Sunday, October 19, 2008

one sunday

| 19 october 2008 | for photos taken on the trail to pondok tiga and at or about pondok tiga on sunday 19 october 2008, please click here

Saturday, October 18, 2008

titiwangsa traverse photos

| day 1 | 11 october 2008 | for the photos, please click here | and for the photos taken by ah chui, please click here | for the photos taken by sexy eyes, please click here | day 2 | 12 october 2008 | for the photos, please click here | and for the photos taken by ah chui, please click here | for the photos taken by sexy eyes, please click here | day 3 | 13 october 2008 | for the photos, please click here | and for the photos taken by ah chui, please click here | for the photos taken by sexy eyes, please click here | day 4 | 14 october 2008 | for the photos, please click here | and for the photos taken by ah chui, please click here | for the photos taken by sexy eyes, please click here |

titiwangsa trek nutrition

| team | most appear to start the day with a packet of instant noodles and coffee | team did not stop for lunch | but team stopped quite randomnly to grab bites intermittently through trek | most team members were snacking on biscuits, sandwiches and chocolates during the trek | different persons appear to have different eating habits | most members have heavy dinner of rice and cooked dishes | appear hungry during dinner | personal | the following may not apply to all as it may well be personal | breakfasts consisted of 2 packets of 80g maggi mee, 2 eggs and 2 packets of 30g "3 in 1" either quaker oats or nestle nesvita cereals | the breakfast appear to suffice for about 8 hours of non stop trekking save for a mid trek snack of 2 power bars | dinners comprised of about 250g of rice and assorted cooked dishes | surprised that did not feel all that hungry during or for that matter even after the trek | not much of an appetite | just thirsty and tired most of the time | resources | to calculate the calories you need when inactive, please click here | to calculated the calories you need for various exercises including backpacking, please click here | once you have estimated the calories you need for the trek, eat accordingly | need not be exact calculation, as your body is able burn fat to supply some shortfall |

Friday, October 17, 2008

titiwangsa lessons

| lessons | some of the useful lessons learned during the titiwangsa traverse from 11 october 2008 to 14 october 2008 | may not apply to all though | trek | every trekker has a different pace and different style of trekking | it will take some experience to develop own style and pace | personally consistent pacing yield the best results, be initially conservative | need to adopt different pace for different ground surface, different terrain and different weight of backpack | packing properly and properly securing and tying the backpack is important | leave nothing hanging outside the backpack or body | do not waste energy trying to stay clean | learn to use 2 hands, 2 legs and butt, the butt is quite useful | stay upright when possible | for tricky stretches, look and think before attempting | have a trekking buddy of more or less the same physical fitness and with similar trekking style, others may not wait for you or make the trek a little bit easier on you | a trekking buddy will also make the trek more enjoyable and safer | wear gloves to avoid cuts and to keep fingernails clean | wear protective and quick to dry clothing during trek to avoid cuts and exposure to itch inducing insects and plants | will not get cold while trekking | photo | take photographs at all water points, stream crossings, hill tops, camping sites, signposts, peaks and whatever that takes your fancies | time stamps on photographs will enable one to prepare a log of the trek | keep camera in a small separate bag which can be hung from the belt | gear | buy good lightweight gear | test gear before starting trek | ask around | advice | do not ignore unsolicited advice | but do not blindly apply all advice | apply only what is personally applicable | rain | rain is not always bad | with proper planning, rain can be a blessing | use a plastic sheet to trap rain water for use | wind is worse than rain | pack | keep pack as light as possible, and then lighten some more | this is worth repeating, keep it light | backpack will get heavier with rain and there will be need to carry water up to the peaks | take only the minimum required | it is indeed possible to wear the same clothing during the treks on all 4 days | need not even have changed the underwears but what the heck | had trouble believing it before this | it is also possible to wear the same clothing on all 3 nights spent on the yong belar peak, junction peak and korbu peak | just in case, bring a spare set for night use | it is however not as cold as some may make it out to be | some trekkers can be seen walking around in just shorts and t-shirts, and when there is sun just underwears | take only dry or dehydrated foodstuff along | no need for toiletries, just a small towel and medicated powder will do | but then again a little luxury will lift the spirits | think about how to lighten load | every trekker has own priorities |

