Batu Yang Hidup

Mostly Climbing and mostly in Malaysia

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Latest video on my channel

Lost in the jungle mist early in the morning. 

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Lake Kenyir

Hey how you doing? Hope you’re well. I was invited to go with my wife and her parents to stay on a rakit on Lake Kenyir for 3 days 2 nights. I only knew a tiny bit about the place from the internet when I’d Google satellite viewed the place and knew it was a very big man made lake over on the east coast of Malaysia mostly within the state boundaries of Pahang. But apart from that, I didn’t really have any expectations or other knowledge of the place. I’d known about it for a little bit before I was invited and the idea of this massive lake surrounded by rain forest, of course that appealed to me.

One of the highlights was seeing wild boars swimming across when we arrived in a boat on the way to the rakit. The boatman circled around them and one swam away from the others in fear haha. We got a really close view of them. It was my first time seeing a Malaysian wild boar. With the boat we got very close to them without being in danger. They are much bigger than I thought they’d be and were pretty intimidating. Their eyes are a bit scary when it looks at you. I could tell from the one that swam away from the others that he was scared from its eyes.

There is no mobile phone signal at the place we stayed on. Lake Kenyir in general doesn’t have any mobile phone signal. I’m sure most areas in Lake Kenyir are the same unless they are close to the built up areas around the shores of the lake. It’s refreshing to be cut off from modern life, internet and nobody can contact you. You are very present in the moment with only people around you. It reminded me of childhood before I had internet or my own mobile phone. You have to make your own entertainment - talk to those around you more etc. This is good for your health and soul I really believe. I’ll be first to admit I’m addicted and trapped into the modern way of life but it doesn’t mean I really like it or agree with it fully.

There’s actually a lot to do at the lake if you have water based transport. We went to few cool places. We went for a hike at the Herb Island. I thought it would be boring but the path had a landslide or something at one point so we had to go off road for a small part. It was fun helping the aunties and this young boy who aren’t used to it get over the harder parts haha.

Another place we went to was this waterfall. It was a picturesque place and enjoyable for family but only suitable for few hours max as not much to do except swim in the small pools or sit in the water. But maybe there are bigger pools or something higher up. But I had no time to explore as I was with the group.

The last place we went was this mostly unknown stream that enters into the lake, it was a lot more interesting place than the other river with the picturesque waterfalls. It was a lot wilder and had much bigger pool jumps and went on for a long way. I would be happy to go back there for sure.

Emily’s dad loves fishing but doesn’t really do it anymore. Emily knows the basics so they both taught me how to fish. It was my first time ever trying. It was pretty interesting, but I didn’t even come close to catching anything. Don’t think I’d ever really get into it, but would try again one day maybe until I catch something.

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Langkawi take 2

Blog post from my first visit found here  http://batu-yang-hidup.tumblr.com/post/115663839545/langkawi 

I’m going to try and write smaller blog posts for a while in an effort to post on a more regular basis.

This blog post is about my stag do/bachelor party. First things first I need to say a big thanks to Flo who took the trouble to make sure it even happened. Also all the guys who organised things for the trip like the place to stay, bus tickets, and whatever else they arranged.   

It was very similar to my first trip here, in that we went to many of the same places this time too. The main differences being that we had a few extra people from the first time, also Sai Sai is now in the US, and that the trip was a little focused on me as it was my staggie.

I was worried it would be a crazy stag do as Flo is quite a crazy guy (in a good way). I told him no strippers or anything like that. He assured me there wouldn’t be, because I didn’t want and he respected my wishes. Was still worried because the others kept scaring me with hidden plans they said they had for me. In the end the craziest thing that happened was I had to wear these Thai style, very short pink hot pants. We didn’t really drink like crazy but it was more than I usually have in three months or so as I normally don’t drink really.

Photo credit: @Ughmahyar

One of the highlights this time was a boat tour that was almost exactly the same as the last time to Langkawi. Except the snorkelling was replaced with a stop at a small island beach for some football with a kids’ ball I brought along for banter. Another was a package of jet skiing, parasailing and banana boating. It was my first time parasailing and jet skiing - both were awesome and I will probably do again if given the chance. Banana boat was a laugh too, the banana float thing broke so the guy left us very far out from the beach floating waiting for him to return. The final memory that will stick with me was lighting the Chinese firecracker late at night by the side of the road. Blessed that God has given me good friends, who look out for me, and help make great memories. 

