no shades, after taking some pics as proof that we have been there, we took refuge under some shades and had our lunch. Lunch was made up of pita bread with beef serunding and apples! One of the team members shared with us her home made tuna & egg sandwich!

After about 30 minutes, we left for the base and met up with the team leader who waited for us at Pine Tree Hill. He explained that he had to go very fast as one of the younger boys in the group was leading the way and he didn't want him to get lost. We knew it then the place that we met several climbers earlier on was the peak of Pine Tree Hill. And unknowingly we went straight to Twin Peaks!

A must pose under the hot sun!

When we finally made it to the starting point, the time was 4pm. We completed the climb in 7 hours. There were quite a number of us, who did it in slightly more than 5 hours!

I was there to recce the place too so that I can take my colleagues to go there. Based on what I have gathered, my colleagues should be able to do this mountain! It's simple yet challenging enough!

GUNUNG LEDANG: APR 24

2010-04-25T10:32:00.002+08:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِي

This week, I went to Gunung Ledang with my colleagues. This is going to be the highest mountain yet for our group! There were 11 of us and 10 of us made it to the summit. The other person gave up after 2nd Check point complaining that he's too old for this!

Thank you to one of our colleagues who agreed to allow us to stay at his parents' place in Bukit Gambir prior to climbing the next day! Without him, this trip might not have been possible. The original plan was for us to stay in cabin/chalet at Gunung Ledang Resort. However, the place was full for the weekend!

We started the climb at 8am after the briefing session by Taman Negara Johor's staff. We were told that Gunung Ledang is the tallest mountain in southern Peninsular Malaysia and it's the sixth toughest mountain to climb! It'd take 10 hours to complete the climb!

Everything went well and smoothly from the first Check Point, Bukit Semput. By the time we reached the third Check Point, the guide must have noticed that our group was on the slower side and suggested that we took the alternative route to the summit instead. I objected as that meant we'd have to skip some of the interesting and challenging trails especially Batu Hampar & Gua Kambing! Finally, everybody agreed to go through Batu Hampar as we were not that slow after all. We could still make it to the peak around 2pm and start descending about 3pm!

Batu Hampar is about 60 degrees slope of rock surface and it's 110 meters high. Congratulations to my colleagues as everybody made it through this trail despite the fact it's an acrophobic experience!

We reached the peak at 2pm, after climbing for 6 hours! If we didn't reach the peak by 3pm, we'd have to turn back as we might not reach back the base before dark! Congratulations again to all.

We reached back the base at 6pm and the last person reached there 25 minutes later. Even though we were slow but we made it before it was dark. After taking shower, we left Taman Negara Johor Gunung Ledang with fond memories and sense of achievement!

GUNUNG RAJAH

2010-04-20T03:57:00.007+08:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِي

I had to cancel my trip to Gunung Rajah last week as I wasn't feeling well. I had food poisoning or is it my recurring gastritis? On Thursday night last week, I purged five times and by the time I attended the last day of my five day training, I was already very weak. My lunch on Friday was the most expensive as I didn't touch the buffet spread at all. All I had was just plain bread and oxtail soup!

My Tahan team mates went ahead with the plan of hiking Gunung Rajah. I heard they had fun time. It was raining heavily on Friday night and it rained again Saturday. From the pics that I see on FB, they put on their poncho as well.

However, the pay off was fantastic. They had a clear day and could see the surroundings very clearly including Genting from the peak. The above picture is from their Gunung Rajah's album in FB.

As for me, Gunung Rajah remains elusive and I had already included it in the list of mountains to conquer this year. I may go there again after my Tahan trip. Insyaallah!

GUNUNG NUANG - 9 & 10 April

2010-04-11T07:50:00.020+08:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِي

The last time I went to Gunung Nuang was in July last year, that was two weeks before I left for Mount Kinabalu. At that time, I joined a church group from Seremban. It was challenging and fun as usual, we completed the climb in 11 hours. I decided then if I were to go to Nuang again I'd prefer to camp for one night at Kem Lolo and go for the final push very early the next day. The reason for that is because the return trekking along the never ending road from the base to Kem Lolo (the starting point for the climb) will take at least 4 hours. By camping for one night I'd have saved at least 2 hours of trekking the next day. So, instead of taking 11 hours to complete the climb, I'd need only 9 hours!

