it's just so obvious that i've been so darn lazy to update my blog. i guess it's time for a resurrection following requests of friends to document my 13 days backpacking trip to India earlier this year.
watch out for this space :-)
Showing posts with label happenings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label happenings. Show all posts
Friday, June 17, 2011
Saturday, October 13, 2007
bukit tabur @ taman melawati
Still feeling the post-excitement feel from Taman Negara, the original 4 from TM trip organised a hiking trip to Bukit Tabur last Saturday. There were the 4 plus Andrew's friend, Vincent's bro and CCH (aka Mr Slippers or The Slipper Man).
To the uninitiated, Bukit Tabur is part of Klang Gate Quartz Ridge. The ridge is the longest of its kind in the world and the dam is situated just right at the other side of the ridge from Taman Melawati. The geological phenomena of the ridge is one of its kind in the world and along the journey, we came across lots of quartz crystals scattered along the trail. At one point, we actually came upon a huge rock (exposed part about 3-4 times my fist size) which is actually a huge piece of crystal. I tell you ... the sensation is like seeing a big piece of diamond right in front (unfortunately, I was too awed with it that I did not take any pic ... stupid me). To add to my info and pics : http://www.worldisround.com/articles/93703/index.html & http://www.nst.com.my/Weekly/Travel/article/FeatureStory/20060418140210/Article/index_html
It was a clear and beautiful morning, albeit a little bit hot. We had breakfast at Melawati town centre and proceeded to the starting point which is a few meters away from Klang Gate Dam entrance. The first 10 - 20 meters are normal jungle trail and which is quite steep. The trail turns to rocky and really steep (60 - 70 degree inclination) from the first view point of the dam. The weather had turned rather hazy but nevertheless, the view was spectacular. I have stayed in the area for close to 20 years and I have not hiked this hill before, so, I was naturally awed by the superb scenery. The trail turns to narrow as we began our ascent from one ridge to another.
However, the real challenge and danger began at the 1st rope point. Trail is narrow, some parts are so narrow that only one climber can pass through at any time. As we actually climbed from one hillock to another on top of the ridge, the cliffs on both sides are approximately 90 degree drop (vertical). On top of that, there are a lot of loose rocks. The most difficult part is getting from one hillock to another. It's either a 90 degree free rock climbing, using ropes to lower ourselves down from some massive rock or at one part, literally jumped from one rock to a rock wall with extremely narrow crevices (just sufficient for half of my foot to hang onto).
It is such a dangerous route that someone actually sprayed some chinese words (graffiti!!! how disrespectful to nature!!!) on a huge rock at the 1st rope point which means "Do not go on, turn back!!" A wise warning indeed!!! Someone from another group (he has been there 5 times!!) accidentally fell into a ravine but he managed to stopped himself from slipping down further. Thank God for that!! His friends started to call the Civil Defence department for help. Lady Luck was on his side as an experienced climber passed by, took one look and decided he'll be able to climb down and help him. And he did!!! Whoever you are, sir, you were the hero of the day!!
I do not know how else to describe the trail. Some parts were so narrow me and Soo had to "hug" some rocks so as to let others passed. I was shivering and thirsty (oh! if any reader decides to go, please travel really light and bring more water! And put another bottle and cold 100plus in your car!!). Poor CCH who lost his shoes in the gym on Thursday and had to climb with slippers. Not his fault really coz all of us (except Andrew and Eng Sum) had under-estimated the difficulty of the climb. He had to climb barefooted at some parts and swapped shoes (and slippers) with Andrew at others. It was quite funny really with Andrew climbing first, took off his shoes and threw down to CCH who would donned the shoes and climbed. And passed the shoes back to Andrew.
We climbed from the eastern part and got down from the western part. Had to trek through a durian orchard (too bad it's the wrong season) which was really steep. But it was rather interesting to see wooden huts where owners of the orchards would stay overnight in during fruiting season.
At the end of the trip, I was glad that no one was seriously injured (scrapes and minor bruises here and there). I told myself never to go back again but looking back, oh well, I think I will be more prepared next time!! :-) The reward of the climb is truly superb as you can see from the pics below. However, I am rather disappointed as the pics are unable to capture the sheer steepness of the cliffs and I missed a whole lot of other picture opportunities coz I was shivering from fear :-( There will always be another time I supposed ....)
To the uninitiated, Bukit Tabur is part of Klang Gate Quartz Ridge. The ridge is the longest of its kind in the world and the dam is situated just right at the other side of the ridge from Taman Melawati. The geological phenomena of the ridge is one of its kind in the world and along the journey, we came across lots of quartz crystals scattered along the trail. At one point, we actually came upon a huge rock (exposed part about 3-4 times my fist size) which is actually a huge piece of crystal. I tell you ... the sensation is like seeing a big piece of diamond right in front (unfortunately, I was too awed with it that I did not take any pic ... stupid me). To add to my info and pics : http://www.worldisround.com/articles/93703/index.html & http://www.nst.com.my/Weekly/Travel/article/FeatureStory/20060418140210/Article/index_html
It was a clear and beautiful morning, albeit a little bit hot. We had breakfast at Melawati town centre and proceeded to the starting point which is a few meters away from Klang Gate Dam entrance. The first 10 - 20 meters are normal jungle trail and which is quite steep. The trail turns to rocky and really steep (60 - 70 degree inclination) from the first view point of the dam. The weather had turned rather hazy but nevertheless, the view was spectacular. I have stayed in the area for close to 20 years and I have not hiked this hill before, so, I was naturally awed by the superb scenery. The trail turns to narrow as we began our ascent from one ridge to another.
