My Healthy Living and Zhineng Qigong

Lot of fun and healthy activities at My Healthy Living (MHL) Day on 7 July 2012 (Saturday) at Padang SS 15 Subang Jaya from 8:30am to 3pm with Zhineng Qigong (M’sia) members performing a demo practice session.

Do click here to view photos taken by yours truly (KC).

In Picasa Web Photo album, click Slideshow/Full Screen (top left), hit F11 key to adjust for bigger displays.

 Zhineng Qigong (M’sia) booth ... seated is Mr Liow Kim Heng, the President of the Association

  Fantastic stunt performance by the cheerleading team

Qigong demo practice session ... lead by a few of the laoshi (teacher or master) 

 Qigong demo practice session

 Qigong demo practice session

 Qigong demo practice session

  Chan Li Jin, the Editor of urbanhealth, presenting to Cindy Lim (right) the prize of a lucky draw

 Melodic and tuneful songs presented by the singers

 Yours truly (KC) with other members of Zhineng Qigong

  Having a go at the Ping Pong throwing games

 

Soo Laoshi trying his throwing skill ...

  The joy of striking one ... Cindy and Lim BB

  Dart throwing game... notice the pink arrow flying in the air

  Soo Laushi is in second position ... 47 points

 

GOAL with a high kick ... cute and nice posture

 

The much adorable character that is popular with kids

 

SS 15 Padang at Subang Jaya, Selangor

Lots of free gifts in the bag

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Do click here for the official website of Zhineng Qigong (M’sia).

Posted by KC Leong

Run/trek up Maxwell Hill Taiping - Day 2

This morning (Sunday, 1 July 2012), we went up to the Telekom Tower starting at 5:30 a.m. waiting to see sun rise. From the Cendana Bungalow, it is another 3km away. Equipped with headlamps, the group walked up via tarred road in darkness amid a not too cold morning with occasional breeze. While waiting, Lee Ye Ching and Simon Goh set up the burner, boiling water and preparing hot drinks for all. At around 7 a.m., the scene of sunrise was partly blocked by the passing clouds. Nevertheless, we have a good experience there relaxing and doing something different if we were back in Kuala Lumpur.

Do CLICK HERE to view Part 2 (final) of the photo album courtesy of yours truly (KC).

We then returned to the bungalow, have our breakfast at 9 a.m. Immediately after that, I set out to look for the bungalow that I last visited long time ago. I ran up to an abandon road and saw two abandon hill resorts. I then ran down to the Hill Station area. At around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday which is considered prime time, I could only meet 10 tourists or less. I think this hill resorts is really trapped in time with not much development.

 Lee Ye Ching and Phoebe

The group descended the mountain by 4-wheel drive vehicles at 12 noon while David Spence, an Ironman, ran down to the foothills. It was indeed precision driving by the drivers negotiating the many hairpin turns with narrow road.

At Taiping town, it was a moment of gastronomic delights savouring a few of the places with good food; thanks to Simon Goh for leading the pack. We returned to Kuala Lumpur at around 8pm.

It was indeed a memorable trip for me and I enjoyed it very much. Sure I will be back to look for the bungalow again -- definitely not a lapse of so many years this time.

 Hot drinks to go with the cold morning while waiting for the moment of sun rises

 Telekom Tower or Station @ 13km from foothills of Bukit Larut or Maxwell Hill

 Michelle Tan

 Sighting of UFO? ... :-)

 Smallest roundabout in M'sia? The jeeps actually observe and turn around here. Well, most of us did not see it. It is just next to the entrance to Cendana Bungalow.

 The interior of Cendana Bungalow ... complete with Astro high-definition reception

 Spacious and bright

 Bukit Larut Hill Station area ... seen here with only four tourists

 Bukit Larut Hill Station ... not a single person here (10:30a.m. Sunday, 1 July 2012)

 Savouring the famous ice chendol at Taiping town ... Jacklyne Lee, Phoebe, Michelle Tan, Samantha, Jezamine

The famous porridge cook with crab meat ... Simon Goh, Agnes Yew, Phoebe, Michelle Tan

Do click here to view Part 1

Do click here to visit a blogs all about Taiping ... at end of web page, click Older Posts.

Posted by KC Leong

Run/trek up Maxwell Hill Taiping - Day 1

It was a fun and interesting weekend running and trekking up the hill resorts of Bukit Larut (Maxwell Hill) of Taiping last Saturday, 30 June and put up a night in the cool mountains with a group of 15 runner and trekker friends.

Before the start of the ascent, led by Simon Goh, we ran one round at the Lake Gardens of Taiping. For a 7km run, it took about 55 minutes for a free-and-easy, sight-seeing run passing by scenic landscape of the lake gardens and running under the huge, aged-old trees – a signature scene of Taiping, Perak. ..

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Do CLICK HERE for the photos taken by yours truly (KC) on Day 1 of the event.