As part of my preparation to go to Gunung Tahan this year, I am going to do just that, camp for one night at Kem Lolo and go for the final push very early the next day.
All I can say is, we can only plan and God will determine the final execution. The whole thing didn't start as what we planned it. We wanted to leave KL at 4pm, we left at 6.30pm instead. And instead of going for the final push at 7am, we started at 9.45am only!
It was all because it rained heavily on the day that we left, the roads in KL were jammed and due to that and also work commitment I could only leave my office at 4.30pm. After picking up my first hiking buddy in KL area, we picked up the second one at 6.30pm and left for Ulu Langat immediately via Ampang route.
We also planned to have our sandwich dinner at Kem Lolo. Since it was already dinner time and we were already hungry we stopped over near Taman Agrotek for the dinner. It was a nice dinner!
By the time we reached the base camp it was already 9.20pm. And after the final preparations of checking that everything is in order and well packed in the heavy backpack, we left at 9.45pm only! For the first time ever, I had to carry heavy load on my back, it must have been 50 liters at least. I got my tent, sleeping bag, clothes for change and food rations for two days packed into my 48 liters backpack. My oh my. It was so heavy! I had no choice I had to do this as part of my training to climb Gunung Tahan, of which I have to carry heavy load for 5 days in a row!
The evening trekking along the never ending road didn't seem to take that long. After about 20 minutes, I remembered that I left our breakfast and dinner (a loaf of bread) on the boot of my car. John, the youngest amongst three of us offered his help of running back to the base camp for the bread! We stopped along the way at the three rest areas located along the way. Every time, I resumed the journey, I felt the air was so refreshing and it recharged me to continue further.
By the time we reached Kem Lolo, it was already 12.15am, that means we took close to 2.5hours! After setting up the tent, I left no chance at all and went to sleep straight away with my sweat soaked t-shirt and pants! I woke up 2 hours later to change to comfortable and dry clothes. As usual, I didn't have good sleep in the jungle, and I also noticed there were 3 more groups arriving between 3 to 6am! Wow, this mountain is so popular!
At around 6am, I was already wide awake and I heard the storm far away and I was speaking to myself, God, don't let it rain again! My prayers were not answered and it started pouring at around 7am and it stopped only 2.5hour later. Deep in my heart I was telling myself not to proceed as I heard so much about Nuang, it can be very nasty after rain, it's very slippery and it's full of mud! Anyway, I don't want to spoil the spirits of my buddies and I kept the thought to myself.
When the rain had finally stopped at 9.30am, we prepared ourselves for the final push and left Kem Lolo fifteen minutes later. The trails were slippery with potholes filled with water here and there and we made it to the next check point, Kem Pacat almost 2 hours later. Along the way, we met some other hikers namely Syed Khairul and his group of Rumah Merah from PSMB and Hafidz and his three angels. We met all of them at Kem Pacat and exchanged greetings! They were a bunch of nice people and very friendly too! Syed Khairul was there with his wife and eldest son!
Kem Pacat or Leeches Camp is unlike its name, instead of leeches there were a lot bees. I got stung by one of them as it was squezed in between my finger and the backpack while I was adjusting it. Having said that, the night before I didn't realise that I got bitten by 3 of these dancing queens (leeches/pacat).
One hour later we reached the false peak or officially known as Puncak Pengasih. And we gathered here again for the rest of the group members to arrive. To inform his group members that he'd reached Puncak Pengasih, Syed lighted a loud firecracker!
The final phase was the 1 hour trekking from Puncak Pengasih to the summit. When we finally made it there, there were already many people resting and enjoying the view from the peak. Some of them must have been camping there all night long!
Janda Baik can be seen clearly from the peak, while the view from the other side of the peak was very misty. We couldn't see anything at all. The squirrels were gone too, apparently, they had been fed a lot in the morning by the earlier group. It was all worth it, especially for my first timer friend.
We made our way back to Kem Lolo 45 minutes later and reached there around 6.15pm and left at around 6.55pm after dismantling the tents and packed up everything. And we reached the loggers trail at 7.15pm, before it was dark. It was a 2 hour night jungle trekking again and we reached back the base camp at around 9.15pm. After cleaning up, we left Gunung Nuang with lots of memories.
As a conclusion, rain or shine, I don't mind to do Nuang again!

