Sg. Chiling, Kuala Kubu Baru | 20 Quick Tips on Camping and Hiking at Sg. Chiling

I have recently visited Sg. Chiling at Kuala Kubu Baru (KKB) with a bunch of friends for an overnight camping, BBQ dinner and hiking towards the waterfall. We didn't know what to expect from the whole trip and the only guidelines we had were purely from various blogs. Hence, I figured the 20 Quick Tips I'm going to list down below will help out for all of you first timers who are thinking of arranging a trip at Sg.Chiling, Kuala Kubu Baru.

The 20 Quick Tips that you need to know if you are planning for a camping and hiking trip at Sg. Chiling are:

1. The place is open for visitors only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8 am until 6 pm.

[caption id="attachment_2703" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Sungai Chiling Fish Sanctuary Regulations KKB"][/caption]

2.  It's a great place for day trips, BBQ and picnics by the river.
3. Cooking is not allowed at the waterfall although there are still people who will sneak a portable gas stove in their bags.

[caption id="attachment_2706" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="A healthy breakfast we whipped up at the camp site using our portable stove"][/caption]

4.  After 3 pm you are not allowed to go hiking up until the waterfall due to safety reasons since it will take 1 hour to the waterfall and another hour back down. Nevertheless, you can still take a dip or picnic around the river near the entrance or the river by the roadside.
5. Entrance fee is RM 1 for each person which you will pay at the registration counter.
6. If you would like to camp, usually you don't need to book ahead of time. You can just walk in to the registration booth and pay up RM 10 deposit per person. I think the place is huge enough to accommodate a lot of campers. So no worries. There were only 5 groups of campers with minimum of 5 people per group the day we were there. Most day trip visitors will leave the place the latest at 7 pm. The RM10 is a deposit for you to maintain the cleanliness of the camping site. If you are coming with a large group, you can give a call to this number : Yusri 013-3089463 and arrange for camping site bookings.  The number was given to me from the lady at the registration counter.
7. Fishing is not allowed at this fish sanctuary. It is a sanctuary for ikan kelah and these fish are obviously protected here.
8. There is a toilet, surau, a couple of wakaf and a designated camping site at this place. Camping is at your own risk. I don't see any guards around but it is generally safe to camp here since most campers are friendly and nice.
9. It takes about 5 minutes of walking from the entrance (roadside) to the registration counter. No cars/motorbikes are allowed to enter beyond the gate at the entrance. If you are camping and barbecueing this calls for heavy duty load carrying on your two shoulders. Multiple trips are required if they aren't many people to help you to carry your countless number of stuffs.

[caption id="attachment_2707" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="5min walk through this path. It's fairly flat."][/caption]

10. The best shoes to go around this place is a zap on sandals or slippers. You can wear shoes but then again it will be soaked wet. Also be prepared to get wet right after the suspension bridge from the registration counter. For short people like me, the water level reached up until half of my body during the 6 river crossings. If you have a waterproof bag, it is highly recommended to swim across rather than wade through the current. It's faster and safer to swim across actually but you will be drenched which shouldn't be a problem.
11. You have to keep the place clean and bring back whatever trash you have made from your picnics. The huge dumpster is located near the parking lot just before the entrance. In short, you have to carry your rubbish back out yourself.
12. Don't expect to have a sparkling clean toilet or shower room. This is afterall the jungle and why bother showering when you have the nice, cold river to dip in! None of us showered because it was freaking cold. Oh, a couple of guys actually jumped into the river at night for a quick dip and just under 5 minutes, they were already back at their camps.The water was COLD!
13. Do mind the wild dogs if you are camping. Make sure you clean up your camping site after the massive BBQ cook out you had during dinner. You don't want to have the dogs sniffing down your rubbish and trashing the whole place out. They dogs didn't roam around the camping site but I did hear a couple of them barking from afar about 4ish – 5ish in the morning.
14. Be nice to your next door campers. We were literally gawking over the bunch of guys who bbq-ed with a couple of bamboo sticks and the next thing we knew, a guy came up out of the dark and offered us food! Hehe.

[caption id="attachment_2705" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="This is rice cooked in bamboo over the charcoal fire. The guys offered us this bamboo rice and some grilled chicken. Yum!"][/caption]

15. Return the gesture of your kind next door campers by offering them your portable cooking stove when you see them cooking burger patties with their bare hands over the small fire they made for breakfast. Hehe.

