Self Portrait

Taking Care Of Our Health

The following r some tips we can all use :

1. Never skip breakfast.

People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration.

2. Eat only when hungry & in small amounts.

Overeating causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.

3. High sugar consumption.

Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

4. Smoking & air pollution.

The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency. Smoking may cause multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

5. Sleep deprivation.

Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells. And don't sleep while head covered, as it increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

6. Working your brain during illness.

Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

7. Lacking in stimulating thoughts.

Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage. Do talk as intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.

8. Consuming too much medication, preservatives, additives, food coloring, artificial sweetener and unhealthy cooking oil.

As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.

9. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver. Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.

We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits.

Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to "schedule." Don't upset this schedule by sleeping too late and waking up too late, because :

Evening at 9 - 11pm : is the time for eliminating unnecessary/ toxic chemicals (detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes). This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a housewife is still in an un-relaxed state such as washing the dishes or monitoring children doing their homework, this will have a negative impact on health.

Evening at 11pm - 1 am : is the detoxification process in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state.

Early morning 1 - 3 am : detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state.

Early morning 3 - 5 am : detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process.

Morning 5 - 7am : detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.

Morning 7 - 9 am : absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time. Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30 am, for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30 am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 - 10 am rather than no meal at all.

Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late.

DO TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN HEALTH … AS NO ONE ELSE WILL !

Reasons Why There Are Many Single Ladies ...

Question : WHY LADIES TODAY ARE STILL SINGLE ?

Answer : There are not enough good guys around, well ...

1. The nice men are ugly
2. The handsome men are not nice
3. The handsome and nice men are gay
4. The handsome, nice and heterosexual men are married
5. The men who are not so handsome, but are nice men, have no money
6. The men who are not so handsome, but are nice men with money think we are only after their money
7. The handsome men without money are after our money
8. The handsome men, who are not so nice and somewhat heterosexual, don’t think we are beautiful enough
9. The men who think we are beautiful, that are heterosexual, somewhat nice and have money, are cowards
10.The men who are somewhat handsome, somewhat nice and have some money and thank God are heterosexual, are shy and never make the first move !
11.The men who never make the first move, automatically lose interest in us when we take the initiative !

Now, who says they understand men ?

The Little Things That "Annoy" Us

After Sept. 11th, one company invited the remaining members of other companies who had been decimated by the attack on the Twin Towers to share their available office space.

At a morning meeting, the head of security told stories of why these people were alive … and all the stories were just : The 'LITTLE' things.

As you might know, the head of the company survived that day because his son started kindergarten.
Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to buy donuts.
One woman was late because her alarm clock didn't go on in time.
One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike because of an accident.
One of them missed his bus.
One spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change.
One's car wouldn't start.
One went back to answer the telephone.
One had a child that dawdled and didn't get ready as soon as he should have.
One couldn't get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, took the various means to get to work but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive today.

Now when I am stuck in traffic, miss an elevator, or have to turn back to answer a ringing telephone … and all the little things that annoy me, I'll think to myself - this is exactly where Allah wants me to be at that very moment …

So the next time your morning seems to be going "wrong", like the children are slow getting dressed, or you can't seem to find the car keys, or you hit every traffic light, etc - don't get mad or frustrated, as Allah is watching over you.

May Allah continue to bless you with all those “annoying” little things and may you remember their possible purpose.

Our Amazing Mind

Got this from a friend. Care to read ?

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

So what do u think ? I guess spelling is not that important anymore huh ?

Cracked Pot

Hope this article will bring smiles on for the week ... happy reading.

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.

"I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?"

"That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them."

"For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

So, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on ur side of the path ! Remember that all of us r created for a purpose, and whatever happened, happened 4 a reason.

Do not undermine ur worth by comparing ur self with others. It is becos we r different that each of us is special. Have a nice day !

CANCER : INFO & ADVISE

Deadliest Diseases Of Our Time

Here are some health tips which are useful for all of us :

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong, the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer, it indicates that the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells. It also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation, while destroying cancer cells, also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

CANCER CELLS FEED ON :

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened Soya milk cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans.

Fresh vegetable juice provides live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells.

To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells, try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water – best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

Chicken Crossing Road

This is a story about a chicken crossing a road. The following r comments & justifications by "experts" on the particular incident ...

Kindergarten teacher: Because it wanted to get to the other side.

Aristotle: It is the nature of chickens to cross roads.

Ronald Reagan : I forget.

Arthur Andersen (consultant) : Deregulation of the chicken's side of the road was threatening its dominant market position. The chicken was faced with significant challenges to create and develop the competences required for the newly competitive market. Andersen, in a partnering relationship with the client, helped the chicken by rethinking its physical distribution strategy and implementation processes. Using the Poultry Integration Model (PIM), Andersen helped the chicken use its skills, methodologies, knowledge, capital and experiences to align the chicken people, processes and technology in support of its overall strategy within a Program Management framework.

