Unforgettable Memories at Mount Kinabalu, Sabah

my malaysia has a place as beautiful as the mount kinabalu in sabah, one of the tallest mountains in south east asia. what a proud moment to have seen it with my own eyes. to breathe the same cool air and to mount the same road that leads to the summit.

note : I didn’t CLIMB mount kinabalu ok (semput!). I just walked a few steps at the first gate for hikers, and went up to the lookout point. all I could do was stand there speechless for a few minutes in awe – marveling at the great beauty of Allah’s creation.

rimbun hutan hijau, permandangan memukau,awan berbalam-balam, udara sejuk nyaman, kabus menebal bagai di kayangan, burung liar bersahutan – indahnya ciptaan Tuhan!

 

“love is like a mountain; hard to climb. but once you’re at the top, the view is beautiful.”~ enjoying the incredible sight with the one you love is priceless.

 

mount kinabalu. the surrounding is stunning. nampak macam middle earth pun ade!

 

I was with my in-laws on this trip to sabah, all planned by mr. khairul. we went to kota kinabalu like a week after raya and spent two nights – which was NOT enough. insyaAllah we’re coming back!

we drove from the city up to the base of mount kinabalu in about 2 hours more or less. there are no petrol stations along the mountain road so be sure to have enough fuel for the return journey too. about halfway there, we just switched off the air-cond and open the windows. the air was refreshingly cool!

before reaching the first gate – ‘pondok timpohon’ (the first station for mountain hikers), we stopped at this lookout point by the roadside. about 15 minutes before timpohon gate. it’s a spacious area as you can see from the family picture below. we were the only ones there so plenty of space to take pictures from many angles.

 

my sis-in-law tina with all her nieces and nephews : eldest khaleef with the ipad, kahfi crouching in front, wafa the only girl, kazim right next and baby khairy.

 

mr, khairul’s mom & dad with cucu kahfi & khairy

 

picture perfect with perfect scenery : my in-laws with the majestic mount kinabalu in the background

 

* * *

 

we continued our drive and soon arrived at the entry point; the first gate; the beginning of the summit trail to mount kinabalu – the ‘timpohon station’. ‘timpohon station’ at 1,866 metres (6,122 ft) is the first gate that hikers pass through before starting their ascend to mount kinabalu. this will take them to the next gate – ‘laban rata’ if I’m not mistaken.

the timpohon station or timpohon gate is located 5km away from the kinabalu park (where you can see some of the amazing species of orchids, ferns and pitcher plants – some of them not found anywhere else in the world. it is also home to the world’s largest flower; the rafflesia.

the air was lovely and cool – nice weather to be out walking. wish I had worn thicker blouse, but then again, I was just loving the cold breeze!

 

my youngest sis-in-law sofia goofing around at the entrance of the first station for the mountain hikers – pretending she’s about to climb the peak! haha siap getting a hug from eldest bro mr. khairul. aww sweet! climb safe, sofia! haha.

 

…and she’s back. after about 2 minutes. haha.

 

I read that it takes roughly about 2 days for the average person to climb mount kinabalu. also, one of mount kinabalu's main attractions is that climbers don't need any special climbing equipment; guess the terrain is such that makes it easier to hike simply by having good walking shoes, a head torch and a sturdy windproof jacket. the paths are marked, and as long as you stay on the marked track, you’ll be fine.

 

 

* * *

 

once you arrive the timpohon station, you could just walk up the stairs and be greeted with a large viewing platform right on the roof. we went straight up, and I was just speechless upon seeing the beauty surrounding me. we were closer to the mountain that at the lookout point by the roadside.

there was a wooden shelter with tables and a few chairs. I just took a chair and sat there; doing nothing but admire the amazing view. I was awe-struck.  

however, my sis-in-law teh and bro-in-law asrar got themselves ‘vistor’s pass’ each from the guard at the timpohon gate, and took few steps further. they went inside through the gate, and followed the ‘climbing trail’.

 

‘summit trail’

 

on the lower part of mount kinabalu, the trail is similar to what you see in those pictures. the last part of the climb at the top is just plain granite rock.

 

my sis-in-law teh and bro-in-law asrar went out of way and found this gorgeous little waterfall – ‘carson fall’, a popular photo-spot for visitors. wish we went along with you guys!

