Strictly for the adrenaline junkie : White water rafting with Riverbug

You know what, if you are a true adrenaline junkie at heart, you will love to head on and do that crazy pumped up activity over and over again. It can never get old and that's exactly what I am (an adrenaline junkie at heart ) and  what I've done ( doing the things I love to do repetitively, haha). I can't believe it that I've done white water rafting at Sg.Kampar with the Riverbug crew for the 3rd time now! Like OMG!

[caption id="attachment_1121" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="You gotta lift the boat first before you can hit the water. Dang the raft is heavy."][/caption]

The real reason Sg.Kampar seems to be the perfect white water rafting destination for me was because:

1. It's near to home, thus it is convenient and feasible. Moreover it's an excellent day trip outdoor adventure for me.

2. After going for my second run of white water rafting at Sg.Kampar, I was asking for friends to go with me for white water rafting (wwr) at Padas, Sabah right after the whole gang came down from Mt.Kinabalu.  I was disappointed to find out that only Bullert was keen enough to go all crazy with me with this wwr and because of other issues, we decided not to go for white water rafting at Padas just yet.

3. I was doing some crazy planning for some fun outdoor holiday and on the itinerary I included white water rafting at Padas but I was let down again when we had to scrapped Sabah out from our holiday destination. Thus, to further not to disappoint myself and to quench my thirst for some kick of awesome adrenaline, I agreed for yet another round of white water rafting at Sg.Kampar with the Riverbug crew. This time around I was going with my sisters and my brother in law.

I can tell you one thing about any outdoor adventure activity which is every single trip is going to be unique, different and new to you regardless on how many times you have gone through the same river or track or jungle path. This time around I was literally praying to have yet another new experience for my white water rafting trip. My prayers were answered and I got this:

At one of the rapids, for no reason at all, I got thrown out from the raft and went straight on into the fast flowing white water. I remembered opening my eyes and saw water bubbles all over me. The next second, I was being tossed up and down like a helpless rubber ball scraping along the way rocks from the front and back. I also began to swallow more water and eventually was gasping for air so bad that I was literally making that deep breathing sound and I kept trying to breath until all the water spurted out from my lungs. In the split seconds, I saw our raft floating by me but I couldn't get hold of it until I turned and saw the kayak rescue guide on my side telling me not to panic and to hold the little steel at the back of his kayak. It scared me shitless! Haha. After being hauled back on the raft, I was finally breathing properly and it scared me the most not because I got thrown into the rapid. It was primarily because I couldn't breathe for the few seconds being tossed in the water. Imagine yourself not breathing? That's like close to dying! Hahaha.

Nevertheless, it was one heck of a ride and I loved it for the adrenaline and for making me close to drowning. A whole new experience altogether although I must say, it wasn't the first time that I had drowned and being rescued of course. =).

[caption id="attachment_1122" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Check out that Mat Salleh. He's expressionless. Haha"][/caption]

Another extra thing that we got to do besides the normal banana boat, body surfing and team body surfing, the Riverbug crew asked if we would like to have a go at kayaking. All the three members in my raft went for it except for me because I was still traumatized and shaken after the fall and the fact that I wasn't being able to breathe like 15 minutes ago. Haha. All in all, it was a fun day, good to see the crews back again and I'm hoping that soon enough I can get my ass trotting for white water rafting at Padas. Let's make that happen in this future shall we.

Check out the video below too!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjFFa4l0Oqk

Animals Anecdotes 10 : The return of the Alpha dog

I'm pretty excited to check out this new alpha male dog in the pack. Out of the blue, this male dog returned back to his bitches just a couple of weeks back. Someone speculate that he is the rightful father of Brownie ( the brown puppy dog) and is the former mating partner of Maggie. At the moment there seem to be a slight rival and competition to win the heart of this Alpha dog between both Maggie and Silver - the bitches. There is also  a solid evident to believe that currently Alpha is mating with Silver. Haha.

I've yet to have a look at this particular Alpha dog and the fact that he returned back to his pack after such a long time is really amazing. On the other hand, that will mean, there are more mouth to feed these days. I will sure to capture some pictures if I'm lucky enough to spot this Alpha later today. And, Alpha is not a bad of a name to call this male dog. So Alpha he shall be called from now on.

You are my diamond by Tiesto

If you haven't already known, I am a big big fan of Tiesto and of late I've been spinning songs from his Myspace. I have to admit that I wasn't really into this song - You are my diamond, not after having to listen to all the songs in Tiesto's Myspace list for the gazillion times. Yes, I haven't been listening to anything else for the past couple of weeks except for Tiesto! Haha!

I'm going to share with you You are  my diamond song from YouTube and also the lyrics. I only started looking for the lyrics and finally come down to really listen to what Kianna is saying only today! Oh, Kianna is the featured artist for You are my diamond.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn9hQ0ltM7c

You are my diamond lyrics- Tiesto featuring Kianna

I don't need a ring to show me what your loves worth
don't need fancy things to show me what your loves worth

you are my diamond, when I am with you I shine
I'll be with you everyday so everyday I'll shine so bright


I am a rich girl when I am with you I know
you are my whole world and I will never let you go
I cant explain how you light me up inside
I radiate and thats not something you can buy

you are my diamond, when I am with you I shine
I'll be with you everyday so everyday I'll shine so bright
you are my diamond, when I am with you I shine
I am with you everyday so everyday I'll shine so bright

oh oh oh ..
oh oh
oh oh
oh oh oh
oh oh
oh oh

all my life I've been looking for love
I thought I'd never find it
all my life I've been looking for you
I just didnt know it

you are my diamond, when I am with you I shine
I'll be with you everyday so everyday I'll shine so bright
yeah you are my diamond
my diamond
my diamond
yeah
yeah
yeah
yeah

you are my diamond
you are my diamond

you are my diamond
you are my diamond

*note: The only way this song relates to me is that yes, I've found my diamond which is the thing that I'm really passionate & love and I am working my way to work it out despite all odds by any means and at any cost. =). Life is essentially not just about pursuing that ultimate love of your life, it is more than that. It is about finding your purpose in this life, the life at the present. If you haven't figured your purpose in life just yet, why not take a couple of minutes now and think about it.

Why do I always feel more tired after coming back from a holiday?

Have you ever been in a situation where you had an awesome 1 week holiday and upon arrival at home you are totally flat out, looking more exhausted than the last time you left the house for the holiday? AND you even have the nerve to call in sick  from work the very next day because your  body is aching all over you. If your answer to that question is Yes, you may be asking  "Why do I always feel more tired after coming back from a holiday?".

I have come out with a list of things that you might have done during your supposedly 'relaxing holiday' that you had eventually overlooked on the amount of energy you had poured on those 'fun-relaxing' activities during your holiday. Here goes the list :

1. Your idea of a relaxing holiday will never be a relaxing holiday like sitting around on the beach, swimming in the ocean, dining out, sleep and repeat process for the next couple of days because you ARE the type of person who don't know how to relax except to relax by going for crazy outdoor adventure holiday i.e : scuba diving, white water rafting, jungle trekking, mountain trekking, etc. Basically anything outdoorsy goes for you and if adventure ain't going to be in your itinerary, you will be at lost on what to do during your much needed 'relaxing holiday'.

2. The amount of time you literally spent in your hotel room is roughly around 6-7 hours tops. You only go inside the hotel room once to chuck your bags upon checking in and have a quick visit to the loo and out again in seconds to catch a ferry to an exotic, beautiful island. The next time you will be back it will be close to midnight, you are feeling all sticky, dirty, sleepy and the only things you have in mind are shower and sleep so that you can wake up early to catch the tour bus for your next adventure starting around 8 am the following day. If you are constantly on the move for more than 12 hours during a day, you are for sure to exhaust yourself on every other day during your long holiday.

3. After all those crazy outdoors you happily  have done for the first couple of days of your holiday, I bet you, you will either have bruises, muscle aches and the most common problems will be a bad aching feet. The remedy for this is to try to give yourself a break from the heavy outdoor activities at least for a day or simply walk-in to the nearest foot massage parlor if you have extra cash to burn.

