Trans Yam Tuan Antah hiking trail: Gunung Datuk, Gagak and Rembau

i went hiking again! my prior hike with adventures unlimited to gunung arong was quite fun and actually relatively easy, so i came back with them for more. this time it's a notch more difficult, as we were going to summit three mountains in one hike. and without proper sleep. today we were headed to negeri sembilan, a state in between KL and malacca, to conquer gunung datuk, gagak and rembau. 

pre-departure photo (from AU team)

we assembled at woodlands mrt at 9:45 and departed just before 10pm. due to the long weekend in malaysia (and everybody being quite happy with the election results) there was no human traffic in both woodlands and jb checkpoints. we had a 2am stopover for supper, where most of the folks in the group waited for half an hour for KFC to cook fried chicken, and continued our journey at 3am. we arrived on site around 4 and met our local guides. there were a lot of groups for today, and so we were a little worried about making it up there for the sunrise. at 885 masl, the estimate to reach gunung datuk's peak for average climbers is about 2 hours.

we started the ascend, after the other groups have left. most of us were moving too fast that we caught up with the other groups and were at their tail. it was a bit disappointing at first because we had to wait in line to get up, not having a good rhythm to pace the hike. eventually, we overtook the other groups. we reached the peak before the others did, so we got dibs on the best viewing platform in gunung datuk. hurray!

 it was a tad cloudy so we didn't get a perfect sunrise photo, but nevertheless lots of pictures were taken. 

we started to make a move around 7:30 to assemble near the summit's photo spot before we head over mountain #2: gunung gagak. the 'lead group' started and we followed the local guide, while groups 2 and 3 were slightly behind with the AU guides.  

the path towards gunung gagak was more muddy, and as we began to take notice, leech-infested. no wonder our local guide was moving so fast! him and three other people were leading the pack, they're walking so fast we couldn't even see them in front of us. then suddenly, we heard screaming. they encountered leeches! we had a bout with them ourselves, and it took me a while to realize one already got to me. luckily it was just a small one! 

video from rickesh

we pressed on despite the leech problem, and reached gunung gagak peak after perhaps an hour and a half or so. the group rested here for a while, but soon realized that the leeches were closing in. we managed to take a group photo before moving on to mountain #3. it was obviously done in a rush, hence a bit blurred haha.

grou-fie by sucan

there were a lot of creepy crawlies in this forest, but i was in no mood to stop and take photos frequently because i was afraid of becoming leech buffet. here's a few snapped by sucan of the things we saw (and a single photo from me of a giant beetle):

and here are some interesting flora too. my favorite: the one that looked like a mouth full of pearly white teeth!

but at this rate people are getting sick of the leeches, so we all somewhat rushed to get to the third peak and then head back to re-convene at gunung datuk for our break before the descent. no group photo was taken then as people were literally just walking to the peak to take a photo and immediately leave. leeches were everywhere. 

video from way peng

it was past 11 when we reached gunung datuk summit base. there were a lot of people there at this time, mostly students on an outing and some families. i quickly had my lunch and tried to squeeze in a power nap, only to be awakened moments after that everybody wanted to leave. and so we started the painful way back down.

we are now making our descent towards the same trail we followed to trek up. coming up it was very dark so it was not so obvious how steep the trail was, but coming down was a killer! i was very exhausted but kept pressing on, thinking it would end soon, but it took a lifetime before we reached the end!

video from raudhah

a sigh of relief came as i heard the people in front utter in delight that we have reached the trail entrance. i saw a couple of AU folks who assured us that there is a stall selling all sorts of cold beverage and ice kachang and that of course, there was a toilet. 

i downed a can of ice lemon tea in record time and relieved myself in the toilet. i have successfully avoided wilderness peeing today from 3am to 2pm. that was probably the achievement of the day 😃

our next destination was the R&R so we can take showers and change out of our stinky, sweaty clothes. then a good nap in the bus on our way back home. as we walked towards Merry Holidays, our trusty bas persiaran, we looked back at the mountains we conquered today, feeling satisfied.

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malaysia unlimited: trans yam tuan antah
organized by adventures unlimited
may 11-12, 2018

some photos borrowed from AU team; all videos from other members of the group. thanks for another good hike!

