On a more personal note I'm ready to face the future while growing old gracefully. A few things gotta change though..
I shall spend more time riding locally on the less glamourous and unmapped roads.
Sent by Maxis from my BlackBerry® smartphone
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
On a more personal note I'm ready to face the future while growing old gracefully. A few things gotta change though..
I shall spend more time riding locally on the less glamourous and unmapped roads.
Sent by Maxis from my BlackBerry® smartphone
Monday, December 17, 2012
Mountain Trials
Frim trail is not one of my favourite and I've been cycling there on and off for the past years. My recent ride on the newly built trails has changed my perspective and respect for the trails. The newly built Pacat Trail is a really fun all mountain trail with technical descend capable of providing a respectable speed. The immediate adjoining trail is Bukit Steroid which has been renamed Bukit Tongkat Ali. It has not changed much from its original condition except has been repacked and groomed with gravels which makes it much harder to balance oneself while ascending the steep gradient. I'm not ashamed to confess that I've never climbed higher beyond Steroid during so many rides in FRIM in the past 20 years of mountainbiking. On a recent adventure I climbed all the way to Pinus Peak instead of continueing the descend from Steroid peak. I took the ascending right fork toward Pinus Peak and descended via a rooted and technical singletrack trials style which is my favourite form of mountain biking and trail riding. I loved it. Since I entered the trails via the back from hospital kusta in Sg. Buloh,the return ride back to the carpark was exhilerating being downhill almost all the way. Frim trails is one of my favourite now.
Sent by Maxis from my BlackBerry® smartphone
Sent by Maxis from my BlackBerry® smartphone
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
The unsung heroes or rather a heroin
The white motorcyle was moving at a steady pace with much finesse.As the ST was approaching me I suddenly realised that the rider was a young woman and a police officer too. The way she was handling the big and heavy tourer gained my respect. She was doing slalom and slow speed turns with much ease,comfort and much confidence which amazed me. Being an experience rider with ownership history of big and heavy bikes from yesteryears I think yours truly qualifies to say that not every rider can handle such a machine in such manner,not least a woman even if she is a riding instructor. That again proves that years of training both for skill and proper state of mind works
Sent by Maxis from my BlackBerry® smartphone
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
trying to blog from my handheld
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Old fart musings
Im burdened with a correct choice of a bike to buy for my encore. There is a surge of new breed of bikes from many manufactures flooding our local market.. Its a matter of getting the correct application for the bike in my mind and pick a suitable model with a reasonable price of course but....my heart says go for the ultimate which will cost me an arm and a leg but my mind says go for the practical one hmmmmm.....its a tough decision to make.
My present mount is almost five years old and has done her share of playriding. We have travelled all over the country and she has served me well. She is a keeper and still my daily rider.
See,Im a play rider and understandably not too serious in my riding. Im happy to chug along to every imaginable destinations and riding on any possible terrain and occasional wheelies as well as pulling a slide or two but no jumps since Im too old for that. I ride to see places and out of old habit.
My present mount is almost five years old and has done her share of playriding. We have travelled all over the country and she has served me well. She is a keeper and still my daily rider.
See,Im a play rider and understandably not too serious in my riding. Im happy to chug along to every imaginable destinations and riding on any possible terrain and occasional wheelies as well as pulling a slide or two but no jumps since Im too old for that. I ride to see places and out of old habit.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Turning wheels
My last entry was in June and that was four months ago. In the meanwhile there are positive personal developments both spiritually and mentally . I officially retired from regular work for almost two years already and nothing makes me happier than to be able to watch my only daughter develops into a teenager and to be able to guide her along in the correct way.
Freelance work is coming in regularly to cover for some financial needs and neccesities. Due to irregular income my high expenditure hobbies must take a back seat and beside that I want to be more green in my hobbies except for occasional adventure rides on my motorcycle.