[caption id="attachment_2704" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Trusty portable stove"][/caption]

16. It's best to pack up the camp and put everything back in the car if you are planning to go hiking to the waterfalls in the morning. You will be wet, tired, hot and it will be noon by the time you come back down from the waterfall. The last thing you want to do is to pack up your tent and stuffs. At this time, you will look like crap, sunburned, wet and you'll be dead hungry!
17.This place is safe for all ladies campers and hikers although being typical Malaysian people will still question why they aren't guys who are accompanying you girls. Unless you are camping with guys who are a true campers, they are worth to drag along with. If the guys had never made BBQ fire in their entire life, don't bother asking them to tag along for company. Haha.
18. There are no monkeys at this place. Thank God! I just don't fancy this creature that much although some find them utterly cute. Hmm...
19. If you are lucky you will get leeches but we didn't. Instead we saw a huge spider. It looks poisonous but maybe it's not. I really don't know.

[caption id="attachment_2708" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Spider during trekking towards Chiling Waterfall"][/caption]

*photo by Marl
20. The ikan kelah is a load of fun to play with. They are bunch of smart fish and you will be lucky if you can catch them with your bare hands. Don't bother trying to scoop them out with a pathetic plastic bag. We tried that, the bag broke instead. Hehe.

There you go 20 Quick Tips that you will hopefully need to know about camping and hiking at Sg.Chiling, Kuala Kubu Baru.

For more information on driving directions to Sg. Chiling - read here by DeXXy.Net

Note : To get to the waterfall, cross the suspension bridge, make a left turning and go through the rocky and wet path. You can take the right path but I think it will take you on a much farther route.

 

Canopy Walk FRIM (Forest Research Institute Malaysia) at Kepong, Selangor

Canopy Walk At FRIM

Canopy walk at FRIM - Forest Research Institute Malaysia is one the places that I had always wanted to go and yes, I got to do that last year! Yay to me :).  FRIM is located in Kepong which makes it a perfect day trip to include a visit of stairs climbing up Batu Caves Hindu Temple in Gombak, Selangor. If you are clueless, Kepong and Gombak are somewhat near to one another, so it makes perfect sense to visit yet another famous tourist attraction along the way.

Let's get back to the FRIM Canopy Walk, shall we.

Getting to FRIM

It is fairly easy to locate FRIM thanks to the huge FRIM signboard on the roadside. Simply keep your eyes peeled for the signboard and you will definitely find your way towards the entrance of FRIM. Entrance fee is RM5 ( car & driver ) and RM1 (each passenger, I think).  As usual, it was our first time and we simply followed the crowd and guessed our way to the main car park which was quite a long straight drive and later on turn left at the T junction and park your car there. A lot of regulars actually parked their car outside of the entrance because if I'm a regular at FRIM, I would have done the same thing too. RM5 for car park! Come on! :)

Getting to Titian Canopy Walkway from Rover Track

Since it was a public holiday, the information center was closed and we looked at the map and understood nothing out of it and again we followed the crowd. There were a lot of hikers going up a hill next to the surau and we found out that we were trailing along Rover Track. If from far away, you could see a toilet, than you will find the Rover Track signboard a few meters away from the loo.

[caption id="attachment_2689" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="This is Rover Track and the building is the Toilet"][/caption]

We were walking with a lot of other people along the wet, red soiled track going up a hill and we were still clueless to where we were heading and I had to ask a panting girl ( she seemed friendly enough despite struggling her way up the hill) to guide us for our directions. Apparently we were on the right track. There are two paths to choose from ahead of us - on the right will lead you to the Canopy Walk, while the other going straight ahead will lead you somewhere around the huge FRIM park where I saw most of the *cute mountain bikers heading that way. Hehe.

Trekking Duration from Rover Track to Canopy Walkway

[caption id="attachment_2688" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="FRIM Canopy Walkway Signboard"][/caption]

I would say if you are averagely fit, hiking up the trail towards the Canopy Walk is fairly easy. It took us 12 minutes of slow walk from Rover Track to meet the Titian Canopy Walkway signboard. Another uphill trek for the next 15 minutes will take you the the starting point of the Canopy Walkway.

FRIM Canopy Walk Fees

[caption id="attachment_2690" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Canopy Walkway starting point. This is where we paid up the RM5 fee each"][/caption]

Going up the canopy walk is not free. Simply pay up RM5 each to the staffs waiting at the wooden platform/cabin and you can begin your journey on those wobbly suspension bridge. The view from the canopy walkaway is magnificent. If you are like me who craves for greenery and the fresh jungle air, this is the place to go to. Immersed yourself totally with the environment, capture those beautiful moments in your head or if you have a fancy DSLR camera, snapping pictures up the canopy walkaway is a must. I even went all the way to persuade a nice Chinese guy with a huge DSLR to pay up RM5 and take up beautiful pictures up the canopy. Of course he didn't seemed excited with the extra RM5 charge but I think I did see him making his way to the canopy walkaway entrance.



I did get some sudden jitters while I was on the bridge. But then again you had to pretend all cool like everything was not scaring the heck out of you when you have another buddy who was walking right behind you. What if the both of you freaked out up there and who was going to come to our rescue? Haha. Also, thank God there weren't any monkey up there. Monkeys would have dampened my 'act cool' spirit on the canopy walkaway.

