Bukit Tabur - Adventure on a Sunday Morning

So recently there have been a lot of leisure activity plans made in the office. After a year where the company's workload grew six-fold and we engineers saw the brunt of it as we struggled to meet impossible deadlines - work is finally easing up as we are looking to catch up on life outside work. Numerous plans have been made (and still are as I write), and one such plan was to hike a hill or mountain together.

As we discussed the options over one of our many lunch outings together (within the last six months it has become a 'culture' in our department), we finally decided on Bukit Tabur. A mass e-mail was generated and circulated around the department to gauge interest, and soon enough the group swelled to a healthy 16 people. There were a couple of colleagues who pulled out late, yet early on the 15th day of April, 14 of us assembled at the foothill of Bukit Tabur.

After some basic stretching, we set off along the trail. The hike wasn't all that exhausting, and we did take our time to enjoy the scenery at the same time. As we ascended the hill, we were flanked by some wonderful birds-eye views of Kuala Lumpur. My only qualm was that we began our ascent way past sunrise, so it wasn't long before most (if not all) of us were drenched in sweat. Every now and then we'd reach some sort of a peak, where we'd regroup and make sure no one is left behind before moving on. Of course, such stops gave us the perfect opportunity for photos amid picturesque scenery.

We continued along at a steady pace, muscling our way over rocks and shimmying down ropes; making our way across ghastly valleys and peaks. There never was a dull moment throughout the hike, especially with the occasional "hoo-ha" shouts to communicate whenever a part of the group fell behind. And here you thought engineers were a rational (read boring) bunch.

It was a Sunday, and the scorching sun certainly didn't fail to remind us of this as it continued to burn our backs, emanating its punishingly radiant rays over Bukit Tabur [sic]. On our descent however we were under the shades of trees all the way, which however meant the path was still wet from the previous night's rain. I must admit we did slip and slide along the way down, yet we made it back to the foothill soon enough.

Adrenaline still intact, we drove out to a nearby mamak shop for some lunch before parting ways. On the way home, I couldn't help but think how blessed I am to be in the company of such warm, wonderful individuals at my workplace. Perhaps, a crazier adventure with this erratic bunch of engineers is in the offing.

Photo Credits (first and last photo): Zarul Fahemy

February - Of Acquaintance & Reacquaintance

A beautiful month it was. I woke up every morning eagerly looking forward to the rest of the day. There was much to do, yet there never is enough days in February despite this being a leap year. Now that the dust has finally settled, I am left with the lingering sense of nostalgia.. Happiness encapsulated within the memories, of the days of February.

There was the trip to Penang with Julian, Kwong Hann and Alvin - my immediate reminiscence of which kick-started the month for me. The first weekend of the month had me tripping to the south of the peninsular on a rather unorthodox trip with a primarily-Mensan group. I experienced Singapore in a way like never before, before we spent a night at Tanjong Piai - continental Asia's southern-most tip. There really is no way to properly describe this amazing trip in words, let alone photos so I shall not even bother trying. If you really want to know more about this trip I suggest you simply ask me in person anytime because I doubt I'll forget the experience down the years. There is however a niche collection of photos from the first day courtesy of Patrick Khoo: https://plus.google.com/photos/107212895984411636275/albums/5705301294624697313?banner=pwa

After returning to KL for a short celebration of Thaipusam and a few more hours at work, I revisited Singapore the following weekend with Julian. This time I took the opportunity to pay a few friends and relatives a quick visit. I put up at Kishan's place on both the nights I was there, as I spent the days traveling the island on foot and the MRT.

After returning back to KL via the Aeroline bus with Julian, the next couple of weeks were full of plans with Julian, Kwong Hann, Alvin and Ziyu as we looked to make the most of Julian's time in Malaysia before we finally saw him off at the airport on the 19th. In between there was the Mensa Heritage post-trip reunion at The Curve. The next weekend I caught the Great Baritone Arias by the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra with my colleagues at KLCC. If that wasn't enough, the last night of this February was brought to a close with a night at Alexis where I was serenaded by the wonderful vocals of the a capella group from Down Under, The Idea of North.

