Bintang Hill Trail Running

With the lush greenery and hilly terrain, Bintang Hill is an excellent alternative training ground for trail running, or even trekking. Nestled within Desa ParkCity and Mount Kiara areas, as you can see, this Bintang Hill has no connection with Bukit Bintang or Star Hill near Sungei Wang Area.

Comparatively, the terrain is steeper than Puchong Hill but easier than Apek Hill in Cheras. Since it is closer to NKVE Highway, the air here is not very cool and fresh; besides, we could constantly hear the noise of the fast moving vehicle.

Special thanks to Chong Ying Fook for leading the group in running around in this area; also Steven Oon who treated the group in light refreshment after the trail running.

Nice view – sigh ... have to ignore the transmission cable; maybe you just imagine that these are the trails charted by the fighter jets rising higher and beyond) ... :-)

Do CLICK HERE for the complete photo album taken by yours truly (KC).

 The other peak is at the right of this photo frame. This scarecrow, not only frighten birds away, in a dimly lit night, would scare people also.

 Nature Gym -- PK Chan testing out the no-frill workout equipment; even the bicycle chain and handle can do a good job ... outdoor and free membership some more ... :-)

The ingenuity of the facility here can rival the sanctuary area in Apek Hill, Cheras.

 Barbed wire and high fencing... looks like a (DMZ) Demilitarized Zone

 This is the Desa ParkCity  ... Thanks to ChongYF for leading the group to this Bintang Hill.

 At another peak

Back (left): PK Chan, Wendy Liu, Elaine Lee, Boon Kee, Steven Oon, Chong YF, KC Leong.

Front: Siew Cheng, Annie Lim, Kristie

 Stylishly posed for the varied and arid terrain ... KC Leong, PK Chan, Siew Cheng, Steven Oon, Kristie, Wendy Liu

 Wendy Liu, Siaw Cheng, Kristie

Adjourn to a mamak restaurant for some light refreshment. Thanks to Steven Oon for treating the group. Teh Tarik with susu lembu and roti chanai with eggs ... hmmm ... creamy and superb drinks, and good to reward the body system after the trail running.

Annie posing for the camera ... Steven Oon said he is going to dedicate Annie's Song (by John Denver) to her and I said I shall dedicate any other songs (to her) ... :-)

She owns three classic mini cooper cars and love riding scrambler motorbike in outdoors.

Note: next heavy-duty trail running is scheduled on Saturday, 11 June at Gunung Nuang.

Trekkers are welcome as Rocky and Bernard Lee are leading the trekking group. Do click here for previous postings of trail running at Gunung Nuang.

Posted by KC Leong

Gunung Angsi Trail Running

Gunung Angsi is always my favourite trail. This mountain is not too steep; the trail is clean and wide; the trail is not too long; a gradual terrain at the starting point which is good for warming up the body; running next to a stream that increase the good ions; a panorama view at the peak, etc.

A group photo before the start of trail running / trekking. Photo taken at Ulu Bendol Recreational Area on Saturday, 28 May 2011.
Back (left): yours truly (KC), Rothman, Edwin, Sharon Tan, Rupert Chen, ChooTS
Front: Lady Su, Rocky, WongKC

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

Rupert Chen is a very fast trail runner. Before we could arrive at the peak, he is on his way hurriedly descending the mountain. His reason: he would continue running around the park training for road races. One of the runners said, his pace is like a leopard (that rhyme with Rupert) ... :-)

 At the peak of Gunung Angsi.
(Left): LimGT, Edwin, Rothman, ShiekEM, ChooTS, Lady Su, Chiew Hong, KC

 ShiekEM's friend carrying a coconut seedling from the foothill (originated from Kuala Lumpur)

 Hopefully, in five years' time, we would have coconut juice up here ... LimGT and Shiek planting the seedling. Good work and BRAVO !!!

 (Left): WongKC, Chiew Hong, Rocky, KC, ChooTS, Lady Su, Bernard Lee, Sharon Tan

Bernard Lee and ShiekEM's group came from Route B. Here is the description from Bernard:

Route A: via the Ulu Bendul Recreational Park. Entrance : Rm 5.00 per person.