Langkawi is still a beautiful place. I noticed all the gorgeous rocks again this time around, which I still haven’t climbed. So need to return one day in the future, to climb them for my first time.  

P.s going to edit some Langkawi videos this month and upload on my Youtube channel very soon. Click here for Youtube channel 

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Bukit Tabur 3.0

I’ve previously written two blog posts on my visits to this awesome place. Actually it’s my favourite place in Kuala Lumpur. The first was describing my first visit here, and the second was from another early visit which we went to rescue my friend’s gopro. Since that first time, I’ve been there 10 or so times at the various parts of Bukit Tabur; West, East, Far East, Extreme, and Extra. I’ve taken 5 or so people up here for their first time. I love to share this place that God has made with others. They won’t be the last. To say I like the place is an understatement!! I’m only going to write about five (6) highlights from those ten trips in this post.

1.       One of my earlier hikes here I came to the end of the usual West hiking trail. Here you have three options. 1. Head back along the top of the ridge the way you just came. 2. Head down from the ridge and head back to the start via the jungle below the ridge. 3. Or continue a short while until the path stops above a drop. ( Map below to try to help you figure out where I went )

I stupidly thought if I could get down the drop I’d be able to find a way back up onto the ridge the other side. I knew nobody walked this other part so it was quite a big risk. I got down quite easily but then found myself in thick jungle. I carried on for a while unable to find any way back up to the ridge that nobody hikes. So I walked all the way around the ridge scared that if I moved away from it I would get lost in the jungle alone. I made it all the way over to where the ridge meets the Karak highway at the Gombak toll there. I briefly looked to see if it was accessible to climb the ridge from over here but like the whole trip once I climbed down, it was overgrown and difficult to navigate. I didn’t have a parang or anything to make it easier. After I rounded the end of the ridge by the Gombak toll, I headed back the other side of the ridge. I ended up accidentally walking through a building site near Gombak LRT station and finally found my way to Gombak LRT and headed home from there. It was a very long, sweaty, scratchy, itchy (mosquitoes), and at times a lonely and boring trek. But it was an adventure nonetheless.

2.       Another difficult trip I had here was taking my friend JP up here when he visited me in Kuala Lumpur. I was still recovering from food poisoning but decided it wouldn’t be too difficult. I took him up Bukit Tabur East. I believe it was only my 2nd time up the east side. The whole way up and down I felt bad and had to stop regularly to rest and get back my breath. Which JP roasted me the whole way up about my constant stopping.

3.       I’ve camped here two times both times with Han Lay; both times were enjoyable experiences. The second time we pitched the tent in pouring rain - me in my underwear to keep my other clothes dry. Later Han gave me a cheap plastic poncho to stop me freezing in the wind and rain. It’s great camping with Han we talk about all sorts, don’t plan much and normally just take a loaf of bread and some spread for food. Good times.

4.       The last memorable experience of hiking Bukit Tabur was the time we brought a Tabur newbie for our first attempt of Far East, Extreme, and Extra. We arrived where Waze and Google Maps say there is a path up but turns out this path is hard to follow despite trying to follow Google Maps. We ended up hiking for hours and hours extra fighting our way through jungle that didn’t have paths until we reached just below Extra. We had to climb up as there was no obvious path around. We made it to top of Extra just before it was about to get dark. We then quickly walked back the path along the bottom of Extreme all the way over to the part where the path goes up to Far East then headed down from here. We just reached the orchard field below Far East as it was dark. We then didn’t know the way around this area so ended up heading over to the area to start and end Bukit Tabur East. I also had stupidly hiked the whole thing in slippers including the parts climbing up through jungle that didn’t have paths. It was an adventure that involved quite a lot of suffering but for me and Han Lay this is our cup of tea.