4. Holidaying is no fun without having to really indulge big time on some really good food especially seafood! If you love food and you love seafood more, try to restrain yourself from overeating and take caution especially when you eat those super delicious fresh oysters. I had my share of 'seafood binging' because the price was wickedly cheap and in return I was down with a bad diarrhea and vommitting due to food poisoining the very next day. One thing I know for sure, it is no fun and no less exhausting having to make many trips to the loo during your holiday. So it is best to avoid yourself from overeating or over indulging on really delicious, cheap food during your holiday.

5. Emotional stress with your holiday partners. No doubt you are bound to arguments during your holiday especially when trying to decide on things to do that everybody will enjoy doing. It will get even more tiresome if you have  kids on tow with you and they begin to fight or get cranky for some reason. Thus this will lead to that emotional stress and eventually will exhaust you throughout your holiday. The best resolution to avoid emotional stress due to arguments during your holiday is to really prepare on your itinerary and learn to relax and don't take things too seriously if plans don't go your way because you are after all on a holiday and not on some mission that you have to make it happen during the holiday.

All in all, I feel that these 5 major points are the main reason to why you will always feel tired after that much deserving holiday. Whatever it is , at the end of your holiday, either if you feel exhausted or rejuvenated + exhausted, a holiday will always be one of the best things you could have done to yourself. It is all about having fun and enjoying the moment regardless on how exhausted you will be because all will be worth the effort. If you are going on a holiday pretty soon, have a jolly good one and try not to worry much on the aftermath of your holiday. Happy holiday!

Ouch no posts for over a week. Here's the reason why?

It has been very unfortunate that I can't really keep up with blogging on a daily basis, well  at least that's what happen last week. I have been busy hanging around with the family and we had a little 'holiday' of our own not so far away from hometown and truth be told I was being lazy to write some of the best things that had happened for the past one week. I can assure you readers that a lot of interesting things were going on and I really can't wait to blurt them all out in my future posts.

Meanwhile, I am still researching on ways to really monetize this site and the last I checked, there is a long list of them that I seriously need to do for the monetizing process. Other than that, I have less than 6 months to go to achieve that 'personal mission' of mine and I still believe that I can do it and will make it happen regardless of anything. Also, since I last step foot on the peak of Mt. Kinabalu back in mid May this year, I had only done once - a 4 km+  jog and another 1 hour hill hiking which happened only just recently. Imagine that, I wasn't technically doing any proper exercise for the past 2 months after I made it up one of the highest mountain in South East Asia. Despite the lack of exercise, I do think that in overall I am still fit and have visible muscles on my biceps and legs, so I'm still in good shape, so to speak. Hehe.

Alrighty now, enough of the reasoning and do watch out for posts on YaszAmzah.com!

Island Retreat at Pangkor Island

One of the nearest place for me to enjoy a quick island retreat is to head straight to Pangkor Island. It is a mere 20 minutes drive for me to get to Lumut Jetty. Only recently, visitors who wish to travel to Pangkor Island can enjoy an all new ferry trip from Marina Island, Teluk Muroh. The trip from Marina Island to Pangkor is said to take only 15 minutes instead for the close to 30 minutes ferry trip from Lumut Jetty.

The major attraction at Pangkor Island besides the crazy cycling round island trip that I do, is of course the beach and the water activities. To date, believe it or not, although I am local ( I'm from Sitiawan), I have only been to Pangkor Island only 3 times. Haha. You see, the locals don't really appreciate the best things they have in town so most people would rather go oversea to enjoy the beach. What more being typical of us Asians, we don't like to get our skin all 'dark' or the English term will more likely be 'tan'. But believe me, I'm not one of those 'scared to be dark Asian people'.

Although I would love to write more on those sea activities around Pangkor Island, I think you would enjoy it more from my pictures I took like a year ago. Enjoy!

[caption id="attachment_1089" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pangkor Island on the ferry"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1090" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Teluk nipah, Pangkor Island"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1091" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Pangkor Island on a hot afternoon day"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1092" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Snorkeling buddies at Pangkor Island"][/caption]

How to tie a bandana on your wrist?

I don't know about you guys, but I really enjoy wearing a bandana every now and then especially during hiking because it is a light , cotton cloth and can be easily kept inside the pocket to wipe out your sweat. Well most of the time, you'll see people wearing the bandanas on their heads. However, you can vary and style the bandana on your wrist too.

The primary reason why I like to have a bandana handy on my wrist is because it works as good as the usual sport sweatband. If you don't know what is a sweatband, it is one of those cloth band that you see most tennis players have on their wrists during game. It is one quick way to wipe those perspiration out from your forehead and face during play.

So now, if you don't have a sweatband but you always have an extra bandana around, you could always make a handy sweatband out of your bandana. Personally, I learned to wrapped the bandana on my wrist by watching this awesome "How to tie a bandana on your wrist ?" video by Kandee Johnson.

Check the video out here and I'm quite sure that it is a pretty cool thing to have a super colorful bandana on your wrists during your hike, jog or in anything at all that you do. Try it out soon if you haven't had a bandana tied on your wrist yet.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blGVpJNnpaE

Ah, you know what you just have to keep writing...

At the moment, I'm thinking about many things. There are:

1. Where should I go to spend my RM200 AirAsia ticket voucher?

2. How the heck should I redeem my voucher when I don't even know what is my membership number?

3. I've been thinking and talking about getting that darn scuba license since like forever and when the heck am I going to get it?

4. Why can't I just go on and travel alone, get that scuba license all alone?

5. I miss most of my friends right now...

6. I wish I have a light bulb thingy sticking out from my head and from there on, it sparks brilliant ideas and I can make something work

7. By hook or by crook, I need to gather and save that amount of $$$ by December

8. I think I should migrate out of the country like soon...

9. I need to start jogging tomorrow and continue aiming to clock 10km non-stop, which by now, I think  I have to start over again with just 5km  non-stop.

10. I want to experience Padas WWR so bad ...

11. Is life all about traveling? That's why I've resorted to not have a car by now! =)

Tiësto vs Diplo - C'Mon

C'mon is currently my favorite song from Tiesto. I can spin the same song over and over again. C'mon simply gives you the vibe and energy to keep you moving while at work. Yet another great one from Tiesto. =)

You can either listen and watch from youtube:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gujB7A5ycew

or just tune in to Tiesto on MySpace Music Streaming:

http://www.myspace.com/tiesto

It's Summer Holiday, at least for people from the West!

Hi peeps,

July is the month for holiday and it is officially summer holiday for people living the in Western countries. Personally, I really can't wait for our little family holiday this month because I know that everyone really needs a break. If you are by any chance going to spend the next couple of weeks of your summer holiday down in Malaysia (that's where I'm at), let me share with you a little thing or two on things you can expect from Malaysia.

First is the weather. July 2009 was so different from July this year. It was crazily hot, humid and dry during this time of the year in 2009. However, the weather is constantly changing thanks to global warming and other factors only God knows what and because of that, this time around the year, we've been getting constant showers on certain days and it is all gloomy,windy and all in all a perfect weather not to hot or too chilly for the holiday. Despite that, we do get really extremely hot days and hot days are usually a sign that it will rain later on the day.

So, if you are going to spend most time outdoors ( on the beach or jungle), do gear up with enough sunblock lotion, a hat, sunglasses, light clothing and a rain coat (in case it rains). For clothing, personally I like to try wearing a nice cotton long sleeve shirt over a t-shirt if I'm going to spend most of the day under the hot sun. Since I'm not a big fan of lathering sticky sunblock lotion on my exposed body, the layering shirt helps to reduce the 'biting' effect on my skin from the UV rays. The sun rays can really hurt your skin and you can literally feel it gnawing or burning away on your epidermis.

And that pretty much a little thing or two that I wanted to share with you holidaymakers. Happy holiday and have a great one!

Animals Anecdotes 9 : They finally have names!

Hey! I know it's yet another Animals Anecdotes post because that's what I have written so far but no worries, this is a pretty short post. So here goes...

If you have been keeping up with my Animals Anecdotes series on the dogs, the latest on them is that we got them names. The names are as follows:

Big brown female – Maggie (after Simpson's mom - Maggie)
Big black female – Silver (like the Silverback gorilla who is very black just minus the silver at the back =p)
Small brown female – Brownie or Bronie
Small black female - Blackie

Animals Anecdotes 8 : What's small and poops a lot?

