21st July 2016 is a date that I would certainly
remember. My girlfriends from secondary school (Wahidah, Ida, Azira), a new
friend, Amalina and I went to Bukit Kiara Park, Kuala Lumpur for our first hiking
trip together. Alhamdulillah for this ultimate opportunity.
It was not only our first hiking trip together but also my
first personal hiking trip without any organisation managements, etc. in Msia. We
planned it through Whatsapp messages and when the day arrived, we thought we
were totally prepared. Turned out that was only half true.
…
Since Azira was the driver, she had to go around the
residential area to pick us all and we were on the highway at about 8:10 am but
reached Bukit Kiara around 9:45 am because we were stuck in traffic for 30
minutes and were confused with directions a bit. In addition, some of us are
not morning people so it was not remotely warm start but we were all fine after
we reached our destination. Everybody was intrigued on what was coming on our
way. We settled down, got our bodies warmed up while surrounded by most B.K
residents doing their morning routine exercises.
We then walked around the park, searching for an entrance
since there was no board or anything like it to ease us as beginners and
strangers to this new place. We found an elderly Indian man and asked him our
ultimate wonder. He was very friendly, the way he talked and smiled while
giving us directions on how to get to the hiking trail and how not to get lost because
there are a few trails that would determine on how long we will be in the
forest.
Wahidah had a selfie stick and was really excited to take
pictures of us on our way in to the forest. I was too.
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| From right: Wahidah, Ina, me, Ida and Azira |
So, we headed to a pavement road and walked for about 5
minutes before we heard people talking amidst trees beside the pavement. With
no further due, we all decided to follow those two guys whom were talking and
go from there. It was pretty steep trail and we were losing our breaths so we
took our first break and saw another two elderly Chinese men whom walking on
the same trail as us. We said hi and joked about following them since we did
not know about this forest. Surprisingly, these two gentlemen said yes and even
volunteered to be our guidance till our way down. I was the first person after Uncle Roger and I
must say that he is quiet a talkative person. He asked questions and gave
advices to us like we are all his grandchildren. I was pleased to hear those because
he talked about real adults’ life and it felt like a sort of awakening moment,
a turning point or a slap in the face.
He said things like we must use our youth years wisely by
travelling the globe and learn about other cultures, expose ourselves to new adventurous
physical activities just like hiking instead of lepaking in local malls and be
socially impaired; humiliate unique traits in people while do not realise that
respect must be earned and differences must be cherished. Uncle Raymond told us
that he hiked Mount Kinabalu when he was 16 years old. I still waited for an ice-cream
truck passing by my house when I was 16. We were dumbfounded by these two men.
Uncle Roger added that he studied in England and worked in Australia, fully
English educated but he never forgets his roots; Mandarin language, his
fatherland(Malaysia) but he complained about how close-minded our community nowadays
, like the war has never taught us anything. Most families are super conservative
that they do not allow modern adjustments to be taken respectively. Like I said,
a slap in the face.
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| Uncle Roger(front), Uncle Raymond(back) and us with sticks like pros |
We took breaks and the hiking trip took about 90 minutes and
we sweat off good. All Rendang, Ketupat, Lemang, etc. gone for good. I
personally felt energised after we finished hiking. The same energy channelled
equally for us take more photos on a hanging bridge in the middle of the day.
This trip did not end there. We craved for a decent lunch.
Azira drove the car all the way to The Curve, Damansara as directed by Ina
(Wazer) and we had a fine lunch and we discovered a tradition for our group, we
changed plates clockwise until our own plates reached us again. I exchanged
food in restaurants with friends before but in a sloppier way. Thanks to Ida. So,
it was a good exercise and a brilliant time spent together.
I learned my lessons and I know hiking is my hobby, seeing
the nature is one thing because it soothe our biology with fresh abundant
oxygen in the air but I remembered a quote stated
“you are no better than dumber you before you learn new knowledge until you
practise it”.
Let us all practise things we learnt and use our youth years for
a better older us in the future.
Au revoir.