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

titiwangsa traverse team

| team | team comprised of clement (62 years old), pantai ong (60 years old), selama kong (53 years old), james (50 years old), sexy eyes (in his forties), lee thiam huat (in his forties), ah loong (in his thirties) and ah chui (in her thirties) | a big thank you to the team without whom the trans titiwangsa trek could not have been completed | a big thank you to all for good companionship throughout the trek | james | for being a good group leader and for organizing the trek and for looking out and deliberately slowing down for the weaker and slower trekkers and for dishing out some good advice and for carrying more than his fair share of generally shared items | clement | for completing the trek generally considered to be among the toughest trek in malaysia steadily and cheerfully and in good time and for inspiring others with his tenacity and determination | pantai ong | for completing the trek confidently and strongly and for carrying his fair share of water up steep and gruesome ascents to the peaks in wet and slippery conditions and for being always cheerful and confident and for bearing stoically with some loud snorings and for being generous with his personal items | selama kong | for displaying good strength and speed and for paying for the 100 plus drinks and char koay teow at the gates to the ulu kinta dam | sexy eyes | for showing up and showing the way despite completing the trek on 2 earlier ocassions and for being somewhat more knowledgeable than the guides and for cracking jokes to lighten the atmosphere and for providing transport to ipoh | lee thiam huat | for sharing his new tent and for not snoring | ah loong | for slowing down to allow slower trekker to catch up and for being good companion and for carrying more than his fair portion of items for the joint use of the team and for carrying more than his fair share of water up to the peaks and for being unrelentingly cheerful | ah chui | for putting male trekkers to shame with her display of strength and speed and for cooking all dinners and for ignoring the shameless exposure of male trekkers too tired to care about decencies |

about titiwangsa traverse

| trans titiwangsa or titiwangsa traverse trek is a trek that covers 3 mountains namely gunung gayong, gunung yong belar and gunung korbu which are among the so call G-7 peaks of peninsular malaysia ie the 7 of the highest peaks in malaysia which incidently are the only peaks in peninsular malaysia which are higher than 7,000 feet | gunung korbu (7,162 feet or 2183 metres) is the 2nd highest peak in peninsular malaysia, gunung yong belar (7,156 feet or 2181 metres) the 3rd and gunung gayong (7,129 feet or 2173 metres) the 4th | the other G-7 peaks are gunung tahan (7,185 feet or 2187 metres), gunung chamah (7,123 feet or 2171 metres), gunung yong yap (7,113 feet or 2168 metres) and gunung ulu sepat (7,091 feet or 2161 metres) | trans titiwangsa trek is also known as titiwangsa traverse | for more information on the trans titiwangsa trek with suggested timelines, please click here or please click here |

titiwangsa packing list

| packing list | advice on what to pack for a 4 days trans titiwangsa trek if you plan to camp at peaks | if your pack is heavy, the final ascent to the peak will be tough as you will need to take up about an extra 3 kilogrammes of water for use at the peak | toiletries | no need for soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush or any other toiletry item as there will not be enough water | water must be carried to the peaks | during the trek there is no point in washing as you will get dirty quickly | bring 1 small towel to keep clean and medicated powder to keep dry | basic swiss army knife | nail clippers | wearables | 1 long sleeve collared t-shirt (or alternatively 1 short sleeve t-shirt with a pair of roll on sleeves), 1 pair lightweight and quick to dry long pants, 1 pair of gloves and 1 pair of thick socks, all for day use during trekking on all days | 1 pair of sturdy hiking shoes | 1 pair of leech socks for use at lower elevations to protect legs from leeches, sandflies and other creepy crawlies | 5 underwears | 2 pagoda t-shirts, 2 lightly padded jacket, 1 pair of track pants and 1 pair of shorts for sleeping | 1 pair of lightweight slippers | food | bring only dry food, eg instant noodles and powdered soup, as wet food is heavier | 1 lightweight cooking pot with cover | 1 lightweight cup | 1 spoon and 1 fork | 2 gas tank and 1 burner | 2 1.5 litres plastic bottles | 1 1 litre plastic bottle | pharmaceuticals | flu tablets | merck ultracarbon charcoal tablets | anti-fungal cream | metholatum deep heat cream | cod liver oil capsules | oral rehydration salts | anti-histamines tables | multi-vitamin tablets | handyplast | you need to keep healthy | gear | 1 sleeping bag | 1 groundsheet | 1 poncho | 1 headband torchlight | 1 lightweight tent but this can be shared with up to 3 others | 1 lightweight internal frame backpack of about 70 litres capacity | it is not the size that matters but the weight | internal frame will help place the weight on the hips which is where your body can most effectively carry it | to view the arguments in favour of internal frame backpacks, please click here | deuter internal frame backpacks are obtainable in malaysia and is highly recommended by experienced trekkers | hope the foregoing helps you in preparing for a trans titiwangsa trek | resources | to get more ideas for ultralight backpacking, please click here or please click here |

