Fashionista's Escapades: Climbing Bukit Tabur East

This is my final hike for the month of January. And since I am running out of places to hike, I might be posting less hiking in the following months (I think). There are plenty of places to hike in Malaysia (or Selangor specifically) but I have yet to finalise my own target list (i.e. which hills or mountains that I'd like to try out).

Anyway, we decided to try and hike Bukit Tabur for two reasons; (1) on most of the hiking blogs, almost every one of them would recommend hiking Bukit Tabur; and (2) due to its challenging nature, some blogs have even recommended not to hike Bukit Tabur.

Note: We need a permit to hike Bukit Tabur (although some of the hikers that I met yesterday said they didn't obtain the permit) and here's a link of how to get the permit [click here]. We obtained our permit on Friday from Pejabat Hutan Daerah Selangor on Friday morning. The permit is only RM5 per person.

Bukit Tabur is located in Taman Melawati. I used Waze to get to the entrance of the trail. There are two routes for Bukit Tabur, which are Bukit Tabur East and Bukit Tabur West. Some people have told me that Bukit Tabur East is shorter but more challenging and Bukit Tabur West is not as challenging but the route is longer. Having never hiked on both routes, we decided to try out Bukit Tabur East. So, here's a photoblog of our hike yesterday:

We left for the hike at 9 am (after having breakfast) and arrived at the entrance to Bukit Tabur at around 9.30 am. Parked carefully around the nearby housing area (so as to not disturb any of the residences) and proceeded to our hiking route.

The first few meters from the road, we had to pass by these huge water pipes.

The climb begins.

Initial hike.

This way please. If I'm not mistaken there were a handful of these in the initial hike up.

A little bit of scampering around the rocks. 

On several parts of the hike, there are ropes provided to help your climb. Do use gloves because if you don't, you might end up with blisters on your hands.

Some parts had an almost 90 degree incline.

Having a strong upper body strength is definitely an added advantage.

First peak.

Went forward (with some ups and downs) to the main peak.

Some parts of the climb were relatively easy.

The main destination is up this peak.

Almost there.

The final climb up the main peak. 90 degrees incline. One tiny route (thus those going up would have to wait for those coming down to clear the route. As one of my friends had commented, only in Malaysia you would find traffic jam when hiking and you have to wait for your turn to go up.

Climbing up the main peak. Caution: This peak is treacherous. One tiny mistake would definitely cost you your life (or limb). So do be careful.

And we have finally reached the top. Hurrah!

Me, Aatif and Nihal. We finally made it to the top.

The dragon back ridge. Checked!

Another traffic jam. Getting down is equally (if not more) treacherous as going up. One rope and your own imagination on where to put your footing on the rocks.

The route down is different than the route up. So this route is definitely way faster than climbing up.

The final 10 - 15 minutes before arriving to where our car was parked.

Bukit Tabur East.

The view from the top of Bukit Tabur. Masha Allah.

And got to enjoy a beautiful view of the KL skyline as well. 

Let me just say that I had my concerns prior to climbing Bukit Tabur, one of the is regarding the accidents that has happened on the hill [click here] and some blogs/ write ups that were not favourable (i.e. they warned us against hiking up Bukit Tabur) thus I was initially afraid that climbing Bukit Tabur would be a difficult task. But having hiked up the top, I must say that it's not as difficult as what people say it is. If you've hiked before, then Bukit Tabur is definitely doable. However, do bear in mind that if you have any second thoughts on climbing, feel free to stop your climb and proceed to descend. A hike is always a personal achievement and if you feel you are not up to it, you can always try again later.

In terms of timing, we reached the first peak in about an hour and proceeded to reach the main peak in another hour (it would have been less but because there are so many people, I think we spent maybe around 20 - 30 minutes just waiting for the route to clear up and to give way to those who are descending). And going down took only perhaps 45 minutes because it's a straight (no fuss) route down the hill.

Now that I've climbed Bukit Tabur, I wouldn't say that it's that difficult (although I am not able to say the same for Bukit Tabur West because I have never climbed up that route before). With perseverance, you will definitely be able to make it. On some parts I did feel kind of cheated because I expected the route to be more difficult (so far I would have to say Mulu Pinnacles is the most challenging hike that I've ever been to) but the climb to the final peak of Bukit Tabur is definitely very, very dangerous and do be extra careful if you make the decision to climb up the main peak.

That being said, if you love hiking, Bukit Tabur is definitely a must hike! The hike was enjoyable and the scenery is definitely worth the climb.


xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista's Escapades: Climbing Mulu Pinnacles

One of my personal aim this year is to tick off one or two items off my bucket list. Mulu, or more specifically climbing the Mulu Pinnacles is one of them. I made arrangements to climb the Pinnacles last November and since then have begun my training in preparation for the hike. For those of you who know me, you might have noticed my sudden interest in sporting activities such as hiking and running. All those are just my preparation for this single hike. 

Anyway, here's a photoblog of the trip:

Before climbing the Pinnacles, first we need to reach Camp 5, the base camp for the Pinnacles. To get there, we have to take a long boat for about an hour from Mulu to Kuala Litut.

