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! :)

Salam Ramadhan and Selamat Hari Raya!

Assalamualaikum everyone :)

I hope that my blogreaders are doing good.. and enjoying Ramadhan as I am.  On the first week of Puasa month I gained extra 3kgs. ahahahaa... I wonder how I did that because I don't think I have eaten that much ;) hopefully I would get my ideal weight back soon.

My favourite food for buka puasa are

1. Any icy and flavoured drink

2. Roti boom

3. Murtabak

4. Sambal-any kind of sambal would do

5. Yong tau fu or also known as 'semonyet' in my family..haha.. long story

And...

This Ramadhan actually marks another new start in my life.  My application to pursue studies in business management is accepted and insyaallah, I will attend my first class on 10 September 2012.  

Having experience the life and feeling of being a real working adult for 1 year and 1 month in two companies, I have seen many things and learnt a lot.  The saying is true, experience is the best teacher.  And of course, many things are really not as they seem.  Above that, when I entered the second company, I have actually jumped into the business world and its maze without having any knowledge of reading company's balance sheet. Running a company for me is very fun and thrilling but at the same time super challenging and mind tiring.  

Last but certainly not least, in the spirit of Ramadhan and Syawal I really would like to make a request from the bottom of my heart,

Please forgive me for all my wrongdoings or harsh words that may hurt.

And I wish all of you Selamat Hari Raya! Jom pergi raya!! :D

Having fun at our annual iftar & bunga api event 

thanks for reading! :)

My most favourite .... :)

My most favourite poem

This poem was especially written to be submitted as one of my assessments (literature subject if i'm not mistaken) during Asasi TESL program. We worked in pairs and Sakinah was paired with me :)

Although it was not as good as others', 'The Ugly Ducling' was my motivation during Asasi years. To me, this short poem is very close to my heart. I can even imagine myself being the poor duckling. A naive person who has to put a lot of effort to find her true destiny.

Yes, I realised that I have to work hard to achieve all my goals..in life and hereafter.

The Ugly Duckling

Hatched from an egg
was a darling duckling
But he was different from all his siblings
So they called him the ugly duckling
What he does wrong, he was wondering
Poor, little darling duckling!

Hideously proportioned, the Spanish duck said,
How little duckling’s heart went to shreds
Waves of sadness swamped his heart
He cried and cried and cried out loud
“Oh, why was I different from the lot!”

With feeble wings flapping hard
With faith and hope soaring high
Flying high above the sky
To find what’s in his store of destiny
To find a place where he belonged
A place that he could call home.

Threatened by the hunters
The ugly duckling fled for his life
He needed to get away to survive
Oppressed by the tom cat and the hen
The poor duckling struggled to make his stand
With the perseverance of the patient mountain
He put his all to find his gain.

As despair threatened to take its hold
Suddenly hope came gliding in a miraculous wonder
The ugly duckling then discovered
A beautiful swan he had turned into.
Joy sparkled in his heart,
Not pride but his thankfulness that went out
At last, he had finally found his true destiny.

alia n sakinah

my cute aunts with icy looking swans @ i-city

thanks for reading! :)

Precious moments

ALHAMDULILLAH. Thank you Allah, for giving me the chance to go for a wonderful vacation with people that I love :)

Langkawi Trip May 2011

on the ferry to Langkawi Island

Very sad that we will not be in the same class anymore after this T_T

menempuhi onak duri ranjau kehidupan bersama selama 4 tahun

playing with rabbits before boarding on the cable car

I love this picture so much! :)

in the cable car! the journey was very exciting.

Although i'm a bit scared of heights, I did enjoy the enthralling views of the trees, hills, waterfalls, sea and small islands :)

on the high speed boat for island hopping activity!!

Actually, we hopped on 2 islands only. Pulau Beras Basah and Pulau Dayang Bunting.

The journey to the island itself was very intriguing. The boat driver manoeuvred the boat like a drifting car. haha..

I love the view sooo much! we passed many small islands and they all looked extremely pretty.

on the way back to the jetty

Sitting at the front part of the high speed boat was so much fun! Imagining self as Sinbad..haha

eagle feeding

there were hundreds of eagles (i think) when we came!

they all looked so strong and elegant snatching the chicken fat from the seawater

at Pulau Beras Basah or the Wet Rice Island. lol!

The water was crystal clear and calm. Lots of colourful fish playing under the concrete structure.

This island got its name after a rice cargo ship sunk in the nearby area. The wet rice was found on the island shore hence the name :)

swimming, yeay!!

the hat giving ceremony

Initially, the hat was blown away from kak isha's head and fell into the water. Luckily, taufeek managed to save the hat from drowning. double yeay!

thanks for reading! :)