It's THE Place To Go for the Outdoor Junkie

[caption id="attachment_2693" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Lush green forest at FRIM, Kepong"][/caption]

Canopy Walk at FRIM, Kepong is yet another place I would totally recommend for city people who are looking for a quick jungle getaway and of course for all outdoor junkies out there. FRIM is also a perfect place for mountain bikers, joggers, hikers and you could even go for camping and enjoy a picnic by the river. You really should take a day off to take a look at this place and enjoy yourself with the lush green forest. It would certainly be a great day out for everyone.

 

Animals Anecdotes : Something Foul Under The Hood – It's a Dead Cat!

A couple of days ago, we started to smell something foul – almost garbage like from outside of the house. We couldn't find the source of the smell and we thought it was just the overflowing garbage smell from the neighbour's house.

The following day, the stench of the 'garbage' seemed to be lingering around the outside of the car. We finally thought, probably we should check out the tyres and see if anything got stuck in between them. We started spraying water at the tyres and suddenly, one of us suggested, why don't we check out the hood. We opened the hood and we saw this!



So then, it was confirmed that garbage like, foul smell came from that furry thing that seemed to be stuck between the engine. I peeked under the hood and tried to figure out what that furry thing could be. I saw a tiny paw and the tail and of course it was a cat, rotting away under the hood of our car. Hence, that is where the foul smell had been coming from for the last 1 day and a half. It was right there under the car's hood.

The cleaning up process was a messy business not to mention the smell was horrendous. However, at the end of the day, we managed to get the carcass out of the way. It was really troubling to think of where, how and why this little creature decided to hide in the car's engine. There were many speculations on why it got inside there and we also thought that it could be one of those stray cats from our neighbourhood. The cause of death was unknown.

It was definitely a tragic loss for that poor cat and I am not going to post pictures of the animal due to its bad condition. Suffice to say, by the time we got the carcass out of the engine, it was pretty roasted. Poor little cat, may you rest in peace.

* The only one thing we were relieved about this whole situation was that, it was not one of those furry tailed cats from our neighbour's who once used to invade our front yard with their endless play and pooping. Phew!

Happy Chinese New Year! Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Happy Chinese New Year to everyone who is celebrating everywhere around the world. Gong Xi Fatt Choi, Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Thanks to the majority Chinese neighbours that I have, I got to see fireworks everywhere around the neighbourhood at the stroke of midnight to welcome the New Dragon Year. But no, I think a lot of people got all excited and started to fire up things 10 minutes before midnight.:)

For some unknown reason, I'm having the feeling that everyone is welcoming the Dragon year with a much higher energy and spirit than the last year - The Rabbit year . In a way, I think it is a great spirit to kick off the year although come to think of it, we are kicking off the year  yet again after the New Year 2012 celebration we just had 3 weeks ago.

With my room and almost the entire house completely filled with firecrackers smoke, I  am hoping to retire to bed with a good feeling that this year 2012 or this Dragon year is going to be filled with a lot of great surprises, loads of success, more fun and adventures.

Gong Xi Fatt Choi, Xin Nin Kuai Le, everybody - regardless you are a Chinese or not and I know I'm not or probably I am like a quarter somewhat Chinese blooded. :)

 

Visiting Batu Caves Hindu Temple for the Very First Time Like a Malaysian, not a Tourist

The first thing that pops up in my mind when someone mentions Batu Caves is it is a place you will go if you are a Hindu and you would like to perform your prayers. But in reality, it is more than just a temple or a Hindu shrine located in a limestone cave. It is one of the top tourist hot spot and a highly recommened place to visit if you are a tourist visiting Kuala Lumpur. I had lived in Kuala Lumpur for a good 5 years or so but I had only been there for the first time last year. To be exact, I was visitng Batu Caves temple on a Christmas day.:)

I do not know what took me so long to get here but that's not the point and no longer an issue. I was there at Batu Caves mainly for these few reasons.

Why did I finally decide to visit Batu Caves?

1. To count exactly how many steps it takes to climb up the stairs of Batu Caves temple


2. To check out the caves and the humongous, gold plated Lord Murugan statue which is visible from far away as you pass the MRR2 highway.


3. To cross “Visiting Batu Caves” out of the list of places that I wanted to go and finally surrender with the fact that I'm just yet another tourist in my own beloved country. Yes I am. :)

I was there with my old friend and we were both first timers, Batu Caves visitors. We weren't the only first timers for the day. I find that Batu Caves is a well developed tourist spot or for the other half of those visitor it will be a well developed and maintained temple complex.

What to expect at Batu Caves?

The list can go on and on but these are the major things you can expect out of Batu Caves :

• Loads of tourists and when I was there, there were more tourists than worshippers. Tourists varies from the Arabs with their hijabs, Japanese, Indonesians, Indians and of course the local Malaysian tourists; that will be people like me.

