10 cara bagaimana mengenal pasti KAKI GUNUNG

10 cara bagaimana mengenal pasti KAKI GUNUNG di hentian R&R
10 ways on how to spot a GUNUNG KAKI at R&R stops

mereka kerap dijumpai di kawasan tersebut pada musim cuti perayaan ataupun public holiday yang menjadikan weekend lebih panjang dari biasa. arah utara, selatan, timur, barat, bertebaran je nak naik gunung atau masuk mana mana hutan. ini adalah sebagai gambaran kasar sahaja memandangkan komuniti gunung telah berkembang pesat maka lebih banyak kepelbagaian yang wujud.

1. pakai buff. tujuannya untuk melindungi ubun ubun. mungkin kerana mereka selalu dilanda cuaca sejuk maka ubun ubun mereka sensitif dan perlu sentiasa dilindungi bagi mengelak kehilangan haba.

2. pakai selipar. sebab selain kasut pendakian, pendaki gunung juga perlu membawa satu selipar lain untuk kegunaan campsite. kebanyakannya kelihatan seperti selipar toilet. jenama seperti teva, asadi, atau fipper. ringan. so no leather shoes, high heels, sport shoes.. takde. dekat kl je pakai macamtu. eh siapa kata kaki gunung tak tahu dress up? kita always dress to occassion ok.

3. pakai seluar trekking. quick dry material with patches. orang lain tak pakai seluar macam tu. bertampal dekat lutut, bontot.. pattern macam tu.

4. pakai pouchbag. macam handbag la tapi pouchbag. tak tak bukan macam penjual dvd barang baik lima ringgit je bang tu. pouchbag lain.

5. pakai headlamp. tapi biasanya strapped dekat leher bukan dekat head. ada je lampu jalan lampu kedai lampu toilet terang benderang tapi pakai headlamp just in case kena trekking dalam gelap. oh..

6. pakai tshirt ada date. tshirt free or tshirt event. trip mana date bila. tak mustahil satu tshirt dipakai ramai orang dan buat biasa je. tak awkward pun. kalau takde date ialah brand outdoor. atau material cotton atau dryfit.

7. pakai drybag. fungsi sama macam 4. pouchbag. just in case kena cross sungai. ohh...

8. pakai ziplock bag. purse, phone, power bank, electronics pack dalam ziplock bag. duit pun ada dalam tu. boleh jadi disimpan dalam pouchbag mahupun drybag. boleh perhatikan orang tu nak bayar je tiba tiba keluarkan ziplock bag haha. pun just in case hujan ataupun kena cross sungai.. ohhhh..

9. sleep deprived. muka tak cukup tidur. lebih ketara muka penat waktu balik trip. tapi ceria. dan mengantuk.

10. tengok kaki. perhatikan kuku kaki. apakah ada tanda tanda hidup segan mati tak mahu dan kelihatan hitam dan mempunyai bentuk tidak seperti kuku kaki? itulah petanda yang baik. positif pendaki gunung.

sekian saja. selamat mendaki selamat pulang.

March - June travelog

so i went back to KL in March from Yogyakarta.

march is very much of a love hate thing for me. cos as (once) a working class adult, its the month of income tax filing. it can be the case of make or break with tax planning. strategize well, u can max the return, otherwise, minimal to no. worse still, have to pay more.
i was very careful in the previous year so i can harvest the benefit this year hehe. kudos myself!

other than that, i moved out fr rented room. 3 month of no job, no salary and travelling yet having to fork out big chunks out of my piggybank aint the smartest thing to do. so i dont hv a place on my own now. selling most of my stuff too. accumulated quite a bit after about 2 yrs spent in the same place - record high since my i started working life!

and by end of March, packed my bag again, this time to Seoul. after 2 weeks, i took off from Busan to Hanoi.