The question for the day is,” What's small and poops a lot?”. It is an animal. It is very small, almost the size of your fist. It has a beak, 2 set of eyes on each sides, mostly black in color with a little touch of white strip and yes it has tiny claws. Moreover, it is noisy and is currently busy looking after its young. When it poops, there will be a taint of white dot and a little black all over the gate, the floor out at the front yard and that particular spot on the car where the car radio aerial stands at the back of the car.

Got it figured out already or you are still clueless?

The answer to “What's small and poops a lot ?” is none other than a BIRD! I'm suspecting (only suspecting because I don't learn a lot on birds) that this one is a pair of Magpie Robin or probably it is more than 2 birds because there are 2 nests on the trees. It gets pretty annoying to see the white-black dots on the ground and it is taxing to spray it with water everyday. I wonder how long they will make this home their home ...

Nature's best view - sunrise, sunset and the moon

I'm going to share with you guys some of the best views I get to see this month! There are so breathtakingly beautiful.

[caption id="attachment_1047" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sunrise in blue"][/caption]

This is Sunrise in Blue! Taken some where nearing 7 am. The sky is literally that color. No editing is made to these pictures I'm showing you.

[caption id="attachment_1048" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sunrise in Orange"][/caption]

A couple of seconds later, the sky changes color to this beautiful orangey- blue hue and it's all rise and shine soon after.

Come evening and the sun begins to set ...

[caption id="attachment_1050" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Sunset view"][/caption]

... and it's back to that blue-orange color again. Also not forgetting ...

[caption id="attachment_1051" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The moon"][/caption]

The moon!

No photo uploads for now...

It is a shame that I need to be on a constant move and have to rely big time on the portable usb broadband. The connection is not fast enough to allow photo uploads and I don't want be publishing posts with merely writings and no photos since at the moment, I have tonnes of photos to share on to you peeps. So yeah, I'm just going to press the publish button right after this and let's keep our fingers cross that I'm going to be back to 'excellent connection area' hopefully by tonight.

Also, do watch out for more posts from me throughout this weekend because I'm still dreaming big about keeping up with that one post per day for YaszAmzah.com and I haven't been publishing any for the past 6 days. Like OMG, no posts for close to a week?

So over and out for now...

Til more posts to come...

"Brownie Come!" - how to call your dog in Tamil?

Check out this super hilarious video. Do note that I wasn't the one talking in Tamil. I was the cameraman and the one making the 'sweet' noise. I have no idea why you need to speak Tamil to a dog but that's how things went around here. Haha.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsABZHLhPv4

If it were you, how and what language will you be calling a dog or any animals in that matter?

Round island cycling trip at Pangkor Island

One of the best things about living near an island is that we get to swim at the beach at anytime of the year or simply have a fun family 'road trip' around the island. Pangkor Island is a mere 20 minutes or so from where I live in Sitiawan. When I was young, around the early 90's, the whole family used to bring our bicycles in the car, boarded the ferry toward Pangkor Island and went on a round island cycling trip for the whole day. Back then my sisters and I didn't have mountain bikes, so we went around cycling in one of those bicycles fitted with a front basket while my little brother rode on his tiny BMX and my dad on his racing bike. As long that everyone has a bicycle, we were good to go for one of the best early days round island cycling trip at Pangkor island.

If you must know, the road around Pangkor is very steep, hilly, small and either winding up or down. It was very challenging to climb up the steep 35 degrees road but we sure made it around the island either pushing our bicycles, cycling on it as hard as we could or going down the fast downhill road in lighting speed. After what had been ages, my family (minus 2 family members) finally made yet another round island bicycle trip at Pangkor Island last year.

This time around, we rented mountain bikes at the island for a small fee and attempted the round island cycling trip. The result was very shameful. At that time, I had close to zero stamina and a pretty awful fitness level. After merely 15-30 minutes of cycling, I was feeling light headed and nauseous.The trip was made worse when one of our bicycles had a punctured tire and that forced us to turn back and had lunch instead. Haha. The mid afternoon sun was really getting on us, so we left the island soon after a scrumptious lunch. Up until today, we have yet to re-attempt the round island cycling trip at Pangkor and I wonder if July will be a great time to make that fun, cycling trip once again.

If you are adventurous and love the outdoor, cycling around Pangkor Island is a must do. You get to see very the beautiful view of the Naval Base and Lumut town also not forgetting the beaches and other small islands surrounding Pangkor. Along the way, you can also make many several touristy stops for example at the Dutch Fort, the fish factories and other tourist attractions around the island.

I also have some vital notes on cycling around Pangkor Island to share here. There are:

- If you would like to make the cycling trip as a day trip (no sleep over at the island) then, it is best to take the first ferry of the day to the island - I think the earliest is around 7 am or is it earlier? I'm not so sure :). The ferry is very frequent so fret not if you can't make it to the Lumut Jetty that early in the morning. The reason you want to be at the island as early as possible is so that you don't get caught up with the the hot sun later (around 10 am above) on during your cycling trip.
- Dress appropriately -sunblock,hat,shoes or those zap on sandals ( flip-flops are not recommended because you may hurt yourself if you fall on your feet from the bicycle or worse lose the flip-flops along the way. haha), light clothing and if you are a typical Asian and are afraid to be home looking super tan - put on a long sleeve t-shirt and long pants.
- Drink a lot of water and pack some bottles also some food in your bag pack.
- Bring some medicines if you are prone to mild sickness like me. Haha. Some panadols, antiseptic cream and hansaplast plaster will do.
- Most importantly, have a hearty breakfast before you kick off to pack some energy because you need a whole lot of it.
- The trip may take up almost until noon or even later into the afternoon, depending on how fast and fit you are. So be prepared to spend almost the whole day at the island.
- In case and just in case you really can't cycle anymore because you are just plain exhausted, you can still continue on with your round island trip by hiring motorcycles or even cars or simply hail the prominently pink taxi at Pangkor Island. Of course, it wouldn't really be a cycling trip if you ended up taking bikes and cars to finish up the trip and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't end up doing and risk losing all the fun of crazy cycling around the island.

Also, it is not really common to see people cycling around the island. Most people will simply cycle around the beach and they usually won't pass the hilly roads. So I can really assure you that round Pangkor Island cycling trip is adventurous, fun and very recommended for the fit. Happy cycling, peeps!

Animal Anecdotes 7: Brownie and family

If you have been keeping up with the Animal Anecdotes, you may have been introduced to Brownie. The latest updates for Brownie are all great news. She has gone so far to inviting the rest of her family members - 2 adult female dogs and another black puppy just like her. Brownie is also brave enough to come and pick her treat directly from the hand and we also have some Pedigree puppy food for her and little family to eat. The dogs have been keeping us company since last weekend and they are pretty good at making a ruckus if the herd of buffaloes come eating near the fenced up gate.

[caption id="attachment_1034" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Brownie taking her bread"][/caption]

As for now, little Brownie seems to be dominating the cabin area and her 3 other family members are merely her guests because she is always the first one to start eating her feed, the one who will eat more than the rest and also the only one who gets to runaway and play with one black sock and one Croc shoe. The mystery of the missing pair of a Croc shoe is solved when I saw Brownie sleeping just next to it. Haha.

Brownie and family have been sleeping under the cabin at night - so at least, things are a bit secure around the area. The best part is we don't literally own them. If we feed, they will come and I hope they shall be trained and will be at service (working as guard dogs) around the cabin and farm.

[caption id="attachment_1035" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Eating up her Pedigree dog food"][/caption]

Live Curious - ad by National Geographic Channel

Live Curious! Nicely presented by the National Geographic Channel. The very idea of living curious, constantly asking, wanting to learn more than what I've already known, discovering, doubting things and experiencing new things have always been me! The fact that NatGeo has an ad out about it nails the whole point of life in general to pretty much everyone.