[caption id="attachment_2664" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Batu Caves temple at the top"][/caption]

• Loads of photographers too and I think a lot of photography clubs in Malaysia do organize photograpy trips in Batu Caves and I personally think Batu Caves is an excellent and unique place to capture beautiful photos.


• There will be monkeys and people who are either scared of them ( like me) and people who are mesmerized by the smart monkeys who are happily waiting to grap or rather snatch whatever food you toss their way. I don't quite fancy monkeys and I do my level best to avoid them especially those male ones.


• You will get to see some chickens roaming around the temple. I don't know how and why they are there but these animals are there. I wonder if the chickens got anything to do with any of the prayer rituals. I'm not sure on that.


• If my calculation and observations are correct, there should be about two temples in the huge cave. You can stand and watch how the rituals are done and at one of the temples, there is a big enough flat screen TV and you can view the prayer rituals from there without having to go farther inside the little temple compound.


• While you are there in the temple, do look above you and spend sometime there to have a good look of the structure of the caves and snap away on your camera. And don't spend too much time trying to feed the monkeys or the chickens. The main attractions here are obviously the limestone caves and the temple okay people!


• On your way back, you can visit the Dark Cave Tour which you can see on your left side as you are climbing up the stairs. I would have taken a quick peek over at the Cave Tours but of course I did not get to that that thanks to the jumping monkeys right at the entrance of it.

[caption id="attachment_2663" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Dark Cave Tour at Batu Caves"][/caption]

• As we were making our way down the stairs, we came across this really old woman. I couldn't resist myself. I had to stop, really have a good look at her and snapped a picture of her. Haha. Hey, you don't get to see this view everyday you know.

[caption id="attachment_2662" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Old woman at Batu Caves with super long hair"][/caption]

• There will be a lot of souvenir shops and even vegetarian restaurants aorund the temple complex as you make your way in and out of the temple's entrance. I wouldn't recommend you to get your souvenirs there but then again it's you choice. We didn't make our way to the vegetarian restaurants although it was really tempting and it was just about lunch hour time because I know the best place to get your North Indian Banana Leaf rice fix is at Nirwana Maju, Bangsar or some other restaurants around Petaling Jaya (PJ) area.

At the end of the day, I was pretty happy and contented with my short trip up and down the stairs of Batu Caves. It was a good workout, the day was hot and that place was jam packed with people aka tourists.

Oh yes, you may be wondering how many stairs exactly are there to climb to the top of Batu Caves? The answer to that question is I have no idea how many there are. Haha. I lost count after steps number 4 because you really need to watch out for your steps and not going around bumping people while you are going up those somewhat steep and not so wide stairs. I had checked with my Indian friends though on the exact number and it is confirmed and even Wike-ed that the total number of stairs at Batu Caves is 272 steps.

Batu Caves is definitely crossed out from my list of places to visit around KL and if you haven't already been there, I think you really should to experience a wonderfully new cultural experience altogether.

 

My Running Playlist : Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera

Do you want to know what is the perfect song to add on your current running playlist or jogging list of songs? At least right now for me, "Moves Like Jagger" is at the top of my list. Everybody loves this song and who wouldn't right? Seriously, I wouldn't mind spinning this tune on repeat for the gazillion times and I'll still be all pumped up throughout my run.

Listen up, download it and have an awesome run people!

Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRsxpoAc5w

Click below to purchase from Amazon.com :



 

 

Travel Photos : Postcards from My Road Trip in New Zealand

It's time for that Travel Photos  again and this time around it is a series of travel postcards from my road trip in New Zealand.

Do you send postcards to people at home when you are traveling? I recently do! I would like to make it a ritual when I travel to send people at home really interesting postcards. It's going to be exciting for the receivers don't you think?

Here are some of the Travel postcards I sent to family and friends while I was on a 24 days, adventurous travel road trip in New Zealand :

[caption id="attachment_2624" align="alignleft" width="640" caption="            "]

Happy New Year 2012, Everybody! - A Celebration of North Indian cuisines with the BBQ

Happy New Year 2012 Everybody!

I know I'm like four days late to do this shout out but it's better late than never. How was your New Year celebration? I hope it was great enough to keep you going and pumping with excitements throughout this year!

My celebration was fantastic. It was fantastic because we being a true Malaysian celebrated the coming of the new year with a simple yet delicious home cooked dinner at home. We had some tandoori chickens on the BBQ, chicken tikka masala, raita, papadoms, rice, some fried vegs, and 'siakap bakar' ( grilled Barramundi, I think that's what it's called in English) and cold Root Beers with ice creams for desserts.