yong belar-gayong-korbu trek day 4

| 14 october 2008 | woke up at 6.45 am | cooked and ate breakfast | as with other mornings did not wash up or brush teeth to conserve water which had to be brought to the campsites which were situated at mountain peaks | changed from sleeping clothes which had been used for all 3 nights during the trek and changed into the trekking clothes which had been used for 3 previous days of the trek | putting on the trekking clothes was quite a challenging proposition and was most difficult on the first morning but got easier | at 8.45 am broke camp, took group photo and started the descent from the peak of gunung korbu to the gates of the road leading to the dam | reached the gates and the ending point of the trek at about 5.40 pm | the trek can be broken up into 4 stretches | the first stretch is the usual steep mountain descent involving the use of ropes | it was reasonably treacherous but not more than expected | the second stretch is not so steep and relatively easy going up and down though mostly down and only a little bit up | the first and second stretch were well marked | the third stretch which started at the first stream crossing and comprised of many stream crossings with narrow and slippery trails along banks of the stream | the third stretch is the most difficult for the day | the third stretch was infested with leeches and sandflies | the only good thing about the third stretch is that there was no shortage of water | a nice waterfall with a swimable pool was passed at about 1.50 pm | the fourth and final stretch is relatively easy with dirt tracks followed by the tarred road running beside ulu kinta river and the dam until the gates to the dam area | the trek for this day was not particularly difficult although the knees took a beating | overall, the trek for the second day was the most difficult, followed by the trek on the first day and followed by the trek for the fourth day | the trek on the third day was the easiest | the trans titiwangsa trek was worse than expected and was quite challenging | do not relish a repeat |

yong belar-gayong-korbu trek day 3

| 13 october 2008 | had a good though interrupted night's sleep | woke up at about 6.30 am for breakfast | through the trek, had to cook own breakfast which for most comprised of instant noodles, cereals and coffee | trek started at 8.45 am and ah long predicted team would reach the peak of gunung korbu after 4.00 pm | as usual ah long's prediction was wrong as team arrived at the peak of gunung korbu at 2.2o pm | this was the easiest, shortest and most enjoyable trek of the 4 days trans titiwangsa trek | the start of the trail was the usual steep descent but not as steep or as treacherous as the descent from gunung yong belar | after the first hour, the trail became easier going up and down on mountain ridges until the final ascent to gunung korbu | enjoyed the trek as the view and scenery was very good | nice views and sceneries were in abundance | passed the peak of gunung gayong but did not stop as the guides failed to identify gunung gayong | the ascent to gunung korbu as relatively easy and "clean" | team was still "searching" for the peak of gunung gayong until arrival at the peak of gunung korbu where team was to camp for the night | initially team thought that the peak of gunung korbu was that of gunung gayong as the guides predicted that team would reach gunung gayong at about 2.00 pm | the joy of reaching the end of the trek for the day was tempered by dissapointment in not having identified the peak of gunung gayong | started to rain soon after arrival of gunung korbu | collected water from the rain using the canvas "roof" of the kitchen area | the water collected was also more than enough for cooking as washing up | with sexy eyes for company, had a good bath wearing only a poncho and briefs | surprisingly it did not that cold | i liked the rain | rain water can be easily collected using a poncho | had dinner at about 6.00 pm | dinner was the best during the trek and comprised of ladys fingers fried with sambal and garlic cloves, tuna, green beans, dried shrimps sambal, fried eggs, salted fish and a bit of curry chicken | enjoyable meal | chit chatted until about 8.00 pm when all went to bed | the campsite at the peak of gunung korbu was the best compared to the others | the campsite comprised of 3 pieces of relatively flat open spaces joint by short paths | kitchen was set up at the highest and middle space, the guides set up their tents at the lowest open space while all 3 tents for the team were set up at the open space closest to the view point for ipoh | from the campsite, there is a short path leading to a view point where ipoh town and the coast could be viewed | slept soundly until about 3.00 am when ah chui invited all to view the full moon just because she could not sleep after 1.00 am and started to cook right outside the tent shared by james, selama kong and clement | ah chui did not cook at the kitchen area because in 1999, 2 persons died of gas inhalation in their tent which was pitched next to the kitchen | for an eyewitness account in malay, please click here | ah chui was joined lee thiam huat and sexy eyes | had pre breakfast snack and went back to tent to resume sleep |