Upon arrival in Hanoi, i kinda missed the greens so i waste no time venture further up north, one province at a time. exploring around for a week, volunteered in a Homestay for a week and an english centre for 6 weeks. spent last few days experiencing Ramadan in Hanoi, again. also, had one-day trip to Bangkok in April

returned home in almost the same state i left but this time around with another due diligence waiting right at the door. the main reason is to celebrate ramadan and aidilfitri at home with family and friends but its mostly just touching the base before the next leg.

i am still making rounds of meeting everyone - something of nomadic skill i learnt doing and loving- in this short time so hit me up if u r free and up for a coffee or two! me, obviously i got loads of free time more than i could handle here haha!

penjelajahbaksoland penjelajahSEA

#penjelajahjujur #penjelajahbaksoland #penjelajahSEA

Date: 15th Feb 2017 - 15th March 2017 (29 days)

Route: Jakarta - Bandung - Sukabumi - Jakarta - Yogyakarta

Damage: MYR600 + IDR3M = MYR1600

initial budget was MYR2500 all in.
rm500 was for the flight ticket, rm100 ration and supplies, rm100 travel insurance (i get one year so its easier i dont need to keep buying for upcoming trips). the tix is not cheap at all because i always bought last minute. i only managed to grab cheapest of the week because the idea was to just go. i found myself googling for 'where to go after ' hehe. and of course, sometimes, internet result can only get so much, sometimes asking the locals works better.
i also activated most of my cards for overseas transaction and big purchase was done on the cards. i just need to keep track on the dates to not to overdue and hurt my credit rating.

the other essentials would include getting connected by the mean of having internet. bought a simpack for IDR1000 and subscribed 3GB internet for IDR60000 that can last 30 days. just ngam. but my quota finished in mere 2 weeks so i had to topup another IDR60000.

transportation city to city hopping is average rm100 or IDR300k. include main train/bus and local transfer. daily commute would incur somewhere around 50k to 100k. best way to travel around is by renting a motorbike but that wasnt an option for me so i get around mostly by gojek grab bike or uber bike. since the initial plan was to do transjava up to komodo island part, i did check the local flight. it cost just some IDR600k per trip. if one is cash rich but with limited time, wont burn too much in the pocket there. u can perhaps guess my situation here, rich on time but not money of course i can afford sleeping 8hrs on the train haha.

accomodation i'd say, vary from city to city. i prefer hostels and dorm type. in jakarta average is 150k. so it makes sense u dont want to spend more than couple of days here. plus what do u do lol.
in bandung and jogja... it can get you decent hostel for less than 100k per night. ive met couple of travellers who do hostel hopping within same city lol. it is understandably travelling with a buddy can bring the cost down because twim room is always cheaper than a single room.
i used to think its just a place to shut eye. boy was i wrong lol. it can really get cosy and when nothing pushing my butt to pack and leave, i hardly pack and leave lol. talk about fast to adapt. okay that was not quite the case. i am still the antisocial me, i dont like too much people outside it gets crowded or too little people i dont feel at ease. thus getting back to the nest is a natural thing to me.
i also went for camping for mere two nights in bandung. so that was only IDR30k. there are actually lots of camping ground not too far from the city.. like within one hour.. and like it or not, the local glamping scene or they call it camping ceria really is in. they come in buses to spend a day or two in the tenda. u wont get to see other tourist much as well. it can get a little boring.. or exciting depends on the mood lol. and one thing i noticed, they always do pre wedding photoshoot with extensive props and setting all. i should really learn that. and oh, they always have specific entry fee for pre wed photoshoot apart from local and foreigner rate. ha.

food is rather cheap. good portion carb + protein + vege averaged 15 to 30k. and i must really tell myself again and again to eat more fruits. its good and since i find indonesian food often little too rich in seasoning msg-like, fresh fruits should be able to resync ur tummy environment or something. towards the end of my trip, a friend recommended a pizza place so i splurged like 100k per dinner but my flight back is booked so i know my cash would suffice till then. we go there few times, the pizza was that gooood. but actually, like i would back at home, i like skipping meals and just lazy to eat. sometimes to save cost but some other time, i just dont feel the need to. special thank you for other people i met i eat more with people sometimes they cook for me too.

what good city hopping without visiting major attraction eh? skimp on the budget and maybe not here. i dont do that much tho but good chance u can find at least one tour that would tick ur liking. theres something for everyone. in jakarta i went to the very large Grand Indonesia Mall and watched movie. 50k. i went tubing in jogja that was 150k. some major major touristy place ask for up to 300k entry fee. small museums and national parks wont cost u anymore than 5 to 10k.

thats pretty much to it. why 29 days? because one chop in the passport will only get u 30 days and its non extendable. although its quite common ppl overstayed and i can understand why; the bakso land so big they should grant 3months chop minimum and no u cant do obligatory visit to just one part because its different for every part.