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In Picasa web photo album, click Slideshow, hit F11 key for bigger displays.

Ready for a run at Taiping Lake Gardens: (left) Simon Goh, KC Leong, Agnes Yew, Jezamine, Florence, David Spence, Phoebe, Kenny.

The ascent from the foothills to the hill resorts involve trail and tarred road that took between 2.5 to 3 hours. The milestone just before arriving at the hill resort (Cendana Bungalow for the group) showed 10km but the distance registered by my GPS-enabled Garmin is only 9km. The difference of 1km is due to the short-cuts via the trails.

It was a memorable trip for me to rekindle the fond memories of yesteryears. It is in my dream that I have been wanting to re-visit this hill resorts all these years as the last visits was such a long time ago when I was in secondary school. I totally could not recall the layout and the terrain of the hill resorts. I tried to look for the bungalow that I last visited but in vain: all I could remember was that it has a field in front of the bungalow overseeing Taiping town.

  Peaceful and serene ... the meaning of Taiping in Mandarin

30 June 2012 (Saturday):

Warm-up run at Taiping Lake Gardens:

Distance = 7km

Duration = 55 minutes (free and easy run with taking of photos)

Trek up to Cendana Bungalow (where the 15 of us put up a night):

Distance = 10km (from foothills)

Duration = 2.5 to 3 hours (run and trek)

Compare to the milestone, we saved 1km due to going up via trails which is shorter distance.

Highest peak at Telekom Station = 1,376 m

Total Distance (from foothills) = 13 km

  

Phoebe, Kenny Kwan and David Spence (Simon's view is blocked) 

 Refletion of the sun on water

 Have good fun ... Agnes Yew, Phoebe, Kenny, Simon, David Spence

  The huge and aged-old trees of Taiping Lake Gardens ... runner model by Agnes Yew ... :-)

  Just before running/trekking up Maxwell Hill ... Lee Ye Ching, Florence, Simon Goh, Agnes Yew, Jezamine, David Spence, Kenny, Abby, Phoebe, Jyn Yeow, KC Leong

  At the trail ... Jezamine, Abby, Jyn Yeow, Lee Ye Ching, Florence

 Florence, Jezamine and Jyn Yeow

 Phoebe and Agnes Yew

  The long and winding tarred road, accessible only to 4-wheel drive vehicles with pre-determined timing for ascent and descent.

Most people would wave at us for taking the challenge to ascend the mountain this way ... model by Florence ... :-)

 Yours truly (KC Leong) at Cendana Bungalow

 Almost complete group photo: (left) Jyn Yeow, Samantha Aw, Simon’s mother, Phoebe, Michelle Tan, Abby, Jezamine, Jacklyne Lee, Florence, Lee Ye Ching, Kenny Kwan, Simon Goh, Agnes Yew (David Spence and KC not in photo)

  

  Near to the hill station (about 1,000 m above sea level)

Enchanting night view from Candana bungalow, where we put up a night in the cool mountains.

DO CLICK HERE FOR PART 2.

Posted by KC Leong

Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2012

By far, this is a very successful event having the most number of runners participating in Kuala Lumpur – Standard Chartered KL Marathon 2012 staged on Sunday, 24 June. The announcer informed that there were almost 28,000 participants. For Half Marathon category, there were about 5,800 runners; the majority of participants are from the 10km and 5km categories.

It has been a long time that do not take part in road running event. Most of the time, I just did my running at the trails and the maximum numbers or runners were about 30. I quipped to the runner friends (I met) that I do not see so many runners for quite some time, much like a jungle person emerging into city ... :-)

While running, I met a few pacers that I know some where at KLCC area: Alexis Phang, Sunny Ng, Yen Erl who were the pacers for the 6-hour full marathon run.

There is one runner almost of my pace, she is Karen Loh who dressed up as a butterfly. When she ran, the wings would flap and her running posture would look like she is flying ... :-) Sorry that I did not carry any camera; hence, no photos to show.

It was not easy to meet friends considering the huge crowd. While passing by a lady runner who was on the phone after the run, I heard that “how to see you, everyone wear the same running vest!” Nevertheless, I met a few runner friends: Linda Trivino, Jason Thiang, Sook Ying, Leslie Ho, Steven Oon (before the run); Tee Ee Kia, PK Chan, Yeow Chae Yin, Teoh Seng Chor, Ang Chee Kiang, Agnes Chew, Josie Yap, Wendy Liu, Monsy (after the run).

According to Ang Chee Kiang, he was very happy because after running the full marathon for the 12th time, he achieved sub-4 hour’s status. Bravo! Most of the time, his timing hovers 5 to 10 minutes after 4 hours.

My timing for the Half marathon was 2’03.50 from my new toy, the Garmin watch, which is about 5 seconds different from the official timer.