GUNUNG LEDANG

2010-04-03T05:41:00.002+08:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِي

We are now ready to climb Gunung Ledang on Apr 24. At first, we had some hurdles on the logistics. Originally, I booked the cabins for 12 pax on Apr 22, not knowing and not checking on the calendar that it falls on Thursday. I confirmed with my colleagues that I had booked the cabins. In actual fact, it was booked on a wrong date. Another thing, I had the feeling that I was in JB when I made the call to Gunung Ledang Resort while in actual fact I was in Kuching! I was so disoriented with place and time!
A few days later, I called Taman Negara Ledang management to book the hiking permit and by then I realised that I should have booked the cabins on Apr 23 (Fri) instead. I managed to book the permits for 12 pax as planned on Apr 24.
With that confirmation, I had to call Gunung Leadang Resort to shift my booking date from Apr 22 to Apr 23. Unfortunately, the cabins and chalets were all full from Apr 23 - 26.
That was when I decided to change the overall logistics from one night camping trip to a day trip. That will involve meeting up at Seremban R&R at 5.30am with the aim of reaching Ledang and start hiking at 8.30am. My colleagues were all okay with it with the exception of one lady who thought that it'd be too risky to do it on a day trip as we had to leave very early in the morning and came back very late in the afternoon! That's always the case when we plan for group hiking and it's very difficult to please everyone. So this option was off!
We were exploring the idea of staying for one night in any cheap hotel in Ayer Keroh (at least it's already half way) when out of the bluw, a colleague offered his parents' place instead. And thank you to him, everyone agreed on that option!
Talking about the permit, below are the charges:
1. Entrance fee - RM5.00/pax
2. Hiking permit - RM5.00/pax
3. Insurance - RM2.00/pax
4. Deposit for Littering (Refundable) - RM25/pax
5. Guide - RM140 per 10 pax and we have to take 2 guides since there are 11 of us.

And I planned to have two guides anyway regardless on the number of pax as I want to split the group into two. One guide for the slower group and the other is for the faster group! And I don't want the faster group to wait for the slower one to reach any checkpoint!
I really hope that it's going to be a success and everyone will reach the summit regardless of their speed! And of course, my worry is the trail called Batu Hampar where it involves climbing a 4 storey-high rock surface with the help of big ropes! If the ladies can pass this level, they can go all the way up to the summit!

GUNUNG LEDANG

2010-03-28T04:17:00.008+08:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِي

I have been busy at work since middle of March. Even though I have got invitations for hiking here and there, I haven't been able to join as yet, not until my nationwide tour for my work is done. That would be on April 10.
My last outstation trip will be on Apr 2, that would take me Segamat, Muar and Batu Pahat. Once that is done, I'll be free over the weekend again.
Not only that I don't have time on weekends but I also don't have the luxury of time at work. I have been promising my colleagues and friends that I'd confirm the hiking trip to Gunung Ledang on April 23 but so far I haven't been able to pick up the phone and call Ledang Resort for booking.
And I really hope that I'd be able to confirm the hiking trip by next week. Or else, it'll be too late and I'd have to postpone the date.
In the meantime, I am leaving for Kuching this morning. I purposely arranged for my flight very early in the morning of Sunday so that I'd have the time to wander around Kuching city to look for kek lapis, sayur midin and ikan terubuk masin. He He He!
The last time I went to Kuching was 3 years ago. When I went there the first time, about twenty years ago, I remember eating red color fruit that that looks like starfruit. I ate the same fruit recently when a friend went there and brought back some. I forgot the name of the fruit already!

GUNUNG TAHAN

2010-03-22T06:32:00.001+08:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِي

I missed the first meeting that the group had on the hiking planning for Gunung Tahan (GT). In the meeting they also discussed about the physical preparation that includes hiking activities at several mountains.

