Breakfast...the most important meal of the day
It was our second day paddling down this stretch of Perak river. At dawn, Keong had his famous bannock (fried mixed flour with raisins and cinnamon) for breakfast, while I had pancakes. We had stuffed ourselves so much during this trip that whatever paddling regime we had going, made no difference to the existing one muscle belly that we had. But the best part of the morning for me was when I had that first sip of Aik Cheong’s Kopi O.
Continue reading Day two paddling down Perak river; Final
Retracing Spencer Chapman on Sungai Perak
On the eve of Christmas in1941, Spencer Chapman, a British soldier from 101 Special Training School, and his reconnaissance team was sent behind enemy lines to gather information on the Japanese advancement and to meet the raiding party at Sungai Trong. After traveling through dense jungle from Parit to the Bruas road, they were unable to reach the rendezvous in time and had to find their way back to headquarters. Not knowing where the front line was, their plan was to slip down the Perak river at night at Parit, which will lead them straight to Teluk Anson (now Teluk Intan), beating the Japanese who were on their way to take on Singapore. Sargent-Major Patterson, Sargent Sartin and Lieut.-Col Chapman would travel 50 miles on a badly holed ferryboat, without engine, through unknown territory where bombing and machine gunning was constant.
Continue reading Retracing a soldiers path – Escape via Sungai Perak- Part I
The Rope Awareness workshop with Tim Read started off with an unfortunate incident. As we were about to head out for a short walk to the abseil site, a motorcycle accident occurred very close to us. 2 men on a bike fell while turning out of a junction. We went to aid the patients. Tim was quick enough to grab his first aid kit. One of the patient had a torn upper lip, which we applied pressure to, and the other, had minor abrasions and lacerations. We took them to the nearest clinic. We both agreed that it was an interesting way to start a program!
Continue reading RW1_03_290111
Zul, who was very interested to become an abseil guide, signed up for the first Abseil Guide Training program at Learning Adventures. Its a 5 intensive day program which covers the very basic of abseiling to advance rescue skills!
The crucial part of the program that was specifically designed right at the beginning, was that Zul had to be a participant. Being in a participants shoe would make him realise the do’s and don’t s, and the must and shouldn’t s. Most importantly, the traits of being a guide, patience and calmness.
After that, it was continuous anchor setups horizontally (using artificial anchors) and soon at heights using natural anchors. Every possible anchor setup scenario was thrown to him! It was a little of a challenge at the beginning for Zul, but towards the end of the 3rd day, he became pretty good at anchor setups!
The 4th and 5th day was done at a tower in Serdang. Here we had the training a little different. This time I got a friend to help out as a stuck abseiler for Zul. We went through 3 different types of abseil rescues (munter release, lowering abseiler and vertical rescue). To add pressure to Zul, timing was added to the many rescues that we went through.
We ended the 5th day with a 40m abseil off the tower. Zul had rigged and tested it all by himself.
3 buddies, Yee Siang, Chua and Sim were on their way to take on Bukit Takun. Because they are avid outdoor adventurers, the hike to the base was a breeze. Despite that, this is the first outdoor rock climb for all 3!
Continue reading 3 buddies on RIE program at Bukit Takun
Om and Zul, the 2 shy but keen outdoor enthusiast were all game for the 2 day rope skills program. The program started with the introduction of gears and some simple friction knots.
Continue reading Om & Zul on a RW1 course
Packing your pack well, right from the start of your expedition, will reduce uncomfortable moments and repacking time. Ok, as a rule of thumb, the safe amount of weight you should carry on your back is 10-20% of your own body weight. But if you’re on a hiking expedition, you’d most probably bend this rule….. a lot!
Here are some popular tips on pack packing:
Continue reading How to pack your backpack
Brother and sister, Narven and Sarah took up the challenge for a river walk at Sg. Tua. On the way to the starting point, there were lots of questions from the both of them concerning the environment to come, “Are there many leeches?”, “Are the many mosquitoes?”.
Continue reading River Walk with Learning Adventures
Its the Kids Day Out! Wai Ki and Leon are on their way to their first rock climbing experience.
The steep hike was tough on them, but we took many breaks in between. On breaks we looked at the variety of fauna along the trail. The strangling fig tree and the different rock formation caught their attention!
Continue reading Kids climbed Bukit Takun!
Today’s Bukit Takun conqueror, Noranisa and Gan, was up for that challenge.
Continue reading Noranisa & Gan conquered Bukit Takun climb!