A "Fool" Print

After barely a month, we have made our second trip to Bukit Tabur. This time, we will be attempting the East Tabur instead of the West with Jane joining us as the seventh new member!!

The plan was simple. We will take a flight to Kuala Lumpur on Friday to have a good rest. Then we will start our climb on the next morning before having our R&R at my favourite Shangri-la hotel. When we touched down in KL at the evening, there was a heavy traffic and a downpour. I was worried and prayed for good weather since there was a weather forecast of scattering thunder storm during the weekend.

We woke up at 7am and had Roti Prata for our breakfast at the coffee shop below our Ampang Peutri Hotel. The Prata was good and huge compared to Singapore standard. After checkout from our accommodation, we headed towards Taman Melawati by taxi at 8 am. The sky was cloudy but cooling in the morning after yesterday's night rain.

The route is made up total of 4 checkpoints with the last ridges catered for those adventurous climbers. We followed the water pipes to reach the trail head. Subsequently, it was a steep climb with short forest section. We were perpetually scrambling up the steep slope. I was a bit exhausted and out of breath with the heavy backpack (7kg) carrying on my back. 

 About 40mins later, we came to our 1st checkpoint. The scenery was beautiful having a good  view of the city looking from afar with bungalows below us.

Then after, it was another steep climb going up and down through rocky areas and ropes to reach our next checkpoint. This time, we managed to have a stunning view of the reservoir similar to the one that we saw at West Tabur.

As we made our way further up to the summit ridge, we encountered a big group making their descent. To reach the summit, we had to overcome a long 60-80 degrees long section with ropes along the entire route. It was the grand finale, which could look intimidating for the weak heart. We were stuck at the junction towards the summit for 30mins to wait for the entire group to come down.

The climb up to the summit was super steep. We had to rely on our hands and the ropes to pull ourselves up. However, I couldn't recommend of using the ropes unless necessary due to the erosion. Technically, it was not a difficult climb and was rather fun if you like rock climbing or scrambling. At the top of the ridge, you wouldn't regret making to the summit with a fantastic 360 degree view of the city and reservoir!!

The descent down from the summit was more challenging than going up. We had to be careful and constantly trying to find a good landing for the foot. I would have tempered to use the ropes. Nevertheless, my common sense told me to use the ropes for support with the other hand holding tight on the rock as I landed my foot down carefully. When we reached the junction again, we made a left turn and walked down a slippery slope to the base. I felt blessed and thanked God  for the kind weather. The rain was starting to come when we ended our trek at 1.30pm. The next destination was our relaxation at the best hotel offered by the city with great food and shopping experience followed up..