I really cannot say enough about each and every experience I've listed above.. and then there are those that I haven't even mentioned. To top it all off - I didn't even need a special Valentine's experience to make this month a special and memorable one. What an incredible month it was.. and I have my 25th birthday to look forward to in a few days. Bliss!

Capital Trip - Part Three

Day Five - Philadelphia, The Old Capital

Since we planned a one-day trip, it was essential that we started early, and we sure did as we took a cab at 4.00 am to the Megabus terminal. We arrived at Philly's 30th Street Station early, and perked ourselves up for the long day ahead with a couple of donuts and some coffee from Dunkin Donuts. Then we made the decision to purchase the Philly day-pass (which gives us 8 rides on the bus/subway) and took the subway straight to the heart of Old Philadelphia.

After a little sightseeing along the old structures along the streets, we went to the Independence Visitor Center to get our timed tickets to enter Independence Hall. Now Independence Hall is as historic as our trip can get. What's more -we had an excellent guide who provided us with a wonderful explanation of the significance of the building, as well as a lesson in history. It really is amazing how well these buildings have been preserved, and how fortunate I had been to stand within those four walls.

Our next stop was the Liberty Bell Center, where we saw the actual cracked bell; an international symbol of liberty and freedom.

Unfortunately, the original U.S Mint (which was located in the same area) was closed since it was a Sunday. There was a lot more left though, as yet another mini-adventure of mine led us to Ben Franklin's grave. Now this man is someone I revere as one of the greatest to live, and I have only the utmost admiration for a man of such stature and diverse abilities. His body (along with his wife) though lies in a relatively humble graveyard, alongside a few lesser-known signers of the Declaration of Independence including Benjamin Rush.

After that, we walked westward across some beautiful parks, all the way to Logan Square. Along the way we came across the City Hall, a gothic-style building that exhibits wonderful architectural features.

We then turned back and headed for Elfreth's Alley, one of the earliest residential street that has been preserved almost as it was centuries ago when the city of Philadelphia was first developed by William Penn.

Upon this we went to yet another park (there really were quite a number of them within the city, not too far from one another) in the form of Franklin Square. It was only about 4.00 pm, and since we had pretty much seen the best of what old Philly had to offer, we decided to take a nap on one of the benches facing the fountain as we were 'serenaded' by the repetitious tune of the carousel behind us. After almost two hours, we finally got up to make our way to South Philadelphia aboard a bus so Kwong Hann could taste the best cheesesteak - Philly's trademark food.

We then returned downtown under cloudy night skies for some night shots of the incredible buildings (as well as my dinner at.. you guessed it - Mc Donald's). With no restrictions on tripods in the city, we took shots of the City Hall, LOVE Park as well as Independence Hall before catching one of the last trains back to the 30th Street Station where we waited for our early morning bus back to DC.

Day Six - Botanical Gardens, Arlington Cemetery, Iwo Jima and Departure

Our final day of the trip began with.. well, our departure from Philly to be frank. After a few frenetic moments as doubt was cast in our minds with regards to the actual location of the Megabus terminal, we finally made our 2-hour journey back to DC - this time on a more crowded bus. There were some problems with the arrival at DC though, as a number of roads in downtown Washington DC had been blocked off for the Nuclear Security Summit which began on the same day, and our normal terminal was unfortunately within these high-security areas. Hence, our bus took a detour to another subway station, and by the time we got back to the hostel the sun was already blazing through the morning skies. That translated to no sleep for us, as we reached home, took a bath and checked out so we could make the most of our final hours. What helped us was the fact that the hostel's caretaker, Antonio allowed us to leave our luggage at the hostel till later in the day.

Without further ado, we immediately headed to the National Botanical Gardens, which if you recall was closed by the time we got there on the first day. It wasn't much to shout about, though they did have a varied collection of wild orchids.