Cycling is once again my main source of regular outdoor fun and I shall report about my weekly outings in future writings. Stay tuned
Freelance work is coming in regularly to cover for some financial needs and neccesities. Due to irregular income my high expenditure hobbies must take a back seat and beside that I want to be more green in my hobbies except for occasional adventure rides on my motorcycle.
Cycling is once again my main source of regular outdoor fun and I shall report about my weekly outings in future writings. Stay tuned
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Family trip to HK Disneyland and Guanzhou
Ahahhhh.........I almost forgot that I have a blog hmmmmmm. I stumbled upon my own blog when I was googling. I must be getting old.
The recent school holiday was spent travelling with my family. Our trip to Hong Kong and China was an eye opener for me judging from the rapid development in that part of the world. Eastern values are eroding slowly with the opening up of Chinese economy. Capitalism is rearing its ugly head again. It wont be long before China will be just like any other developing/developed countries including ours.
The trip was actually designed for my daughter and of course her mother......ehemmmm shopping!!!. Hannah had a wonderful time in Disneyland and the climax of her excitement was the firework display at the end of the day. Actually all of us had a memorable time there. We spent three days in Hong Kong before we boarded the fast train to Guanzhou. The journey took two hours and the ride was very comfortable.
The four days in Guanzhou was spent ........shopping!!!!!
The recent school holiday was spent travelling with my family. Our trip to Hong Kong and China was an eye opener for me judging from the rapid development in that part of the world. Eastern values are eroding slowly with the opening up of Chinese economy. Capitalism is rearing its ugly head again. It wont be long before China will be just like any other developing/developed countries including ours.
The trip was actually designed for my daughter and of course her mother......ehemmmm shopping!!!. Hannah had a wonderful time in Disneyland and the climax of her excitement was the firework display at the end of the day. Actually all of us had a memorable time there. We spent three days in Hong Kong before we boarded the fast train to Guanzhou. The journey took two hours and the ride was very comfortable.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Pumping for fun and health
After about 20 minutes drive and passing by two toll houses and 3.90 cent poorer we reach the road leading into Putrajaya. A beautiful city but looks deserted greets and welcome us with open arms or so I thought. The roads are clean and void of traffic. The greeneries and landscape seem to be out of this world, what a beautiful place to spend ones freetime. A short while later we see a building with many cars with roofrack parked in the parking bays and overflowed into a grassy field nearby. The building is situated at the foot of a small hill which used to be a rubber plantation many moons ago. The location is at the far end of the city bordering Dengkil. It is my new playground.
The complex is of world class not too surprising because it was designed by an overseas consultant (for local people?)and built at great cost. There is a skate park/BMX,dirt jumps, downhill track, pump track and of course a network of single track trails, all within the complex very nice indeed.
I have ridden the mtb trails a couple of times and it was very entertaining to ride which equals big fun but what really attracts me is the pump track. In my entire cycling tenure I have never ridden a professionally purpose built pump track and what a relief to eventually ride one before its too late for my aging body. It flows very well and I want to see more riders utilize the track because it is the base for building up overall skill for the trails and also will be a good starting point for young children.
The whole idea of riding a pump track is to ride without pedalling,all you need is your body movement to keep going hence is suitable for all ages on all types of bikes. For the experts it can become a mini BMX track with jumps and berms.
It is a good idea if pump tracks can be built on public playing fields as an added feature. It will trigger a whole new interest in the healty sport of cycling in general and maybe create one or two international champions.
Im hooked again
The complex is of world class not too surprising because it was designed by an overseas consultant (for local people?)and built at great cost. There is a skate park/BMX,dirt jumps, downhill track, pump track and of course a network of single track trails, all within the complex very nice indeed.
I have ridden the mtb trails a couple of times and it was very entertaining to ride which equals big fun but what really attracts me is the pump track. In my entire cycling tenure I have never ridden a professionally purpose built pump track and what a relief to eventually ride one before its too late for my aging body. It flows very well and I want to see more riders utilize the track because it is the base for building up overall skill for the trails and also will be a good starting point for young children.