5.       Today with my Javanese/Sumatran Mas Talman, I saw a family of Gibbons (Ungka). One young one, almost a baby just stared at me for about a minute. Before the others had all left and he decided he should catch them up haha. Also two puppies came and licked my legs at the end of the West Tabur trail, guess my legs tasted salty :P Oh and we also saw a male peacock walking the road around there. All round, the day was a wildlife safari :D 

Image from google images, for visual purposes only

6. http://batu-yang-hidup.tumblr.com/post/163902214770/missing-gopro-in-the-jungle

[batu-yang-hidup]

Engagement

Hey how you doing? Going to keep this as brief as I can. This is the story of asking a question to a very special woman in my life. Video can be found here Youtube 

The story starts in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. I had a day off so had messaged Emily, my girlfriend’s dad to ask if we could meet up for a drink to talk. I also asked him not to share with Emily that I was meeting up with him. Side note I managed to sneakily get her dad’s number when I was using her phone in the car for waze(gps) without her seeing. Anyway to cut the story a bit shorter he agreed and also asked to bring along Emily’s mum.

So on my day off in the early evening, after Emily’s dad had finished work I met up with them both at a mamak in Petaling Jaya. It was a little uncomfortable as I hadn’t known them a long time. I’d only met them a couple of times before. After a short time of small talk with both her parents, Emily’s dad asked me why I had wanted to meet up for a chat. So I gave him my short spiel about how I wanted his blessing in asking his daughter to marry me. Then after a quite a long interrogation from him and his wife they said they gave their blessing, and that Emily was very special to them and that they were happy as long as I treated her well.  That’s the short version.

So from that chat all the way until she met up with me in Wales, where I had gone back to renew my passport and attend close friend’s wedding. That’s three or so months since asking her parents for their blessing, that she didn’t have any clue. The secret was kept right up until I popped the question. My whole immediate family knew, as did hers before she did.

So I took her up Mt Snowdon. I prepared her with what to bring and brought her up to the summit and then back down. On the way down I took her away from the main path for some privacy. We had a quick snack, I then set up her phone with the story that I wanted to take a picture together with the timer. But in fact I was taking a video. I then knelt down said my piece and pulled out the ring. 

Another side note the ring was too difficult to get as a surprise and to make sure it fit her etc. I went to a bunch of jewellery shops the same day I met with her parents haha, but to keep it surprise and get a ring she’d like I decided to get a prop ring for the engagement. Then later we went ring shopping using all the knowledge I’d gained looking myself beforehand. Thankfully she said yes, it was a great feeling after that. Then on the rest of the way down Snowdon Emily was in shock and asked how I planned it all. So I shared as we walked down. 

Ephesians 5: 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[b] her by the washing with water through the word

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Missing Gopro In The Jungle

This whole tale starts with my friend Han Lay telling me he had been up Bukit Tabur west two or three days before, and that when he was up there his Gopro Session had fallen off and gone over the edge. As Bukit Tabur is a steep sided ridge and a pretty long one at that, not to mention with dense jungle on both sides. I thought there was a very small chance to find it. I asked did he remember the place where it fell down and he said yes. Then he asked if I’d follow him to go look for it. If I’m being honest I didn’t expect to find it as it was such a difficult place to find it. But as I love the place and he’s a good friend I said why not. Han Lay suggested we invited a mutual friend named John. So we all met up chilled for a while at John’s place.

Then we headed to LRT one of Kuala Lumpur’s metro train lines over to near Bukit Tabur. We then grabbed an Uber from the train station. Actually funny story about that, Han Lay had poor data signal there so ended up ordering a whole bunch of cars to the LRT station by accident and taking the first one that arrived. At the base of Tabur we met an uncle asking for a permit. I’ve read you need a permit but the times I’ve been I’ve never seen anyone checking. Anyway the guy was a legend just got us to sign the book at the start and off we went. Made it to the part Han Lay remembered as the place he dropped it. I got my climbing rope out that I brought along to abseil down to look for the Gopro. At the spot just a short distance down from the top was a tree on a slope. So I got the rope out and thought to myself, instead of struggling down to this tree with the rope in my hands I’d throw it to the bottom of these couple of small tree trunks next to each other and it would get stuck. It did for a few seconds but then it slipped around the side and continued down the slope and off the sheer edge at the bottom of this soil slope. I was dumbfounded at my stupidity and quite annoyed I’ve barely used this rope and it’s disappeared down off the cliff into the jungle. I was thinking that’s an expensive mistake just like Han Lay dropping his Gopro in almost the exact same place.

