Speechless

Phew!!!!

It has been so long since my last post, instead of writing a new entry, i keep on adding my bloglist and spending most of the time blogwalking or better say blogstalking!

One of the common topics being posted by my friends lately were related to work, since everyone has completed their so called 'housemanship' period, or the exact term is PRP ship.

Well, alhamdulillah, same thing here, now i am waiting for my placement as a pharmacist. There is no rush for me since i'm quite comfortable here, but i feel that i'm ready to be placed anywhere.

All i can say that life is an open secret (hehe it's a title of a book ), and i can never really know what will happen in the future and the exact reasons for things thats happening and will happen. Just have to live my live at the moment.

It's the 4th day of Ramadhan and i took a day off today, and decided to just post something here.

SubhanALLAH, ISLAM is beautiful religion and now we are in the beautiful month of Ramadhan. This is the month where i feel that ALL MUSLIMS are united, as we have ONE CLEAR AND SAME AIM, which is to make full use of the months.

*STOP*

As i was writing this post, i was facebooking and my brother shared a note regarding one FB group for murtads.

Well, i don't feel like writing anymore, need to do some research and think.

TransPeak Expedition with The Elites

Kids, when i was young and free of commitment like you, i enjoyed hiking so much (and still do). My first expedition to G7 mountains was in 2010 (go and google what G7 is). I managed to convince your Tok Abah to allow me to join aunt Jiji, aunt Mieda, uncle Don, Uncle Zac, Uncle Mad, Uncle Cagan and Uncle Jepah in the TransPeak Expedition...

(Uncle Zac named us as Team Elite)

(Aunt Jiji, Me, Aunt Mieda, Uncle Don, Uncle Zac, Uncle Jepah, Uncle Mad, Uncle Cagan)

Friday - 4th June 2010
[Bukit Jalil - Ipoh - Ulu Kinta]

All of us gathered at Bukit Jalil (it used to be a bus terminal) and repacked our haversack so that we could fit our ration which was A LOT! The fact that me, aunt Jiji and aunt Mieda were GRACEFUL LADIES (and still are), we had more essentials compared to the men like toiletries and more clothes were needed which reduces the space for ration. Still, I felt like carrying tons of bricks! But, the guys bags' - i couldn't even lift it! Our bus was scheduled at 6 pm to Ipoh, but was delayed until 6.30 pm which was a blessing in disguise because aunt Mieda got lost and reached Bukit Jalil at 6.30pm! So, we arrived at Ipoh around 10pm. We had our dinner and isya' prayer before heading to Ulu Kinta. We were lucky to be offered by Abg Rajes (the guide)'s relative to stay in their house for the night.

Packing up the ration

Saturday - 5th June 2010 - The hike begin
[Ulu Kinta Dam - Kem Seroja - Kem Kijang - Waterpoint]

After our subh prayers , breakfast and 'toilet businesses', we proceed to Ulu Kinta Dam by a pick up truck. Both the ride and the view were breathtaking! I'll describe it as a roller coaster ride with beautiful scenery. I can never forget the surrounding mountains and hills with mixture tones of blue and green color perfected with the view of splashing water from the dam. As we reached the starting point , we pulled up our socks high , sprayed SOME Bygon (it's a cockroach repellent,and we hoped that it worked for leech!), and with a prayer, we hit the track!

On the way to Kem Seroja, we had to cross few streams whereby we had to step from one rock to another (if you don't want to wet your socks), which i found quite difficult as they were quite slippery and i needed large extend of my leg to the next rock. Well, i ended up wetting my socks all the way! We reached Kem Seroja around 1.30 pm and had our lunch and zuhr prayer. At 2.30 we hit the road towards Kem Kijang. Along the way, we actually had 10 minutes rest after every 1 hour hike. We arrived Kem Kijang around 4.30 pm and decided to camp at the next checkpoint which was the last waterpoint before reaching the Korbu Peak. We made it to the last checkpoint around 6 pm. Since we were quite ahead of time (most hikers camp at Kem Seroja, and some at Kem Kijang), we aimed to complete the expedition earlier than the normal tentative.