 Half marathon trail map charted by my new toy, the Garmin watch. click here.. Notice that the red line, representing my running trail, is always charted on the side of the road.

I like:

a. A well-organized event considering that there are almost 30,000 participants

b. Improved and simplified timing device – it is so simple that is attached to the bib; no more cumbersome chips that we have to tie to the running shoes

c. Abundance of drinking water and isotonic drinks; there is one water station at every 2km apart

d. Modified route (for half marathon) to take runners passing by the many renown places in Kuala Lumpur

e. Distance Marker - clearly indicating the progress of the run

f. Many tents at the padang for participants to relax and shield from the sun

g. No hassle on collecting medals
h. Abundance of mobile toilets, in multi-colour some more ... :-)

I don’t like:

a. The stretch of route along Jalan Loke Yew that is heavy with traffic. It would be good if the organizer can design the route to avoid that stretch.

Kudos to Standard Chartered Bank for organizing this event successfully and in promoting running in a very big scale manner in Kuala Lumpur. The number of participants have been increasing every year. I hope that they will continue to organize this event for another few years to come.

Total distance = 21.37km
My timing = 2’03.50

Do click here to view bigger displays of the two charts above.

Posted by KC Leong

FRIM Taman Botani Trekking

My handphone was abuzz with phone calls at around 7:15 a.m. – the time to meet up at the car park – while I was still travelling along LDP passing by 1-Utama Shopping Complex leading two other cars with me. As planned, we went trekking at FRIM (Taman Botani side) on Saturday, 16 June 2012.

Do click here to view photos taken by yours truly (KC). Click Slideshow or FullScreen for bigger displays or for downloading of photos.

 A group photo at FRIM Taman Botani ...
(Back, left) KC Leong, Vemanna, CheamYC, Tioh, Grace Lim, Edwin Haw, Ong, Arunan, Subramaniam, Albert, OngCL, CK Cheong, Wye Kit, YangPS;
(Front) Shirley, ChoiSN, Teng, Lew, Cindy Lim, Chan, Agnes Yew, MayLing, Clair, Nancy Liew, Kim (Prakash holding camera)

That was the first time that I led a group to start at Taman Botani of FRIM with certain degree of uncertainty. All the time, we start at the Main Entrance of FRIM. I was surprised to see so many cars parked outside the gated and guarded perimeter of Taman Botani. I was equally surprised to see such a big group for this trekking trip – almost 26 of us.  There were three groups in that trekking trip: the Zhineng Qigong (or chi gong) Malaysia members, my office colleagues and the trekker friends. Other than the trekkers, Agnes Yew, a road and trail runner, was with us doing a tapering run for her participation in the Full Marathon in Standard Chartered KL Marathon next Sunday, 24 June.

 Yeah, at the peak of Steroid Hill

The group started energetically walking past the lakes; having our first group photo taken and proceeded straight to Steroid Hill. Slowly but surely, we then proceed to trek up another hill to Salem High Country. After that, we descended the hill and continued to the waterfall area passing by an Orang Asli Clearing where we saw some durians there. Yes, it is the durian season now.

All ladies - Just before going up Salem High Country

After more than 2 hours of trekking, a few of the members showed sign of tiredness. Nevertheless, we pressed on wanting to arrive at the final target – the waterfall area. Upon arrival, I was shock to see that the waterfall and stream were totally dried. After three weeks of dry season, what was left was a dry bed. I quipped that we could consider coming again during rainy season.

 Happy faces at the peak of Salem High Country

My original intention of leading the group to return via the start of Pacat Trail and then connect to Mountain Bike Track (at the Malay Tea House side) has to be shelled as Shirley, one of the trekkers, encountered knee pain. So I have to find the shortest possible route to return to car park. While I asked Agnes to wait for the group at a junction, with the additional time, I ran to unfamiliar trail to look for shortest route along Mountain Bike Track. Bingo! I found one that cut right into Taman Botani. So the whole group finally emerged safely from the hill and walked back to the car park.

 Descending the hill

With the haze blocking the sun even at the open space of Taman Botani, it was indeed a day of fun in the shades of trees for a not-too-difficult trekking. The total time taken was almost four hours, much longer than the planned 2.5 hours. To those new members, it was a tiring attempt but a satisfying trekking trip.

 Somewhere near Steroid Hill area

 Passing by an Orang Asli Clearing en route to the waterfall. It is durian season time.

 A unique pond with yellow plants at Taman Botani ... with models Cindy Lim and Tioh admiring the scenery ... :-)

Filepix taken on 26 Dec 2011 at the waterfall area. Credit goes to Grace Tabitha, a Research Officer in FRIM, who led me to this area. She is now migrated and lived in the USA.
Do click here for the posting and photos.

Do click here for previous postings at FRIM (this posting appears at the top of page; do scroll down the pages).
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Do click here for activities relating to Zhineng Qigong (Malaysia).

Posted by KC Leong