 

* * *

 

overall here’s my conclusion :

1) mr. khairul is inspired to climb mount kinabalu with his boys khaleef, kahfi and kazim one fine day. yes, without mak thank you very much!

2) I remember standing there high up looking down on the carpet of trees surrounding me, and just BREATHE. I took a deep breath, appreciating that such great green place exist amidst modernization

3) it’s not JUST about visiting THE mount kinabalu. it’s about surrounding yourself with Allah’s creation and praise Allah for it. getting lost in the beauty. be one with nature.

I hope I can return to this beautiful place! so long, mount kinabalu. till we meet again!

Rope-Walking & Swing on Trees @ ESCAPE Teluk Bahang, Penang

if you ever need a place filled with trees you can swing from, tight rope where you tread from trees to trees, buildings to climb, tower to jump from, dark rabbit hole to explore – ESCAPE to adventureland teluk bahang in penang.

and yes, you can be 4 or 34 years old and doing this. it’s like all the things you reminisce about doing when you were a kid – you can realize it here at ESCAPE adventureland teluk bahang, penang.

there is something similar to this in dubai, at the mall near oasis center I think – but it’s INSIDE a mall. at ESCAPE adventureland teluk bahang, you get to do it surrounded by trees and clear blue sky.

 

 

so we went last syawal, while back in malaysia. it’s surprising that penang boy mr. khairul didn’t know about this place until now. we were greeted with this pretty resort-like entrance and its signature grass-roof building. beyond it, we could see tall towers with tight rope and obstacles – and people treading carefully on them!

quite a sight. khaleef was excited just like his king-scout dad. me, not so much. haha.

 

we can see people doing balancing act on the ‘monkey business’ where people walk through various obstacle course from pole to pole – with three levels of height!

 

haha. good one!

 

* * *

 

huge park - with so many monkeying around to do! you can see from the map how big the whole park is – even when you’re NOT climbing up or jumping down, you’d still sweat and burn fat as you walk around the whole park, enjoying the greeneries, fresh air and sight of people screaming haha. this is better than legoland!

 

* * *

 

this is the ‘gecko tower’ – a wall-climbing made more interesting because instead of the usual colorful protruding rocks for people to hold on to as they climb, this one is built like a normal apartment. the trick is to use the bars on windows, the net, or the wooden planks on the wall, to propel you to climb further up. totally cool and creative way to spice things up.

 

there’s khaleef in action! he can climb so fast! a natural! you notice that there is a clock right on top to time your climb, making it more challenging.

 

“we survived!” khaleef and his aunty ya (my youngest sis-in-law sofia) after a successful climb! you can see that they’re wearing safety harness and proper hard hat. after they climb together, khaleef took another turn with bapak pulak! sofia said it’s much, much harder than it looks!

 

* * *

 

this is the ONE thing that can appeal to younger kids – the ‘tots trail’ where kids have fun climbing, crawling, balancing in this fun obstacle course. there’s a net, a circular tube to crawl into, a line of rubber tires – plus many other fun obstacles. big kids can try this one too, but for the younger kids like 5 yrs below like kazim, this is probably the ONLY thing that they can enjoy in this park. the rest of the activities are designed for older kids and adults.

 

it’s TOTALLY fun even looking at them from below as they squeezed and treaded along the many different obstacle courses; pretending to be a soldier or a superhero escaping from villains.

 

too bad I didn’t catch him on video, but kahfi was SO FAST! surprisingly so agile and fast-moving! their aunty ya sofia was gaining, while big bro khaleef had to slow down many times to help motivate the skeptical kazim. kazim had trouble trusting the ropes and nets, so a few times I had to stand right underneath them to ease kazim into walking pass it.

 

* * *

 

you can even have picnic here after working up a sweat in those fun activities. take a break and continue playing! speaking of taking a break, there are many stalls here selling food and drinks – no worries.

 

 

want to have money on you but not sure where to keep the coins and ringgit without them falling off as you swing from tree to tree? the park provide you with a CARD – just load the card with cash and then simply swipe whenever you buy stuff. so around the ESCAPE park you only need to carry that one card.

 

believe me, you need a whole lot of big mineral water bottles and tons of ice-cream after spending a day at the park!