If you haven't already watch the ad, check it out below and ponder on the words and make that change in your life now. Live curious because it somehow or rather relates to yourself pushing beyond the ordinary to experience that extraordinary things in this life. So go on and LIVE CURIOUS!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amkuj9QRqvQ&NR=1

Animal Anecdotes 6: Brownie, our first visitor

[caption id="attachment_1019" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Brownie the little doggie"][/caption]

This is our first dog visitor at the cabin. I think it is a little female dog sizing just a little bigger than a big full grown cat. Her visit was just at the nick of time because we were about to have breakfast. One of us threw a little piece of a chicken meat to her. She ate it and the throwing-eating routine lasted for sometime until she finally decided to sit down and eat her meal instead of gobbling the large chunk quickly or running off with the meal to eat just behind the car.

After breakfast, we tried calling her to come closer to us but she was still very apprehensive about it. Instead, she decided to sit and somewhat or rather be on guard at the front gate for a little while.Brownie kept on watch and was eyeing on a running morning jogger. Unfortunately, the little creature backed up and ran a little once the jogger began approaching the front of the gate. Probably a little to young to be a guard dog. Not just yet but hopefully soon enough.

On another note, Brownie is the cutest little puppy with that adorable pair of round eyes. I wonder if she will come back for another visit today.

Green, sustainable, eco-friendly dream home

If you have the means and money, what will your dream home be ? Is it going to be:

A : Huge bungalow, 2-3 storeys, 5 rooms, living room, wet kitchen, dry kitchen, lounge room, dining hall, maid's room, balcony, pantry room, garden, pool, big garage and front yard, fully air-conditioned, 5 bathrooms and strictly tiled front yard with only palm trees alongside with a tiny path of grass for the house landscaping.

B : A condominium or town house with super tight security needing for residents passes at guard house entrance, lobby entrance and a pass on the elevator to get to your front door at the penthouse. Home security is purely essential since no one is to be trusted. No pets are allowed in the residents homes and the only trees you can plant are cactus or small plants.

C: A flat or low cost home. No need for trees because everyone will make their front yard fully tiled or cemented and awning roofs will be placed for shades.

D: Typical traditional wooden Malay home. Would be best if it is build without nails and highly decorated with intricate traditional wood carvings and designs. Lots of plants and trees in the yard with some free range chickens running around the yard and vegetables are also planted for the household consumption.

E: Simple, super low cost home made with almost 100% of recycled materials by using used wood, roof, doors,etc. Powered with solar panels for electricity.Water source will come either from collected rain water or pumped from underground or from the river by the side of the house. All waste from the household will be recycled and used as fertilizer for the plants and vegetables. There is always a constant supply of fresh cow's milk, eggs, chicken meat and beef. The house is surrounded by big rain trees and other trees to provide good air quality around the house, shade, privacy and it attracted different species of animals from birds, insects to small reptiles. Totally a green home that is sustainable and very self-sufficient however most importantly, it is very eco-friendly.

Of all the choices above, which one will your dream home be?

My personal choice is of course the most obvious which is E. Life is much simpler when you live green, working on with recycle materials to avoid unnecessary waste on your pocket as well as to avoid polluting unwanted waste on mother Earth. In the long run, this green home living concept provides a better life for everyone including both the animals and plants. If you are big about making a different in your life, you can start now by making good choices and choosing to live green is one small way to make that huge different in this life.

Quick, no nonsense remedy for sprained ankle or knee

Have you ever had a sprained ankle or knee and the pain won't go away even after days of agony? You found yourself limping to the side and the pain seemed to get worse and no better as days past. When you run to the doctor, some will make you bandage your sprained ankle or knee for days and life seems to suck so bad soon after. If this is the situation with you on your ankle or knee, here is a quick, no nonsense remedy to it - although I must warn forehand that this is a home remedy and always consult with your doctor if the problem persists.

My no nonsense and super quick plus working remedy for any sprained ankle or knee is:

1. Do not bandage the area - I've seen some doctors do to some people and I  never get it why. In my rational sense, I believe that bandaging a sprained area tightens the sprain even more when all you need to put at the moment is the least amount of pressure possible on the sprain.

2. Do some deep heat massage around the sprained area. Get one of those deep heat rub for relieve of muscle pain and stiffness. If you don't know how to massage on  you own, get someone who knows the job. A massage every morning especially after you wake up is essential to loosen those stiff body parts.

3. As much as possible, try to go about your daily activity with your sprained ankle or knee. Never allow the pain to grow and simply succumbing to the pain, thus letting your ankle or knee to rest without making much movement to it. By 'pampering' your sprained body parts, the muscle around the area will continue to be in pain and do note that, nature has its thing of 'fixing itself'. So if you are in pain, counter it by moving around and try to move the muscle around the sprain just a little bit. The sprained veins may as well align back to its original, normal track if you move around. For example, on a sprain ankle, keep on walking normally with it or drive with it, allowing for the muscle to move and heal on its own.

* If problem still persists, stop treating on your own and get medical consultation right away.

I hope this quick, no nonsense home remedy for sprained ankle or knee will help you in a case of any sprained situation. Always remember, pain is only in the mind. Good luck and stay healthy!

The Climb

It is a bit hard to begin enjoying and liking "The Climb" when all the while I mostly listen to dance, electronica and alike kind of music. Thanks to radio for spinning the song for the million times last year and right now, the song pretty much is hooked inside my brain - so to speak. My friend, Zue in particular loves this song so much that I reckon she played the song on repeat on her ipod during our climb.

The more I listen to the words, the more inspiring it is to me and at the moment, whenever I feel down or upset - The Climb will resume play on automatic in my head like over and over again. If you don't get enough inspiration in a day or you just feel like giving up in that important something you are trying to achieve in life, take a breather,step back and make a little time to listen to this song. It is truly inspiring and for sure will keep you climbing as high as you wanted it to.

Enjoy The Climb video by non other than Miley Cyrus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG2zyeVRcbs

A visit down to Monsopiad Cultural Village, Penampang

I finally made it to Monsopiad Cultural Village at Penampang, Sabah last month despite being suggested by a fellow local friend last year that a visit down to this place is not worth the travel, it is expensive and boring. Well at least that's what local Sabahan will think off. It is a whole different view, culture and knowledge that I was really looking forward to at this cultural village. It was  something that most Peninsular Malaysian are unaware off that in another part of Malaysia which is Borneo ( Sabah and Sarawak) the people are different in their looks, lifestyle and even the spoken language. However, most importantly they form the large community of various tribes and ethnics, so diverse in culture from the Peninsular people and for the most obvious are more unique than the  melting pot of that typical blend of Malay, Chinese and Indian that we have in the Peninsular. All those reasoning combined, that made a pretty good reason why any Malaysian from the Peninsular will be so excited and eagerly anticipating a visit down at the Monsopiad Cultural Village. Oh well, at least I do!

Getting to Monsopiad Cultural Village was a bit of a challenge if you choose to drive down to Penampang on your own if you don't know where you are going of course, haha. In our case we simply head out to just Monsopiad in mind thinking all the while that it is marked somewhere in the tourist map that we have and of course the local people will most certainly know of this place.However, we later found out in the car that it was not mentioned in the map, even the lady behind our hotel reception desk said it will be difficult to look for the place if we choose to drive there on our own - joining their ridiculously priced tour package is much recommended while a stop at a particular Shell Station got the workers of the station mind boggle and clueless of the cultural village. The girl at the gas station mentioned it was the first time she ever heard of the cultural village. We simply have asked the wrong people at the wrong place then. A few phone calls later, we headed our for Penampang and stopped at a Petronas gas station around Donggongon and from there on it was pretty easy.



So to get to Monsopiad Cultural Village from Kota Kinabalu, simply head on to Penampang ( landmark Queen Elizabeth Hospital) then go straight on passing along the way Donggongon town and keep going until you see the Lok Kawi Wildlife signboard. Follow that sign and after sometime  you have to take a left turn to Penampang entering smaller village area  and be on the eye for Monsopiad signboard  on your left side and a few meters inside the smaller road you will see the cultural village. The address for this place is:

Jln Kg. Kuai Kandazon Penampang or call +6088774337 or visit their website www.monsopiad.com

Since the entrance fee is slightly pricey and will cost more if you are a foreigner, make sure you spend a lot of time at the village by really taking the time to learn and ask on Monsopiad's history and the Sabahan culture, enjoy locally made dishes provided, walk around the whole area, enjoy the rice wine or known as Lihing if you drink and of course the fun part - join in the Sumazau and bamboo dance. We did all that even the dancing even though our legs are killing us thanks to Mount Kinabalu but it sure was fun!

