Sunny Outdoors

Sep 11, 2011 - On a whim, my wife and I signed up for a hike to Gunung Nuang via Janda Baik, organised by the Kuala Lumpur Hiking and Trail Running Meetup group.  We were supposed to attend a wedding ceremony on Monday. Since we had the Sunday free, why not ? Climbing Gunung Nuang from Janda Baik is supposed to be easier than starting at Hulu Langat.  Apparently, the trail starts at a higher altitude and the route to the base of the mountain is shorter, making it an easier climb ... or so I was told. At 5:30 am, my wife and I waited at the Summit hotel bus stop for our ride. Chanec, a fellow participant, was kind enough to drive us and 2 other hikers to the starting point. We started the hike at 8 am from a dirt track where the cars were parked.  We had to cross a river that was about ankle deep and we foolishly decided not to remove our shoes. Our feet got wet at the beginning of the hike. Starting Point Once we got across the river, the path led us through...

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...

15 May 2010 - Gunung Datuk (655m / 870m) is located in Negri Sembilan which is about 3-4hrs drive from Singapore.  We started our journey the night before at 11pm and we arrived at the park at 4am.   As it was still dark then, we had to sleep in the van to wait for the sunrise.  I am not a person who can sleep easily in coaches or buses when travelling longer distances.  Sleeping in the van was impossible. Calvin was snoring to my left, Mathias was making weird noises to my right and the driver was also snoring.  Calvin didn't have a good sleep either, when he snored too loud (which was quite often), i will elbow him and quickly look away hehe. We started the trek at 7am when it became bright enough.  We were immediately confronted with a steep and rocky ascend when we got into the trail.  There were also lots of roots and the soil was soggy and muddy in certain areas, probably due to the rain from the night before.   I must ...

Apr 24 2010 - Much has been written in blogs and websites that Gunung Panti (513m) is relatively easy for beginners.  But believe me, it was a fairly challenging trek.   The only other mountain that i have climbed is Gunung Lambak (510m) and Panti compared to Lambak is equally as tough, but with a gentler gradient that is not as steep. This sign marks the start of the trek ! We started our trek at a desolate looking path that led to the forested area of Gunung Panti. The varied terrain in Panti makes it challenging and interesting at the same time.  There were streams to cross ... ... and fallen trees to overcome.  In fact, there were lots of fallen trees along the way ! We had to go below, climb over or detour to get pass them.   You could see from the leaves on the branches that some of trees fell recently (likely due to the recent raining season) while others had been there for some time. This is probably a hazardous place to be when there is...