Route B: Ferny Trail. This route will eventually join up the trail from Ulu Bendul. The first 45 mins is very flat, so it is quite boring but after it joins the Ulu Bendul Trail, the climb begins. Entrance: free.

Route C: Panjang Trail. This Trail is maintained by a group of trekkers call Angsi Trekkers from Seremban. This trail is quite steep initially but levels off after a while. The trail : Panjang is named after a tall guy who sets up a shed or shelter halfway along the trail. He cooks "Tong Sui" or offers drinks to the weary trekkers FOC. There is ample car park along the road shoulder.

 Descending the mountain ... the obstacle course area

Lady Su’s trail running shoe was infiltrated and her foot was attacked by a leech that could be seen with the red patch on her shoe. Since she was the only runner that was selected by a leech, one member quipped:  that mean her blood is not laden with high cholesterol. The others, the moment the leech tasted the blood, would quickly drop off. 

 Giving a helping hands (... from photo, it may look like giving a push) ... :-)

One of the best moments in going through all the strenuous trail running is to savour the sumptous food that follows ... hmmm, yummy !!

Do click here to view previous outings at G. Angsi; this posting is repeated. Do scroll down the web pages.

Posted by KC Leong

Gunung Merbabu of Indonesia

 A center of art and education at Jogjakarta. Built in 1790, it is a model of traditional Javanese architecture.

Do click here to view complete photo album by courtesy of Banjamin Ong. Captions here are extracted from the photo album.

 Along the way to Borobodur, Candi Pawon. It is located between two other Buddhist temples, Borobudur and Mendut.

 Borobudur, located about 40 kilometers northwest of Yogyakarta and about 45minutes drive. It is surrounded by several mountains, Sundoro & Sumbing and Merbabu & Merapi, It is built between 750 to 850AD. Borobudur is one of UNESCO designated world heritage site.

 At the height of 2889m at around 5:30am; the photographer is waiting for the sun to rise around 6am.

Breathtaking, beautiful, and serene scenery

View towards the south, Gunung Merapi, 2968m. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548. It is located approximately 28 kilometres north of Jogjakarta city. The last eruption was in October 2010.

Do click here to view Ladakh India trek by Banjamin also... this posting is repeated, do scroll down the pages.

Posted by KC Leong

Gunung Irau - steamboat

After one whole day without proper food while trekking at Gunung Irau on Saturday, 14 May to attain the peak enlightenment, the steamboat dinner was another most enjoyable moment for the gastronomic delights enlightenment.

The restaurant at Brinchang recommended by Agnes Tan’s friend was really good; besides, the price is very reasonable for the amount of food that was included in the package.

 

Hmmm.... good, good !!! Just enjoy the food and speak less ...

 Steamy hot in the cool mountains of Cameron Highlands

Coincidently, the wrong message is partially displayed on Mak CK’s T-shirt ... :-)

(Left: Wendy Liu, Larry Lai, Mak, Jean)

Photos courtesy of MakCK.

Posted by KC Leong



Gunung Irau Trekking

It has been a fun, enjoyable and memorable trekking and holidaying trip trekking up Gunung Irau of Cameron Highlands on 14 May 2011. We were quite lucky that it was a sunny and clear day in the morning. The haze problem at Kuala Lumpur has not extended that far to the mountains. However, there was slight drizzle at around 3pm and only started to rain at 5:30 p.m. By then, most of the members would have safely returned to base at around 5pm.

Do click here to view photos taken by yours truly (KC) ... in photo album, click Slideshow for bigger display.

A group photo before the start of the challenging trekking trip. Other than the 32 members here, another 11 not in the photo are: TonyQ, Tammy, Chan Wing Kai, Alex and friend; and the friends from Singapore (KohSL, Jack, Alvin, Nicole, Jade) who started the trekking at 8:00 a.m. They put up a night at Cameron Highlands.

