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Sports

Today I have officially completed my 2-star kayaking course woohoo!! TBH I has a little skeptical at first as to why I should need a cert from the Singapore Canoe Federation just to kayak in SG (and mind you, that cert is a SG-only requirement -_-). Like if other countries don’t make you pass a test to go around kayaking then why do you need one in SG?!

But I’m glad I did take the courses, because I do feel a lot more confident in the water with kayaking + diving experience now. Like I actually know how to control my movements better, paddle more efficiently and rescue a capsized kayaker if need be. And really, it’s brought me to see a different side of SG where locals come out to dragonboat and paddle in the Marina reservoir under the scorching heat. It was also my first introduction to the humongous National Stadium where one can do all sorts of sport activities there.

The funny thing is I don’t think I ever enjoyed doing sports as a kid, but now that I think back.. perhaps it was because my schools didn’t have the best facilities to expose me to different activities. E.g., I’m not a huge fan of badminton, volleyball, netball, or basketball. These were the only 4 sports that my schools had exposed me to and that’s just so sad. Because as I’m older now I realize that I do enjoy certain sports like water activities (kayaking/diving), racket sports (tennis, squash) etc. Even tennis for example, I took when I was 17 and always in a group setting, which gave me the chance to practice and play with others, but didn’t allow me to rectify my mistakes and play more efficiently. Basically, I lacked guidance in my playing of sports as my parents (just dad really) didn’t teach me very much beyond badminton.

Oh well.. at least I know what I’m interested in now.

2017: 02/12
POSTED BY: Caroline
CATEGORY: education
outdoor activities
reflections
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Heat Wave

So it is officially Summer now. I mean officially officially because it feels exactly like back home, except twice as stuffier (heat island on the island of Manhattan?). It’s such a weird heat wave. A few nights before I came out of a building and found out it had been raining, so I expected the atmosphere to be cooler than usual, right? Nope. The water droplets raining down on the city only made the humid night even more humid and stuffy. So weird. Never experienced that in KL before.

Anyhoo..

Today a couple of friends and I were lying in the grass of Washington Square Park. We were almost falling asleep… until I heard this “SSsssss” sound coming out of nowhere (No, to all you Harry Potter fans out there, it was NOT Voldemort’s evil serpent out to get us). I did however, think it was a snake. So I jumped up and got so frightened and all of a sudden water fell out of the sky and started spraying us all over. Oh, they were just water sprinklers. Figures.

A park in Malaysia would totally be full of snakes and scary bugs in the tall unmaintained grass…. Lol.

2011: 07/23
POSTED BY: Caroline
CATEGORY: holiday
outdoor activities
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the climb.

Breakdown of the Climb:

8.15am-12noon — to Laban Rata

2.30am-5.45am — to Low’s Peak

9.30am-12.45pm — to Timpohon Gate

My legs are aching and when I walk my knees tremble as if I’m an old lady with arthritis. I’m not that old kay? =P Going up to Mt. KK has been an experience. The first day up to Laban Rata wasn’t actually too bad, just a bit of stamina needed. Luckily I went to Batu Caves to train. I heard there was a guy who arrived there at 10pm while his wife only came an hour later. That would have been pure torture both physically and mentally.

Went to sleep really early because we had to get up at 1 -.- They refused to serve breakfast even a minute before 2, so by the time we started the hike it was 2.30. Reached the summit at 5.45, just in time for the sunrise =) It was so effing cold up there and thank god we didn’t reach there any sooner because our bodies cooled down very fast, and you only really feel the cold when you stop walking. Ironically, Low’s peak is the highest peak on Mt. KK. No, not because the person who named the peak had an interesting sense of humour(too bad right?) but coz the guy was a Mr. Low. I honestly did not expect the climb to the summit to be so REAL. As in, ropes up pure rocks and no trails. No sand/gravel/mud/manmade paths anymore. Pam got a lil scared up there and almost wanted to backout, but luckily she didn’t coz all of us managed to reach the peak in good time! But now that I think about it, it was kinda dangerous with just ropes and nothing else to hold you up. One slip and you could die. Definitely recommend some decent bit of training before anyone attempts this feat.

View from the peak was so beautiful. It actually felt surreal being up there finally after all that hard work. Felt as if reaching the peak was life’s ultimate goal as everything was overshadowed by the majesty of Mount Kinabalu, highest mountain in SEA.

Going down was so painful. and I thought going up was the hardest part. It was kinda slippery and hard to navigate around without a good guide. Luckily ours was experienced and helped us along the way. Not to mention hitting your toes against the roof of your shoes is terribly painful.

After that descent, it was sandals all the way down for me from Laban Rata.

Cute Squirrel(?).

And it feels so good to be back. Food in KK was SO GOOD! =D

Also worth mentioning are: white water rafting, poring hot spring, mari-mari cultural village and fireflies/proboscis monkeys. FYI pictures not necessarily in that order, neither do they all make appearances.