A ride like no other...

About a month back my banker colleagues and I went for this unique Malaysian activity called ATV i.e. All Terrain Vehicle ride. I say unique because despite ATV being widely used as a recreational sport in other parts of the world; be it a desert exploration or a fun ride on the beach, in Malaysia one can jump on an ATV and take it through the lush tropical jungle trails right smack in the mad city of Kuala Lumpur.

Located just 15 minutes away from KLCC (provided there's no traffic of course), the Adventure Park Kuala Lumpur hosts several ATV packages in Kampung Kemensah, Hulu Kelang, ranging from 1/2 hour rides to 4 hour expeditions. My colleagues and I chose the 1.5 hour ride which took us through a jungle trail leading to the 7 tier waterfalls. This was actually my second ATV trip in the span of a few months, so it goes without saying that I thoroughly enjoyed it! Here are some pix taken during my first and second trip in July 2009 and April 2010:

On the 1.5 hour trail with my colleagues in April 2010

On the 4 hour trail with friends in 2009

 

 

 At peak of Bukit Tabur

Chill-axing at 7 tier Waterfall

Some tips to share

1) Kampung Kemensah is located behind Zoo Negara, Kuala Lumpur. From MRR2, turn in left towards Zoo Negara entrance. Do not drive into Zoo Negara's entrance. Just follow the small road located on the side. It will lead you to a Village-like area (very narrow roads, so be extra careful here). The ATV Adventure Park is located on the left, a few kms after you see the river and picnic area. There are signboards to the ATV Park located along the way.

2) Riding the ATV is much fun but it can also be a dangerous sport if you're not careful. Do follow the guide's instructions carefully. The ATV is designed to roll over large rocks and small logs but you have to make sure that you keep a strong hold on the steering wheel as it could easily swerve direction once it goes over a large rock - so hold on tight!

3) If you're into hiking, I highly recommend the 4 hour trail which leads to Bukit Tabur. The ATV ride will take you up halfway but you'll have to park ur ATV and hike up to reach the peak. Breath-taking views of Kuala Lumpur city up here.     

4) For further information (and more cool pix!), check out the ATV Adventure Park website here:

http://www.atvadventurepark.com/index.htm

Remember to make advanced bookings too as the place is getting popular by the minute. Enjoy!

Broga at Sunrise

I've blogged about Broga a few times before (see here and here) and I think I would not do the place justice if I didn't post up some pictures of the place taken during sunrise. I finally managed to cajole a group of friends who were already planning a hike there, to wakeup at 5am (believe me, it was no easy feat - both the cajoling and forcing myself to wakeup from my very comfortable bed in the wee hours of the morning).

Together we climbed the hill and this is what I caught on camera, at the break of dawn from the hilltops of Broga:

As usual, I enjoyed the short hike and the waking up at 5am was a task well rewarded.

Broga Hills

I’ve been wanting to blog about this trip the minute I completed the hike way back in November but time just got the better of me. Plus, ever since I found out about all these reading challenges on the blogosphere, I’ve naturally had my head buried in books like an ostrich holed up in sand. Anyway, considering that we only have one day left before 2010 looms on us, and also coz I promised myself that I would write about this, so here it goes…

My girlfriends and I (not my usual ex-uni gals, but my ex-PwC gals) have planned for this Broga trip for as long as I can remember. The plans finally materialised last month and to top it off, those of us who were married actually managed to drag our husbands along. For the record, this was my first time doing something like this with J. After 5 years of marriage, with him usually shaking his head each time I did something smelling of adventure, he finally succumbed to my passion for the outdoors...didn’t realise it would take me that long to charm him though. Anyway, I discovered that Ms F and Ms S had some trouble convincing their hubsters to join in too. Apparently, their mate’s would have rather waited at the foot of the hill with the focal excuse being somebody had to take care of the food…seriously guys...(tsk, tsk, tsk).

Okay, so our adventure started from the Kajang toll. By the way, if you’re reading this blog hoping for directions to Broga then you’ve come to the wrong place. I’m hopeless at directions and if I ever got lost in the woods I’d probably be eaten by a Sumatran Tiger before I manage to figure out how the compass works. I did manage to source for a map somewhere on the web though and thank god for AR who sort of knew the way in, and Eddie for leading us out all the way to the Bangi Kopitiam for our much deserved brunch. I think I’ve run off tangent here. Sorry, back to Broga. So, we were supposed to convoy from the Kajang toll at 7am, with 7.15 being the latest. But dear Ms E and Ms J either woke up late, were hopeless at directions too, or had to feed the cats first (I forget the exact reason), only arrived around 7.45am. No worries, we were all in a cheery mood and were just glad they arrived in one piece (apparently Ms E drove at neck-breaking speed and took only 20 mins to reach the Kajang toll from Ampang - yikes).

We used the Kajang Silk highway that heads towards Nottingham University and parked our cars in the oil palm estate, opposite the rabbit farm. From there, we hiked for about 5 to 10 mins before reaching the foot of the hill. The hike up took about 35 mins. It’s quite an easy trek if you’re a regular hiker as most of the route has been cleared out and some of the up-hill trails have been nicely shaped into small steps.

And this is the view from the top folks:

All in all, this is a great trail to hike on a regular basis. It’s fun, simple and doesn’t take too long to reach the fantastic views. I saw a few older couples on the way up who seem to be regular visitors. They say the view there is best at sunrise.

A note to first-timers: Please, please remember to take a leak before your trip, unless you don’t mind doing it in a natural environment with a few furry friends staring right at your wonderness. It is okay to drink lots of water during trekking or any other sports in general though, as your body will get rid of the waste through your sweat.

Also, a special thanks to Avian for the great shots!