wait... the math doesnt check u say? i spent a lot less than the budget (syukur here) because i had a 2-week working holiday volunteering at Tanakita Camping Ground (google it, great place) so my stay and food was well taken care of. let me know if i should explain more on how do i do this part.

and its a DIY kind of trip. (lets not go into whether or not i fit the backpacker definition, never tried to) i have never done this and embarking on my first one month travel on my own was honestly, scary to me. i got homesick few days before the trip. i just met quite everyone not few weeks earlier but i cant remember when the last time i missed them that much. like back in boarding school, all teary calling home and holding on not to sob to the other end with cracky voice. so i had to gather photos and gather them in one folder one on my dekstop and one in my phone. and oh, even videos too. its not embarassing to say this out eh. lol.
well i was even under the impression i might not even last a week before i purchase a flight back to KL.
but syukur again, when i was in airport lugging my pack to find sleeping place with power point, a friend suddenly decided to join me. so i was with him for a week in jakarta and bandung transitioning me into the land, handed over to my volunteer place for two weeks and free and easy for another one week in jogja. like i said, i have never done this, but i find its great that there are other solo traveller on the road and they sometimes get acquainted to one another and tag along.

and of course, good internet keeps my sanity in check id say. i get to talk to other ppl back home, updating my movement how am i doing and all.

i shall now end my log abruptly here. any question, do shoot.
i want to write more but i dont know how to or what to write lol

Travelogue Jan 2017

Travelogue 2017

January 2017

1st - had had great New Year eve night out at the Waikiki Bar with fellow GIFTers. So naturally woke up late and lazed about at home only.

6th - 8th - Drive to Nuang Outdoor Gathering event. Helping out the crews for the day before setting up my booth on the event day, 7th & 8th. Before going back, we detour for seafood feast in Jeram, Kuala Selangor. About an hour away from Shah Alam via Klang.

14th - attended a Fundsupermart event, Where and When to Invest  in Sunway Pyramid. Very informative event mostly the review of 2016 and going forward for 2017. More infra projects and exciting emerging economy markets. The grand plan has been laid out and big change will reshuffle the economy along the route of new port cities as well as fast track trains. And ohhh malaysia general election soon!!!

15th - spent the day out with the family in Taman Warisan Putrajaya. For RM8 entry fee, you have access to huge orchard of many types of fruits and u can pick and eat as u like. There was no other group other than our family at the time but the fruits wasnt much either. Perhaps its not the season but plenty of non seasonal fruits even the rare ones we dont know how to eat or if they are edible at all! Lol but obviously they should. So we googled some of them to learn how to eat haha.

Some tips : bring the following

1. umbrella. It can get pretty hot and given the large area, unpredicted rainfall is just...well... unpredictable. There are gazebos every few hundred metres or so.

2. drinking water. To drink to wash up fruits.

3. knife. U need to pluck, peel, slice, cut the fruit all by yourself. How else do u enjoy a sweet juicy cempedak sans the blade?

4. tissue/wiping cloth - it can get messy u know.. walking and harvesting and eating and scour for next tree to feast.

5. insect repellent/ointment  - not a big fan of deet thingy here and any strong smelling ointment good enough to repel some bugs/mozzies away soothe the bites

19th - took the train to KL sentral and ETS to Gopeng. Important to note that u can buy ETS tickets from most of the major KTM station so u can plan ur journey ahead! Also important to check the fare and schedule as the counter kakak will just sell u anything at all. A trip to Batu Gajah on Silver train is RM24 but the kakak tried to get me the RM44 without asking me any further. Upsell much?

Fr Batu Gajah Jaja picked me up to Gopeng Guesthouse & Cafe in Gopeng town.

20th -  packed for camping trip in Anak Kurau, Taiping, Perak. Reached there in late afternoon. One of its kind journey ahead!

We stopped at the Joe & Adik's house, (stumbled upon Joe's parang making workshop). There was 6 of us, the company for the weekend. We had to ride bikes to get to the trailhead. We were supposed to ride one each but yours truly skillset doesnt include riding motorcycle and not planning on acquiring one. So i hitched on one with Jaja. Shes one good rempiter to say the least! Wasnt very exciting with such terrain. Uphill, downhill, all equally thrilling for me. I dont know people actually having conversation like they would in a car! It was noisy with the engine roaring and the wind, hows that even possible! Apparently i missed kandang rusa maybe i was closing my eyes and didnt hear it when Jaja pointed that out for me. The offroad - farm bike ride last for good one hour thank goodness!