yong belar-gayong-korbu trek day 2

| 12 october 2008 | the trek would be from the peak of gunung yong belar to the peak of gunung junction | team was to camp at the peak of gunung junction | the trek was long and arduous and was the most difficult trek of the 4 days trans titiwangsa trek | the trek started at 9.00 am and reached the peak for gunung junction only about 6.00 pm with only short breaks | this trek can be divided into 4 stretches | the first stretch which was the initial descent from gunung yong belar was steep, muddy and involved some rather tricky bits | the second stretch which continued the descent was not as steep and relatively easy and ends at the stream crossing | arrived at the stream crossing and also the last waterpoint at about 2.00 pm | the third stretch commences with the steep, tiring and treacherous initial ascent of junction mountain | the fourth stretch which continued the ascent of junction mountain was relatively easier but still difficult and cold due to the rain | it also started to rain moderately at the start of the ascent and rain only stopped just before arrival at the peak | rain soon recommenced after tents were set up | had quick dinner of sardines, curry chicken and cucumber ably prepared by ah chui | rained through dinner | the campsite at the peak comprised of 2 flat areas joined by a short path of black mulchy messy mud | 4 tents were set up 1 for the guides and 3 for the 9 team members | felt that it was colder at the peak of gunung junction compared to the peak of gunung yong belar although gunung junction was significantly lower | went to bed right after dinner and slept rather soundly until about 2.00 am in the morning when for the guides woke up to cook themselves a meal | but fortunately was able to resume sleep after a while |

yong belar-gayong-korbu trek day 1

| 11 october 2008 | woke up early, had breakfast and gathered at jame's place at 5.00 am | reached ipoh at about 6.15 am and ah meng and his son drove team to kampung raja where team had a good breakfast | after breakfast, team was driven to the pick up point by a truck | trek was started about 1.5 hours late due to late arrival of the truck which would deliver team to starting point at a vegetable farm | don't know name of the farm but it is located at the end of a dirt road which mets the simpang pulai to gua musang road just at the border between pahang and kelantan | dirt road was in a bad condition | during the trek ah long the guide kept saying that team would only reach the peak of gunung yong belar at 8.00 pm | ah long had absolutely no idea of the distances involved or the terrain between the farm and the peak where team was to camp for the night | to all questions as to how far the team was from the peak ah long's stock standard answers were "jauuuh" | anyway, the trail went up and down, mostly up until the last water point which team reached at about 4.15 pm | then it goes uphill all the way to the peak | the trail was muddy and all equipment and clothing were covered with black sticky mud | after a few hours, did not even attempt to maintain any semblence of cleanliness | lots of clambering on all fours especially at the final stretch | trail was well marked | during the trek, team only made short breaks to drink and for some to eat | trail was slippery and fell a number of times but luckily no injury suffered except to ego | strange that the guides and some team member especially sexy eyes did not seem to fall at all | it rained lightly in the late afternoon but stopped by the time of arrival at the peak | relieved to reach the peak at 5.30 pm when ah long's estimate was a depressing 8.00 pm | it did not felt very cold at the peak of gunung yong belar and a long sleeved t-shirt over another t-shirt and long pants would probably suffice to manage the cold | balaclavas and gloves were certainly far from being needed | decided to stop relying on ah long's estimates of distances and times | dinner comprised of boiled rice, kampung fish, tuna, long beans and dried shrimps sambal organized by ah chui | due to exhaustion bedtime was an early 8.30 pm | slept soundly | when unpacking, discovered the eiger backpack used was totally soaked even with the use of a raincover | some of the plastic bags used to keep items dry were too thin to protect adequately but fortunately most times were dry enough | a piece of advice use only thick plastic bags to keep items dry and a second bag is recommended | noticed that the guides ah long and ah lee totally emptied their bags after they set up their tent and just left their backpacks casually on any piece of ground totally exposed to the elements | the eiger backpack was also showing signs of stress with a bent aluminium frame and more worryingly a torn strap | fortunately the strap did not break | noticed also that the guides and more experienced team members pack everything into their backpacks with nothing outside | the reason is that outside items tend to snag at obstacles | the trek involved clambering on all fours through dog holes created by tree branches and rocks as well sharp short drops | the trek was not easy | ah meng even doubted team could complete the trek due to the presence of "fat and old" team members but the fat and old" team members, who were justifiably irked by ah meng's rather insensitive comment, were more than capable of completing the trek | team comprised of a sixty years old pantai ong and a sixty two years old clement and sexy eyes was on the heavy side | selama kong was 53 years old and james was 50 years old | the average age of the team would have probably been about 50 | the campsite at the peak of gunung yong belar comprised of a single open space | was able to set up 4 tents and a kitchen with space to spare | ah long and ah lee the guides shared a tent | james, clement and selama kong share the same tent | sexy eyes, ah loong and ah chui shared another | lee thiam huat, pantai ong and this blogger share the final tent | this arrangement was replicated for the next 2 nights |