Sumatran Jungle Trek

some time in january i met a guy via linkedin over matcha latte (totally random, and an entirely different story). we talked about our travel experiences and he shared about jungle trekking in sumatra to see orangutans. he was very thorough and detailed about it that i could imagine myself being in it. i was so inspired that i immediately checked for flights to medan. it was dirt cheap (at that time, $119 roundtrip) i decided to do this for labor day. i casually asked my friend siti if she's interested to jungle trek and see orangutans and she replied with a "yes i wan!" and i went my merry way planning this trip.

we booked flights via garuda indonesia. we were all set by march, and then garuda decided they won't fly singapore-medan direct anymore. we were reassigned to a flight that stops over jakarta. we weren't pleased because the direct flight would have been just over an hour, and now we have to spend a few hours in layover before we arrive in medan. and then weeks later, they changed our flight back from medan-SG to have a layover in jakarta too! aaargghhh! luckily mine was a redemption flight and i could cancel it without fees, and i was able to get a redemption via silk air for just 15,000 krisflyer miles. garuda paid for siti's new silk air tickets.

it was around 9am when we got out of the airport to meet our driver. he told us it would be a 4-hour drive to get to bukit lawang. more, if there's traffic. and there was traffic. and occasionally we'd drive past unpaved roads which sucked when you have to pee. we arrived at the ecolodge past 1pm to meet lilix, the tour manager for bukit lawang tours & trekking. he explained everything while we were waiting for our room to be ready.

our jungle adventure started the next morning. when we got to the reception, our guides sandi and zanet were already waiting for us. 2 more ladies were joining us for this trek. girl power!

as we walked past our immediate surroundings, sandi explained that we were in a rubber plantation. the bark of the trees are scraped to let the sap flow, and a coconut husk on the ground collects the sap. for our first water break, we remembered to take a photo of us in uniforms, before we sweat on it!

when we got past the plantation, and into the 'arya' area of the jungle (and apparently we were not in gunung leuser yet) sandi and zanet started making orangutan 'calls' - mimicking the sound they make. not long after, we spotted ratna and her baby. sandi said we were the lucky ones - first to see orangutans that day.

since we weren't far from the town at this point, the guides have good network reception and have announced that apes have been spotted. in no time, all the tourists flocked to our spot! some are doing just day treks (3 hours), some are camping like us, all elated by the first sighting.    

we pressed on, and walked past some trekkers who are having a break and enjoying some fruits. "how come they get fed?", siti demanded 😮 i can't blame her though, trekking is exhausting and makes you hungry. it was a cue for sandi to find us a good spot and feed us fruits too. 

after the break, we spotted another orangutan and shortly after that, another guide informed sandi that mina and her offsprings are nearby. we approached with caution, but it was a bit daunting, knowing about her history and what she's capable of. the rangers had to feed her constantly to make sure she doesn't do anything silly to us civilians.  

we continued on until sandi found a clearing and announced "welcome to jungle restoran!" it was finally time for lunch. we had a simple meal in brown paper, eaten with just a spoon. after lunch i saw a few giant birds fly past and sandi said those were horn bills. we also saw a baboon up close and a couple of gibbons high up on the trees. no more orangutans were seen post lunch. before 5pm we reached our campsite for the day. we were so stoked! the sound of the river rapids was so soothing after an exhausting day of hike. 

our camp area was quite secluded. guests of other tour companies are camping about 100m away from us, as seen from the photo above. we were quite happy about the privacy (or maybe this was an after thought, once we've seen what our camp site for day 2 was like). the water was very cold, and a lot of huge, flat rocks were on the surface, making it so nice to just lie down and enjoy the natural spa. bliss! when it got dark, the place turned into nothing short of magical. there were lots of fireflies! 

the next morning, while having our breakfast, we saw a troop of monkeys invade the river for some playtime before they traveled further up the banks. it was quite amusing, though all of us were feeling sluggish because we didn't sleep well the previous night no matter how tired we were. i suppose we're not pros when it comes to jungle sleeping just yet.

then it was time to leave for second day of trekking. we wanted to take a different route so sandi told us we'd walk through the river first before hiking up. getting through the river was definitely no walk in the park. we had to be really careful because we're walking on rocks and if anybody slips then it's definitely going to be a bad time. we thread for maybe half an hour, until we came into an intersection where the river splits into two directions, and there is a large pool of water where we saw people were swimming. 'we stop here,' sandi said, 'and then we trek up'. 