We parked under the trees before continue the journey on foot. Not even 5 minutes up, we reached one small 'dangau'. Its local for hut. Usually built by the farm worker, small and simple shade. Terrible amount of leech greeted us. Then comes the rain. Always, dont they? Unexpected downpour? So we spent more than 30mins not moving, just staying still under the dangau while watching our feet for damn leeches. Joe made this tobacco water- simply tobacco soaked in water - to apply on our socks to repel the leeches away. Thats pretty much what we did everyday there. Effectiveness? Of course it works but knowing for tropical jungle, theres puddles and stream crossing every now and then so it got washed away fast but its good when it lasts.

The rain showed no sign to stop but getting lighter so we quickly track a bit more to reach a cave where we can have a better shelter and its by the river so we can cook dinner. It took us less than 10mins. So u get it, 5 mins of trekking, 1 hour of resting lol. We had simple dinner of maggi mee and tortilla wrap with canned green peas. Finished eating, we continue our journey to the 'dangau' further up.

We reached the dangau at about 11pm. Cold and hungry, the guys set the campfire up so we can cook and enjoy the heat. The dangau is a lean-to type of shelter. Built semi-permanently as the friends, Joe and the wife, Adik, Dikmin, Din come here every weekend or so and they do stock up some supplies of food and dishes so they dont have to carry them everytime. There are benches and few other basic camp furniture, really nice set up. There was a cave like big rocks nearby too, they said they used to camped there when the group is small. Then there was a nice small stream.

We washed up, change and feed ourselves proper dinner and ready to call it a day. It was really nice meal albeit simple. Salted fish, sardine, sambal, all goes little too well with hot white rice. Thats pretty much our meal everyday and i go for second helping almost everytime need i say more? I should really include dried salted fish in my ration next time! But urgh the smell haha

The following day, we just laze about by the campsite. Walk around (not too far) cook, eating, playing card games, sleep some more. We decided to continue our journey to the next dangau. I was getting too comfortable staying there and lazy but Adik insist the campsite is too nice to be missed!

Indeed it is! Larger stream and the dangau is right at the Y junction of the river and theres a also a very nice waterfall (thanks to my love for sleeping i didnt bother to go there) and also a bonus of nice rambai tiong fruits! Its a trunk-attached fruit type almost similar to another infamous brother Tampoi fruit. Alright i cant quite make the diff here. Sour crunchy peel and sour juicy fruit. Damn nice! (im drooling as im typing this). They were so good we had to pack some home. Special thank you to Dikmin for carrying some 5kg of the fruits down.

On Sunday, we packed everything up and make our out and reached the kampong by 5.30pm. we then wash up, had dinner of very nice local delicacies with couple of other friends who showed up before heading back to Gopeng again.

22nd, 23rd, 24th - gopeng guesthouse & cafe again. Did nothing much. Mostly reading anything readable. What a bummer i didnt have my laptop with me! But a good break i guess. And oh nursing the itch from few dozens of leech bites on my legs (and some other parts of the body)

25th - packed for journey up north. Shakeys and Maksu picked me up from the cafe. Heading to taiping for the night.

26th - from taiping, drove further up to kedah, stopped by at Tanjung Dawai and Gunung Jerai, continue for Kuala Perlis.

27th - went Padang Besar, Gua Kelam and back to Kuala Perlis. basically circling whole Perlis state

28th - picked up Kak Lita and Nida and crossing Wang Kelian border to Satun town, the jetty to Koh Lipe. From the jetty we bought the ferry return trip. Can also buy one way but apparently theres discount when u buy both. Be sure to ask for free Koh Lipe map cum travel guide it sure come handy during ur stay! But u can also pick one up in the island later on at no cost at all.

The ferry ride took 2hrs plus. Reaching the beach, we rest by the nearby non operating cafe. We settled for some bread and snacks and gosh u should see the water. Very inviting! It wasnt long until i take my first dip hehe. So be sure to be wearing suitable clothings right at the start of the journey. My quick dry trekking pants wasnt all suitable but i pretty much living in it until the next day.

We stayed at the Koh Lipe Camping  Zone or rather mozzies zone. Damn big fat school of mozzies! Im not exagerating there was really challenging for us all! What more with my fresh leech bite scars the itch just unexplainable! we set up the tent and prepared dinner and hurried out to catch sunset by the sunset beach nearby.