yong belar-gayong-korbu trek day 4 log

| 14 october 2008 | 3.30 am - early morning snack | 6.45 am - woke up and had breakfast | 8.45 am - started trek | 12.00 pm - arrival at kem kijang | 1.15 pm - arrival at kem seroja | 1.50 pm - arrival at waterfall with pool | 4.05 pm - arrived at tarred road beside sand trap for the dam | 5.50 pm - average arrival time of team at guard post for the dam and pick up point | 6.20 pm - arrived at ah meng's place | 7.30 pm - dinner at poh meng's place in pokok assam | for the photos, please click here | and for the photos taken by ah chui, please click here |

yong belar-gayong-korbu trek day 3 log

| 13 october 2008 | 6.45 am - woke up and had breakfast | 8.45 am - started trek to gunung korbu via gunung gayong | 11.20 am - arrival at kem cerek | 2.20 pm - average arrival time of the team at the peak of gunung korbu in the rain | 6.00 pm - dinner time | 8.30 pm - bedtime | for the photos, please click here | and for the photos taken by ah chui, please click here |

yong belar-gayong-korbu trek day 2 log

| 12 october 2008 | 7.00 am - waking up and breakfast | 9.00 am - started trek to gunung junction | 1.30 pm - arrival at the peak of h2o mountain | 6.00 pm - average arrival of team at the peak of junction mountain | 7.00 pm - dinner | 8.00 pm - bed time | for the photos, please click here | and for the photos taken by ah chui, please click here |

yong belar-gayong-korbu trek day 1 log

| 11 october 2008| 5.00 am - clement, sexy eyes, ah loong, lee thiam huat, ah chui, james, pantai ong and selama kong gathered at james' place | 5.15 am - started journey to ipoh | 6.15 am - arrived at ah meng's place and introduced to guides ah long and ah lee | 8.15 am - arrived at kampung raja and had breakfast at coffeeshop | 9.00 am - arrived at kelantan border but truck to starting point was not yet there | 10.30 am - truck to starting point arrived about 1.5 hours behind scheduled | 11.10 am - arrived at starting point which was situated at a vegetable farm | 11.15 am - started trek to gunung yong belar | 1.45 pm - arrival at kem tudung periuk | 5.30 pm - average arrival time of team at peak of gunung yong belar | 7.00 pm - dinner | 8.30 pm - bedtime | for the photos, please click here | and for the photos taken by ah chui, please click here |

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

one tuesday

| for the photos taken at pondok tiga on tuesday 7 october 2008, please click here |

taiping videos

| some videos taken in taiping and posted on youtube by virtualmalaysia on 19 december 2008 | for a video of maxwell hill, please click here | for a video of the lake gardens, please click here | for a video on the taiping zoo, please click here | for a video of the perak museum, please click here

Sunday, October 5, 2008

one sunday

| for photos taken one afternoon at pondok tiga on sunday 5 october 2008, please click here