Do enjoy the photos and a video below and Monsopiad Cultural Village is a must visit destination at Sabah provided you are not a local Sabahan or probably Sarawakian.



[caption id="attachment_986" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Choice of rice wine(lihing) or non-alcoholic drinks served at the entrance. Lihing is in the bamboo shot."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_989" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The headhunters will put all beheaded heads to dry and for public display on the bamboo"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_990" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The greatest warrior- Monsopiad's skulls collection"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_991" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Rice dish by the local -bambangan, ikan masin, some fish meat. Delicous!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_993" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Rice wine/ lihing"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_994" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Us and the cultural dancers at Monsopiad"][/caption]

The video of the dancers doing some cool, fast paced  bamboo dance and later on us struggling to dance along.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ERx1C-jLjU

Tanjung Aru Beach Run

Recently, I got a knack for running on the beach because it so much fun! It is a change and different from running at the park or at the long stretch of air track field that I'm used to running. My first beach run a.k.a biathlon for the year was at Teluk Senangin and the second time around was at Tanjung Aru beach, Kota Kinabalu.

[caption id="attachment_970" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Tanjung Aru beach, Kota Kinabalu[/caption]

The gang and myself headed out to Tanjung Aru a day after we summit and descended down from Mt. Kinabalu. I couldn't resist myself from running on the beach despite my sore legs from descending the mountain when I saw a couple of runners jogging along the shore and the breathtakingly long sandy beach. I'll let the pictures do all the writing here. On a side note, the little jog helped to ease the sore and aching muscles just a little bit.

[caption id="attachment_972" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Beach jogger 1 at Tanjung Aru[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_973" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Beach jogger 2. He really didn't mind getting his feet all wet.[/caption]

Aren't you tempted for some awesome beach runs? Imagine sea breeze blowing all over your face and hair while at the same time burning good calories along the beach. Extremely fun guys! Beach runs are the best run you can have to get away from your mundane run at the park routine. It's a must to give beach run ago and if you happen to be down on a holiday at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah - Tanjung Aru beach is a must RUN!

Fried Chicken Recipe - Success Story

Woo hoo!

I can't hardly remember the last time I made a post on recipes. I used to have the time to cook but not anymore now. Anyhow, I saw this recipe while watching "Chuck's Day Off" on the AFC Channel and it got me tempted to try cooking the same way he made his super delish fried chicken.

[caption id="attachment_958" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Fried Chicken Recipe"][/caption]

The Fried Chicken attempt was a major success and it was the first time ever that I'd made a nice, crispy well cooked, moist fried chicken. My other attempts always left me with some half cooked chicken and it didn't get crispy for long. So here goes the ultimately simple fried chicken recipe - guaranteed to be tasting as what you get and taste on any KFC fried chicken outlets out there.

Fried Chicken Recipe :

1. Save the fuss and hassle, so go get yourself one of those Fried Chicken flour mix sold in a box for about RM 1. If you don't have the time to get one, use some flour, add a mix of spice of choice, salt and pepper. The trick to cooking is to be creative and let your taste bud do the work.

2. Follow the instruction on the box:

- beat some egg white ( I didn't want to waste the yolk so I beat one whole egg instead) and dip the chicken pieces into the egg.

- cover the chicken with the flour mixture (I added some chilli powder to for a spicy flavored fried chicken)

- deep fry the flour coated chicken pieces for 10-15 minute on each sides ( depending on the size of your pieces)

3. Once that done the trick of trade here is to put all your deep fried chicken into a pyrex and shove it into the oven for the next 15 minutes or so. This will help to cook the inside bit of your chicken thus leaving the texture all moist and juicy.

Real yummy and a must try. It beats going after that Spicy Ayam Goreng McD or Spicy KFC Fried Chicken. It's less the salt, healthy, and worth the effort. Although be prepared to take sometime for the cooking process. It takes patience to enjoy a great fried chicken. Do give this fried chicken recipe a go!

Animal Anecdotes 5 : Tiger the returning kitten

As of writing now,  I can hear a few tiny meowing from Tiger coming out from our front lawn. Tiger's out of the blue return to the house has becoming increasingly annoying and rather disturbing to whole household. The reason being:

A: the last we saw Tiger and his family ( a cat mom and another brother kitten whom had famously got stucked inside our car's rim) was when we chased the family out from the drain ( that was in late April this year)because the kittens were literally littering the place with foul feces and the smell permeates right into the family living room.

B: we NEVER at any condition allowed or invited or welcome any animals in this case a cat to make our home their home because knowing cats, they are good for only asking for food and pooping around the lawn. Also, not that they are going to protect or provide any kind of returning security for us unlike what a loyal dog will do. It is one of those take and no giving relationship that we had gone through many times with most cats that we had.

C: Tiger came unannounced and unexpectedly crying desperately for food and he looked like he has seen better days with runny nose, ticks, dirtied eyes and scrawny looking because its ribs are showing. The kitten has even the nerves to try sneaking into our front door whenever there's a chance and I never understand why. Why for returning after more than a month? Why keep coming back after we had chased him out again? Oh why?

Another part reason to Tiger being consistent and relentless about sticking around the house was the fact that I gave him food. Oh yes I did! One major mistake done. However you tell me, how can you have no mercy seeing a wailing kitty, looking very hungry, dirty and skinny just like in these photos below and go on about in life like nothing is happening right in front of you?

[caption id="attachment_950" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tiger eating the left over fish I was making a fuss about in the morning because someone in the house didn't eat it and left it to be thrown away. Luckily Tiger the kitten came along."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_951" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="He got his name from this Tiger Poster by WWF he was eating on. That piece of paper was picked out by chance and what do you know it had to be a Tiger poster. On a side note, do support the Tiger mission by WWF wil you!"][/caption]

We are still contemplating on what to do with this cat. Someone got a bright idea to throw it far away from the house so that he can have a chance of the real life outside our home or more accurately, quit popping around the house and pooping around as well. If you are in my shoes, what will you do with this poor kitty?

Mount Kinabalu Expedition: Final Episode - The Climbathon descent

You would have thought that my previous post , the Mount Kinabalu Expedition: Final Episode - Low's Peak would have been the last post for my Mt. Kinabalu 2D1N expedition would you? You got it wrong! Haha. I can assure you that this post will be the final episode for my Mount Kinabalu Expedition series.I call this post as the Mount Kinabalu Climbathon descent because that's what happened during the first few minutes of my descent from Low's Peak toward Sayat- Sayat.

Mount Kinabalu Expedition - Final Episode : Low's Peak

Right after our long 5 hours hike from Timpohan to Laban Rata we finished up what was left from our packed brunch at Laban Rata's restaurant and later on we checked in into our dorms at Gunting Lagadan Hut which is another 5 minutes hike up the mountain.

[caption id="attachment_915" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Gunting Lagadan Hut, Mount Kinabalu"][/caption]

Story fast forward...

I had yet another sleepless night at Gunting Lagadan Hut. I was too tired or probably high in anxiety to even sleep. Finally, I think I settled for a mere 2 hours sleep and got all geared up with my 4 layers of clothes, gloves, beanie, buff, my trusty Adidas Response Trail shoes, headlamp and the bag pack packing one small bottle of mineral water, camera, extra headlamp, first aid kit and chocolates. The 2 am, way too early breakfast consists of tuna spread on 2 pieces of bread, a couple of sip of someone's milo I think and another couple of spoons of someone's Maggie cup and cold, plain water. Haha. With all these so called 'energy' I was about to set for the summit of Mount Kinabalu together with little sleep starting from one night before. Greaaaat!

