Broga Uphill & Beyond

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.  ~Lao Tzu


I think I might have taken Lao Tzu a little too seriously. Allow me to explain

Its the raya weekend today and taking into consideration that the diplodocus  has been bugging anyone that stops to listen about getting to the top of Broga hill and the fact that Carol had just asked me to go on a hike, I decided to give it a go.

Most sites I explored cited the hike as 'relatively easy' but the Pekster had warned me before that I may not be able to take the trail. You see, I have this awful knee injury that kind of puts the full stop on most of my outdoor activities. But  dealing with the injury has taught me to listen to my body and I now know the extent that I can push myself and also the consenquences of pushing too hard(*shudder*). Not giving it a second thought (or 4th in my case), I called up Carol and arranged to meet her early the next day.

We left Seri Kembangan around 5am and drove for about 30 minutes along the Silk Highway. The turning point is Semenyih town from the highway and after a 10 minute drive, you can see the signboard to Broga town. Just watch out for the Petronas station on your right.

Wee hours of the morning made it a little harder for us to spot the rabbit farm that is the landmark for the hike trail. Honestly it did not look like much of a rabbit farm..unless the rabbits were zombie rabbits running a haunted house. But find it we did, and took a left into the oil palm estate where we can park our car for RM2 per entry.By 6am there were already a lot of cars parked there and people were already on the move up.

Cars can be parked under the oil plam trees

Entrance to the Hill

Rabbit Funland Landmark

Self reminder: Please do warm up exercises if you do not want a muscle pull in the future. Only along 20 minutes up the route, I has a pull on my left calf but decided to be heroic and athletic and pushed on with Diplodocus and Carol's motivation. It was a slow hike for me, though Carol did mention that it took her about 20 minutes to reach the first peak on her last visit.

So depending on how fit you are, the hike can take from up to 20 minutes to an hour(thats me). But do take your time, the trail is pitch black at that hour and certain areas can get a little slippery and in some parts the gorges are a little deep. The original trail was smaller but Broga is a hill thats frequented by hundreds of people every weekend, so it was obvious(well to me at least) that the trail was expanding thanks to the many footsteps taken on its path. The rocky part of the hill is quite apparent and makes up most of the trail.

The topmost of Peak one is the steepest climb. Though most of the way has some plantations and trees to hold on to as you come up, this part was nothing but a dirt trail. I was really queasy looking at it but the fact that the 'scared of heights' Diplodocus was plunging her way up irregardless made me less fearfull. The Peak was crowded with people and though it was a little cloudy, the view of the hilltops and foggy valley was breathtaking.

View from midway point

It can get pretty crowded up here

We did chance upon one lady who seemed to have never seen a sunrise before as she was loudly exclaiming how it beautiful it was. Now I am one who believes in expressing oneself, but given the fact there wasnt much to behold and the ecstacy in which she was making her exclamations, I figured she either a) didnt get out much from her house b) she was still hungover from last nights booze party


Diplodocus taking her break



Trail to the second peak



View from Peak one

Anyways, 20 minutes later we decided to start on the descent which was pretty easy and uneventful, save for the one guy who came up behind us somewhere midway down the hill. He was obviously trying to macho up to the lady who was walking with him and doing a couple of daredevil stunts of jumping over 1 foot ridges to show off to her. But his shoes were not right and couldnt grip the ground, so he ended up slipping and falling into one of the ridges. So do wear proper shoes, expecially if you are trying to impress a girl.

With tummies now growling, we decided to head out the Broga Town to get some breakfast. Pepe had mentioned that this township is actually famous for its 'exotic' fare. Turtle soup, zombie rabbit satay and the like. But all we wanted was good old nasi lemak, though we couldnt find any thanks to all the shops being closed due to the public holiday.

I gotta say though, this is a pretty cool place for retirement. Its quiet and well...retire-ish..

Well, till the next post- stay healthy folks!

RWMF 2012

Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence. – Robert Fripp

 

So here we are. Stuck at the airport with a plane that is half an hour delayed. Which is a good thing, considering that Uncle G arrived late at the airport.

This was the first time I was flying to the east coast. A year of planning the trip to join in the Rainforest World Music Festival dancing and it was hard to believe that the date was finally here. I had heard so much about the festival- from the interesting music blend to the mud baths and (shhh) the sexual –Os.

 I must admit, I did think twice if I had made the right choice.

We arrived late into the night in Kuching airport and only managed to grab some mamak food that night. The morning was pleasantly cool as we strolled down to the riverfront and having nothing much to do, hopped onto the sampan that takes people across the river. We were the only ones on the boat and the paddler decided to give us a longer ride and took us a little further downstream. Uncle G was confidently saying to Ms B  how the crocodiles infest the river when we realised the boatman chuckling behind us. “sini mana ada buaya” . Uncle G was probably the only ‘buaya’ we had on board. Hmph.