The pro photographer, ChooTS, who is thick in the action taking photos for some forensic analysis ... :-)

Fun along the journey – extending a clean helping hand by KohSL. She and her other five team members came all the way from Singapore. (Left) Tony Q and KC. (This photo courtesy of MakCK)

 All smiles after overcoming the challenging and muddy trail ... part of the team at the peak of Gunung Irau

 The mossy forest right in the heart of a tropical country

(Left): MakCK, Sik Peng, Chae Yin, Bernard, Yoke Cheng and KC.

I was racing down the mountain with a German and Swiss guys as the sky was very dark and the mountain was engulfed with mist/clouds at around 3 p.m. signalling an impending downpour. With thunder from the distant horizon, the scene was quite scary; I could see the anxiety from their facial expression. With months of training at Gunung Nuang, I was able to match their pace and they were quite impressed too. However, the Gunung Irau trail is not suitable for fast action. Most of the time, in order to avoid stepping into the mud trap, we step onto the roots to provide the necessary firm landing. Certain roots are slippery with the dampness. So I fell twice and the second one really hurt my right knee with bruises. (photo courtesy of ChooTS)

 Steaming hot in the cool mountains ... hmmm... GOOD !!

Left: Bernard, Anges Tan and daughter, ChooTS

(This photo courtesy of MakCK)

This restaurant is just opposite the Shell petrol station. The building is a Chinese Association.  

Each pax is only RM 15 with lots of fresh vegetable, seafood, and food stuff.

 A good new day has dawned. Looking out the balcony of the unit that I stay.

 Desa Anthurium at Brinchang fully furnish and complete with cooking facility. I booked 5 apartments that house 45 team members.

Trying to emulate the Bollywood dance movement at the tea plantation en route to Boh Tea Plantation a Sungei Palas.

Left: Wendy Liu, Chae Yin, Tan PP, KC, Jean, Sik Peng, Yoke Cheng



The yow yeng guys’ turn.... Lai FS, PK Chan, Seng Choe, MakCK, KC Leong, Bernard Lee

Do click here for previous outings at Gunung Irau (this posting is repeated; do scroll down the pages).

Posted by KC Leong

My New Adidas Supernova

"Hi KC, the latest model of Adidas Supernova of your size has arrived with a very attractive colour design," Ariff, the Sales Representative at Adidas, The Gardens @ Mid-Valley telephoned to inform me quite excitedly.

After waited and checked with Ariff for many weeks, I finally bought the pair of running shoes of my choice on 7 May 2011.

I have quite a big foot. They say it is very good for stability that represents whatever endeavour that I do. But with the thick socks and extra cushioning, the size of the shoes would look like the size of a boat.

My previous pair of Adidas Supernova is a durable pair of footwear. It powered me through five full marathons, inclusive of training runs. In every full marathon, I would have put in about 500km of training. The trusted Supernova actually lasted for 2,500km before it was gone for good – been stolen.

The most notable improvement of this Supernova is the sleek and attractive design complemented by the distinctive colours of a green theme. Besides, the weight of current model is very much lighter compared to my previous Supernova.

At Adidas, The Gardens @ Mid-Valley ... Ariff and yours truly. He said that if I keep my hair very long, that would look like one of the rock singers (... aisey, I forgot the name now).

 The Adidas Supernova with an acid-green theme

 Sleek and nice looking

Note by Josie: When I start watching the American Idol this new season, it suddenly strikes me that you look exactly like one of the judges, Steven Tyler who is the lead singer for Aerosmith, the famous rock group. He has long hair and you can definitely be his double if you have long hair just like him...haha.

Note by KC: Yeah... that is exactly what Ariff said ... :-)

 

Posted by KC Leong

Mount Kinabalu Trekking

 Do click here to view photos by courtesy of Shukri, a photography friend, who trek up Mount Kinabalu from 22 to 27 April 2011.

When in Picasa photo album, click Slideshow, hit F11 key for full screen displays.

 Shukri - on top of the clouds feeling

The simple accommodation at Raban Rata that is absolutely necessary

Posted by KC Leong