So all in all, we had an outdoor dinner right on the front yard with the main theme of North Indian dishes. Of course we had to have the BBQ  for the boys to start playing with fire and that's just more than enough excuse to have the tandoori chickens too. Initially we wanted to buy some Roti Naan (Naan Breads) from the nearest Mamak shop to compliment the tandoori but thankfully we were all out of hands and if we did get some Naan breads, I think we would have an awfully stuffed tummy hours before the countdown of the new year begins.

I had a splendid pigging out session with my family during New Year's Eve and I think we badly needed that little time to have everybody finally sitting together at the same time and have a good meal to kick start the New Year.

So here goes the pictures.  Some really decent ones that I'm really willing to share with the general public. Haha.

[caption id="attachment_2614" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="A bowl full of heavily gravy-ed Chicken Tikka Masala, Papadom and some diced cucumber to make the raita"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2615" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="All in a plate - rice, chicken tikka, papadom and raita minus the fish and tandoori"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2616" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Tandoori chicken on bbq - very Malaysian style lah!"][/caption]

 

Finally, let's have a wonderful, happy, healthy, wealthy, lots of travel and more adventures for this year 2012! Happy New Year 2012 Everybody :)

 

Broga Hill in 2011 - Things Have Changed A Lot Over The Years

It is almost like a ritual now for me to hike up Broga Hill at least on an annual basis. I did write about how things have changed tremendously at Broga last year. This time around, our plan to climb Broga Hill was a last minute thing. It was something that has been brought our during my losing game of bowling. Hehe. Despite thinking that Bukit To'kun hike at Bukit Mertajam, Penang could possibly be the closing hike I would be doing this year, I was totally wrong about that. I'm game and all gear up to do more outdoor activities during this year ending holiday season.

So let's get talking about Broga Hill at least from how I see it last weekend.

What is new at Broga Hill now?

- I spotted a couple of make shift toilets hidden away at the corner of the oil palm parking lot and another one just at the beginning point of the hike

- There weren't a lot of people last week comparatively to the throng of human processions I've seen over the days. I'm blaming the holiday seasons so people are getting out of town.

- There are more food stalls and the usual Chinese aunty who sells her cold drinks is still there but she is sitting way up to the starting point which will be the first stall hikers will meet as they reached down from the hill. Business is getting really competitive these days at Broga Hill. hehe. Surprisingly there is also a burger stall. I was like WT* for a second there thinking that it is so out of place. People someone should note to them that people who are hikers are usually health conscious and we care about what goes down into our stomach. Burgers will mess up with our system dude!

- As for the track itself : it is the usual track. I was wearing someone else sport shoes and it does get a bit slippery on some trails. We didn't climb up the last point of the track too. It was rocky, with a bit of rope climbing and not to mention slippery because we were people watching and so quite a few slipped down and got them hanging on the ropes. But not to worry, it is fairly safe provided you have people around to give you a hand.

- I think quite a number of people were actually climbing up Gunung Tok Wan which starts at the highest point of Broga Hill. Yes, I was somewhat suggesting to my fellow hikers to do this Tok Wan hike last month but we didn't because the timing was all off. So yeah, I have enough reason to come back Broga Hill again next year so that I can finish up Tok Wan.

- The view has always been stunning at Broga Hill so I didn't bother to really pose and have a nice shot taken. I'm silly like that so silly is the only thing I know when it comes to posing for pictures. It's fun though and you should do it too!

There you go! The final report on the things that has changed at Broga Hill for 2011. I'm expecting things to 'develop' more at this place. I hope it's only  for the better. You still have this weekend and next week to hike up Broga Hill if you haven't already. Go there. Get hiking. Get sweating. It's really fun and hiking never gets old despite how many times you walk up the same trail.

Quote of The Day : If You Hesitate or Doubt on Something, Don't Go For It

I'm going to make this one short and this quote should be able to help you to make a decision on what is your best next action to take when you are stuck in a crossroad.

Quote of The Day is : If You Hesitate or Doubt on Something, Don't Go For It!

When you have to make a choice and if ever you start to hesitate even on one small thing, you SHOULD SKIP it, PICK another and yeah, get on with the next best thing. Hesitate = doubt = your subconscious mind telling you, " Don't do it baby!" :)

Hiking Up Bukit To'kun at Cherok To'kun, Bukit Mertajam | Tokun Hill BM, Penang

The last of my hiking activities with my fellow hikers was back in early January at Bukit Tabur, Taman Melawati. Oh goodness, that was ages ago. Haha. Hence to wrap things up for the year end, I had another last hiking trip for the year somewhere up north which was at Bukit To'kun or  it is either known as well as Bukit Tokun or Tokun Hill located at Cherok To'kun, Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

Most of my fellow hikers resides in Penang and they have been posting loads of beautiful hiking pictures at Bukit To'kun with the Mengkuam Dam view that made me said to one them that I really need to go there and check that place out. Thankfully, I had a chance to drive down to Penang for a wedding and of course, I had to extend the stay for another day to check out Bukut To'kun.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mengkuang Dam, Bukit Mertajam, Penang"][/caption]