Our cab arrived in the afternoon to take us to Santubong. The best local store selling goodies was the Ting Ting supermarket and it was here that we decided to get some mixers. Hoping there would be another store along the way, we regretfully did  not get any drinks that day. Am not sure whether it was because of the festival that most of it was stashed into someones basement, but it was definitely a difficult task. Thankfully the Gent Mo was coming up to Santubong the next day and Ms B managed to get him to buy us a couple of bottles.

It took us about half an hours drive to get to Santubong from Kuching.The first sight of Mount Santubong was breath taking. The legend associated with the mountain is of two beautiful princesses, Santubong and Sejinjang. One day, the princesses had a quarrel and exchanged blows. Putting an end to the quarrel, the King of Heaven cursed both of them into mountains. It is said that Mount Santubong resembles a woman lying on her back.

We had decided to put up in Permai Rainforest Resort. Though the cabin was a 15 minute ‘hike’ away from the reception, it was good to walk among the trees and along the small bridges lining the resort. The simplicity of the cabin wasn’t happily accepted by everyone in the group (where’s the hair dryer?? Was the frogs first reaction) but I suppose one can’t have much expectation living among nature.

We shared the ‘longhouse cabin’ with a couple of Uncle G’s mates from KL, Singapore and Brunei, whom thankfully had managed to stash some beverages. I had never been happier to see a Bombay Sapphire in my life(no, I am not a drunkard la). With a couple of stories of Prince Azim and the Sultan of Brunei filling the air, we became fast friends. Must be the vacation air, Or the % in the beverage.

It was late on Friday evening when we decided to head out to the cultural village. The concert had started at 7.30 and people were already enjoying the Heineken and music by the time we arrived. It was a small crowd on the first day- probably 800 to 1000 people. Frogster and I managed to quickly get our cans and were vowed by the Irish sisters’ band on violins. I got to agree on one thing though. Some of the music that was played can only be enjoyed with some beverage in your blood stream. Sober, you would just say music, WTF??

It was in the middle of the crowd that we met Sam the rainman. On this day, we found Sam jumping up and down on the field, shouting at the sky.  A cool looking Penangite, and the (ever-grateful) supplier of my langkau , Frogster and I made a friendship that would last, well, …3 days. Good times.

We decided to check out the village on the 2^nd day afternoon. Here’s the best part of the show. The bands performing in the show have got a lot of workshops in the afternoon. You can walk around and join any of these and learn about the musical instruments that they use. The longhouses are also open where you can go in and talk to the locals living there and probably get a bite to eat with them. Don’t be shy and do walk around and ask whatever that’s on your mind. They are used to tourists and are very different from the orang asli village I had visited once, where the womenfolk would rather huddle indoors when strangers approached.

The crowd on the 2^nd night is more than the first. The village was totally packed and the music was more upbeat on the 2^nd night. According to the volunteers (Thank you Terry, I would love to volunteer next year! Though, this was the first time a guy asked me where I got my blouse, hmmm), the biggest crowd comes in on this night since its Saturday and there would be a big beach party just opposite the village. We did a pop by the party and honestly, wasn’t much to shout about. Sometime during the performance we realised we had lost Uncle G thanks to him being chased by the mudslingers. That’s the people who roll around in the mudpit and then drag the bystanders along. In one moment, I wasn’t too sure if a boar had joined the fun in the mudpit. They all looked the same from where I was standing—miles away---

Allow me to stop here to pass on a wise piece of advise. Please try to refrain from taking 3 different types of beverages, one of which is the langkau. It WILL make you say or do things which you will say ‘WTF was that!’ When you are sober.

After dancing for 4 hours and realising I am not 16 anymore, we decided to give the workshops a pass on the 3^rd day. It was good to soak up in the South China Sea with the view of the Santubong looming above us. After enjoying a meal of barbequed meats and seafood, we headed out to the final day of the festival.

Though the crowd was again lessened, but one thing is for sure, it’s the day people have the most fun. The crowd was really noisy and the beach party was full swing. Street food is sold along the beach party and frogster and I enjoyed the burger Sarawak, while Ms B and Johnbaby gave away free hugs to everyone. Still not sure to this day for whose charity it was.

Here’s a couple of  things not to miss at the festival- let down your hair, make friends, most people there are a good bunch of people, great music, lovely tuak

Overall, do get yourself some layer cake..plenty sold along the waterfront in Kuching, Sarawak laksa and pepper. Any decorative items or small souvenirs should be bought in Kuching town as the prices can be pretty steep in Santubong.

 

Colours of fate

"Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people withwhom fate brings you together,but do so with all your heart.” ~Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Imagine every emotion to be of a color. Red for rage, Orange for greed, Yellow for fear, Green for willpower, Blue for hope,Purple for compassion, and Violet for love. Where  would the rainbow be?