Animals Anecdotes 4: The working dogs

I would like to introduce Blackie and Chokie. They are the best companion a man can have while at work because they will be the one venturing first up the bushes to check out if the trails are safe before his owner passes the trail. Chokie is about 7 or so months old while Blackie is slightly older. Chokie is said to be on a vegetarian diet every Friday because he tends to eat too much so he is in much need to loose that extra weight. I think he is back on his ideal weight by now. They are really smart and won't make the slightest noise unlike Jojo. =)

[caption id="attachment_898" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Chokie"]
[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_897" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Blackie"][/caption]

Mount Kinabalu Expedition Day 2 -Timpohan To Laban Rata

[caption id="attachment_885" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pondok Timpohan Starting Point"][/caption]

Armed with food and water in our back pack alongside the ever so useful RM 3 wooden stick, we made our way down hill from the Timpohan gate or Pondok Timpohan starting point. Bungin the guide told us that the hike will take approximately 6 hours and by all means we should arrive at Laban Rata the latest by 5 pm because dinner will be served from 5pm – 7pm only. The last thing you want to do is to miss a buffet dinner after burning thousands of calories on hours of an uphill battle.

Hence the hours of ascent began and everyone started well with a steady slow and easy hike. All of us started to hike at our own time and right after reaching the 1KM rest station in less than 30 minutes, I decided to catch on with 5 others who were already leading ahead from the rest of the 13 of us. So there I was, climbing the wooden stairs alongside Azleena, Marlina, Zue and occasionally Fazilah and Azril whom at all times were on the lead.

Climbing and making it from Station 1(1KM) to Station 2 (2KM) brings back memories of myself hiking the exact same trail last year under a condition where I was wearing only flip-flops, no water and close to zero stamina, panting like crazy just after reaching the 1KM mark. It is glad to mention that I was in good shape and great stamina this time around because I did undergone some series of trainings for this expedition and hiking through Station 1 to Station 2 proved to be quick, easy and was simply a breeze. I also had put on my breathing technique into gear right from the start of the hike and that helps a great deal because I was never caught panting hard throughout the whole ascent. The ascent hike feels almost like a natural walk where I don't really need to exert myself for each climb.

The most daunting times during the first few kilometers of the Summit trail would most probably be the long stretch of continuous wooden staircases. Initially a couple of us started to name the stairs as “The Staircase to Hell” but I thought it was best to put on a much positive nickname and so the stairs got called as “The Staircase to Heaven” instead. The higher we go, that is much closer to heaven we shall be. Hehe.

No doubt the hike got tougher as we climb higher up on the mountain. At most times, the 6 of us will rest for about 5-10 minutes at each station and I was constantly checking that we didn't rest for too long at each stop so that we won't lose our pacing momentum after each rests. Since I only brought along a small bottle of roughly 750ml of water, I made my first refill from the untreated water tank right at Station 3. At this station, all 6 of us stopped for a little while to munch up a bit and if I'm not mistaken, I was pretty darn hungry by then. The untreated water is perfectly fine to drink and it was one of the best, cooling fresh water I've ever tasted. Do bear in mind that some tanks do have some sediments in the water and adding a sachet of flavoured ORS helps to drink up these kind of untreated water.

[caption id="attachment_890" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Over the clouds at Mt. Kinabalu"][/caption]

For the long hours of hike I didn't bother to listen to my mp3 because I didn't want to disturb my chi with my crazy, head spinning dance and trance music. Haha. The only sound I tune to was the sound of the surrounding and if you teach yourself to learn to the sound of the flora and fauna, you will receive peace and a great calming effect which is the key to keeping focus especially when your game is to make it to the top, keep on walking no matter what and never stop until you get there. A lot of prayers and a positive mindset helps a great deal too during this long, tiring ascent. As I chant my little prayers, I felt that every steps was surge with great energy and ease and without a doubt it was the best motivational boost that kept me going rapidly towards the top.

[caption id="attachment_891" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="At this point, I felt like crawling all the way up. Thanks to the porter guys, they told me I was only 5-10 minutes away from Laban Rata. My legs started cramping by now and I kept going of course."][/caption]

It was out of my mind to think that I could ever made it to Laban Rata in just about 4 hours but what do you know, I did just that! All in all, I managed to clock a total time of roughly 4 hours and 43 min from Timpohan to Laban Rata which was just under 5 hours and totally out of my expectation. Fazilah and Azril both made it to Laban Rata around 15 minutes or so ahead of me, while Marlina got there a couple of minutes just before me and soon followed up with Azleena and Zue trailing behind minutes after I arrived. The rest of the gang made it too in fairly good time in under 6 hours which was a really good time for first timers on the Mt.Kinabalu expedition. It proves to show that all of us were in pretty good shape and stamina and man, it felt really great to actually arrive and step foot at Laban Rata.

[caption id="attachment_892" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="We made it to Laban Rata Yo!"][/caption]

Mount Kinabalu Expedition Day 2 - RestHouse to Timpohan Gate

Day 2 of the Mount Kinabalu expedition kicks off early for everyone and by 6 ish am all 13 of us gathered around at the parking lot of our rest house for a short briefing from Mr.Boss.

[caption id="attachment_862" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Mr.Boss morning briefing before we begin our hike at Timpohan trail[/caption]

*photo by Azrul

Soon after that along with a little prep talk by Boss, we begin our little 'warm-up' before we hit the jungle trail. Since we came in a big group, Boss told us that we had to walk roughly around 100 m towards Kinabalu Park from the rest house and we should meet up with him at the entrance while he went to arrange other things for our expedition. And so we went for our supposedly short warm-up.

If you must know, the hiccups didn't get better overnight. It chose to continue on through the early part of the 2nd day of the expedition too. Our 100 m warm-up walk ended up becoming a close to 2 km warm-up walk mainly due to miss communication and a slight misunderstanding from the team leader. Thank God the weather was great and chilly so no one went totally berserk because we had just walked 2 km away to basically nowhere when all the while the Kinabalu Park was just 5 minutes away from the rest house. Funny thing was despite having confirmation from a fellow local about the direction of the park, we continued following the leading pack and that shows a pretty good team spirit between everyone. We shall stay together regardless of anything and if we had to be lead by the blind and so be it! LOL!

The warm-up walk was refreshing and we had a great time walking  along the street, dodging dog poop and huge trailers along the way while capturing snapshots with signboards which we could never have done if we didn't miss the park. In a way, things happen for a reason and it wasn't a bad hiccup after all.

[caption id="attachment_868" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Uncle Gampat (our guide/porter) tying the sack[/caption]

Upon reaching the entrance gate of the park, we each received our badges to be worn at all time during the hike because it is important for easy identification to our guides. We also got our loads (the one for the porters/guides to carry) weighed and most of us packed our clothes, jackets, gloves, food etc in a plastic bag because it's light weight, won't cost much for the porter fee and will be easy for the porter to simply gather the plastic bags into a huge sack for him to carry. The total combine weight that I shared with FF was 7.5kg and at RM4/kg , our shared load cost us RM60 for a return trip. The bag will be weighed once and won't be weighed again from Laban Rata, so most of us ended up stuffing more load into the porter bags during the return trip and I guess the poor porter uncles had to carry just a little bit more load during the descent hike. Hehe.

Later on, we grabbed our brunch pack from the Sutera Sanctuary Lodges Restaurant and munched on our breakfast during the short 5 km bus trip from the main gate towards the Timpohan trail entrance.

[caption id="attachment_865" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Brunch set provided for hikers[/caption]

* photo by Azleena

More briefing coming up from our guide, Bungin just before we set foot from the starting point at Timpohan Trail. For this expedition, we had 3 guides ( Bungin, Gampat and Downy) following all 13 of us and they work also as our porters. The guides function as the sweeper and at most time they will be at the back of the group walking along who ever is at the back of the team. In other words, through out the hike, the greater part of us including myself hiked on our own all the way to the top. I think it was pretty safe to hike alone because there will always be other people hiking along the way be it porters or other hikers plus guides from other teams.

After a short doa (prayer) by Bullert, we set off heading for Laban Rata and the long hike begins.

Mount Kinabalu Expedition Day 1

[caption id="attachment_856" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mt.Kinabalu from afar"][/caption]

The wait was finally over on 13th May 2010 for our most anticipated big hike which is non other than Mount Kinabalu. The team had been planning for this expedition since late 2009 after a couple of us who visited Sabah for the first time last year went totally head over heels with the mesmerizing beauty of Sabah and of course the majestic mountain itself - Mount Kinabalu. The whole journey and preparation towards the Mount Kinabalu expedition was no easy feat and I have to give a lot of credit to our team planner, Zue for putting up with all 12 of us through those endless emails since last year for all the bookings,payments, travel ideas and etc. Also not forgetting Mr.Boss for arranging all mountain bookings for everyone cum becoming our local tour guide around Kota Kinabalu.