Richard M. Nixon: The chicken did not cross the road. I repeat, the chicken did NOT cross the road.

Computer Programmer: In order for the chicken to cross the road safely they would need more than one driver to access the server farm, if not they will hang in the middle of the road.

Jerry Seinfeld: Why does anyone cross a road ? I mean, why doesn't anyone ever think to ask "What the heck was this chicken doing walking around all over the place anyway?"

Bill Gates: I have just released the new Chicken Office 2000, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook.

Colonel Sanders (KFC): I missed one ?

Bill Clinton: I've had so many chicks, I can't remember ...

Dr M: You know, I am tired of all this...'apa-nama' chicken-chicken bisnes...the foreign powers should stop intervening in our domestic affairs and just leave our chickens alone.. If they want to... 'apa-nama' cross the road, they should be allowed to cross the road... Malaysia is a democratic country; we let our chickens do whatever they want to do... as long as they don't threaten the Malay unity and try to topple the government... and if they plan to do so... we won't hesitate to use the ISA...

Pak Lah: Ini semua adalah khabar angin sahaja... jangan percaya khabar - khabar angin ini semua... biasalah ini adalah taktik pembangkang untuk memecahbelahkan perpaduan ayam-ayam semua... jangan percaya... jangan percaya...

Sammy Vellu: Ayyooyoo... belakang cerita lain kali, kita sude bikin banyak jembatan, itu ayam musti guna jembatan untuk lintas itu jalan, lagi pun kalu itu ayam mau pigi jalan-jalan, beritau sama saya juge, saya bolleiy buat lebbeiy banyak toll...

Karam Singh Walia (TV3): Seperti yang saudara dapat lihat, kelihatan ayam-ayam itu sedang melintas jalan. Mereka bukan sahaja melintas jalan, malah membuang najis di atas jalan dan ini adalah pencemaran yang paling hebat di maya ini. Bapa-bapa dan ibu-ibu ayam haruslah mengambil inisiatif untuk melatih ayam-ayam agar menahan najis sewaktu melintas jalan, sekian saya sudahi dengan... Ayam di jalan di lintaskan; Ayam di reban mati tak makan.

Wan Kamarudin (Edisi Siasat NTV7): Ape kejadah nyer ini semua, KL dah jadik reban ayam, mak bapak ayam asyik menganga saje.

Zainal Ariffin Ismail (Misteri Nusantara TV3): Ada saksi menyatakan yang mereka dapat melihat ayam-ayam ini melintasi jalan-jalan di kampung ini pada waktu malam. Ada yang menyatakan ayam-ayam ini merupakan penyamaran jin. Dan ada juga mengaitkan ia berkaitan dengan peristiwa silam di kampung ini. Apakah sebenarnya maksud tersirat ayam-ayam ini melintas jalan ? Oleh itu saya akhiri, "Jangan biarkan hidup anda diselubungi misteri ..."

Views on Aging

= George Carlin ' s Views on Aging =

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16!

And then the greatest day of your life... you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony. YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS !!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk!

He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait !!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would !

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70 ! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday !

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there.

Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half !"

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half !!

Dad - when I was ...

U may call him daddy, ayah, bapak, abah, appa or some other affectionate names. My childrens called me Baba. I called my father Papa. This one is dedicated to him in conjunction with Father's day.

When I was :

• 4 years old
  – My daddy can do anything
• Five
  – My daddy knows a whole lot
• Six
  – My dad is smarter/stronger than yours
• Eight
  – My dad doesn’t know exactly everything.
• 10
  – In the old days, when my dad was growing up, things were sure different.
• 12
  – Oh well, naturally Father doesn’t know anything about that. He is too old to remember his childhood.
• 14
  – Don’t pay any attention to my father. He is so old-fashioned !
• 21
  – Him ? My God, he’s hopelessly out-of-date.
• 25
  – Dad knows a little bit about it, but then he should because he has been around so long.
• 30
  – Maybe we should ask Dad what he thinks. After all, he’s had a lot of experience.
• 35
  – I’m not doing a single thing until I talk to Dad.
• 40
  – I wonder how Dad would have handled it. He was so wise and had a world of experience.
• 50
  – I’d give anything to have Dad here now so I could talk this over with him. Too bad I didn’t appreciate how smart he was. I could have learned a lot from him.

To my Papa, Happy Father's Day. I wish u could be with us.