If you are thinking for directions to Bukit To'kun, I truthfully cannot direct you from here because my friend was driving us all along and the next thing I new, I saw the Cherok To'kun signage, we passed the Mee Ketam Pak Man Restaurant around the corner, approached straight to Taman Rimba Bukit Mertajam, drive farther up a bit and the journey begins.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bukit Tokun clouds taken from the wooden platform"][/caption]

I was told that there are 2 routes to hike Bukit To'kun which is the off-road jungle tracks or the tarmac road which was the one that we used since all of us girls want to take it easy and slow and no wants to get wet and dirty in the jungle track.

What do I feel about Bukit To'kun?

I think people in Bukit Mertajam (BM) are really lucky. The place is jam-packed, loads of people are hiking, young and old - I'm talking grannies and grandpas with sport shoes and walking sticks hiking solo all the way up the really steep hill. It is a tough hike because of the gradient level/slope and these veterans are really rocking it out man. For younger and more adventurous ones, they are really a lot of cyclist - properly dressed of course, cycling up the steep hill and I saw one guy, he must have cycled a lot and I thought his calf muscles is going to break out of his skin at any time. That is exactly how intense it really is to climb up Bukit To'kun with your bicycle.

[caption id="attachment_2579" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Cyclist at Bukit Tokun, Cherok Tokun, BM"][/caption]

We pretty much took our time to hike and there were lots of stops and picture moments. Hence we round up the hill as in our return trip up and down took us about 2 hours 43 minutes. We only took 44 minutes to come down hill so you can guess how much time we spent for the photo taking sessions. I was really looking forward to see the view of the Mengkuam Dam at the wooden platform area, somewhere just a couple of meters away from the peak and that was basically the highlight of the whole Bukit To'kun hike. We had a pretty good day, cool and it rained the night before and we got to see beautiful clusters of clouds just beneath us, as though suspending right below from where we were standing and it was hands down the best view of the day. At some point, it didn't feel like we were in Bukit Mertajam but felt instead more like we were up on a really beautiful mountain view.

Most people who hike up the hill are usually regulars and it is really a very vibrant and exciting place to meet a lot of people. I really love that kind of exciting hiking vibes where everyone is so friendly and nice. We even met with a friendly bunch of guys and one guy fell victim to become our unofficial photographer. Friendly guy, very nice to chat with but no one bothers to at least get his Facebook name. Hahaha.

Anyway, if you are a Penangite and hiking is your thing, this is the place to go. With 2 routes to choose from, there are more fun to come back at Bukit To'kun often enough. For you hardcore bikers, this hill is the place to be! I'm thinking probably some path may be up to 45 degrees incline or slope which is really intense and will make you work it, man! For social hikers like me, this place is really worth to find and hike especially if you intend to travel down to Penang although this place is located at Bukit Mertajam not in the island. So yeah, Bukit To'kun or Bukit Tokun or Tokun Hill or Cherok To'kun hill (however you want to call this place) is really great, vibrant, happening and has an incredibly beautiful view right at the wooden platform. This is a must place to go hiking all the way in Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

*pictures thanks to Miss M :)

Photo Travel : Kuching, Sarawak | East Malaysia, Borneo

For today's Photo Travel it is about Kuching, Sarawak. Sarawak is the biggest state in Malaysia and it is located in Borneo which is a huge island on its own. To find out more about Kuching which is the capital city of the state of  Sarawak check out this Sarawak wiki link.

Let's get down to the pictures and I hope you will enjoy them.

[caption id="attachment_2553" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Postcards of the ethnic people of Sarawak: The Iban"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_2554" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The Charles Brooke Memorial, Kuching"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_2555" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Charles Brooke Memorial - The Iban Warrior"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2556" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Chinatown, Kuching"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2557" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The Old Court House, Kuching"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2558" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The General Post Office, Kuching Town"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2559" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Indian Mosque Lane, Kuching"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2560" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Masjid Bandar Kuching - The Indian Mosque in India Street, Kuching crammed amongst the shop lots"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2562" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="The super old skool spice shop along India Street in Kuching"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2563" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Three prominent buildings/landmark in Kuching"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2564" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Boat cruise along the river at the Kuching Waterfront"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2565" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Bot Tambang at the river Kuching"][/caption]

 

Top 5 Things You Essentially Need For An Awesome Road Trip

I really love road trips and I wish I could do it more often like on a weekly basis sort of things. Anyway, I had one of the best road trips a couple of weeks back and I would like to share with you the Top 5 Things You Essentially Need For An Awesome Road Trip. Let's get started with the list.