Sunday - 6th June 2010 - The Summits [Waterpoint - Korbu Summit - Gayong Summit - Kem Cerek - Junction Peak]

Approximately, we started our hike towards the Korbu Summit on the 2nd day at 9.30 am. This time the trail was steep almost all the way up. At certain points we had to use rope to help us push our weight up. I guess it was pretty much the same as rock climbing. At this time we took 10 minutes rest after 2 hours of hike. There were also a lot of large logs that we had to cross and go through under. Luckily i was wearing my newly bought purple track bottom! On the way to Korbu Peak, we reached a 'pseudo' or false peak, but with majestic view of the lines of mountains surrounding us. We finally got to the Korbu Summit at 12.30 pm. Korbu Summit (7162ft) is the 2nd highest peak after Tahan Summit. After fueling up ourselves with our packed lunch, we were all ready to hit Gayong Peak.

Rock Climbing!!

Korbu Summit - Craziness

Though the 3 hours route to Gayong Peak (7129ft) was not steep all the way, but it was a mental challenge to us as there were numbers of false peaks. Whenever we felt that we almost reached the Gayong Peak, disappointment comes after that. Finally at 5.30, we reached Gayong Peak, i was terribly exhausted, i can barely stand even during photography session! We had our prayer and quickly head towards Kem Cerek. The guide targeted to camp at Lembah H2O so that we can complete the hike in 3 days 2 nights.

Gayong Summit - The one in 'rain coat' is Abg Rajes

Rewarding view from Gayong Peak

Kids, if you ask me, the most challenging part was from Gayong Summit to Junction Peak, as that was when i was at my lowest point ever. According to Abg Rajes, we need to hike across around 4 hills to reach the Junction Peak. However, after the sunset and it was dark, and after NUMBERS of hills and peaks, we still had not reach the Junction Peak! We had not taken our dinner yet, and it was already 10 pm, we were out of drinking water. I had one slice of bread to keep me going. The route was also terribly steep and was not within my reach. At one point, i actually had a fever rush and was quite nauseous. With limited drinking water i forced myself to swallow Panadol Actifast Tablet, so that i can keep going and maintain my pace. To make it worse, the wind was biting. We were too tired to hike, we were shivering so much to even stop for a rest (Kids, if we rest, it will be much more colder).I kept my silence as actually was on the verge of breaking into tears.

That is when i humbly appreciate the greatness of Allah The Almighty.We thought of breaking the record by doing it for only 3 days, but it's HE who decides how fast we can conquer The Almighty's majestic nature.

We finally reach the Junction Peak, and decided to camp there.

Junction Peak finally

Monday - 7th June 2010 - [Junction Peak - Lembah H2O - Kem Kuali]

With only slice of bread with no drinking water, we begin our hike as early as 8.30 am to Lembah H2O. We reached Lembah H2O around 1 pm and had lunch, prayers and toilet business. Then gearing up, we aim at reaching Kem Kasut before dark, but only managed to arrive at Kem Kuali and decided to pitch our flysheet there. The route to Kem Kuali involved a lot of crawling, bending, and 'root' climbing but the view was mesmerizing and motivating, we managed to see the sunset on the way to Kem Kuali. We also managed to appreciate the view of Ipoh town which was very beautiful. We could see twinkling lights surrounded by mountains. Personally, i was thrilled, and i believed same thing goes with my team mates.

Before reaching Kem Kuali - Subhanallah

We had maggi for dinner which i felt like eating the most delicious food ever as i was starving. That night did not went well as most of us couldn't really sleep because of the rain. Besides, the grounds was not even as there were many roots.

Tuesday - 8th June 2010 - The final Summit [Kem Kuali - Yong Belar Summit - Kem Kasut - Kem Tudung Periuk - Sg Besar - Brinchang]

Today, we were so energetic and all hyped up as we can't wait to end the expedition. We took less than 1 hour to reach Yong Belar Peak (7156ft) The trail was steep and involved few bending. All of us had the best time of our lives at the summit of Yong Belar.We managed to see the best view ever and we can see the Korbu peak, which is FAAAAAAAAAR from the Yong Belar peak.We couldn't believe ourselves that we actually went up and downs numbers of hills and mountains.

(Left)The small peak at the back on the left-Korbu Summit!
(Right) - Better view without us

One word, it was LEGEND....wait for it...DARY!

Then we headed to Kem Kasut, which was in 1 hour hike, and continued to Kem Tudung Periuk. This was when actually i could see arrays of mountains on the side. Me and aunt Jiji shouted our name out loud to hear the echo, and we did! We reached to Kem Tudung Periuk at 2.30 pm and refilled our drinking bottles, and headed to Sg Besar, with Marrybrown as our motivation. Around 4.30 pm it started to rain and we were quite demotivated at that point. But, there was no other choice than to continue towards Sg Besar. The trail most of the time were muddy and towards the end it was slippery. We reached Sg. Besar at 6pm and had our meal and prayer. Then we headed to Blue Valley from Sg Besar whereby the trail was PVC pipes! (Balancing skill and good shoe is needed here!)The trail was quite muddy and smelly. Then we finally reach the long stairs where a pick up truck was waiting for us.