TAKE TIME TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE

Most Malaysians love to give. They give their money and they give their time. Some of the happiest people I know are those who are so busy helping and giving to others, that they never have time to fret or complain about their own problems.

Most of the giving we do is never publicized. We don’t give for publicity; we give because we believe in helping others. But every now and then, someone’s gift is noticed, and it inspires others to follow.

I admire anyone who takes the time and the extra mile to help others, whether they are doing big things or little things.

Once when I was feeling rather down, my late grandmother suggested that helping someone else would be a good way to get rid of my worries / "problems".

She was right, and I sincerely recommend it to others. You haven’t lived until you’ve experienced the warm glow of unselfishly helping someone else, especially someone who can never return your favor.

While you may not be in a position to do big contributions to the world, but you can still help someone. Example, pick up groceries for an elderly person, teach or help your neighbor’s children with their homework, assist a new co-worker the ropes, give a lone-looking stranger a smile.

Look around you, every person you see has a need of some kind. Take time to help someone. If you can only help one today, you’ve made a difference.

Do all you can with what you have, while you can, in the time you have, in the place and position you are now. In short, if you’d really like to feel good about yourself, try helping someone else !

GIVING WHEN IT COUNTS

I got this article from somewhere - forgot already ! But I post it here just to share with others. Here it goes ...

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of survival was a blood transfusion from her five-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and developed the antibodies to combat it.

The doctor explained the situation to the boy and asked if he was willing to give his blood to his elder sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes, if it will save her.”

He lay in bed next to his sister, and as the transfusion progressed, he smiled, as we all did, seeing the color return to her cheeks.

Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, “Will I start to die straight away ?”

The little boy had misunderstood the doctor – he thought he had to give his sister ALL his blood in order to save her. Yet, he was willing to do so.

The question is - How far are we willing to go to help others ?

G Irau

WHY DO SOME PEOPLE BLOG ?

In today's world of the Internet, there is this new phenomenon of blogging. And don't be surprised that there are still many people out there especially those who are not internet savvy, who are clueless as to what blogging is.

For those who do not understand blogging, by and large most bloggers are basically writing public diaries. They may write about their everyday lives, almost as if to themselves, except that they put it up for public viewing.

What differentiates one blog from another is basically the quality of content and writing. A person who leads an interesting life and can write eloquently about it online is going to have a much more popular blog than someone who has a very routine life.

There are millions of blogs and some of the most interesting ones are those written by people who are, for example, cancer survivors who write about how they cope with everyday life and people who live in war zones like Iraq who give literally an insider’s view of the conflict.

What is wonderful about blogging is that there is no entry requirement except perhaps access to the Internet and a facility or flair for language. Anyone and everyone can start one, on any subject !

Bloggers do not have to study how to blog, sit for any qualifying exam, nor are paid for it. So there is no such thing as a professional blogger and a non-professional one. True, there are some full-time ones, people who seem to do nothing but blog.

But most bloggers have a life outside the Internet and write their thoughts for public consumption mostly as a hobby. It is however a hobby that is absorbing and exciting because unlike most hobbies, you do have an audience that is eager to and avidly does interact with you.

The wonderful thing about blogging is that it allows an individual to give voice to their thoughts when there are few other avenues available.

Some of these thoughts are not necessarily positive. But there are some “political” bloggers who generally can make very "intelligent" comments about national issues.

But for the most part, most bloggers are people who simply want to air their views through this exciting new medium.

Of late, there has been a lot of talk about bloggers from people in high places. Bloggers are apparently prone to lying, rumour mongering, and are not credible or authoritative. Some even go so far as to charge that bloggers can cause disharmony among our people, leading to inter-racial violence and bla-bla-bla ...

It's all a bit puzzling, given our country's embrace of the Internet and desire to build a knowledge-based economy. As the eleven million Malaysians on the Internet will attest, once you're on, you're on; there is no turning back. Otherwise, why would there be websites for everything, including for government ministries?

Some people have likened blogs to "surat layang" - those nasty anonymous "poison letters" against people that circulate and are read just like gossip magazines or "pisang goreng panas".

But there is a huge difference between those letters and blogs. For one thing, many blogs are not anonymous, unlike the writers of surat layang. Therefore bloggers who write under their own names are taking responsibility for what they are saying.

Secondly, unlike surat layang, one can always instantly respond to a blog posting by simply posting a comment. The more intelligent your response, the more likely you are to persuade people that what's reported in the blog is not credible.

Indeed, one way for anyone to counter what they view as untrustworthy and non-authoritative blogs is to start their own blogs. Since they view themselves as very credible straightforward people, whatever they say on their blogs must surely be persuasive.

In the US, politicians are increasingly turning to the Net to promote themselves, and it has worked well for many of them. Therefore, it is surely time for ours, especially those on the government side, to join in.