However, the real challenge and danger began at the 1st rope point. Trail is narrow, some parts are so narrow that only one climber can pass through at any time. As we actually climbed from one hillock to another on top of the ridge, the cliffs on both sides are approximately 90 degree drop (vertical). On top of that, there are a lot of loose rocks. The most difficult part is getting from one hillock to another. It's either a 90 degree free rock climbing, using ropes to lower ourselves down from some massive rock or at one part, literally jumped from one rock to a rock wall with extremely narrow crevices (just sufficient for half of my foot to hang onto).
It is such a dangerous route that someone actually sprayed some chinese words (graffiti!!! how disrespectful to nature!!!) on a huge rock at the 1st rope point which means "Do not go on, turn back!!" A wise warning indeed!!! Someone from another group (he has been there 5 times!!) accidentally fell into a ravine but he managed to stopped himself from slipping down further. Thank God for that!! His friends started to call the Civil Defence department for help. Lady Luck was on his side as an experienced climber passed by, took one look and decided he'll be able to climb down and help him. And he did!!! Whoever you are, sir, you were the hero of the day!!
I do not know how else to describe the trail. Some parts were so narrow me and Soo had to "hug" some rocks so as to let others passed. I was shivering and thirsty (oh! if any reader decides to go, please travel really light and bring more water! And put another bottle and cold 100plus in your car!!). Poor CCH who lost his shoes in the gym on Thursday and had to climb with slippers. Not his fault really coz all of us (except Andrew and Eng Sum) had under-estimated the difficulty of the climb. He had to climb barefooted at some parts and swapped shoes (and slippers) with Andrew at others. It was quite funny really with Andrew climbing first, took off his shoes and threw down to CCH who would donned the shoes and climbed. And passed the shoes back to Andrew.
We climbed from the eastern part and got down from the western part. Had to trek through a durian orchard (too bad it's the wrong season) which was really steep. But it was rather interesting to see wooden huts where owners of the orchards would stay overnight in during fruiting season.
At the end of the trip, I was glad that no one was seriously injured (scrapes and minor bruises here and there). I told myself never to go back again but looking back, oh well, I think I will be more prepared next time!! :-) The reward of the climb is truly superb as you can see from the pics below. However, I am rather disappointed as the pics are unable to capture the sheer steepness of the cliffs and I missed a whole lot of other picture opportunities coz I was shivering from fear :-( There will always be another time I supposed ....)
Sunday, August 19, 2007
ambank eco challenge 2007
It has been weeks since i last updated this blog .. courtesy of my bro hogging the computer and me too lazy to update. Well, i took part in ambank's annual eco challenge recently and here's the account.
It was a gruelling (for the unprepared and equally unfit participants) race which is supposed to last 5 hours. It was a combination of running, cycling, jungle tracking, abseilling, archery, flying fox, lake crossing (more like swimming), clues solving and some mystery tests.
Even since i've been a regular in gym and feel that i'm much fitter now after 5 yrs of eating, working, sleeping and pretty much passing time sitting on my bum, i've been inclined to challenge myself with physical activities. With vincent's (my PT) gruelling training for about 3 weeks plus my own initiatives, i thought i'll be well prepared for the race.
boy, was i wrong!!! don't get me wrong, it was an experience of a lifetime so it isn't just whining about the race here. Instead of 5 max hours allowed, my team spent 7 hours in the jungle!!! And we didnt even complete the race!! Main contributing reason was due to the heavy (pouring dogs and cats type) rain for 5 hours!
It was pure torture for a few moments. I was shivering in the cold and wondered to myself when will we ever get out of the jungle. It was like a neverending journey ... it's like you can hear the noises of vehicles passing nearby or finally getting to a clearing but when you get your hopes high, you are still getting deeper into the jungle. Never ever underestimate Taman Cahaya Sri Alam's terrains in a jungle race. At some point, I was worried whether we had followed the wrong markers and gotten lost.
However, I really had fun pushing myself to the limit (KH thought I was mad to sign up with me being such a princess; he has taken to calling me Jungle Girl now). It wasnt just physical, it was also mentally. I totally dig the abseiling ... I was scared and was hanging on for dear life for about 5 minutes totally unwilling to let go from the ledge. Once I let go, weeeeeeeeeeee ... it was so much fun! Though it was dangerous, but the sliding down in mud and all was also cool. Too bad we couldnt take any pics to show off coz it's really impossible to carry a camera with us into the jungle.