So to cut the story shorter, we headed back the way we came but Han Lay was convinced it wasn’t so steep all the way back to the start. I wasn’t so sure, so Han Lay kept looking for a way down into the jungle that wouldn’t kill us by falling off a steep bit of rock. Fair play he found it and it saved us a tonne of time. We were now at the bottom of Bukit Tabur. Next thing we had to do was head along the bottom of the ridge looking for a blue climbing rope as we went. Miraculously we found it after not too long. And as a result knew the rough area that Han Lay’s Gopro must have fallen down. It seemed it was quite a popular place to drop things from above. We found a couple of iPhones, some other hand phones, as well as a few other things like water bottles etc.

Eventually Han Lay with his eagle eyes spotted his Gopro caught up in some jungle plants on the rock about 12 feet or so up. We both tried climbing to it but it was a bit sketchy. So I got a long stick climbed as close as I could safely and used the stick to knock it down. The relief all around after, was a good feeling. I think Han Lay and I enjoyed the whole adventure a whole lot more, because we were returning home without a hole burning in our pockets. On the way down we had enough time for a quick mess around in a small waterfall then back home via Uber and LRT. It was a good day out for sure.

[batu-yang-hidup]

Gunang Nuang Take 2

Most of the stuff I got up to since I paused my blogging, adventure wise anyway was re-visiting places from previous blogs starting with going back to Gunung Nuang. This time there was a few new faces and new adventures had.

This time I hiked with a very heavy bag, the bag was really uncomfortable and most of the others brought small bags so couldn’t carry as much. I carried one of the lamb legs, which was about 5kg along with some other food. The bag had little back support. I borrowed it from my girlfriend (now my fiancée) who told me it wasn’t good and had bad back support. But seeing as it was a one off camping trip and I just needed a big bag it did its job.

The leg of lamb I just mentioned was actually one of two. I enjoyed the good food but personally I’d prefer just bringing light and easy to cook food. You can eat good food before or after a hike. Why bother add extra weight and extra energy into carrying, preparing, and cooking luxury food. That been said it was fun doing it as a group. A new experience that not many other camping groups have, so far inside the jungle. If I do it again I’d prefer some camping spot closer to the start of the hike. Along with a more even distribution of weight in everyone’s bags.

Another highlight was killing and preparing a wild frog to eat. I’m all for killing as humanely as possible and only for food. Our camp master and a few others of us were swimming at night in the river at camp Lolo, when someone spotted a big frog inside next to the small waterfall there. Our camp master who has many years of experience hiking and camping in Malaysia’s jungles quickly prepared a crude weapon from a bamboo pole. He cut parts off the top so it was a bit like a pitch fork. He then stuck it into the frog quickly and with force and then after a very short time of discussion, over who was going to stab it with camp masters knife to finish it off.

I put myself forward; I’m always open for new experiences. I’m almost certain it’s the biggest thing I’ve killed on purpose. Others were animals that ran out in front of the car last minute. To cut the story short after a while I went for a nap inside the tent only to wake up later to find out they had cooked and ate the entire frog and I didn’t get a chance to try it. They said they tried to wake me but I didn’t hear a thing. :(

The last vivid memory I have from this trip was attempting to hike up to the summit with my good friend Han Lay. More of us said we were up for it but when I woke up at 5am, it was only me outside the tent. I then woke Han Lay which was a bit of a struggle, and then we woke and asked the others if they wanted to join but they all decided against it. So we set off just the two of us. It’s much longer than I expected and when we reached a checkpoint on the way it was covered in fog, wet, cold, and dark we weren’t sure if it was the summit or not. So we decided to not go any further as we both hadn’t walked this path before.

On the way up to the place we turned back, we hadn’t seen another living soul, it was just the two of us on the path. This felt quite unnerving in the dark, with the jungle all around you. On the way down we passed all the other people heading up early to the summit. Heading back turned out to be the right choice as by the time we got back to camp the others were awake and ready to go back to the cars.

Since then the others have all been back again which I wasn’t able to attend and all made it to the summit. I’m now the only one to not have made it haha. One day I’ll head up there myself. All in all another chilled trip with a good bunch of guys. Both trips with these guys haven’t been stressed affairs it’s just hike, camp and do what you want, no real pressure to do this and do that etc.

More pictures will be posted here on Batu Yang Hidup’s facebook page later on.

Also posted a video catching the frog to eat on Batu Yang Hidup’s Youtube channel, link here. More videos to come of preparing the frog to cook....

[batu-yang-hidup]

New Chapter of Outdoor Adventure

Hey there, it’s been a while. Haven’t blogged for quite some time now. As I’ve been quite busy since I last blogged. Mainly I was transitioning from being a teacher at an NGO school in Kuala Lumpur, to an outdoor instructor in a small town on the Selangor/Negeri Sembilan border.