The whole idea of riding a pump track is to ride without pedalling,all you need is your body movement to keep going hence is suitable for all ages on all types of bikes. For the experts it can become a mini BMX track with jumps and berms.
It is a good idea if pump tracks can be built on public playing fields as an added feature. It will trigger a whole new interest in the healty sport of cycling in general and maybe create one or two international champions.
Im hooked again
Monday, March 26, 2012
Cycle of life
I always have a belief that life goes in a cycle. Some say what goes around must come around!!!!. Lets see......physically each of us was born toothless with little amount of hair. We were fed and taken care of by our mothers and we were helpless without a mind of our own. We grow each day and as time progress we develop milk teeth and grow physically . We began our learning both subconsiously or otherwise and by immitating others around us. To make it short,thus begins our normal process of going through common life of a normal human being. We go to school,college and then to a working life. At the same time we go through other aspects of life such as hobbies,interest blaa blaaa blaaaa.
Fast forward........we have a family and suddenly we have big responsibilities and all sorts of positive/negative consequences that come with it. Some of us cope with the negatives well and some find it hard. Whichever way,life must go on. To some of us who are spiritually strong,we take it in our stride and to some life takes its toll.
As time goes by we reach our peak which in Malaysian perspective is the retirement age,where we have to leave our job to be filled by youngster.I think its only fair because the youngsters are going through the same cycle as we did and the old must give way. Now,what happens to us?.
Normally in our country retirees life begin to detoriate. Normally at this time,offsprings are of working age and some have started life of their own. Most retired couples are living on their own.
Here comes the cycle.....we begin to loose teeth and hair. Some of the less fortunate will loose their overall health,bladder control and mind too ........... eventually we must be taken care of by others like when we were babies....that is if we live a loooooooooong life.
The big question is......who is going to take care of us?
So be wary of your prayer for long life for which could have gone full circle.............but!!!
The almighty is might.
Fast forward........we have a family and suddenly we have big responsibilities and all sorts of positive/negative consequences that come with it. Some of us cope with the negatives well and some find it hard. Whichever way,life must go on. To some of us who are spiritually strong,we take it in our stride and to some life takes its toll.
As time goes by we reach our peak which in Malaysian perspective is the retirement age,where we have to leave our job to be filled by youngster.I think its only fair because the youngsters are going through the same cycle as we did and the old must give way. Now,what happens to us?.
Normally in our country retirees life begin to detoriate. Normally at this time,offsprings are of working age and some have started life of their own. Most retired couples are living on their own.
Here comes the cycle.....we begin to loose teeth and hair. Some of the less fortunate will loose their overall health,bladder control and mind too ........... eventually we must be taken care of by others like when we were babies....that is if we live a loooooooooong life.
The big question is......who is going to take care of us?
So be wary of your prayer for long life for which could have gone full circle.............but!!!
The almighty is might.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Krabi family road trip
It has been a tradition for us to go away for a holiday at the beginning of each year. This year we chosed Krabi as our destination.
The drive from Shah Alam to Kulim was a little boring but the light traffic made it unstressful. Since the journey was at night,my family members were asleep as I drove and entertained myself listening to the radio.We arrived at my sisters house in Kulim at around 3 am and managed to catch a little sleep before driving off to Wang Kelian in the morning.
Immigration and temporary permits procedures to enter Thailand were smooth as we prepared them earlier during our brief stop at Gurun RnR. We drove smoothly via Wang Prachan towards highway 406 which would take us to Phatalung and Trang. The smooth road and the view of kampungs and occasion padi fields made driving enjoyable. Mosques are a common sight,a sign that the people of Satun are mainly Muslims.
We had a brief stop in Klong Thom market for a light meal. The food vendors were all muslims albeit not able to speak Malay or English. We managed to get our orders right with just sign language. The food tasted better compared to our vendors food in Malaysia...hmmmmm. We proceeded to Ao Nang and arrived at our accomodation in Klong Eng around 7pm. I didnt record the total miles driven but it was an enjoyable drive.