I already missed two sessions and will end up missing all the sessions for this month due to work commitment. For two weeks in a row I'd have to go outstation on Sunday. So, I prefer not to go for long hours activities on Saturday as I don't want to be away from my family too long.

I already missed Bukit Saga and Gunung Dato' and I'll miss Gunung Nuang this week.

I really hope that I can join them for for Gunung Angsi next week, may be I'll try the Bukit Putus trail for the first time!

The next hiking activities planned include the followings:

1. Apr 4 (Sun) - Gunung Angsi
2. Apr 10 (Sat) - Gunung Nuang (camping 1 night)
3. Apr 17 (Sat) - Gunung Rajah (camping 1 night)
4. Apr 23 (Fri) -Gunung Ledang (my own group)
5. May 1 (Sat) - Gunung Yong Yap (camping 2 nights)
6. May 9 (Sun) - Gunung Ayam (where is this? It's a day trip)
7. May 15 (Sat) - Lata Berembun (camping 1 night)
8. May 27 (Thu night) - Depart for Merapoh!

Wow! This is the plan and I intend to join all the activities.

Right now, I got Gunung Ledang to plan for my colleagues. I really hope confirm it by this week. I already plan to get two guides, one for the slow group and the other is for the average speed group!

GUNUNG BESAR HANTU

2010-03-19T17:03:00.012+08:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِي

Personally, I don't think this mountain is very popular amongst hikers due to access problem and furthermore it's not as challenging as those mountains in G7 list. When it comes to access problem, we had to take a ride from a friend who's driving a 4WD to get to the camp site. The 4WD journey itself took almost 1.5 hours. It's not advisable to drive a sedan car to the campsite as the road is very rough.

Otherwise the mountain could easily be one of my favourites as Lata Kijang, a five storey high waterfalls is also located here. What a beautiful sight! And the climb is also simple, unlike other mountains of the same range of height that I have been; namely Nuang and Ledang.

Located near Kampung Chennai, Kuala Kelawang, Negeri Sembilan, Gunung Besar Hantu (GBH) is 1462 meters above sea level. For a mountain of this height, the hiking can be done in just a day.

How To Get There?

We left at 2.00pm from Subang Jaya by taking LDP until Semenyih. From there, we took LEKAS highway to Ampangan, Negeri Sembilan. When we came out from the highway, we took the left turn to Kuala Kelawang. And finally we drove all the way to Kampung Chenna by following the signboard. All in all, the driving from Subang Jaya to Kampung Chenna junction took around 1.5hours.

The Camping Night!

We stopped over at Kg. Chenna for ABC (very nice and very cheap too, RM1.00 per bowl) while waiting for others to arrive. All of us were having Maxis number and unfortunately there was no Maxis line here, the only service that worked was 013. That means we were already out of contact with our loved ones by the time we reached Kg. Chenna. While having ABC, we were kind of worried as the villager was saying that the road to the base camp is not accessible by car. And I didn't really get the confirmation from one of the fellow hikers that we could get a ride from him. Soon after, my worries were gone as Lucas and his girlfriend arrived in their brand new 4WD.

The 4WD drive to the base camp took about 1.5hours and we arrived there at 7.40pm, it was already drizzling and very dark.

While the chef and his assistant were busy preparing dinner, I and hiking buddy put up our tent . It's a new tent and it's the first time for us to erect our own tent. Much to my delight, it was pretty easy. Our chef prepared Ayam Masak Kicap, Scrambled Eggs and Stir fried Mixed Veges. Big compliments to our chefs as the foods turned out to be very tasty.

We were informed that we'll start hiking at 8am the next day. I woke up early as usual and in fact I could hardly sleep as the noise from waterfalls was very loud. We had to dismantle our tents and to leave them in the cars very early in the morning while the Chef was busy in his kitchen preparing fried rice to 'tapau' to the summit.

