Sunny Outdoors

30 Apr 2011 - Gunung Nuang is situated in Pangsoon, Hulu Langat, Selangor.  Standing at 1493m,  it's summit is the highest point in Selangor.  I have always wanted to climb Gunung Nuang ever since I've heard of it's infamy.  When I found out Uncle George was organising the climb,  I signed up immediately.  There are many stories of how tough and challenging the climb is and they are all true haha.  First of all,  there's sleep deprivation. Traveling from Singapore to Selangor in a mini bus takes about 6 - 7 hrs and I am not the sort that can fall asleep anywhere, especially in a small noisy bus. I probably slept about 1 - 2 hrs that night ! We departed Singapore at about 10:30 pm that night and arrived at the Gunung Nuang Park at about 7 am.  This included rest stops and time taken for supper at Yong Peng and Roti Canai breakfast at a mamak stall near Gunung Nuang.  Then there's the issue of turnaround time. As we wouldn't want to...

23 to 24 Feb 2011- This is my first time climbing Mt Kinabalu and I am really excited to be here after 3 months of training. To prepare for the climb, we trained by stair climbing (40 storeys building) and hiking up Bukit Timah hill weekly. I can't wait to ascend this mountain, after all this is South East Asia highest mountain right ?  Jo's Climbers (Photo from Jo)  Briefing before the trek starts  We started the climb at about 9:45am and were advised not to go too fast as that will increase the risk of acute mountain sickness (ams). Anyway, all the good advice went out the window when I started.  I was just focused on reaching Laban Rata base camp.  Distance markers and maps at every 0.5km The terrain goes UP UP and UP, with steep inclines with very little flat ground. I am really glad I trained for the climb.   Porters carrying 30 kgs load  Resting for lunch on the steps as the huts were fu...

31 Oct 2010  - This is my first time participating in the Genting Trailblazer. Having heard so much about it from friends and read so much about it on the Internet, I was really excited to be finally here. The race began with an easy 4k run on paved roads that led into the Genting forest. In the forest, The terrain was undulating, with lots of steep slopes going up and down. You even had to slide on your backsides to get down from the steeper ones. The ground was muddy as it had been raining the entire week. The adventure race that was held the day before only made it worse. Race Route - 14 Km Sliding down the slope ! (Photo by Tony Tay) Hiking does not equate running. I learned this the hard way when I got into the forest trail. The initial 4k had  already exhausted me. I was also nursing a bad cold. Coupled with inadequate training... well I have been to many hikes but have never ran beyond 10k till now. This is the most excruciating 10k run for me. I was dehydr...

10 July 2010 - The mountain was swarmed with blood sucking leeches ! Almost everyone in the group got bitten, myself included. Some even had multiple bites. Legs and ankles were still bleeding at dinner time ...  These suckers came in different lengths and sizes -  there were small thin ones (that can easily squeeze into your shoes) and long fat ones that looked like an earthworm. We constantly had to look at our shoes to check.  Without fail,  every 5 minutes or so, there will be leeches making their way up for a fresh blood meal ! Even when we stopped, we had to scan the ground for leeches.  A lot of us got bitten when we stopped to rest for the first time.  You stop to catch your breath and have a drink of water and the next thing you know, you have leeches making their way up from the ground to your shoes and ankles. Yikes ! Although, I got bitten by one blood sucker who made it up to my ankle and had a good feast, there were at least 10+ leeches t...