I spent a lot of this time away from Batu Yang Hidup, searching for a full time position here in Malaysia. Which involved a surprising amount of setbacks, travelling, a few almost yes’, starting only as part time. Until finally being offered a full time position. Whilst this was going on I got sick a few times, had a problem getting any internet at one point and a few other things.

Once I finally started this position full time, it coincided with the busiest part of the year for residential camps. Only now has everything settled down a bit and I have a regular routine where I feel comfortable. But during my time out from blogging I wasn’t complacent on my climbing, hiking and general adventure. So I’ll post some short blog posts about some of the stuff I got up to during this time.

God has been good to me over this whole period, just like he always is. It was a difficult time with a lot of uncertainty. Also there were quite a lot of difficult decisions I had to make which will shape my future. It all feels now like it was worth a little hardship. The experience has taught me how to trust more, not give up, and a lot more besides. 

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Climbing falls

Hey, hope you are well? I haven’t done a blog post for quite a while now. I’m currently back home in my native Wales. This post is a simple one; it’s a video that was shot last time I was back here actually. It’s shot at Llanberis Slate quarries in the Snowdonia National Park in Wales. It’s taken so long to put up because this is my first ever edited video. Here’s a link to it on: YouTube

The video is of my friend Sam having quite a big fall, in which some in-situ gear gives way and he hits the floor. Fortunately the in-situ gear takes some of the force out of the fall, along with the nut he placed below. A bonus fall is at the end, of Sam again but on a different climb (fool’s gold). It’s from the same day, just after he got back on and finished the climb (Solstice) he fell off previously. I’m going to put the full length unedited versions up on the YouTube channel as well.  YouTube channel click here

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Thailand: Krabi, Railay Beach

Videos for this blog, uploaded here       All the pictures from the trip, found here

I had to go on a visa run to Thailand and since it’s pretty famous for rock climbing, I thought it would be a good idea to go rock climbing whilst there. I have hardly any time to go climbing in my spare time in Malaysia, so haven’t made any climbing buddies yet. So as I know no one in South East Asia (SEA) that can lead belay. I used an instructor from a company called real rocks. 

No real problem with them. Only thing I’d say about all the operations I saw at Railay is they’re probably a little less safety conscious than the UK from the feelings I got, but nothing I was worried about. Was great having a human guide book who could show me around.

Whilst there I did my first ever leads in SEA. If you read my previous blog post from a good while back now, “Damai wall, Batu Caves part 2” you will remember I attempted to lead climb before in Malaysia but lack of practice and novice belayer put an end to that.

It was full on, from months and months of no climbing to a whole day just climbing. Really loved it though, and my instructor was a really great guy he pushed me to climb harder than I thought I was capable to. It was a great confidence booster, after so long not climbing outdoors and not leading to get back into it.

The craziest and probably the coolest thing about the day climbing at Railay Krabi was that my Instructor Wan could speak Malay as well as Thai and English. Many people around this part of the world are trilingual or at least bilingual.  It being Thailand I really wasn’t expecting a Malay speaking instructor. I found out he spoke Malay by asking if he was from Krabi, he told me he was from south Thailand.

Then I remembered that the south of Thailand has a strong connection with Malaysia as it is inhabited by many Malays. The current border between Malaysia and Thailand was only decided between Britain and Thailand after World War 2 from what I’ve read. So from then on we spoke mostly in English but every now and again I spoke some of my very broken Malay. 

At some points he thought I was better than the very basic level I have, so I had to stop him and tell him I didn’t understand haha. He appreciated that I tried though, as he also didn’t expect me an orang putih (white person) to be able to speak any Malay. So if you go climbing in Railay Krabi and use real rocks, tell Wan, the guy from Kuala Lumpur who spoke bad Malay says hi.  

Today is Christmas Eve, so I’ll take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Christmas.

Luke 2:11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

[batu-yang-hidup]

Bukit Tabur

Here’s my story of walking Bukit Tabur for the first time. I packed up the night before and woke up in time to catch the first LRT at 6am. Arrived at Sri Rampai LRT station it takes about 40mins to walk from the LRT station to start of the walk. You can also walk to it from Wangsa Maju LRT station it’s about the same distance and time, I choose Sri Rampai as the route google maps showed me looked easier to navigate. Taking a taxi from either of these stations is also an option as the start of the walk isn’t that far from the stations.