About a year ago, when my then relationship had just come to an end, I was very fortunate to have been surrounded by my friends and family who gave me so much support. For that, I would be ever grateful.
I suppose you could say no less would be expected from people who love you. But of people who have never known you..total strangers?

And yet on a routine visit to the hair dresser those many months ago, I received a wonderful piece of advise from the young lady who did my hair. Expertly snipping away, she went on to tell me of her relationship with her boyfriend of 3 years. He was a delivery man then and they didnt have much financially, but they had just decided on getting an apartment together and getting hitched in a couple of months. She said that so many odds were against them but they had made a promise to one another and meant to see it through.She made me realise that the sloth's parents werent to blame entirely for what had occurred, that being the other half of my relationship, he had not the guts to take a stand. That day made me realise that I had been looking at my situation all too wrongly and it had taken this colourful woman all but 5 minutes to figure it out.

A month ago, Mama S and I had decided to have foot reflexology on impulse. We had not much to do but I am glad we took that decision. For there, we met another colourful character. Hailing from Sabah, he had been in KL for many years and was pretty eager to share his life's tale with us. We were surprised to learn that he was merely in his 20s and was already having 7 kids. His first wife and he were married when they were both in their teens and the most recent (wife no 3) and he were married for only a year. Chatty and humorous, he was a man full of confidence and put the blame on his many (failed and resultant) marriages on the lines of fate. Fate, according to him, has its own way, and each of that marriage had carried a different experience and he said he wasn’t sure if this would be his last wife or fate had more in store

Today I had the grace to meet another Sabahan. A gentle woman in her 40s, she explained to me that she had married many years ago to man in Sabah. After having her son, her husband and her parted ways. Ms K moved to KL and started working in a factory where she made friends of many races. Faces and colours she had never taught she would come to befriend while living in Sabah. A year ago, she met and fell in love with her 2nd husband and they are now married for 3 months. Learning of my single status, Ms K too stressed to trust my gut feelings about a person and that fate has its way and if you were fated to be with that person, there isnt much running away from it. But sometimes, you have to take the wrong turns before you find the right road.

It made me realise that If only I took the time to speak to most people around me and hear their tales, I would find that the rainbow is all around me.

Heart squeezes

Do you ever have that moment when you feel like you can't breathe because someone jus said something extraordinary?
Like when you had your first kiss, or the first time your crush says hi to you and you feel like all the oxygens been knocked off you and your floating somewhere is space.
But sometimes the same effect comes from seeing your idol getting married to some one else or turning up gay. I still love you matt bomer. Or sometimes its just when someone says goodbye.
Though its just a week away to meeting baby mickeyface again, it was heart wrenching to hear his sobbing and to see the tears pouring down his eyes when he realised that he had to go home and couldnt play with his aunts. The sound of his echoing scream as my brother drove away was a sound that brought almost tears to diplodocus eyes. And pepe.

If only time would fly quicker..and if only there were a straight matt bomer I knew...

The Misunderstanding of Mr Lion

Language is weird thing. Depends on how you say things, somethings can  go totally the wrong way if not said correctly.

Take for an example what happened after dinner today. 3 of my collegues and  I were stuffed as camels after a hearty mid eastern fare which left our brains working a lil slower, and for one of us, speech getting a lil slurrer.

So it was with this reason the misunderstanding of the Mr Lion happened.

You see, as we were walking back to the car, a couple of pretty girls passed us by.Mr Lion exclaimed something unintelligable and naturally I assumed he spoke about the girls. When Mr Lion said“ I want to bark”, I thought, people have their own weird ways of showing appreciation for beauty, so if barking is your thing,then well, carry on!

Of course, after a while it caught on to us that maybe that wasn’t what Mr Lion had said at all.(he didn’t bark at the girls, so that was a dead giveaway). I mean cmon..who barks at pretty woman unless you just got out from an asylum recently, but hey! Whose to say, right?

So Deviljoe asked Mr Lion to repeat what he had meant to say. I still don’t know whether it was the food or the extremely warm weather, but what I heard was “ I want to buff”. Mr Lion had just started getting on a gym routine, and naturally we assumed he wanted to buff up his body. Did seem an odd hour to be heading to the gym, but hey! Whose to say, right?

After a bit, we thought it is odd to go buff at night and Deviljoe thought then Mr Lion had said “ I want to barf”. Well, we did eat like hungry camels in a desert, so maybe he felt like barfing? Well hey! Whose to say right

At this point, poor Mr Lion was so tired of us and said “ I want to buff! Its warm”

….ohhh, he wanted a bath!

Of Mayans and Hollywood

I do hope that 15 years on, we would be able to look back at the facade of this year and be able to laugh about this. Let me also say that everyone is entitled to their own opinions and in writing this article, i am merely stating my views.