1. Find yourself not just a good travel partner but an awesome travel partner.

This can be difficult to find in most cases but you know what, take your time, experiment and finally figure out who is the right person you are willing to have around for the whole duration of your road trip.As for my case, I'm indeed lucky because I could still nicked a few days out of my newly married best friend to become my partner in crime for the road trip. She's the best because there are always non-stop talking and stories to tell which are super juicy, haha and we haven't met for the longest time since she got married and there are a lot to catch up on. The next thing we know, we are already arriving at our destination. Time really pass with good chat and company.

2. Always have a sense of direction or a map or GPS handy.

For my previous road trip, we couldn't technically rely so much on the GPS or the Google Map Apps from the smart phone but I wouldn't say it didn't help us to find our way. Overall, the best combination for a direction is to have your co-driver (your travel partner) to read the map and direct the way for you while you just focus to drive on the road and traffic. With excellent communication and before hand knowing some sense or landmark on where you are heading, you will reach for your destination without any hassle, on time and there are less chance for you to get lost if you have an awesome partner who is really good at directions.

3. Never travel or continue with your road trip with an empty stomach.

You know what they say, “ When the stomach is full, the talk is good.” Hence, it applies to pretty much on anything in life and on this case for your road trip. When you feed your stomach accordingly and preferably on time, you can think right, hesistate less and you can make better decision making in reaching your destinations. Therefore, always have some snacks and drinks handy when you are traveling and stop for breakfast/lunch/dinner breaks.

4. Spend time to really go all out on taking pictures, posing in pictures and basically enjoy your moments of cam-whoring!

Pictures are memories so don't hesistate or let the memories fade by not capturing great and mostly really fun moments with your camera. I always find taking pictures very relaxing and the best part is I get to do some crazy, nutty and silly poses in the photos which makes the whole picture taking ordeal absolutely fun!

5. Travel with good spirit, energy and please be fit to travel!

I know this is a bit too much to ask especially about being fit to travel. There is a very important reason to that.

Personally for me, a road trip means a non-stop, constantly moving travel and the only time we make a long pit stop is when we call it a night and finally crashes on to bed before another long day starts the next day. You need a good spirit, energy and fitness level to last more than 12 hours of constant moving or walking or driving or talking or partly eating and walking again. So there is a lot of work put in together for a jam-packed but totally worthy road trip in a day. Hence, if you don't have the good spirit, energy and good fitness level, I doubt that you are going to have an awesome road trip. The worse that could have happened if you are lacking on those three thing is that you are just going to be a drag for your travel partners which you really want to avoid doing. The whole idea of a road trip is to have a good time and if you think you are not cut out for some mega awesome time with multiple, constant activities, then it is best for you to just stick around at home. Ouch that sounds harsh. :)

So there you go, The Top 5 Things You Essentially Need For An Awesome Road Trip. So travelers out there, would you care to be my travel partner for yet another awesome road trip of your lifetime? Leave me a comment and we'll see if we can make it work!  *Subject to terms and conditions that is.

I Got One Hand In My Pocket | Alanis Morissette

This song seems like THE perfect song tonight. Let's listen to this :

Hand In My Pocket by Alanis Morissette

http://youtu.be/LQ8D5Ihe4hg

Hand In My Pocket Lyrics:

I'm broke but I'm happy
I'm poor but I'm kind
I'm short but I'm healthy, yeah
I'm high but I'm grounded
I'm sane but I'm overwhelmed
I'm lost but I'm hopeful baby
What it all comes down to
Is that everything's gonna be fine fine fine
'cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is giving a high five
I feel drunk but I'm sober
I'm young and I'm underpaid
I'm tired but I'm working, yeah
I care but I'm restless
I'm here but I'm really gone
I'm wrong and I'm sorry baby

What it all comes down to
Is that everything's gonna be quite alright
'cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is flicking a cigarette
And what it all comes down to
Is that I haven't got it all figured out just yet
'cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is giving the peace sign
I'm free but I'm focused
I'm green but I'm wise
I'm hard but I'm friendly baby
I'm sad but I'm laughing
I'm brave but I'm chickenshit
I'm sick but I'm pretty baby

And what it all boils down to
Is that no one's really got it figured out just yet
'cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is playing the piano
And what it all comes down to my friends
Is that everything's just fine fine fine
'cause I've got one hand in my pocket
And the other one is hailing a taxi cab

My Personal Taste Bud Rating Over Penang Road Famous Teochew Cendol

Penang Road Famous Teochew Cendol! What do I think about it?

[caption id="attachment_2525" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Penang Road Famous Teochew Cendul. What do you think about this cendul?"][/caption]

My take is it was alright. Okay-lah kind of rating!  I thought I've tasted something better than that. Hehe. Probably because we ordered the cendol without the kacang so it kinda have a missing ingredient. Also, it is a strictly hawker style cendol stall and yes, you have to line up by the busy roadside to order, grab a bowl, stand and gobble up your cendol while watching out your backside for incoming vehicles from your front or back. It is one of those quick slurps kind of cendul eating and something you can't really take your time to really indulge. No, not this place.