Soon we were jettisoning off to Arlington Cemetery - the nation's most sacred burial grounds. The cemetery covers a massive area, and much to our dismay, the tombs of some of America's famed sons were scattered around the place. From US Presidents Kennedy and Taft, to war veterans of the major American wars, to the justices of the US Supreme Court; an aura of greatness engulfs the cemetery. What's more.. there is the historic Arlington House, before which Confederate General Robert E. Lee is buried. The view of DC from the house is simply spectacular..






A short walk away was the iconic Iwo Jima Memorial.. and no, no matter how tired our legs were we could not afford to pass on it.


With that, we were pretty much out of time. We headed back to the hostel for our luggage bags before shooting for the Ronald Reagan International Airport. With that, yet another truly memorable trip drew to a close..

Capital Trip - Part Two

Continued..

Day Three - Art Gallery, Archives, White House, Kennedy Center

We began with a train to the Navy Memorial stop. The initial plan was to start with the National Archives that houses some of the most important and famous documents in the world. However, there was quite a crazy queue that went around the building, so we decided to go somewhere else first - the National Gallery of Art.

Now the last time we went to an art exhibit was in San Francisco (SF Museum of Modern Art), and we were left perplexed yet never excited by any stretch of the imagination. We prayed this wouldn't turn out to be such an experience, and fortunately we weren't left disappointed. The massive building has an excellent display of paintings from different ages, including the works of Rembrandt, Raphael as well as one Da Vinci piece - the only one in the Americas (and it is a two-sided one).

The gallery did quite a collection of sculptures as well, but they certainly pale in comparison to the artwork. Next we headed over to the National Archives, where the crowd had subsided to an extent. Make no mistake though; the small size of the building meant not many people could be inside at one time so the queue can be deceiving, although ours was relatively shorter than it was earlier that day. Almost an hour's wait later, we were finally admitted into the building. This is where my eyes set sight upon a few famous original documents, that till today remain sacred to the nation, and the world for that matter.. The Declaration of Independence, The United States Constitution as well as the first few amendments to it, known as the Bill of Rights. It was certainly a moment to revel in for me. The only drawback was, albeit a significant one - the no-photography rule within the building as a means of protecting the documents from light, that destroys the documents over time.

Within the archives I also saw a few actual Supreme Court decisions that I had researched and referenced in my Philosophy of Law class during my final semester. It really was a shame that I have no photographic proof of ever being in the presence of such powerfully written words, yet we wouldn't want to deny the future generations a chance of still being able to read off these originals..

After that we headed west towards the Kennedy Center. It was a long, long walk yet there were quite a few interesting stops in between..

We reached the Kennedy Center just in time to catch the Taiko Drummers from Tamagawa University perform as part of the ongoing Cherry Blossom Festival. After the performance, we headed out to the balcony to view the Potomac River.

The weather began to get really chilly, as we walked down to the Lincoln Memorial against the setting sun along the long memorial pool. We finally managed to deploy the tripod for some night shots of the Lincoln and Washington memorials, before we headed back for Pizza Hut near the hostel.

Day Four - Sakura Festival, Memorials

We started the day with the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade - a two-hour long event that was amazing, plus the huge sidewalks around the National Mall area and the distance covered by the parade meant that everyone got a great view of the proceedings (unlike a certain St. Patricks' Day Parade in Chicago.. hmphh). Here are a few photos and vids for your viewing pleasure. :)

(Videos)

Right after the parade we grabbed lunch at Mc Donald's (we're cheap like that wth) before heading over to the Sakura Street Festival which was a display of Japanese culture, at least to the American eye. They pretty much had everything 'Japanese,' including mangas, Cosplay, sake, samurais, ikebana, origami and J-Pop.

After that we walked down south to the Holocaust Museum, though unfortunately the general exhibit tickets were out so we could only go for the special exhibit: The Rise of Nazi Propaganda. After that we walked further down along the Tidal Basin to the Jefferson Memorial and the thousands of cherry blossom trees planted along the basin.

After that we walked through the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and finally reached the Lincoln Memorial for some daytime shots of the incredible building.

With the little time we had left, we walked back east to the Air and Space Museum to finish touring the exhibits. With that, yet another long day in DC drew to an end, as we went home to prepare for our one day trip the following day to - Philadelphia!