 

* * *

 

this is another dare-devil 'activity' called 'atan's leap' which is similar to bungee jumping. mr. khairul has done the actual bungee jumping while studying in the states so this was no biggie. what surprises me was that his little sister sofia tried that one too! that’s HER in the picture jumping off ‘atan’s leap’! I could never do it – bravo sofia!

 

* * *

 

later on khaleef and his dad and aunt tried the 'flying lemur', and 'tarzan's rope' – similar to flying fox.

 

that’s my youngest sis-in-law swinging! look how far she is from the ground that you can’t even see it!

 

* * *

 

finally, khaleef and his bapak went for ‘monkey business’. mr. khairul said he should’ve done this earlier because this activity took a lot of time to complete. better get THIS over and done with first thing when you come here, ok! there are 3 levels – 3rd level is the highest! "suitable for monkeys of all ages," on their website haha.

 

kahfi relaxing underneath all the obstacle courses. we can see them doing the ‘monkey business’ from below.

 

khaleef, I must say – is a natural. he’s fast, he didn’t hesitate and he’s also so calm. he really enjoyed the whole experience. truly a product of a king’s scout mr. khairul. confirm tak dapat dari mak yg kaki bangku haha.

 

 

* * *

 

throughout the park there were also chickens running around freely, giving it a nice kampung feel. here’s kahfi at the geese enclousure. they were so close to him that he could touch them!

 

while waiting for bapak, anong khaleef and aunty ya to finish their ‘monkey business’, kahfi and kazim tried the 'zoom bug' – a human-powered go-kart.

 

nampak fun gile but kazim had difficult time maneuvering. kahfi was fast though. he got onto that thing and rode off as if he’d done this a million times. the 'zoom bug' is right underneath the 'monkey business' so while the younger brothers were racing, they could see (and wave) their dad, bro and aunt treading precariously from the ropes above!

 

 

* * *

 

 

many thanks to the insightful mr. khairul, our boys got to sweat and play at ESCAPE Adventureplay at teluk bahang, penang. they got to swing from trees to trees, climb it, jump from it, walk on tight rope, go into 'caves' and scale the highest tower – all surrounded by nature.

there are a many more activities than the ones I put here. visit their official website ESCAPE adventureland for more information.

it’s a fantastic place to do a lot of physical activities, work up a sweat and get some healthy fun family time. definitely great for friends in huge groups too!

 

haha.

 

one of the posters found in its gift shop. coolness.

 

leave your stress at the office, leave your worrries by the sink, stop the traffic jam, switch off your phones – ESCAPE adventureland, at teluk bahang, penang. we’re already thinking of making this an annual event for our boys!

Movie Review : The Internship, The Way Way Back, Parkland & Pacific Rim

reviewing two comedies, a drama based on true events, and a cool sci-fi. ‘the internship’ is like a google job advertisement disguised as a comedy. ‘the way way back’ is a heartwarming story about finding your place in the world. ‘parkland’ is a true recount of the day US president john f. kennedy was assassinated. and ‘pacific rim’, an american sci-fi that looks suspiciously like those ultraman series I grew up watching…

enjoy.

 

* * *

 

 

‘the internship’ is like a big huge job advertisement for young techies interested in working in a fun, cool, colorful environment – the google office. in the middle of it all they throw in the story of 2 out-of-job middle-aged salesmen looking for a second chance to mend their career.

it’s the usual zero-to-hero, rise-to-glory story – unwanted, not fitting in with the other ‘cool’ google nerds, worse, don’t know squat about computer and its jargons. the two faces many obstacles that further confirms their inadequacy until they ‘come together’ through one successful assignment. this soon motivates them to finally conquer their flaws.

the story is very predictable but the setting is awesome (google office has a slide for its staff. a SLIDE.) and I am a fan of the wilson-vaughn combo since ‘the wedding crasher’. they have good chemistry, with different comic styles that work together.

an easy feel-good movie for fans who dream to be on the google team. keep that dream alive!

 

 

* * *

 

 

I love this movie. the movie poster says it all – sometimes you just feel like you’re – drowning in the crowd. but ‘the way way back’ tells us that no matter how awkward we feel, or how lost and lonely we are, there’s always a place where we can belong. a place of friendship among strangers, happiness in sorrow, and a sense of belonging when we feel abandoned.