[caption id="attachment_2526" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Order up and gobble down your cendul while standing"][/caption]

Whatever it is, my taste bud has tasted a much better tasting cendol which is :

1. Nyonya Cendol  at Oceon Cafe in Melaka with its really thick Gula Melaka that gives it an extra edge than other standard cendol.

[caption id="attachment_2528" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Nyonya Style Cendol by Ocean Cafe Melaka - loaded with thick and sweet Gula Melaka"][/caption]

2. Cendol James located right smack at my hometown in front of the Sitiawan Hindu Temple . I don't know man, there is something about James Cendol that seems to be so perfect to have on a blistering hot day to quench your thirst with some sugary, iced cendol.

[caption id="attachment_2531" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Cendol James At Sitiawan Temple"][/caption]

Anyway, enjoy the Cendol pictures ya'll. I bet you will be hunting down for some cendol when you are reading this post. :) Happy Cendol-ing!

What is the simplest yet memorable thing you can gift to anyone?

I have a simple question to ask. The question is "What is the simplest yet memorable thing you can gift to anyone? "

My humble yet simple answer for that question is this :

The simplest yet memorable thing you can ever gift to anyone is to sincerely  from the bottom of your heart, to say something really awesome and nice to a person because that is one of the best qualities that you can see deep through inside them. Also, sometimes that is exactly what they needed to know about how awesome they really are deep inside.

Always look at people for what they really are as a person deep inside their heart and don't look at people for what they appear to be or look like on the outside. Every single one of us is born beautiful and it is a matter of really seeing and looking deep into a person to figure out their special 'gift' that has always been with them.

Hence, next time around if you really want to gift something memorable to a person, look deep inside them and tell them exactly how 'beautiful' they truly really are deep inside their hearts.

 

Animals Anecdotes : The Neighbour's Cats Invasion

The neighbour has countless amount of cats (at least I found it really countless, hehe) and thankfully all of them are spayed. Recently, three of the adult cats have always found themselves roaming around our little patch of garden at the front yard. They are really friendly, absolutely cute, constantly craving for attention and they are just a bunch of really happy, playful cats.

Of course we don't mind having them around not until they started to poo poo and pee pee around the yard which is really gross and smelly. That is one of the reason we prefer to have lots of plants instead of having animals as pets with the exceptional of the tiny harmless guppy that we have at the tiny water feature outside.

Anyway, back to the cute cats, I am pretty sure you want to have a peek at them while they are in action. So here goes!

[caption id="attachment_2504" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Peering at the front door just to check who's inside!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_2505" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="I just wanna chill!"][/caption]

Aren't they cute or what? But still I wouldn't want to have them as pets and would prefer to have them occasionally hang around for a bit minus the pooping part. Haha.

[caption id="attachment_2506" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="I am Puss in Boots and I want to sniff your camera!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_2507" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="I'm a cutie and I know it! Meow!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_2508" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Are those tools? Sniff sniff!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_2509" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="I'm snow white the shy kittie :)"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_2510" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Look! I'm slightly handicapped but I'm the happiest cat in the world! Woot!"][/caption]

 

There will be more pictures to snap for sure but these guys are super active and constantly moving around which is what any normal, happy cats should be doing. The neighbour's cats absolutely love the little garden we have because they can play catch, jump around, toppled some tiny pots of plants over and it is really a great environment for them. Sadly enough, they couldn't get that back home. Hehe. We love the cats to bits and they are most welcomed to play anytime provided that they are well potty trained at home. Hehe.

Road Trip Down Memory Lane! Guess Where I Am Heading?

I'm so excited for the road trip tomorrow and yeah, it is going to be one of those road trip down the memory lane kind of thing. I hope to have some time in between the road trip to blog about things and yeah I'm really super excited about it.

Another big thing worth mentioning is that, my birthday is coming up in a couple of days and I think I'm going to have a jolly good time hanging out with people that I love to be around with. We are an adventurous and outdoorsy kind of people which makes twice the fun, not to mention the place I'm heading to is the food heaven of the Peninsular Malaysia. Haha. Therefore, I'm going with good energy, great vibes and great times, safe driving, good stomach and awesome company.

Road trips are really a heck of a lot of fun especially when you get to do it with a bunch of good friend who are ready to rock and roll it! At this point of my life now, I'm really thankful that I actually get to meet and be friends with these awesome people and I'm looking forward to always have more road trips or adventures with you lot. You know who you are! You guys rock!

* A little hint of where I'm heading! :)

[caption id="attachment_2498" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Ferry crossing! Guess where this is? It's a super easy hint!"][/caption]