there was no visible path to hike up to, and then we realized it was going to be a wild vertical climb right next to where we sat to rest. sh*t just got real. 😫

by the time we stopped for a break, i was sweating profusely that it was dripping from my chin. yuck! luckily we have enough water and our usual fruit platter for replenishment.

sandi asked if we're ready to go up, up, up and down. and he wasn't kidding. while going up was pretty hard on the legs, going down was equally challenging. it was mostly muddy and slippery, so our legs have to be tense and steps very calculated so we won't slip down and possibly knock someone else out haha. 

it was only around 2 when we spotted our first orangutan mom-and-baby for the day: jaky and her baby. unlike mina, jaky was more prim-and-proper. she was not demanding at all haha. we quietly admired them swinging all over until we had to move on.

after a very grueling trek down, so steep we have to sit and step down on some occasions, we finally reached camp site #2. when we got to the river, there were a lot of camp sites and people. booo! there were a couple of orangutans hanging around. sandi said they come daily, because of the tourists. they knew they'd get fed. 

our camp site was further down the river bank from where we descended. on one hand that's great, because we are somehow away from the big crowd. on the other, we are downstream from these groups. siti was so worried that those guys are going to pee and the water coming our way will be contaminated lol

we were told that they would sell beer. so when we went to take a dip into that cold water, all 4 of us shared 2 beers. we didn't drink more though, because each beer is $6. besides, after an exhausting day drinking lots of (warm) beers didn't seem too appealing. 

there were no fireflies in the evening. but since it was our final night, and no more treks were planned the next day, we had more fun that night. we played all sorts of funny guys, like that crazy danish game where we pretend to be roosters. sandi brought out more card tricks and all sorts of magic with his fast hands. it must be almost 11 when we retired to our tents.

the next day, i was the first to wake up again. but this time it was a bit later, at past 8. we all had better sleep than the night prior. today was just going to be breakfast and chill, then head back via tubing. sandi said that normally guests stay there to relax until after lunch before heading back, but we were going back early because the danish girls had to travel back to medan in the afternoon for an early flight the next day. 

and finally we're off! i don't have a waterproof camera so i couldn't capture all the fun as we floated downstream and back into ecolodge. here are a few photos snapped before that.

we had the rest of the afternoon free so we opted to do a village tour to see bukit lawang. we saw rice fields, cocoa trees, women chopping betel nuts and visited a rice and tofu factory. we finished off with fried bananas and young coconut. after an early night, we had to leave before 4am to travel back to the airport and fly back to singapore.

it was such a great first experience to sleep in the jungle! it was tough, but definitely empowering to know that i could do it. so maybe, more jungle adventures to come. 

if you want an awesome experience like this, check out more at www.junglesumatra.com / www.bukitlawangguide.com. you can also directly contact lilix via +6281364108007  to plan your trip: he could also arrange for airport transfers, accommodation and other tours. ask for sandi and zanet if you want to have amazing guides!

blossoming

something i've scribbled while in a trance listening to this track:


pull me closer
sweet surrender
i lose myself to you
have a peek at my soul

it is only you i trust
right at this moment
to see me
to know me

chords stroke against my skin
very soothing
i am healing
if only just for this second

i feel the blossoms
fall into my palms
so soft and meek
as i am

Gunung Arong Day Hike

last week i signed up for a wine tasting networking event for april 8th. i was looking forward to a nice saturday afternoon drinking wine and chatting with (hopefully) like-minded individuals in another internations event. i even invited a friend to tag along and practice making new friends.  

and then, on april fool's day, someone posted in the couchsurfing facebook group about a weekend hike in malaysia. a voice in my head said "yeah cindy, why don't we go for a hike instead, huh?" 😛

i thought, why not? i could really use a day off alcohol 😁 so i signed up for this event via meetup. it didn't work out. the organizer replied that the event was full. 

but a few hours later, there was another post in the CS group about a different hike on the same day. this event was organized by Adventures Unlimited, and also a hike in malaysia but in Gunung Arong. i am by no means an experienced hiker - and wouldn't have any clue about the technical difference between ascending Gunung Arong vs. Gunung Pulai - so the change didn't really matter to me. it was just that my mind was already set about hiking that weekend and just wanted to make it happen. i was also trusting on the organizers' words when they said it was going to be an easy climb.