Later, we headed to Brinchang. It was my first time riding a pick up truck on road! I felt like a labour worker just got back from work. It was kind of cool!

We had one day rounding around Brinchang and Tanah Rata, and later headed back to KL with the BEST FEELING EVER!!!!

YIHA!!!

Thanks to TEAM ELITE because, "it's not just about the journey, but it's the people you travel with!" :)

Team Elite - showing number of G7 conquered

Final Part of 'kuantan-Pos Pantos-Bangi-Terengganu-Gunung Liang,Tanjung Malim'

Hey there, it has been almost a month since my last post (in fact it’s exactly one month! What a coincidence). I have so many things to blog about:-

1. Mount Liang Expedition
2. International Bamboo Rafting Expedition
3. Community Posting Stories
4. New short true stories for hikers
5. Lesson learnt – Case Study
6. Career Options
7. And many more that I wish to share with others.

Maybe I should write first thing first:-

Mount Liang Expedition (8th – 10th May 2009)

The desire to use my new 40L+ Karrimor hiking bag leads to the decision to join Mount Liang East West Expedition organized by ARC Gombak, which gives me 1001 expectations because this time, most of my friends were not able to join. There were 31 participants that include me, Kak Yani, Hasan (the only people that I know), UIA Gombak students and students from Monash University and UniKL.

8th May 2009 (Friday)

We had to gather at KL central to catch 8.00pm train to Tanjung Malim. The trip was fun as we got the chance to meet Abu Bakar Othman, Malaysian actor (he happened to be in the wrong train, if i'm not mistaken), and he was very funny. We also spent the time playing cards. We finally reached the destination, (Tanjung Malim station was not that bad after all) and had dinner before going to the ‘kaki gunung’. We set up the place simple enough for a few hours of sleep before early hike on the next day.

9th May 2009 (Saturday)

I can’t really recall what time we began our climb, but the tracker had estimated that we shall reach the second base camp by 5 pm. The track most of the time were gentle slopes but as usual, I’ll be among those who were left behind as one by one went past us. Before reaching the second base camp, we came across 2 streams and one tributary. We spent more than 1 hour at the third stream as there were mini waterfalls. The temptation to bathe was so strong that we end up sitting under the waterfall enjoying the free spa!

After that we continue our journey and the track was no longer ‘mendatar’. That is when, I started to breathe heavily. Moreover, after the ‘free spa’, we were all wet and that slows down our pace. Whenever one of us feels tired, we stopped for a while to have a short rest. One of the participants, Ilham offered me and Kak Yani her Red Bull drink. The bottle was very small so I just took one sip of the Red Bull. Believe it or not, after that, we had like an energy boost as we climbed non-stop for quite some time! We were like Red Bulls..! I was so surprised with myself. However, towards the end, I was panting heavily and my pace was extremely slow. We finally reached the second base camp at 3.45pm and that was early than estimated! The second base camp was very cold and foggy, which is perfect for a good sleep. That night, the Monash students set up campfire and we gather around for Taaruf session.

10th May 2009 (Sunday)

We woke up as early as 5 am so that we can start climbing early and reach the summit before the sunrise. One of us had brought along his SLR camera to capture the beauty of ALLAH’s creation during the sunrise. Having that as the driving force, we climbed non-stop with a quicker pace, It was not as tiring as the previous day but it was dark, and that was the challenge. However, we were disappointed because we did not make it to the summit before the sunrise. By the time we reached the East Summit, it was already bright. But, that did not stop us from taking photos..say KONICA! The distance from East to West Summit was not far, only 5 minutes long. But I and Kak Yani took almost half an hour as we were mesmerized by beautiful wild flowers, and magnificent spider webs! MasyaALLAH.

The west summit however was surrounded by tall trees which prevent us from enjoying the view. Not like the East summit whereby the view was magnificent. We can see range of mountains and hills at different tone of colour. Everything on the land seems very tiny. I’m not sure if I am exaggerating, but this may be the best summit view ever compared to Irau (maybe because of the fog), Senyum, and Stong. For your information, the height of Mount Liang is roughly around 6000+ ft (which is slightly lower than Puncak Irau). I don’t really know how to put this right; I had the chance to perform subuh prayer at the summit (take note that we reach there after sunrise). Opinions from you guys needed here!