The first night in Ao Nang had a litle bit of hiccup. My family had only one room wrongly booked and my sisters too. There were ten of us so what now?. The owner of the resort was genourous enough to offer me the surau for my accomodation for the night and promised me there would definetely be a room for me and the boys the next day. We went out for food and a night walk at the Ao Nang beach front and the girls retired to their rooms soon after. The boys in the family continued exploring the resort while I sat for a chat with a friendly Malay/muslim staff late into the night while enjoying free entertainment since there was a blues/reggae club nearby and the music played reached the resort clearly. The club played only up to 1 am in consideration for the no clubbing holiday makers. My brother in law,my sons and I retired in the surau for the night but it was comfortable since it was set up like a room with beds and clean bed sheets and with AC too. What the heck...it was free anyways. The resort belongs to a Malay muslim built in a ex fishing kampong adjacent to the busy Ao Nang. Most of the kampong folks do not go out to fish anymore but are involved in the tourism business instead.
The next day began with our tour of the islands in Krabi. We booked a boat together with a nice family of ten we met in Gurun earlier. We visited two islands and did a little snorkeling but theres nothing to shout about,besides school of fish the corals were dead, in fact our Tioman is much better for snorkelling activities. However the children enjoyed their island hopping and its all that matter.
Back to the chalet in the afternoon and began our eating trips to Ao Nang beach. What else do you eat in Thailand beside tomyam?. Everyone retired early that night and I had a more comfortable sleep in the spacious bungalow together with my immediate family.
We decided to check out on the third day and headed out to Hatyai for the shoppings. Arrived in Hatyai in the afternoon and quickly booked hotel rooms for two nights. Hatyai is a shopping destination for women and they decided to stay two nights hmmmm...there were 6 girls compared to 4 boys on the trip so we were the minority and had to become chaperons for the two days. after enough of shoppings we left Hatyai for the border in the morning and again the immigration complex exit was smooth and efficient. We had lunch at Changloon and proceeded to Kulim via Sungai Petani arriving at 5 pm.
My family spent a night at my sisters house and drove to Kuala Terengganu for my brothers kenduri the next day. We took the mountainous Kulim-Grik-Jeli highway and proceeded to Kuala Terengganu via Machang. Reached Kuala Terengganu at 6 pm and stayed at the Batu Burok Beach Motel for a night. I took my family for a good chapati(roti tempayan as the locals call it) dinner with soup/curry kambing at a famous shop in Jalan Kamaruddin,everyones loved it. The shop relocated to the current location since the old shop at Syahbandar was demolished for development. It was my arwah fathers favourite eating place when we were living in the waterfront city in the 70s. He frequented the shop for its chapati as well as to play a game or two of chess,his favorite game. It always brought streams of beautiful memories whenever I visited Kuala Terengganu.
We left Kuala Terengganu for Shah Alam via Jerangau-Jabor-Kuantan immediately after the kenduri and reached home safely at 9pm. Every member of the family had a full week of fun and little adventures. The quality time we spent together was priceless.......and I will have my weekend adventures and day trips uninterupted for the rest of the year.
Home sweet home..
Day 1 - Shah Alam - Kulim
Day 2 - Kulim - Wang Kelian - Pathalung- Trang- Krabi
Day 3 - Island hopping in Krabi
Day 4 - Krabi-Trang-Pathalung-Hatyai
Day 5 - Hatyai shopping spree
Day 6 - Hatyai-Sadao-Bukit Kayu Hitam-Kulim
Day 7 - Kulim- Jeli- Kuala Terengganu
Day 8 - Kuala Terengganu-Kuantan-Shah Alam
The drive from Shah Alam to Kulim was a little boring but the light traffic made it unstressful. Since the journey was at night,my family members were asleep as I drove and entertained myself listening to the radio.We arrived at my sisters house in Kulim at around 3 am and managed to catch a little sleep before driving off to Wang Kelian in the morning.