So the most interesting piece of rumor we have of this year, apart from the predictions of a worldwide market crash, the end of the Obama era and the uncertainty, not even a bomoh can predict this one!, of the Malaysian general elections being held this year, is the predictions of the Mayans that the world will come to end this year. December 21st to be exact.

Couple the Mayans long calendar and the imaginings of Hollywood, millions of earthlings await with bated breath on mankinds fate. Some among us decide to wait is more cruel and to preserve their sanity, go jumping off buildings in  successful attempts of suicide. This really happened in India!
One man had even decided to give up all his wealth and declared himself bankrupt and homeless, in an attempt to repay all his wrongdoings before the inevitable happens.

You see the Mayan Calendar, also known as the "long Count" calendar was drawn on pieces of rock and carved by people who loved moonshine. Nostradamus, who later came to read and predict based on the Mayan calendar was also a avid fan of moonshine.In case you do not know what moonshine is, it is a the drink the man in India was having before he decided to jump off his building over a future event that may or may not even happen.

By the by, the Mayans did not predict that 2012 would be an end to all material beings. All is stated on their scriptures is that the earth will come to its full cycle and 5000+ years and and a new cycle will begin after that.What entails is something they could not predict, as is, life and death is not someone anyone can accurately predict.

Everyone has their own believes but what we believe in always comes from a base. Be it the believe in religion, the believe of an afterlife, karma, or even the believe in Care Bears and Harry Potter. You smile at the last 2, and yet people do believe in Hollywood's predictions that the end will come in the form of a giant tsunami,an Armageddon or an alien invasion.

Whatever may be the case, we should live each day like its the last.Do what comes to your mind today,be around people who make you happy, and accept that the inevitable is always change itself.

Extremo

The company gave us a 5 day holiday leading to the New Year,so with nothing much blocking our calendars, 5 of us decided to check out what deals the coupon site we frequented had in store. We found a deal on buggy treks, go karts and ATV. Having had a frustrated month at the workplace, we thought to let off some steam by trying this more adventurous activity.

So we rode down to Port Dickson, a sleepy seaside town this December, with our trusted driver AC and after making a few wrongs turns, found the buggy trek pit stop.Manned by a couple of teenagers, they gave us a short briefing on the hazards of driving the ATV or the buggy dangerously and i do think the instructor enjoyed watching us squirm in our seats when he started telling of some story where a kid flew off his ride and injured his chest. ( don't know the point of his story cos I'm sure none of us looked like some sugar laden young child)

Snickers followed as we tried to get on our buggys and vehicles but when deviljoe got on her ride and sped of, well, like the devil herself, must have gave them something to awe at.

Mama S and I managed 4 rounds on the buggy, which should have been called a bullock jeep instead, judging by the weight of the vehicle and the toughness of turning its steering wheel.a Buffalo's horns would be more easily managed. We had to get off a few times as certain bends on the trek were too sharp for the buggy to take and the drivers need to jump off and push the buggy back and jump back in before an unassuming ATV takes the turn and knocks them over. Unfortunately an ATV had to die on one of those bends too and we had to push the ATV out of the way and pull our buggy onto the main 'road' and after doing this 4 times, my muscles were threatening me that they will leave me and go sit in the van.

So i gave up the buggy to deviljoe who was more than happy to be speeding again after completing her 4 ATV rounds in record time.Mama S and I then decided to try the ATV. Unfortunately in my 2nd round, i lost control of it and went headlong into some shrubs, scaring away some pigeons, ducks, squirrels and Buffaloes.

OK there weren't any buffaloes but i would have scared them off if there had been

Sustaining  a long cut on my left leg, i gave up the ATV to deviljoe(who was waiting patiently at the finishing line) and nothing gave me more joy than to let her ride off with that hair flying behind her and later puncturing the damn tyres.

The teenagers then decided we needed a good show and proceeded to do some 2 wheel driving stunts for us. ....showoffs........

We then had to drive to the local superstore where the go-kart was managed at the top of the building. Here too we were given a short briefing and deviljoe and AC turned up winners. the view from way up was great and it was good to see the ol' refinery !

From there we had to drive down to Glory Beach where they kept the hamster ball and the kangaroo stilts. Unfortunately the teens here weren't too friendly and after informing us that the hamster ball could not be used, and handing us some stilts, they pretty much left us alone. Unperturbed, AC, SY and Mama S still went up the slide, possibly pretending do balloon rock climbing. The kangaroo stilts proved to be harder than they looked and we gave them up after a while.

                                                      




Hungry and tired, we decided to leave the PD town and head out to Seremban(se_ siew pao?-deviljoe-) and feasted on crabs.


 By then it was late evening and after a short stop on local delicacy shopping, we tiredly headed back to the city.
                                                 

happy to be back with my book today...... :) :) :)