One Step Closer to Nature: A Great Start to a New Hectic Semester

As usual, this post has been kept as "pekasam" for more than 2 weeks now. hehe..

My First Hiking Experience - 

A Colourful Journey to Kerachut Beach with MBA Family, 17 Feb 2013

To be honest, maybe i'm a bit more excited about going for this trip instead of starting my 2nd sem when I was driving back to Parit Buntar.  haha.. I have been wondering for so long, how would it feel like to go for such adventure? ..  So, when the opportunity comes, I immediately grab it by saying yes, i'm in! :)  plus, i really like travelling. especially when it's cheap ;)

Don't get me wrong, I really love attending lectures too.  Seriously.  ehem..

So, at my home in Shah Alam, I started preparing.  By EATING a lot. LOL! I really did not do anything to increase my stamina besides eating.  and before departing, I've actually cooked lambchop for the whole family for Breakfast.  haha.. as nervous as I am for not having enough stamina, I'm more nervous at the thought of not able to find this kinda food easily at P. Buntar/Penang.  And opah's and tok timah's house definitely will not have enough ingredients nor enough people to finish it if I were to cook this myself later.  

haha.. (apekah alia? merapu pasal lambchop??)

 Breakfast- a day before hiking trip

OK, let's get back to the real story.  My first hiking experience.

We gathered at 6.45am in USM that day, and in the bus we were given 2 buns, soy drink, a banana (to avoid cramps) and kit kat :)

Breakfast - in bus

Upon arriving, we have an ice-breaking session which was quite funny and also did some exercise.  And of course, we also took lots of pictures. 

Located at the beach, the starting point itself is very nice with scenic views.  Kerachut Beach, the hills that we climbed to get there, and everything within that huge area are part of Penang National Park.  

Happy excited faces - before the hike

And the journey begins..

At first, we were walking on a walkway. and I said to myself, hahaha... I'm so silly to think that hiking is dangerous/challenging/tiring whatsoever.  This is easy man!  For 3km, we would definitely take less than 1 1/2 hour to reach the beach.

Well maintained happy walkway

Wooden bridge near the starting point

And as usual, I was soooo wrong! haha.. 

The hilly trail that we faced right after the happy walkway has many many staircases, or shall I call it rootcases? Cos, the trail was all covered with trees' roots.          

Roots and height and more roots and staircase

I told ya!

The hike seemed endless..especially for me. hahaha... Luckily, the strategy of eating a lot before hiking worked fine for me (kind of. lol).  I have lots of energy to climb but of course, not much stamina to climb the hill fast. So, I climbed the hill at my own pace and it was fun to enjoy the nature while continuously taking pictures.  

Also, the banana helps! I did not experience any cramps that day.. until I arrive home. (but that's a different story)  

It's very true that hiking with friends are so much fun!  Although the journey was very tiring, I could not stop giggling, smiling and laughing throughout the expedition.  

My friend, Guan (the boy holding plastic bag in d above pic) kept on encouraging us saying that we are almost there.. When actually we have not even passed a quarter of the trail yet. lol

Taking a break at one of the pit stops

I'm very happy to discover that the the trail after this pit stop was not as challenging as the earlier trail :D

Instead of going up up up up and upppp, we are now going down, flat surface, up, down, down, down, flat surface, up. (I hope you understand what I'm trying to explain..hehe)

Priya, Steven, Guan & Kak Jo (Kerachut Beach: 1.0 KM )

This trip was very meaningful, not just because I have had the chance to share exciting hiking experience together with my close friends.. kak fadz, anas, kak jo, ming fang, azura and everyone but it is special because this activity was also joined by the dean dr sofri, the deputy dean tn Hj and most importantly, dr yudi my research supervisor.  

The most interesting part was, we actually discussed about my research progress and plan while hiking.  Seriously, these people are very dedicated to their work and I'll definitely feel bad if I don't work as hard.  sayonara darling holiday ~~ till we meet again T_T

Oh, towards the end, the trail became quite dangerous, steep to be exact.  And I was one of the unfortunates who have sprained her poor knee when I jumped down and had the difficulty to walk properly for 2 weeks. huahua..

Enjoying scenic view with beautiful people

Yup, we are heading there!

Ming Fang, Anas, Dr Yudi

And finally!! this is the bridge that links the hilly trail with Kerachut Beach.  Hurrayyy! we are here :D

The Bridge

Celebrating our joyous moment :)

We did it, YeaY! ^_^

So pretty, EVERYTHING is worthwhile

the jetty

must take pic on the jetty :)

Kak fadz, always a darling to me :)

Play game till you drop together!

Secret spies protecting the island

Doing community service while we are there

Coolest organisers ever!

Watching baby turtles together at turtle conservation center, Pantai Kerachut

The turtles here are very special.  Instead of coming at specific months of the year, the turtles in Penang come to Kerachut Beach throughout the year to lay their eggs. 

It is quite risky to swim at the beach since there would be groups of jellyfish swimming together with you.  Jellyfish is the main source of food for these turtles, that's why turtles love it here :)

Happy lunch

Very thankful to the organisers, Steven & friends who carried the food for us throughout the journey

and its time to say goodbye

I felt so grateful that we have an option to go back to our starting point by boat :) I would have fainted if I were asked to hike back. hehe..

We only have to sit back, relax, and happily enjoy the nature :)

TATA FOR NOW

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
Albert Einstein

P/s: Special thanks to the organisers, MBA GSB Club's Committee for making 17 Feb one of the happiest days of my life.  Also to the pretty photographer, Vivyan Teh, thank you for capturing these beautiful pictures. I love them all :)


thanks for reading! :)