I am The Unstoppable Explorer

Having an adventure life has a (lot) of story/experience of its own. Myself, has always been, and still am an adventurer/explorer. Unstoppable, maybe, as i try to do something new every time, doing something for the first time is always thrilling, and few times after always enlightening, more exciting. see, there's no 'boring' word when you go on exploring, as it never ends.

My adventure life began way back in 1999, venturing the depth of Malaysian forest and scaling moutain's peak, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia.  

We were kind a crazy bout scaling the G7 mountains, namely Gunung Tahan, Gunung Yong Belar, Gunung Yong Yap, Gunung Korbu, Gunung Gayung, Gunung Chamah and Gunung Ulu Sepat, with most of them lies on the Titiwangsa Range, and travel days (mostly on foot)  took around 3 to 7 days, each trip. Imagine walking in the dense of a virgin forest, from 10 in the morning till 2 in the morning the next day, and continue again for another day, with heavy load on our back. There's no easy way to reach these peaks. You need to walk long hours in order to catch up with the 'itinerary' as if we got delayed, we gonna stuck there prolly longer. (Mind you, now with developments, some routes are cut short, meaning less traveling days)

This 'craziness' brought us to the depth of the forest that sometimes, even the trail is no longer there. Countless encounter with tiger's footprint, doesnt stop us from exploring the jungle and get to the peak. Once there, we spent the night and went back the same way we came.  

You should try to hike from Taman Negara in Pahang. It offers magnificent view along the way. From a thick jungle, to a crystal clear river, walking on a limestone path that is just a metre wide, and spent a night on top of Gunung Tahan, where you get a splendid view atop.

Those experience were priceless, as i dont really get the chance to do it again nowadays.

That hobby kind a halt after i had to leave and work abroad, in one of the Middle east country. Where the people there speaks 90% Arabic, and i was there with only my broken English (obviously, they dont speak Malay). Survived living there for 5 years, and what i learned, experienced during those years, really changed me, somehow. 

Living in such hardship environment really thought me to be really really grateful of what i have now. Just imagine living with people that dont speak your language,  but being one of the poorest countries around, life is hard, and its always about survival every day.  From time to time i went to explore their local markets, try to learn Arabic (its hard, seriously) and try the local food. Although they are poor, they work hard for their earn, and what touches me most, every time, seeing homeless behind a shelter made from paper boxes, with the weather almost 0 degrees at night (during winter). yes, they have cold season. without the snow that is.

Its always an adventure every day. Hop into the local bus and try to navigate to places I wish to go is one thing. It can be quite difficult and frustrating, but once i acquired the language, life is much easier. I talk about everything to everyone i met on the street! although im pretty sure they only understand 10% of what im talking about :P

After a couple of years there, i had the chance to visit Egypt, and see for myself how big the pyramid is. and guess what, while inside it,  i even got the chance to climb up to the chamber where the pharaoh coffin's once rested. Nothing much there. Its pretty big, it is.
 

Knowing what you do and the risk involved is always my priority whenever im venturing into something/somewhere. And be it with friends or by myself, always tell yourself that you have to always respect others.  Try to blend in, and dont try to attract unnecessary attention.

After 5 years, its time to go home. Strangely, i felt so attached to the city im living in, that i wanted to stay there even longer.

The first thing that i did once im back, joined an adventure race! I had a chance to take part in few adventure races after that, as well as rogaining and few urban races around the city of KL.  

My latest escapade is hunting! err.. not shooting anything, but a treasure hunter! .. no.. no.. im not taking any ship anywhere, just solving riddles around town and find the right 'treasure'. I took part in few treasure hunts, and of lately, they have introduce a hybrid version, more like adventure race/explorace treasure hunt, which i must say, interassant! 
We had the chance to explore the city, the back roads, places of interest (which we might not go if it wasn't because of the race) so, its kind a awesome urban adventure!

 

From time to time, i took the chance to join outings organized by Selangor Tourism, known as TSDayOut, which bring me to places in Selangor that i've never been to (like Kuala Selangor and such) and was surprised on how much about my own Negeri i didnt know of. TS Eat out introduce me to eatery with menus mouth savory, and that is, somehow challenging to my diet as well :P

Always a cheerful bunch

I did community projects and volunteering too, although you might not really see what's challenging about that, but for me, what i can explore while at it, matters. From river cleaning to planting trees, there's always something you could try out there. Meeting new friends is a must, and that's something. Interaction. And what i can give back to society.