Granted, there were a number of dangers along the path. Like when we crossed a small stream which swelled and the water level at the crossing point was so deep it was at our chest level (poor Soo who went in first and got a shock of her life). Poor Susie who accidentally held on to a mengkuang tree (uhhmmm ... hope i got the name right) and ended up with thorns embedded in her right palm and get this ... the first aid team doesnt have tweezers to pull them out!! (extremely lousy team and highly unequipped for any emergencies!!) My shoes also gave way (the soles came off) in the middle of the jungle and it was extremely dangerous to walk in the jungle as there were sharp twigs, branches and stones on the ground. I was praying the whole way that nothing will befall any of us.
Looking back, I was glad I took part and it was fun being with the 3 girls who have shown so much willpower and teamwork during the race. It has enabled us to know each other better and the best thing is no one lose temper with anyone in the team. I even managed to completely forgot about leeches during the race. I was also feeling proud of myself coz there's no way I'll ever been able to do even a month before the race (had chronic knee pain when I descended Mount Kinabalu 6 yrs ago). Absolutely no fatigue-related problem, fever or flu even after 5 hours of pouring rain. Plus, PowerGel is such an amazing endurance drink!!
Well done The Overcomers!!
Oh, btw, someone did snapped some pics of the race (no idea who he is) ... you can check it here ... http://www.haria-penang.net/bobtahar/?p=50
And once I get my bluetooth connection up ... I'll post my "battle with the jungle" wounds pics (3 bloodied toes, bruises on my left thigh and cuts on my right calf) for all of you to appreciate the experience better (hahahahahahaha !!)
And, watch out for my blog coz Jungle Girl will be going to Taman Negara this coming weekends!! Will be trying out caving and canopy walk for the first time in my life!!
It was a gruelling (for the unprepared and equally unfit participants) race which is supposed to last 5 hours. It was a combination of running, cycling, jungle tracking, abseilling, archery, flying fox, lake crossing (more like swimming), clues solving and some mystery tests.
Even since i've been a regular in gym and feel that i'm much fitter now after 5 yrs of eating, working, sleeping and pretty much passing time sitting on my bum, i've been inclined to challenge myself with physical activities. With vincent's (my PT) gruelling training for about 3 weeks plus my own initiatives, i thought i'll be well prepared for the race.
boy, was i wrong!!! don't get me wrong, it was an experience of a lifetime so it isn't just whining about the race here. Instead of 5 max hours allowed, my team spent 7 hours in the jungle!!! And we didnt even complete the race!! Main contributing reason was due to the heavy (pouring dogs and cats type) rain for 5 hours!
It was pure torture for a few moments. I was shivering in the cold and wondered to myself when will we ever get out of the jungle. It was like a neverending journey ... it's like you can hear the noises of vehicles passing nearby or finally getting to a clearing but when you get your hopes high, you are still getting deeper into the jungle. Never ever underestimate Taman Cahaya Sri Alam's terrains in a jungle race. At some point, I was worried whether we had followed the wrong markers and gotten lost.
However, I really had fun pushing myself to the limit (KH thought I was mad to sign up with me being such a princess; he has taken to calling me Jungle Girl now). It wasnt just physical, it was also mentally. I totally dig the abseiling ... I was scared and was hanging on for dear life for about 5 minutes totally unwilling to let go from the ledge. Once I let go, weeeeeeeeeeee ... it was so much fun! Though it was dangerous, but the sliding down in mud and all was also cool. Too bad we couldnt take any pics to show off coz it's really impossible to carry a camera with us into the jungle.
Granted, there were a number of dangers along the path. Like when we crossed a small stream which swelled and the water level at the crossing point was so deep it was at our chest level (poor Soo who went in first and got a shock of her life). Poor Susie who accidentally held on to a mengkuang tree (uhhmmm ... hope i got the name right) and ended up with thorns embedded in her right palm and get this ... the first aid team doesnt have tweezers to pull them out!! (extremely lousy team and highly unequipped for any emergencies!!) My shoes also gave way (the soles came off) in the middle of the jungle and it was extremely dangerous to walk in the jungle as there were sharp twigs, branches and stones on the ground. I was praying the whole way that nothing will befall any of us.
Looking back, I was glad I took part and it was fun being with the 3 girls who have shown so much willpower and teamwork during the race. It has enabled us to know each other better and the best thing is no one lose temper with anyone in the team. I even managed to completely forgot about leeches during the race. I was also feeling proud of myself coz there's no way I'll ever been able to do even a month before the race (had chronic knee pain when I descended Mount Kinabalu 6 yrs ago). Absolutely no fatigue-related problem, fever or flu even after 5 hours of pouring rain. Plus, PowerGel is such an amazing endurance drink!!
Well done The Overcomers!!
Oh, btw, someone did snapped some pics of the race (no idea who he is) ... you can check it here ... http://www.haria-penang.net/bobtahar/?p=50
And once I get my bluetooth connection up ... I'll post my "battle with the jungle" wounds pics (3 bloodied toes, bruises on my left thigh and cuts on my right calf) for all of you to appreciate the experience better (hahahahahahaha !!)
And, watch out for my blog coz Jungle Girl will be going to Taman Negara this coming weekends!! Will be trying out caving and canopy walk for the first time in my life!!
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