Immigration and temporary permits procedures to enter Thailand were smooth as we prepared them earlier during our brief stop at Gurun RnR. We drove smoothly via Wang Prachan towards highway 406 which would take us to Phatalung and Trang. The smooth road and the view of kampungs and occasion padi fields made driving enjoyable. Mosques are a common sight,a sign that the people of Satun are mainly Muslims.
We had a brief stop in Klong Thom market for a light meal. The food vendors were all muslims albeit not able to speak Malay or English. We managed to get our orders right with just sign language. The food tasted better compared to our vendors food in Malaysia...hmmmmm. We proceeded to Ao Nang and arrived at our accomodation in Klong Eng around 7pm. I didnt record the total miles driven but it was an enjoyable drive.
The first night in Ao Nang had a litle bit of hiccup. My family had only one room wrongly booked and my sisters too. There were ten of us so what now?. The owner of the resort was genourous enough to offer me the surau for my accomodation for the night and promised me there would definetely be a room for me and the boys the next day. We went out for food and a night walk at the Ao Nang beach front and the girls retired to their rooms soon after. The boys in the family continued exploring the resort while I sat for a chat with a friendly Malay/muslim staff late into the night while enjoying free entertainment since there was a blues/reggae club nearby and the music played reached the resort clearly. The club played only up to 1 am in consideration for the no clubbing holiday makers. My brother in law,my sons and I retired in the surau for the night but it was comfortable since it was set up like a room with beds and clean bed sheets and with AC too. What the heck...it was free anyways. The resort belongs to a Malay muslim built in a ex fishing kampong adjacent to the busy Ao Nang. Most of the kampong folks do not go out to fish anymore but are involved in the tourism business instead.
The next day began with our tour of the islands in Krabi. We booked a boat together with a nice family of ten we met in Gurun earlier. We visited two islands and did a little snorkeling but theres nothing to shout about,besides school of fish the corals were dead, in fact our Tioman is much better for snorkelling activities. However the children enjoyed their island hopping and its all that matter.
Back to the chalet in the afternoon and began our eating trips to Ao Nang beach. What else do you eat in Thailand beside tomyam?. Everyone retired early that night and I had a more comfortable sleep in the spacious bungalow together with my immediate family.
We decided to check out on the third day and headed out to Hatyai for the shoppings. Arrived in Hatyai in the afternoon and quickly booked hotel rooms for two nights. Hatyai is a shopping destination for women and they decided to stay two nights hmmmm...there were 6 girls compared to 4 boys on the trip so we were the minority and had to become chaperons for the two days. after enough of shoppings we left Hatyai for the border in the morning and again the immigration complex exit was smooth and efficient. We had lunch at Changloon and proceeded to Kulim via Sungai Petani arriving at 5 pm.
My family spent a night at my sisters house and drove to Kuala Terengganu for my brothers kenduri the next day. We took the mountainous Kulim-Grik-Jeli highway and proceeded to Kuala Terengganu via Machang. Reached Kuala Terengganu at 6 pm and stayed at the Batu Burok Beach Motel for a night. I took my family for a good chapati(roti tempayan as the locals call it) dinner with soup/curry kambing at a famous shop in Jalan Kamaruddin,everyones loved it. The shop relocated to the current location since the old shop at Syahbandar was demolished for development. It was my arwah fathers favourite eating place when we were living in the waterfront city in the 70s. He frequented the shop for its chapati as well as to play a game or two of chess,his favorite game. It always brought streams of beautiful memories whenever I visited Kuala Terengganu.
Home sweet home..
Day 1 - Shah Alam - Kulim
Day 2 - Kulim - Wang Kelian - Pathalung- Trang- Krabi
Day 3 - Island hopping in Krabi
Day 4 - Krabi-Trang-Pathalung-Hatyai
Day 5 - Hatyai shopping spree
Day 6 - Hatyai-Sadao-Bukit Kayu Hitam-Kulim
Day 7 - Kulim- Jeli- Kuala Terengganu
Day 8 - Kuala Terengganu-Kuantan-Shah Alam
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