Since I only know a handful of people out of these 13 people in the team, it was great to know that we all ended up blending very well with one another throughout the trip. I suppose all sports or outdoor adventure people are the coolest and friendliest bunch you can ever be with and we gel almost instantly well with each other the moment we greet and meet. After a brief greeting and exciting chats later with the newly met team members (Aida,Lily,Huna and Azrul and my old time friend - Bullert) at the boarding gate, we met with the first hiccup of the expedition which was a 2 hour flight delay. All I could think of at that time was by hook or by crook, we have to be in KK the latest at midnight because our hike from the Timpohan trail will resume at around 8 am the next day and I was not going to blow this big expedition out just because we couldn't fly out from KL to KK in time for the hike. Thankfully after a quick gobble of lunch since we all got kicked out of the plane to 'comfortably wait' at the boarding gate again, the plane started revving and up we went to the sky towards Kota Kinabalu.

The plane trip was sucky because I got a wailing toddler sitting  just behind me and if that was not enough the little kid went kicking at the back of my seat too. The last 15 minutes of the flight was so horrible and I was like come on, get me out of here quick! The toddler for some unknown reason went on a wailing fit for a good 15 minutes or more right until touch down but regardless of that I'm thankful to be seated next to an adorable old Chinese couple who were really pleasant during the trip.

After gathering our bags and a couple of quick photo sessions later, we met up with another half of the team who came from Penang the night before. Zue got really excited seeing me after what had been years and we had loads of XOXO's moments going on and after that followed by more XOXO's moments with Azleena too. A brief hello from a couple of others ensued before we hopped into the van for dinner and towards Kundasang to rest for the night.

The trip from Kota Kinabalu towards Kundasang is a long, winding 2 hours trip and I really enjoyed the trip because our driver, Nik is a pretty competent driver and by that I mean fast, local driver. However one of us surely did not enjoy the road trip as much as I did because apparently we had to stop Nik twice during the drive to give way for Aida to puke by the roadside. Hehe. I was told by her that she always get nauseous during long, winding drives and I really feel sorry for her to puke all her dinner out during the short trip. Ouch!

[caption id="attachment_855" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mountain RestHouse at Kundasang"][/caption]

This is the place we overnight on our first night at Kundasang, Sabah - Mountain RestHouse. The price is RM 15/night. The rooms have no heater but because it is a tiny room with two double decker bed enough for four people, we managed to get the heat from everybody collected inside the tiny room and that works very well as the heater for the night. Plus they also provide nice thick blankets so it was warm enough for the night. The restrooms and showers have no heater too but that didn't determined me to not bathe for the night. I thought after a nice cold bath later I should be able to have a good night sleep but I was wrong. I dozed off finally around 12 ish pm and woke up around 2ish am thanks to the rats running and bumping the ceiling noisily above me. I ended up tossing around bed, listening to two couple  who just arrived at the room behind me around 3 ish am chatting and finally decided to wake up at 4 am just before my alarm went off.

Oh another major point I need to mention here is the crazy packing and unpacking of stuffs during the night just before bed. Initially I had decided to bring my bigger bag to carry all the way to Laban Rata but it ended up being ridiculously heavy and I finally transferred everything that I wanted to carry into the small bag pack leaving the  bigger pack to be kept with Mr.Boss and another vacuum plastic bag filled with clothes to be used at Laban Rata and for the summit hike set aside for the porter to carry. Packing can be really sucky and the tips here is to always minimize your load as much as you can and always repack again after you have done with the packing just to lower down on your loads. Haha.

Since I woke early and the earliest amongst everyone, I got to check out the sunrise at 5 ish am around the rest house and it was getting pretty chilly in the morning. Next up we had a quick briefing with Mr.Boss until our next hiccup for the 2nd day begins.

Fun beach run and swimming a.k.a mini Biathlon

I was watching a lot of marathon and triathlon events on the Sports Channel lately and it got me itching to have a fun beach run and swimming on the beach thus making my very own mini Biathlon. I did exactly that two weeks ago and man, I really love it. The beach run was awesome especially when you get to breathe in cool, salty morning sea breeze and the weather was just perfect too. I suppose I made approximately a 1km run along the beach mostly making 100 m or so of repeated laps and I made one long run on another end of the long beach during the final lap. There weren't a lot of people on the beach that morning so the run wasn't interrupted by overcrowding beach goers.

Since I weren't keen about running shoeless on the beach because I was afraid to step on some sharp seashells, I was running with my open-toes sandals which was a bad idea. I kept brushing my big toe on the side of the sandal and thanks to that, I had to poke a blister out from the side of the toe later that day. It felt good though to poke your blister although I'm not sure if it is a recommended thing to do when you get a blister.

After the fun beach run, I went straight on for a couple of laps of swimming in the ocean. It was tough because I was getting out of breathe and tired from my beach run and now I have to strain the lungs with breathing in the water. I didn't get to do much laps because I was tired by then and I stepped on a sharp thing in the water, so I called it a quit after a couple of short laps. The biathlon ended soon after that and I have a newfound respect for triathletes out there for their strong endurance and stamina.

Since I had a pretty mini Biathlon, I got to play around with my camera on the beach. So check out the pictures and tell me what do you think? Care to have a mini Biathlon with me perhaps? =p



[caption id="attachment_839" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Beach run aka Mini Biathlon"][/caption]

Breathing techniques while running or hiking

If you are finding yourself gasping for air after a short time of running or ascending hiking, you may want to try out the proper breathing technique for your run or hike. So, how is it done?

It works simply by following the standard 3:2 ratio of breathing where it is a 3 deep inhale for the first 3 steps and 2 slow exhale for the next 2 steps and repeat. As you get used to this 3:2 breathing technique, you can see yourself running or hiking steadily but most importantly you will be relaxed and are able to keep a constant pace or momentum throughout your run or hike.

Do note that the way you breathe differs from one individual to the other and following the 3:2 breathing ratio may be difficult for first timers. I know that very well because initially, I did find it hard to get used to the 3 deep breathe with 2 exhale and at the end found myself gasping and panting even harder than before. If that is the case with you, you can vary your breathing to 3:3 breathing ratio and alternately changing to 3:2 ratio later on during your run. For fast running or sprint, most runners implement the 2:1 breathing ratio while most elite long distance runners do the 2:2 breathing ratio throughout their miles of running.

It is also vital to know that good breathing techniques particularly as I have recommended which is deep breathing may help your body to function well and efficiently. It works quite simply by making your body more oxygenated. Enough oxygen in your blood cells help to process more energy for your body to function better especially during strenuous long run or hill/mountain ascent. Moreover, deep breathing can give you a calming effect during your run or even your daily life and it is the easiest fix for stress.

Keep on practicing and working on your breathing techniques to build your overall stamina and performance. It is also very much recommended to breathe (inhale and exhale) using your nose instead of using your mouth and nose because nose breathing helps to filter impurities from the air and regulate the body temperature. Will that all said, never take your breathing technique for granted because if you get the technique right, it will do wonders in your running or ascending hiking performance.

Shoe Review: Adidas Response Trail 16

A couple of months back I got myself a new running shoes as the one I had earlier was pretty much battered. The sole came out and there are little traction left on the sole. I was looking for a trail and outdoor running shoes and finally decided to get this – Adidas Women's Response Trail 16 Running Shoe


httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grRsHdzF9Ls

How I feel about the shoe while running on different terrains:

1.Jungle trekking – going uphill and downhill
Since the sole is new, I still slipped a couple of times while walking on slippery tree branches and rocks. The traction is pretty good although I was expecting for better grips on the sole while going uphill the slippery jungle path. Coming downhill, I feel rather confident with this shoes because it provides great toe support at the front of the shoes.

2.Running on grassy trail
Traction is great because the grass was dry. I have yet to test it out on wet morning dew grassy trail but I expect it to be an excellent run with this shoes. I feel comfortable running with this pair but do watch out for blisters on your ankle if you wish to wear a low cut/invisible socks. Since this is a really new pair of shoes, it is best to put on an ankle length socks to avoid blisters before the shoes starts to season as you frequent the shoe's usage.