Waiting for the LRT to leave at 6am

Sri Rampai LRT station

If you have your own car you can drive right to the base. Parking is limited and the later you arrive the less chance you’ll have of finding a good place to park. Can get closer using rapidkl bus then the LRT but not sure about that, you’ll have to find that yourself. It wasn’t that busy even though I went on a Saturday, the Merdeka weekend some more. Although when I got down and was heading home a lot more cars were parked at the base.

Walking from LRT to Bukit Tabur

I had been planning to go for over a year. I could see it every day from one of the classrooms, where I volunteer. It kept calling me to go climb it. For quite a while I didn’t even know what it was called or how to get to the base of it, but with a little research, I found out what I needed to know. Then it was a waiting game, to be able to find some free time to go. I was going to go with some friends but got fed up with trying to find some mutual time we could go, so just went by myself.

I blasted the route in about 2hrs walking pretty fast as I was by myself and wanted to finish early before 10am when it starts to get a lot hotter. I didn’t aim for a time to finish but in the end finished the Bukit Tabur part at almost exactly 10am. Then I just had the 40mins walk back to the LRT station. The route could be done quicker if mountain running is your thing. Or slower if taking in the views and having a picnic are your preferences. Also if it’s busy and you are in a group both factors would add on a significant amount of time. If your group, aren’t fit or confident at heights. Another reason for finishing it quickly was I wanted to go and check out the Bersih 4 protest which was pretty interesting. It’s the first ever rally/protest I’ve seen in person.

About the actual route itself, there are quite a few places you have to climb that are quite steep and if they were longer would be best tackled roped up. But as they are short and easy, if taken slowly with confidence there’s no need. This is not the best introduction to hiking as it requires some experience of hiking and scrambling. There’s especially one spot that requires a lot of caution as this has been the scene of a few accidents but can be navigated around using an easier route.

It was an awesome hike and the views breathtaking because there was no haze. I’ll defiantly walk this route many times again, if I’m given the chance. I have an idea to do some kind of future video glorifying God on top of here. Time will tell if that is possible but all things are possible with God :)

 All of the pictures can be found on the facebook page:click here

Youtube videos from the trip can be found here: click here

[batu-yang-hidup]

Xero Gravity

Hey how you doing? Hope you are well.  For quite some time I’ve wanted to check out this climbing gym, Xero Gravity. Actually as soon as I found out that it existed I wanted to go and see what it was like. It’s quite a new place it hasn’t been open that long. The reason I found out about this place is because I was trying to find out about other possible climbing gyms I hadn’t been to. As Camp5 and Madmonkeyz are both out of the way for me. So I finally got round to going, and this is what I think of the place.

Getting there for me is very easy. I took the LRT to Masjid Jamek then changed lines and headed to Taman Jaya LRT. That route takes 40mins and Rm3.40 one way, I think. Not bad at all seeing as I don’t have a car. Camp5 is quite difficult to get to in comparison but once the MRT is finished and the station at 1Utama is up and running, expect that gym to get a lot busier. Madmonkeyz is situated near Wangsa Maju LRT station, but it’s quite a walk from the station to that gym. Xero Gravity is just 5mins walk from the LRT station, so that is a major plus for all those that use public transport, tourists and locals alike. Price is about the same as the other climbing gyms in Kuala Lumpur and no complaints really, it’s not that pricey considering the facilities. The staff are also super friendly and helpful at least they were when I went there.

I really liked the facilities. The first impression when I came through the doors was nice, looks nice. The changing room is better in terms of light and space, than the other gyms I've been to. They have a big outdoor roof space, which has a nice pool and small futsal court. I'm sure they’ll utilise this space even more in the future.  The swimming pool is not that big and not deep but has a cool boulder bridge over it. It was a refreshing way for me and my friend to cool down after getting hot inside. It has a cafe that looks like it sells good food, but we didn't eat there this time. It also has an area selling climbing gear but didn't look closely at that.

