Bukit Tabur!

Sometime last week Zairus had this idea that we should go and scale Bukit Tabur and take pictures. Sure I've read about the place and seen (wonderful) pics of it on the net, but don't really have any idea of what to expect.

So come Saturday morning, Zairus and I drove to Taman Melawati to the starting point, which is just before the Klang Gate Dam entrance. We started up at 5.30am (trying to catch the sunrise), and 15 minutes later we arrived at a plateau. We thought 'is this it?', and lepak there waiting for the sunrise. Just after 6.00am we heard voices and a group of climbers went past us and were soon lost in the darkness. Then only we realized we're nowhere near the peak yet.

So we continued on, it was easy going all the way to the peak. The sun rose when we were still some pace off the peak, so had to take the pictures there and then. The view at the top was excellent, the pictures in Flickr did not lie indeed. By around 9.30am, we're ready to go down.

Earnestly we asked some guys who has peaked several times before, how do we go down. They told us that since we're first timers, we should go down the orchard way as it's very scenic. It's just a bit hilly, so we were told.

Maybe he thought we're fit climbers.

I tell you now, it's not as easy as it sounds. Maybe if you're fitter it is a piece of cake but for the two of us, challenging is a subtle way of putting it. There's probably 9 summits to scale after the scenic peak, and climbing up and down rock faces while staring at the drop below you're feet wasn't exactly what I was expecting.

But we made it through largely unscathed, just a few scratches and bruises here and there. Arrived at the car around 12.00pm, went for a superb ais kacang at the foodcourt nearby the MRR2 interchange, and then drove home for a refreshing shower and well deserved nap!

Managed to take a couple hundreds of pictures, still lying in my PC though. Will upload them sometime soon, I hope. Caught the wonderful scenery that I never thought KL can still provide, had an exerting exercise and the relief after it ended was priceless!

Some tips for those planning to go:
1. Bring lotsa water, two 500ml bottles are not enough. Lesson learnt.
2. Bring a Snickers or something like that, good for that extra energy boost when you thought your legs can't go any further.
3. Bring a deep heating rub as well, cramps can set in if you're not used to the exertion (or because you did not warm up like us idiots). Trust me, climbing a near vertical rock face while both ur thighs were cramping is not something I want to relive even again.
4. A glove would be helpful when scaling the rocks, especially if you love your hands.
5. Wear proper attire. I wore my Nike ACG, and it's a wonderful sandal to wear on hikes like this. I wore my Timberland cargo pants as well, which I must say is an excellent pair of pants.
Even after all those contact with rough surfaces, it is not even frayed a bit.
6. Wear a cap, it helps to keep the sun and sweat out of your eyes, especially while again scaling the rock faces. Lesson learnt.
7. Leave everything you don't need. We thought it's going to be an easy stroll so we brought our phones, wallet, keys etc. I say leave them all behind.. Just bring your car keys and IC in a pouch or bag.
8. Have a good breakfast beforehand, but not too much. A woman was retching when she got to the small area me and Zairus was taking pictures. Not a sight I'm expecting.
9. Have a good night's sleep beforehand. I slept minimally the night before, a point which I regretted. You'll need the rest, trust me.
10. Finally, have fun!

The climb up and down should take only about 4 hours or so. We took longer since we stopped quite a lot to take pictures, to rest and to wait for our turns at some places along the route. If you're planning on going, good luck and do tell me how did your climb go!

*posted on behalf of author who's still disconnected