3. Hiking on wet terrain
Of course the Response Trail 16 will get absolutely wet if you have to cross a little patch of water as deep to just below your knee which in my case that's what happened and I had to cross the water trail to move further into the trail. Despite getting all drenched, the nylon mesh upper on the shoes is quick to dry and it has a lightweight-breathability function which is great for any wet or damp trail running condition. With good exposure from the sun during your trail running, you can expect for the shoes to dry as you run along. Also since it is a mesh upper, it can get pretty breezy at the front of your toes especially if you tend to run towards the wind direction.

Conclusion:
This Adidas Response Trail 16 is great for outdoor trails with great traction from the ForMotion control . The price is pretty reasonable for a new arrival in Adidas Stores throughout Malaysia. I got a 20% off from the original price, hence it was a good buy for me. Go get one of your own Adidas Response Trail 16 for your outdoor runs right now by clicking the link  here.

The most anticipated month has come!

Yes, the most anticipated month of the year has finally arrived. It is another 8 more days left for us to do some last minute 'muscle acclimatization' and finally just DO IT! I'm talking about the big hike of course.

I've been doing preparations for this Mt. Kinabalu hike since a couple of months back although in the initial phase, it was a mere pathetic twice a month little hill hiking and later on proceeding into some long distance walking on the golf course with probably once a week of jogging. Yes, I've picked up golfing and ditch the game altogether during this whole duration. Not until exactly 29 days ago, I've begun to literally put up a chart, hang it up beside the mirror and chart out on daily basis on what workout I've done on a day. I was ambitious like any typical goal setter will be because I wrote a little remark by the side of the chart that was written " TO RUN 5 KM IN 45 MIN OR 30 MIN/DAY - NON STOP BY 17/4/2010. Yes there are all in caps so that it stands out and would eventually stuck into the brain that it is highly important to achieve this goal regardless.

Of course I could never keep up with the 2 weeks duration to run 5K non-stop I've ambitiously given myself and up until now, my best record was to jog/run non-stop for 15 minute for a distance of 1.2K. Despite not being able to run non-stop in 45 minute for a 5K, I've managed to finish up a 5K in a record of 40 minute by doing a combination of jog/run/fast walk/jog and a good 200m final sprint towards the end. Come to think of it, I've actually reached my goal of running 5K in 45 minute don't I? Next time around it is going to be a 10K in an hour. Oh yeah!

Besides the running and jogging, of course there is the hill hiking. My last proper hill hike was last week. I didn't clock my best time during the uphill battle and I was struggling to breathe until later on I went home and read up on proper breathing techniques for running because it sure helps a lot to keep you going farther uphill or running for a longer duration. Other practices are going uphill on a 100m stretch and repeating the process five times or more. It gets easier on each hike as you begin to master the deep breath and slow exhale technique. However the best workout so far was doing almost a 1K beach run and later on swimming in the sea. The run was fun although people were of course watching because I was the only one running on the beach. On the other hand, I was having shorts of breath during my short breaststrokes laps probably because it is very tiring indeed and I really think those triathletes are really very strong people.

It is about a week's left before we will fly to Kota Kinabalu and I still need to get some stuffs ready. I've been missing some jogging because it is more of a 'do more hill running or walking' week. I hope all will go well next week and I have to admit that we are all getting excited on this and we are having the 'summit fever' alright.

Animals Anecdotes 3: Kitty in the rim

This is one of the rare occasion when little kittens or any cats in general will do when they switch into the panic mode. Never mess with a panic, scared animals. In this case a kitten. This little kitten hissed and literally screamed its lungs out as we tried to help it get out. This is what happened to it:

[caption id="attachment_804" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Little kitten stuck in between the rim. It is wet, panicky and most definitely very agitated."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_805" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Kitty in the rim with one leg out"][/caption]

We thought hosing the kitten out with water would eventually helps it to slip out and get the heck out of the rim. But it only helps to make the kitten wet and scared more than anything. Later on, it finally struck to us that ,"Oh yeah, cats hate water right?". A very smart move indeed.

Until a couple of wasteful minutes later, we decided to stand away from the stuck animal and went inside the house. Probably it can slip out on its own if we just keep clear of its view. True enough, minutes later, we heard a tiny meow right on the front door. It was the wet kitten calling out for its mother I suppose. The next seconds as we appeared out of the house, the kitten was gone and there I was thinking , "You better not hide in those rims again or we are just going to get moving along with you stuck between it."

We never saw the kitten again for the next couple of days until weeks later, I saw it playing around with its mother, looking all happy and healthy at my neighbour's house just back door.The mother cat is missing a kitten and God knows what happened to it. The lesson here is never mess with a panicky kitty because man that little creature can really hiss and scowl.

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

This is the second time around I'm reading this book entitled Into Thin Air authored by Jon Krakauer. Most times I will only read books once and stash it away on the bookshelves. However this book is an exception to that and since the count down for the major summit hike is less than a month, it is best to re-iterate pages from this awesome outdoor adventure book once again.

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster was listed as the number one  New York Times Bestseller back in 1997. The book is about a  personal account of the Mount Everest disaster back in 1996 where Krakauer, the author himself with a team of other climbers attempted Mount Everest.

Here are some of the reviews received on this book in verbatim:

Ranks among the great adventure books of all time. - THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

A harrowing tale of the perils of high-altitude climbing, a story of bad luck and worse judgment and of heartbreaking heroism. - PEOPLE

Wrenching ...lucid...it is impossible to read this book unmoved. - ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Every bit as absorbing and unnerving as his 1996 bestseller Into the Wild. - THE NEW YORK TIMES

You got to get your hands on Into Thin Air and it is a definite must-read for every avid mountain climbers for it gives a lot for us to ponder about on taking risks, achieving big and almost impossible plus insane goals in the name of strong will and pure determination.

Animals Anecdotes 2: May it R.I.P

Actually, I've draft a post particularly for this Animals Anecdotes numero deux. However, after much thought, I've decided to do away with the anecdotes due to its gory and almost inhumane details which I'm afraid will spark some tension and questions among any animal lovers out there. With that said, may this little creature R.I.P.

[caption id="attachment_786" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Baby rat on the open ground before the 'inevitable execution'"][/caption]

Saying no more on things but that picture was taken before the 'inevitable execution' which ended into a horrible mess. Either way, the little baby could not have survived long in the open ground and since life is just a constant cycle, it is glad to say that this tiny cadaver was not put into waste. The ant soldiers were quick to march into action and carried pieces of the remains away. May it rest in peace.

Buff Headwear Review

If you are on a look out for a versatile, multifunctional headwear to use on your daily outdoor or sports activities, you have to get one of these buff headwear now!

The buff headwear is a  tubular, seamless, made of microfibre fabric that  comes in variant of designs that can function into a scarf, bandanna, cap, headband, wristband, beanie, face mask, balaclava, tube top and many more. Below is a snapshot on how to wear a buff and the various way to style it.

[caption id="attachment_766" align="aligncenter" width="290" caption="Various ways to wear and style with a buff"][/caption]

The original Buff headwear has been around since 1992 and is known worldwide when the buff is worn by all the contestants of the TV Series Survivor. Notice the colorful range of tube headgear on the contestants? That's a buff alright.

This buff headwear is made special and different due to the material or fabric used to design it. It is made from a wide range of material such as 100% polyester microfiber, 100% Merino wool from the Merino sheep,CoolMax,Polartec,Windstopper and Polygiene in order to design the many types of buff available from the Buff factory.

To get your own buff, simply order it online from their website at www.buyabuff.com . If you are in Malaysia and you don't want to go through the hassle of international shipments and duty tax etc, COREZONE Malaysia has stocked up its store with a series of buff headwear since a couple of years back. So there is no problem to get your hands on these really awesome buff. The price of a buff ranges between $USD 12 - $USD39 or MYR 79 - MYR108 ( from COREZONE) depending on the type of buff that you choose. It may seem a little pricey for a small little tube but I still think it is an affordable and must buy item if you are one of those cool and avid outdoor adventure guys. What's the wait? Go get one of your own buff now!