Now the important part, the whole reason of going here, climbing. I would say from my first visit overall it was a good experience. There are a lot of boulder problems; you won’t run out quickly of different routes to boulder, so that is good. Also they have something quite unique I’ve not seen it at a gym before. It’s these suspended blocks that move when you touch them which you can boulder between. They are very cool although routes set on them were too hard for me. Also the pool boulder bridge thing is unique as far as I know. The only down side for the climbing facilities is that there’s not many roped climbs. They are also all pretty short due to the ceiling height of the gym and as of yet there’s no lead climbs to do. I’m very sure the rope climbs will get better though, as it’s quite a new gym. Already most parts of the gym are in very good shape. So, more of their time can be spent on tweaking the parts that can be improved.  

We finished by having dinner at A&W, which is right next to the LRT station another plus if you like A&W. Fun experience all in all. At the moment I’m very aware and super grateful to God, for all of the new experiences I’m having every single week here in Kuala Lumpur. The first visit to this climbing gym is yet another one.  

I’ve uploaded all the extra photos to facebook and some YouTube videos simultaneously for the first time ever. All the content is up at one time, so I hope you enjoy at least one thing.

[batu-yang-hidup]

Gunung (Mountain) Nuang

Gunung Nuang is the tallest mountain in Selangor, Elevation: 1,493m (4,898ft). The mountain borders Selangor and Pahang. There are three paths to the top. We took the path that leads to Camp Lolo, which begins near Kuala Pangsoon.

I joined this trip last minute, the afternoon of the day they planned to leave, because one of the guys had to drop out. Earlier in the day I had visited some of the students with my fellow teachers. As it was the first day of Hari Raya Puasa (Eid-al-Fitr) holiday. It was pretty stressful getting ready so quickly.

This trip was all about the camping in the jungle. We didn’t hike to the summit. We hiked for about 4hrs with camping equipment to camp Lolo. Below are the main highlights I remember the most. 

One highlight was fishing for the first time, even though I didn't catch anything. I got some bites on the rod only, but it was still interesting. Another highlight was Norman’s skill with the parang(machete) and all the different uses he found for bamboo.

One more highlight or perhaps lowlight was the tent we slept in. Nothing wrong with the tent but we put it on top of a lot of big stones. Also just a little bit too small for all of us to sleep comfortably. Everyone was jammed in with no room to move. With all us having a stone poke into us somewhere, from below the tent.

The fire was and always is a highlight. We cooked all our food on it, heated the river water to kill germs for drinking, dried our clothes, and used it for heat and light. Always fun to have a fire. We burnt a lot of wood and had to search far to carry back the logs. Related to fire and cooking we cooked our own simple bread using the fire another first for most including myself, was tasty.

Last thing I want to share about our trip is the river. As we were packing up to go home, the heavens opened and the rain came down hard and fast. This caused the river we camped next to, to rise extremely quickly. It had covered all the area we used for our fire, by the time we left.

Group pic from left: Norman, Me, Ahmad, Raymond, Jeremy, Larrie, Han Lay

We then set off back towards the cars at the bottom of the mountain. We quickly came to a river crossing point at camp Lolo, just down from where we were camping. The river was hammering it down, it was very swollen. We waited a long time for it to drop. Then eventually others that were further up the mountain joined us where we were waiting. A few guys just went across. They made it but with a struggle.

At the time it made me think just how precious life from God is. I know from the small amount of knowledge and experience I have about white water, that if they had been knocked off their feet, there would have been a very high chance they would have drowned. It is very hard to get back on your feet when the river is coming down that fast. Also there were lots of low branches and obstacles that they would have got caught up in. All for the sake of waiting another hour or so, people risk their lives. Everyone is guilty of this in their lives. We are very strange, us humans.

No videos from me this time. More photos from the trip to go on the facebook page later. 

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All pictures were taken by the others

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Climbing Presentation

A couple of months ago I decided I was going to do a presentation on rock climbing. I gave the presentation to the class I volunteer for, mainly as their English teacher. I wanted to pass on some of my enthusiasm for rock climbing to them. I introduced three types of climbing to them, traditional climbing, sport climbing and bouldering. I explained the differences between these three types of climbing and the basics of climbing. Such as climbing calls, equipment, and technique.

My presentation skills are nothing to shout about and so in both of the classes I did the presentation I had a few bored students resting their heads on the tables. You can’t win them all.

On the other hand there were also a few very interested students who asked a good number of questions. I think the piece de resistance though was when they were allowed to try on the climbing equipment. The second time I did the presentation I also unravelled the rope, and wrapped up the students in it. This led to a minute or so of chaos. You can’t really blame them it’s exactly what I would have done as a teenager.