we were to assemble in woodlands MRT at 6:15am and depart 15 minutes later. when all souls were accounted for by 6:35, i knew this was a good group. nothing sets off an event to a bad start than people who are not responsible enough to show up on time. this group was rockin'.

i don't typically see happy faces this early in the morning. because i'm never awake this early :-D

the human traffic in both woodlands and johor bahru checkpoint were not bad as it was so early in the morning. but when we were already on the malaysian side, the bus was on a stand-still long after we have planned to leave. there were a few buses in front of us that were not moving - for some apparent reason that my half-functioning-morning-brain could not comprehend - and the aggressive horn-honking from the other impatient bus drivers were not helping. "we're experiencing bus wars", keion joked.    

this, and with a little delay finding the right road to the resort which was our base to start the hike, we ended up arriving at 11:30. the initial plan was to start the hike from the beach side but the current was already pretty strong when we arrived, so we drove to a different entry point to the jungle. but first, mandatory group photos.

taking photos is a must - while everyone's still looking fresh

keion said it typically takes 2 hours to do the climb. which meant, 3 hours for me, i thought. we were to have lunch at the peak, and since it was already pushing 12, i knew it would be a very late lunch - but i came prepared. i had protein bars, bruschetta chips and a banana from my seatmate. i had a liter of water. i was hoping i wouldn't have to drink it all and still survive. because i hate wilderness peeing 😣 

burn, calories, burn!

i am normally serious while hiking (because i try to focus on not dying) but this time i was quite relaxed. i was chatting with annalisa for most of the hike. it was steep and challenging enough, but i was surprisingly doing alright. it was an hour into the climb, all of us in the group are in a good steady pace, and not long after we saw a hut.

we were at the peak! and it just took barely over an hour. wow.

we were pretty surprised that it was the end, and some of the ladies also wondered as they knew there was supposed to be a good view from the peak, so the guide informed us that while we're already at the peak at 240m, we could actually walk a bit further down to the viewing platform for the amazing view of the crescent island against the South China sea. the fit ladies led the way, and annalisa and i followed suit.

10 minutes into the walk and the was no vision of this elusive view. and then, i heard a shriek of excitement. the ladies found it!

the malaysian flag waved proudly against the gentle breeze that greeted this bunch of eager souls as selfies and wefies were taken one after another. and why not, we totally earned it! 

after we had our fill of the view and photographs, we started to head back. the second batch came in, with perfect timing. back in the hut, watermelon slices awaited us. time for victory tembikai! 🍉

once everybody settled down to rest, had their lunch and watermelon, we took some nice group photos before starting our descent. it was quite early, just past 2pm, and we were looking forward to a walk along the beach and a cold shower!  

because the climb up was quite steep, it was expected that the descent would be challenging. there were few occasions of people slipping, but nobody got hurt. if anything, these troopers just laughed it off. 

when we got to the base, everybody looked parched. we were dying to get on the bus to take us back to the resort, but it was nowhere in sight! after a long wait, we decided to just brave the sun and walk back. we just conquered a mountain, how bad could a bit of walk be? (it would have been bad for anybody who'd have stepped on the puddles of cow dung scattered across the road, though.)

the walkers

at the sight of the beach most of us took off our hiking shoes and felt the sand. too bad the water was warm, but it was comforting. we walked back to the resort and took the anticipated bath (kampong style).

we left mersing at around 4:30pm on our way to dinner before heading back home. i thought this plan was really clever. we really needed some snooze time on the bus before a good dinner to close the day. 

i think everybody's starving that nobody bothered to take a group photo when the food arrived! 😅 that, or we didn't have good ones that were shared haha. here's what we had for dinner. so, so, so, shiok!

i think heaven serves chinese food

we arrived past 10 in woodlands, and it was such a long day that people were gone quickly i haven't said goodbye to most of them. but i suppose we didn't need to say goodbyes, as we're all still in touch via our whatsapp group.

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this entry is dedicated to the wonderful ladies and gents of the 8-Apr-18 Gunung Arong Hike organized by Adventures Unlimited Singapore. photos from the organizers and hiking group. thanks for making saturday so awesome! hope to climb with y'all again :)