When we get there by the beach, the sun has set we still get to enjoy the twilight tho and just laid by the beach and little did we know its tidal up time! Lol. We then proceed to the happening part of walking street. A bit lost by the many junctions there but once u get the hang of it, should be easy to remember the major landmarks.

By the time we head back to our camping site, the tidal was really high what used to be wide open beach by day is now all water we even had to tiptoed in the water at some places. But the beach is very flat so dont worry its very shallow.

29h - Koh lipe island by myself. Others went for plankton snorkeling sunset island hopping. Koh Lipe is a small and quite densely populated island so its pretty walkable everywhere just watch out for too many dogs sometimes they gang up barking on u. always keep the guide map handy at all time! they are taxi-bike too but walking free body and sweating is not bad at all. So i went beach hopping. As the name suggest, i went to the beach, all three major beaches, hop into the water, soak up nicely and laid down sunbathing like a true western girl y'all. But asian being asian, we seek shades under the tree, covered up in long pants and long sleeved shirt and more cover to face and head and not to forget the trusty sunglasses! It sure hot to sunbathe despite all the covering so before the hair dried i was already back into the water. And its pretty chilly due to the strong breeze.

There are few main attractions of the island

Pattaya beach - the beach for arrival during high season oct - may. Its happening with many beach front joints, high end stays, and travel agency. But too many boats parked by the beach too. They reserved some bays for non parking area so can safely enjoy in the water but still.. lol

Walking street -the entrance is right by the pattaya beach. It literally is walking street - u can walk covering major part of the island but not really. There are lots of bikes and taxi bikes sharing the road too so watch out! Just remember to be mindful of the traffic behind u and give way. The pavement is concrete, beautifully painted at some stretch and its totally fine and cool to walk around barefooted! Some of the shops even require patrons to take the footwear off by the door. The area rather clean. Very sandy, but white sands making it all the more beautiful. Theres more dogs and fat cats too. Most of them are sleeping. But the dogs wandering quite a lot. The friendly lazy kind is fine as long as they didnt get agressive. Been attacked with gang -loud barks twice in my short stay really not the best thing. Oh i got bitten by a fat cat btw. My fault for couldnt refrain myself petting the fluffy furry thing!

The street has many shops. Convenient stores, 7eleven, restaurants and bars, hotels and hostels, pahrmacies, hospital, travel agency, massage and spa place, hair saloon, souvenir shops... walk further and u will find the quieter side and more local of a shops.. groceries and wet food.. there are also notable strecth of muslim majority area.. but worry not there are many halal makan place all over the walking street.

This island is by no means a nightlife party island. So most of the review stated. On Saturday night, shops closing by 12 or so. By 10pm most of makan place is closed. On Sunday night, lights already out by 11pm! It gets very dark on 12pm!

sunrise beach - if theres only one place u should go, its the sunrise beach. The hue of the water is different way too pretty! The sand is smoother at the pattaya beach, almost clayey sand. The other two is a noticeably coarser but still white but the water is truly emerald green! Very clear. The beach is also steeper so u get to have deeper water here. Less boats parked in this beach too. Not in the season perhaps. This is the arrival/departure beac h for low season only. Nicer hotels and resorts are by this side, high end and more island bungalows, massage gazebos, hammocks.  theres also kampongs and school here.

sunset beach - somewhat rocky side of the island. One end its the cliff, another end is the fisheries department and princess palace and theres a rocky part that eventually connects the sunrise beach on the other side. Not sure the walkability during high tide though.

I watched the sunset on the second day here, next to the fisheries department buildings. Theres nice pine trees in the area and also coconut trees. So setting up campfire was quick and easy.

30th - check out koh lipe, bumpy speedboat ride back to satun and drove all the way back to taiping. By bumpy i really mean it. We were so wise to sit at the front deck. Me with the thai iced tea on one hand, 3/4 finished, another hand holding the rail for dear life, i was pretty much soaked up in thai iced tea that morning. Or at least my jacket was. The concerned driver/pilot/sailor or whatever they call the operator guy even had a brief stop to let us go inside so we dont die. Lol.

Reached taiping, we then rushed to Ipoh Amanjaya to catch bus back to KL.

End of Month #1 yay!

photos

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