14-year old duncan follows his mom & boyfriend to his beach house for summer. bummer. duncan started as aloof, disinterested and quiet, finally found his footing when he befriends the manager of a waterpark. and so begins days of fun and laughter with the merry bunch who works there, making him feel like part of a family; loved, and respected. this is in contrast of his mom’s boyfriend constantly intimidating him.

the cast is fantastic. my favorite is sam rockwell, so wonderful in ‘the way way back’ as the cool, likeable, funny manager of the waterpark. he steals every scene he’s in. I love to hate funnyman steve carell in this as he’s just such a jerk as the mom’s overbearing boyfriend. a mark of a talented actor. making an impact no matter what role he’s in.

liam james is convincing as the shy awkward teen. viewers grow with him in this journey – starting with his emotionless expression till his joyful smile. he’s one to watch.

a feel-good comedy that will get you cheering for the underdogs. highly recommended.

 

 

* * *

 

 

‘parkland’ refers to the hospital in dallas, texas – parkland hospital, where US president john f. kennedy was taken to shortly after he was shot by a sniper. the movie is an intense recollection of the day of the assassination, and the days that followed it. like a newscaster reported, it got ‘..very ugly, very fast.’

the movie starts with the final moment of the president’s life, and follows the nurses and doctors who attended to him at parkland hospital; the random citizen ‘zapruder’ who shot the famous recording of the exact moment the bullet hit the president on the head; the secret service, the law enforcement of texas; and the fbi agents supposedly to have received threats from the would-be assassin in a form of a letter.

all the actors involved gave very moving performance that left me in silent tears – especially the scene where they pronounced his death at the hospital. the sorrowful looks of doctors and nurses. staff waiting on the other side of the door. jackie kennedy’s blood-stained gloved hand. no words needed said. very emotional.

till this day, president kennedy’s assassination is subject to many conspiracy theories eventhough the ‘warren report’ had concluded that harvey lee oswald had acted alone in assassinating the president.

harvey lee oswald was shot dead by a random man 2 days after the assassination, (ironically was treated at parkland where president kennedy died) you can see the stark contrast of their funerals – one, a heartbroken nation mourning the loss of a fallen hero and another, a quiet farewell to an outcast, shunned by all including the surrounding churches.

a very well-made movie for people to experience that dark day for americans, and about the lives of people it affected.

 

 

* * *

 

 

‘pacific rim’ is a cool movie. to me, it may be the coolest, pointless movie I’ve ever seen. haha. it’s simply a movie about cool robots fighting raksasa made from unbelievably awesome CGI work. I wasn’t watching a movie. I was watching a 2-hour demo on how far human can stretch their CGI capabilities. the CGI was amazing, but that’s about it.

I mean tell me if this sounds familiar – huge 100-storey high monsters that look like mutated lizards called ‘kaiju’ (japanese for ‘strange beasts’. duuh.) kept terrorizing the city, so humans build their own ‘monsters’ in the form of equally huge robots called ‘jaegers’ to fight them. these huge ‘jaeger’ robots are operated by 2 pilots each, strapped in a special suit connected in the head of the ‘jaeger’.

it’s like the makers of the film thought – hey, how can we turn all those cheesy japanese ultraman series into one bad-ass cgi-heavy blockbuster? the result is – ‘pacific rim’. the concept of ‘super robot’ – robot with immense size equipped with incredible high-tech weaponry has long been introduced in the japanese manga and anime.

‘pacific rim’ took that idea, and turn it into a movie. watch it if you like robots. and raksasa. me? I actually skipped all the talking scenes, and just watched the endless jaw-dropping fight sequence between the kaiju (monster) and jaeger (human-operated robot), with that cool soundtrack on the background.

forget plot lines, forget character development, or clever script. there are only two reasons to watch this movie : the cool robots, and the cool soundtrack. please don’t make a sequel…

 

10 Things I Love About Syawal 2013

at the time of writing, aidiladha is just over – and here I am writing about syawal that happened about 2 months back. never too late to share a little happiness!

 

* * *

 

1) dino raya cards

thanks to technology, physical holiday cards are things of the past, almost extinct. but speaking of ‘extinct’, thanks to my bro-in-law asrar, my boys and their cousin wafa received raya cards – but not in the conventional sense with pelita and ketupat. this one was with dinosaurs on the cover. thanks uncle asrar!