The Hiking

We left at around 7.50am by crossing the stream to the other side of the camping site. Upon crossing we had to go up 340 metal steps of steep gradient to the logging trail. Some of the metal steps were no longer in good conditions, so we had to be extra careful. It took around 30 minutes to get out from the area into logging trail.

It took us another 45 minutes to complete the logging trail where we reached an abandoned orang asli settlement area (Check Point 1). There is another stream at the end of the logging trail. We didn't cross it, instead we turned inside the forest on the right side to go to the next Check Point - Camp Orhid.

We took around 2 hours from the last first Check Point to Camp Orchid (Check Point 2), about 1,000 meters above sea level. However, the trails were rather simple and it felt more like jungle trekking. It's the gradual change in elevation that made it less challenging. In a way, it's good too as we were less tiring! As the name suggests, in Camp Orchid, we saw a lot lot of wild beautiful orchids. Camp Orchid can easily accommodate 40 tents. However, water can be a problem and we'd have to carry a lot of water if were to camp here.

With the elevation of 1,000 meters, we already covered 2/3 of the mountain. The last one third was very challenging as the trails were steep and slippery too. The air was cooler even though we were tired and stopped almost every 10 minutes, we felt fresh!

Finally, we reached the summit at 11.45, that means 4 hours to reach the summit. At the summit, we could see 360 degrees of the surrounding. Unfortunately, it was misty that day! And we only had the opportunity to look around when the sky was clear every now and then, we could see some other mountains nearby and the valley down below. It was beautiful and breathtaking view! Then we knew that the rewards were all worth it!

Going down was a lot faster and some of us fell as the trails were slippery and due to the gravity pull. And we reached back the base camp slightly after 8 hours! And we rested a long time at Lata Kijang while waiting for others. We enjoyed the view of Lata Kijang, I didn't dip into the water as it was very cold and the wind really chilled me!

It was a very good experience climbing Gunung Besar Hantu. We don't know when we'll ever go there again. For some of us, they had been wanting to come here for more than 3 years but never had the opportunity to do so due to the access problem!

GUNUNG BESAR HANTU

2010-03-12T05:49:00.004+08:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِي
I am excited as I am going for a camping plus hiking on Saturday to Gunung Hantu Besar, Kuala Kelawang, Negeri Sembilan.
Thank you to a group of friends (I only met them once at the peak of Gunung Angsi last month) who invited us to join them.
There will be four of us going and we'll be leaving from Subang Jaya around 2pm. The plan is to camp at the foothill for one night on Saturday. We will climb the mountain the next day, so it's going to be a day hiking trip.
Not much preparation that is required as we are not planning to cook at all. We'll have our early dinner at 5pm before we go in to the jungle. For supper, we're planning to have sandwich. We'll just need to boil water the next morning for coffee/hot milo. And sandwich again for breakfast!
So, I am going there with new hiking backpack (used once only so far) and new tent (never used at all!).
I pray that the weather will be good so that we can drive further inside to the camping base. Or else, may have to get help form the other friends who are driving 4WD.
Will post the update on the trip soon!

BUKIT TABUR - EAST SIDE (Mar 6)

2010-03-08T03:19:00.012+08:00

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِي

There were 9 of us climbing up Bukit Tabur East Side last week. At the last peak, we met several others and were informed about Tabur Extreme!

That sounds exciting! It means apart from West and East sides, there is another trail to explore in my favourite hiking place. The name itself conjures up something exciting and challenging. I'll definitely find the trail up there soon!

Tabur Extreme - next to the east side

The hill and its surroundings were very misty that day and we didn't get to see much of beautiful scenery of the lake and the jungle until on the way back. For some of us, including the first timers, they never bothered to look around too, they were too focused to reach back the foothill. I think they are missing the good point about hiking, it's always not the destination that matters, but the journey!

From now onwards, I'd follow the signature pose of John and upload it here as testimony that I have been to the places that I blog about. And the picture below was just next to the ravine,at the edge of the peak. Suddenly I got acrophobia, facing the ravine with my hands pointing to the sky, as though I was ready to jump off!

Next week, we are going to Gunung Hantu Besar, Kuala Kelawang. The climb is going to be a day's pack but we are going to camp at Camp Orchid for one night!