Long boat. As the river is very shallow, the long boat used for transportation is also small and narrow. 

Some parts of the river may be quite shallow that your guide may have to push the boat either with a stick, or push it himself by getting down into the river.

Kuala Litut. I was expecting a proper jetty of some sort but no, this is Kuala Litut. It's as remote as it gets.

From Kuala Litut, you have to trek for 9 km to Camp 5. It took us almost 4 hours to get there.

Me, Nihal and my Mum with our two guides, El and J.

You have to carry your clothes and whatever gear that you'll be using yourself to Camp 5. So make sure to travel light!

Luckily the trek to Camp 5 was pretty easy. Except for the distance and the backpack, it was a good trek. The pathway is mainly flat, except for two small hills which you need to climb as you get closer to Camp 5.

You need to cross two hanging bridges as well. One is after the first kilometre and another is halfway i.e. 4.5 km to Camp 5.

Camp 5. We arrived at Kuala Litut at 12.40 noon, trekked for about 4 hours and arrived at Camp 5 at 4.30 pm. Accommodation is mixed (i.e. men and women in the same room), there's only a flat mattress (and no pillows) provided for each camper and there's separate washrooms for the men and women. The room is open, no doors or windows, and there's a small space (about 3 feet) between the ceiling and the wall. So, you might have some bugs and creepy crawlies climb over you when you sleep but they are pretty harmless.

The next morning we left for the Pinnacles at 7 am. Honestly, it's a tough climb. Elevation is about 75 degrees almost all the way and the path is covered with either roots or rocks.

Plenty of markers along the way.

Rocky terrain. 

On some parts, there are ropes for you to hold on to.

And some parts may have footholds as well.

The motivation that kept me going was the view. Nothing but the view.

Me and my amazing super strong mum made it! Alhamdulillah.

What comes up, must come down...

The last 400 meters climb had 16 ladders for you to climb on before reaching to the peak.

Me and the Mulu Pinnacles. Mulu Pinnacles bucket list, checked!

So if you're wondering about whether you should climb the pinnacles or not, I'd say, go for it! It's a great climb, extremely challenging and definitely not for the faint hearted. It helped me to realise that I am stronger that I thought I was, and also helped build my determination and character. But before you go, make sure you prepare for the climb. It took me 5 hours to climb up and 6 hours to climb down, a total 11 hours of climbing is not easy and especially with terrain such as these. On average, most climbers would complete the climb within 7 hours. 

The distance from Camp 5 to the Pinnacles is only 2.4 km but the elevation and terrain is what makes it difficult for most climbers. Some do not complete the climb to the summit. A word of caution, the terrain can be extremely slippery if it rains (it rained for a bit while we were climbing down) so your guide may stop the climb (due to safety reasons) and ask you to climb down instead of proceeding to the summit. 

But seriously, go for it! If my 63 year old mum (who has never hiked in her life) can make it to the summit, I am sure you would too. 

To more challenges in the future and an interesting 2016.

xoxo Mrs Fashionista

Fashionista's Escapades: Climbing Bukit Kiara

Ah hello there! We're finally at the beginning of 2016 and to start off the year, we've decided to do a short hike at Bukit Kiara. Bukit Kiara Park is located within the heart of Taman Tun Dr. Ismail (TTDI), right next to the Women's Institute. It features a walking/ jogging path as well as a jungle trekking/ hiking trek. There's various treks to chose from so do be careful on which path you decide to tread on, you might end up at the other end of the park.

We've decided to do a short (around 3 - 4 kilometres) trek just to get ourselves warmed up for other hiking/ jungle trekking activities that we've lined up for this year (inshaa Allah).

And here's a short photoblog of the hike:

It was a rather last minute trip (organised just a day before the trek itself) so I kinda invited those who were available around campus on whether they'd like to join the trek.

The trail is relatively easy, way easier than Broga and Bukit Gasing. This is due to the fact that this is a biking trail (for mountain bikers) thus the path is bigger and smoother than the normal jungle trekking path.

Arrived at what seems to be a place that's filled with ferns. 

We decided to stop our hike here and turned back for two reasons. One is that we've passed our kilometre mark and two, we did not have the luxury of time to complete the track to the other side and then make another trek back.

Us. You can see behind us the ferns are as tall as we are.

Accidentally walked back using another path and found a bamboo covered section which was rather awesome.

A sneak peak of Petaling Jaya, covered by the trees and greens.

A clearer view of KL, complete with both KLCC and KL Tower.

A better view of Petaling Jaya.

Decided to take a slightly tougher path back and ended up with a bit of a hike down hill.

I must say that Bukit Kiara is relatively an easy hike. The paths are wide (mostly) and smooth (definitely smoother than Broga and Bukit Gasing). Because we were hiking on a weekday morning, we didn't encounter any mountain bikers although I assume during weekends this place would definitely be packed with both hikers, jungle trekkers and cyclists. I would love to come here again, especially for a morning jog and see whether I can try to complete the trek from one end of the park to the other end. Definitely a great place to build stamina for tougher climbs ahead. 

xoxo Mrs Fashionista