 

 

* * *

 

2) teh's final raya as a singleton

first raya morning in puchong, and my siblings-in-law had their usual wacky raya photo-shoots. this would be the final raya my sis-in-law teh celebrate as single girl. she’s the one in cream-colored baju kurung. yup, somebody has put a ring on her hihi she got married on the eve of merdeka with cairo sweetheart pawi (who is, btw a malaysian ye bukan egyptian kih kih).

 

the anwars

 

* * *

 

3) ipoh raya

an ALMOST completely perfect picture. all my sisters and husbands were in ipoh on 1st syawal except ME huhu. miss the awesome group photo! the amusing thing here was probably seeing all abah’s sons-in-law in specs. including son-in-law yg kat dubai tu!

 

from left my younger sis syima with hubby din holding baby miqail. my youngest sis azi with newly-wedded hubby faiz. my younger sis syida with hubby nash. my eldest bro-in-law abg mat with yong syimee. abah & umi in the middle. my nieces and nephews cuya, ica, nuna, haiqal holding adam, and haqeem. miss everyone!

 

* * *

 

mr. khairul with his grandma & mom

 

4) the meeting of 3 generations at hulu langat

son, mother and grandmother. or mother, daughter and grandson. any way you look at it, it’s a priceless moment to be treasured. it’s amazing how strong the squinty cat-like EYE gene is in the family right? to me, it’s the day when I was forced to eat, eat and eat the lemang rendang and never leave the table until grandma is done borak-ing!

bangun nak basuh tangan pun opah umi bising, “nak kemana tu? makan lagi!” got no problem with that!

 

* * *

 

 

5) raya photosession at ipoh with photographer faiz

my youngest bro-in-law faiz is a professional photographer. so it’s just ridonkulous not to ask him to take a few professional snaps of us as a family. hihi. this short photo session was at abah’s house in ipoh on 2nd syawal. I’ll share the shots in another posting yah! beautiful shots! thanks so much faiz!

 

this is us~

 

* * *

 

khairy with anong khaleef

 

6) eldest & youngest cucu atok anwar

this is the first raya for their youngest cousin on bapak’s side – chubby wubby khir khairy. my boys absolutely adore and obsessed over him. picture below is evidence, thank you very much.

 

this is what poor khairy has to endure each day with his abang-abang cousins. sigh. sape suruh comel sangat!

 

* * *

 

7) compulsory raya shot at kg lalang

syawal would be incomplete without a shot in front of this classic kampung house in my in-laws’ place at kampung lalang. eventhough we spent our first raya at puchong and langat, we made it a point to visit some relatives over here the next day.

 

 

* * *

 

8) my in-laws beraya at abah’s house

after kampung lalang, my in-laws shot off to ipoh and spend a few hours beraya at my abah’s house. nasi lemak sikit, rendang semangkuk, kopok lekor, kuih-muih and kacang – simple tidbits to welcome the besan.

 

besan : abah & mr. khairul’s bapak

 

 

* * *

 

9) beraya with laksa at mak keh’s house

thanks to my 2nd cousin kak tiny, I requested laksa and her mom made some delicious pot for raya fun time at mak keh’s house. mak keh is my mom’s very close cousin, dah macam adik beradik. it was such wonderful time hanging out with my 2nd cousins and family – it really reminded me of the time when mak was still around, and these are the group of people we would hang out with at mak keh’s place.

 

spent one awesome syawal with my 2nd cousins on my mak’s side. the yummy makan-makan was held at mak keh’s house and we just lepak borak and makan.

 

the laksa was so good, even a hardcore laksa-fan penang boy agreed and had 3 helpings! thanks so much kak tiny for making my laksa wish a reality! hihi

 

* * *

 

10) classic shot at a wooden bridge

thanks to my sis-in-law tina (who has a good eye for interesting shots) for this awesome shot of us as a family crossing this old wooden bridge near their grandma’s house in langat. looks so classic when I turned it black and white.

one of my favorite shots of us!

 

 

 

* * *

 

10 things I love about syawal 2013, but most of all, alhamdulillah I get to spend syawal in malaysia! here’s hoping for another blessful raya in 2014. amin!