Community run :

Larian 40 Taman and Adination of Runners. Although some runners from Adination are no longer doing their training @ Taman Putra Perdana, they are actively taking part in running events around. Seen in picture also the  team from Larian 40 Taman, a community run initiated by Bro M.Zul, to bring forward local parks around Klang Valley (we even ran @ serembang 2), which surprisingly, i have never heard of it, until we went there and did few laps there. So we did explore new parks, which some, you should visit.


Cycling

Cycling gets you to enjoy greenery Malaysia has to offer, from palm oil plantation in Gopeng, the serenity of kampung(s) in Langkawi to agricultural slopes in Kundasang, there’s a breathtaking view in each of these scenic places.  Its always an adrenaline rush whenever you rode down the steep slope or going downhill, but make sure that your brake is working fine.
 

Running

Running helps me to stay in shape, and i did that often. Running bring me places, to parks, or even on a Penang Bridge. Nop, u dont get to run on that bridge any other time. Special wey.. or on the F1 circuit during the last Energizer Night Race. Truly memorable! (although it took me 6hrs something to finish the run, at 2 in the morning!) :P

Running always challenged me to go to the limit of distance. I've done a couple of marathons, but i think i'll just stop at that. Longer distance requires longer training hours, which i couldnt afford that. I prefer running in half marathon category. But we'll see about that. :) I met lotsa friends doing this, and the best part is, u keep bumping into them in all the running event that you took part.

Trail Running always bring the challenge and adventure of its own. Its more about pushing yourself through the muddy track, while keeping up with your partner, which, sometimes, is much faster than you (im not good when going uphill though) :P shoes with good traction, and sufficient water needed for you to start trail running. And make sure you understand the risk, before trying to attempt it. always.

There were few challenges that i've faced, but the one i think worth sharing, during the 12 Hours Rogaining in Teluk Intan, Perak. 

It was sooo tiring! Zombie-fying kinda. I mean sleepy. No, it was mental torture! With an injured team mate, growling stomach, cold night wind, pitch black night and trying to stay awake all night pushed me to the limit. my leg wanted to stop walking, but my brain forced them not to. Its like a conflict within myself, while trying to get to one check point to another. In short, I felt like a zombie.   

Although we didn’t complete the race, we did went for 10 out of 12 checkpoints, which is acceptable to complete the race. We went through the agonizing night by supporting each other, keeping everyone spirit's high, and trying our best to complete the race, or atleast, get to as much check points as we could. Sometimes, its not all about winning, its about how you go through it together.  

Always be prepared before you going for an adventure, as for me, these items are essentials :

Water proof smart phone! Which would be a good companion nowaday. a must. put it inside a seal-off plastic, poof! its water proof. It would certainly help us during any race, and with all the apps inside, finding our way would be much easier, whether its raining or not. and battery/power bank that could help power the phone.

A hydration bag, water purifying tablets, a compass, a headlamp and good hiking shoes to embark your journey into the wilderness. And a good partner to look out for each other.

While racing around the city, your sense of humor and good instinct/direction needed to win a race. And good companion of team mates (which didn’t argue much of whatever I told them to do) should be fine :P haha.. i love being a captain of the team. 

And always, always know your limit, your body's limit before attempting anything risky. Well you can opt one day and try running a marathon, but with proper training and so on. :) 

Thats all? No way! Im sure there will be come adventure to come. always. :P and im ready for the next new thing to try. Always wonder how the world looks like up on a balloon, kan?

End of part 1. Lets continue to part 2, where i wish to share about Astro On-The-Go.

Explore and watch your favourite programmes and the best of Astro anytime, anywhere.

Having Astro on the go, im pretty sure I can view my favourite show almost anywhere in Malaysia. I would certainly want to try to climb up Mount Kinabalu and see if it can be viewed up there, if not that high, prolly at Laban Rata. So im gonna be like the first to try this right? Shus, I said it out loud. Ok who ever get to do this first, let me know :P I wont be climbing any mountain soon, don’t worry, u still got the chance to beat me. But I believe it would kill the boredom by watching my favourite television series at the highest peak in Malaysia! 

 your preference at your fingertip, anywhere you go

choose your device to view em

Please visit www.astroonthego.com for more info regarding this service. Oh its free if you already subscribed to the Super Pack or Multiroom service! What say you? 

 

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