I’ve been away from my class for a good while now. If all goes to plan though I should be back with them this coming week. I’ve missed all of them despite the stress they can cause. God has given me so much joy from rock climbing. He has really put it on my heart to teach others what I know and use it to bring glory to him.  I’m still really enjoying introducing more people to the basics of rock climbing. They can then decide if they want to explore the joys of rock climbing for themselves.

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Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam: Skytrex

Just a quick blog post from something I did last month. Me and my friends (actually more my brothers and sisters from the department I volunteered with last year), went to Skytrex at Bukit Cahaya. Surprisingly, despite volunteering at outdoor centres for three years in the past, I had never been on any high ropes courses. This was a first.

For YouTube video click here:

Due to the other more challenging courses been fully booked and the fact that all of us weren’t willing to spend more than the RM35 this time around, we only did the beginner course. This course wasn't very high off the ground, wasn't very long and the challenges were all pretty easy. The best obstacle on this course is the flying fox (zipwire). Pretty fun for RM35 but next time I go, I’ll want to go on the more challenging courses.

Here’s another Youtube video from the trip: Video

Also, when waiting for the time we booked, we cycled around the park on hired bikes. All of the bikes aren’t in very good order, especially the brakes. Guess it makes it a bit more exciting haha.

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Langkawi

Two pretty exciting things before I begin to tell you about the trip to Langkawi. At least they are for me anyway haha. Batu Yang Hidup now has Instagram click here and a GoPro camera to take pictures and videos with!!!

Me and six friends decided to go to Langkawi for the Chinese New Year holidays. It was a good decision made by, I’m not sure exactly haha. I won’t share in detail exactly what we did but just tell you some of the highlights.

One of the most enjoyable things about the trip was that we hired automatic bikes (scooters) and rode all over the island. Great fun, cheap and created a lot of fun stories. We hired 4 and it cost us RM60 each as well as having to pay a RM100 deposit. Make sure you go very early before your ferry or flight to get your deposit back as we had to negos(French for negotiate :p) lots in order to get it quickly before our ferry.

Another highlight was a boat trip around a few of Langkawi’s islands. We went to the pregnant lady lake, eagle feeding, and some other place for snorkelling. The whole thing was pretty fun but not that great value at RM35 each. The snorkelling sucked,  if you want good snorkelling make sure it’s not called fun snorkelling and try and head for Pulau Payar. It also sucked because I stepped on a sea urchin when swimming and it was really painful.

The food is very nice here and not that expensive, if you check around the cafes and restaurants. If you go on a major holiday like Chinese New Year, plan so you get back to where you come from in time for work, study etc. It took us 11 hours from Kuala Lipis to Kuala Lumpur leaving Lipis at 12pm and arriving in KL at 11pm. We used the bus and ferry both ways which cost RM136 each for ferry and bus, there and back. Hope some of this is useful if you plan to go there yourself. No rock climbing this time but there’s certainly lots of rock there to be climbed at some point in the future, God willing. A fun adventure indeed.

More pictures from the trip will be added to the facebook page , all social media links are at the top right of this page if your using a computer. Also some videos from the trip will be added to Batu Yang Hidup’s Youtube channel once I get time to look through and upload them. Click here for the first one

RM= Malaysian Rinngit 

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Broga Hill

Friends from work decided they wanted to climb Brogan Hill and invited me along. There was no real plan apart from: buy some water and snack supplies, take some mats to sleep on, and sleep on the floor somewhere near the bottom of the hill. We followed the plan exactly.

We faced no big problems; there were a few minor ones like not enough torch lights etc. The fact we hadn’t taken a long time to plan it out and it was so spontaneous made it more enjoyable. That can’t always be said for all things in life haha.

We went down after work on Friday, got 3 or 4 hours sleep max, woke up and started off up the hill. We stayed at the top until sunrise, and then we headed back down. It was a really good time of bonding with Azlan, Han Lay and Jeremy.

There’s nothing particularly challenging about the walk. Few places require concentration to avoid slipping over. There’s little chance of taken a big fall on Broga, unless you go looking for it. Finding your way is easy, the path is obvious. Be careful if you are walking part or all of it, in the dark. Don’t blindly follow others, also have a good head torch so you can see any drops ahead.