Around 9 a.m we start moving down to the base camp. The pace was much faster and it was fun especially when we had episodes of ‘shuffle’ haha. We reach the ‘kaki gunung’ around 5 pm and clean up before go back home.

Well, personally I enjoyed this expedition and everybody was being very nice and friendly, funny and crazy too, they bring along 'the moon' flag everywhere! In fact, they are super helpful.To name all, there is 31 of them! Special thanks to Hasan for lending me his strong stamina to carry along my sleeping bag, my sweater and my water bottle, and also Kak Yani for slowing down her pace for me and Ilham for her Red Bull!

Kuantan– Pos Pantos, Kuala Lipis – Bangi –Terengganu – Gunung Liang

Date : 11th May 2009, Monday
Venue : Berisi Cafe, Medan MARA
Time : 8.41 a.m (Kedai tak bukak lagi, so to kill the time, nak update blog)

The heavenly holidays actually begins on the 19th of April 2009, which is 2 days before Community Service & Health Screening for Aborigines (COHSAS) at Pos Pantos, Kuala Lipis, Pahang. That 2 days, we spent by shopping and preparing for the program. We shopped at Eng Hong till we almost dropped, (of course when you have like almost 5 trolleys FULL at the cashier!). Applying some of the practical done during our first year, we also had done some packaging of tablets and creams and syrups to be distributed to the aborigines as well as clothes for donation.

Our journey to Pos Pantos was fun and full of laughter. On the way to Pos Pantos, we dropped by at Hafiz Yunos’s house for lunch and a taste of kek lapis Sarawak. It was mouth watering and we even bought the cake for ourselves. Thanks Hafiz! Before we continue our journey, we were shocked by a minor accident where the bus was doing a 3 point turn, and hit the road and damage the lower front of the bus. But, with the help of ‘orang kampung’, the bus finally managed to get back to the main road.

We spent 3 days at Pos Pantos doing lots of activities. We COOKED for the villagers for the 3 whole days! It was a good thing for both sides because, the chefs (those who can cooked confidently and skilfully) can teach people who is less skillfull like me and at the same time, everyone ‘kenyang perut!’ I shall say, since the first COHSAS, the best place to ‘lepak’ is near the stove!

(Oopps, have to get moving, need to go to Princecourt)

Time : 11.00 a.m.
Venue : Day Care Center for Endoscopy and Uroscopy
Status : nak jalan2, tapi ngantuk, sakit kaki and sakit belakang, dan nak kena

bawak laptop pulak....so sambung blog

Besides, we also had done some health screening, visit to the school, fard ain class, games, karaoke ;p , movies, and cool demonstration! We distributed the over the counter (OTC) medicines to the aborigines and I was in charge for counselling. That’s when I realised how shallow my knowledge is! Takutnye~ But everything went on smoothly, and the aborigines were witty, sporting and can be sarcastically funny too. Some of them have good sense of humour. The kids were the best, most sporting and they have graceful harmonious voice! They love to sing Matahari and we were amazed. That’s when we came out with the idea to have a karaoke session! The kids also had done performance during the opening ceremony.

Well, we also had demonstration by the aborigines on how to make crafts using ‘daun pinang’. It was easy, and we had all the fun taking pictures with the leaf crown and belt! It was cool. In fact, there was also demonstration on how to cook rice using bamboo. It’s a big diameter bamboo, and on the inside, they put rice wrapped in ‘daun lirih’. There were few ‘bungkus’ of rice in ‘daun lirih’ in the bamboo. Then, they’ll be cooked on fire. The end product looks like ‘nasi timbel’ Indonesia. Sedap jugak.

The evening games was hilarious as we can see the kids seems excited, determined and full of trick to win the ‘baling belon’, ‘cari gula dalam tepung’ and few other games. The women also were all energetic to play ‘boling kelapa’, ‘asingkan rempah’ and few other games. We also have fun playing sumpit belon and watch the men play takraw in sarong.haha

That’s the brief I can tell about COHSAS. There were other activities for da’wah purposes and many more interesting stories. We had so much fun thanks to the crazy committees, wonderful superseniors and my girlfriends who came along to give support.


Just for us to think about :-

The government and society is giving so much help to the aborigines. They even assign an ‘ustaz’ for each village (as i was told lah..). Their rough income is around RM 200-300/month and they seldom eat meat and chicken. But, most of them are heavy smoker, and one of the houses even has a complete television set. Hmmm...

p/s : i'll upload the pictures later, they are not with me (need to have dg cam

fast! ;p)