As they say, if you cannot beat them (and you cannot), then you might as well join them. Indeed, there are several politician blogs that could be very popular.

The only thing, however, is that they must be prepared for the Net to bite back at them. Unlike ceramahs to supporters and cosy chats to compliant reporters, netizens have a tendency to talk back, and not always very politely.

If they think you are talking garbage, they will tell you. The only solution to this is to not talk garbage, which apparently some of our politicians find very hard to do. Perhaps this explains their hesitation in embracing the Net.

Worst of all, such grouchy foot stomping about the Net only makes people look outdated and out-of-touch. Telling the mainstream media not to look to blogs for information only backfires. It makes the mainstream media look stupid and raises the profile of blogs, justifiably or not.

Some blogsites get more than one million hits because they talk about things the papers won't. It's an irreversible tide. Might as well flow with it, or risk drowning.

TIPS ON DOCUMENTING YOUR TRIP

Of late, people are traveling more and more like never before. When you travel, make an effort to document your trip. Write down your experiences, thoughts and comments about the places you visit and the people you meet. Be descriptive and fill your journal or blog with lots of character and personality.

A fabulous way to beef up your journal is to accompany your jottings with “trip bits” like ticket stubs, restaurant receipts and offhand sketches or photo shots of, say, views from your hostel window or from your seat on the train or at a Mamak sidewalk stall.

In addition, it’s handy to have your journal close at hand when you need to take down street directions, scribble out restaurant suggestions or exchange contact information with other travelers. Making use of your journal this way certainly serves to pepper more flavor to your travel memoirs.

Better still, bring along a digital camera – as a photo is worth a thousand words !

The world is like a book, & those who do not travel read only one page ! Happy travelling and documenting ...

Tips For Beginner Trekkers

THINGS TO BRING - Your basic gears check list.

Haversack / rucksack - Durable, tough and lightweight - OK to spend a bit extra, in the long run I can ensure that you won’t regret. One 35-40 liters, plus another smaller one (about 10-15 liters capacity) for day trip.

A waist-pouch – to put in your wallet, identity documents and other small items like keys, medication, pen & small notebook, or a Swiss-army pen knife.

Shoes – Can be a trekking or any ordinary sports shoes. Make sure you get a pair that can take a lot of abuse because that’s what's going to happen especially when you decent the mountain. My favorite is the "cheap" rubber shoes used by rubber tappers ! Very lightweight, suitable, and most of all comfortable, especially in our Malaysian jungle.

Never buy new shoes just before the trip – that’s a no-no ! A pair of slippers / sandals, socks, leg warmers.

Wardrobe – Get warm clothing that is wind and rain proof, easy to put on and take off and not too bulky or heavy. Warm clothing may be too warm at lower altitude so, get extra rain coat. The weather can vary from sunny to mist to rain and wind within minutes as you move through different parts of the forest and altitude.

Warm clothing, long sleeve shirts / T-shirts, wind breaker, rain coat/ jacket. Lightweight cargo pants, ¾ length sport pants, boxer shorts / underwear, sarong (my favorite item – don’t leave home without them !) Lightweight towel, bandanna, snow cap, baseball cap, gloves.

Gloves – You need one that can take abuse, something that you don't mind getting bruised. When you are all so tired and still have to decent the summit, you will most likely grab onto the ropes and run down the slopes and grabbing the ropes to slow down yourself. It is actually easier to run/walk without break than to walk down the mountain.

Mask – You need one that can hide your entire face, like the ones robbers use unless you don't mind the wind "biting" at your face.

Food – Just bring some high-energy food stuff like chocolate, nuts, raisins, glucose sweets, biscuits etc.

Drinking water - One or half liter water bottle should be enough. You may want to bring a thermos to keep warm water because some place can be really cold.

Torch Light – Or a headlight, more practical as your hand can be free. Bring one that is ultra bright and ultra light if you can. I promise you won't regret it. I still remember those days when I used to drag along a 3 D-cells torch light weighing at least a couple of kilos. Now that I am older & wiser, I carry one that takes only two AA batteries. Not as bright as I would like but it does the job.

Medicine – Headache tablets are the most useful. You can take them before climbing and after heavy rain or when you get headache. Diarrhea and vomit prevention tablets are useful too. Please take into consideration that you will experience variations in atmospheric pressure and unpredictable weather. People with high blood pressure and other health problems are advised not to climb but no one is going to stop you from climbing just be careful and know when to quit. Pack up also deep heat lotion, minyak gamat, plasters & insect repellent.

Tent & Sleeping Bags – If you plan for an overnight camping, bring along a small lightweight tent (for 2 ?) and a sleeping bag. I prefer sleeping in the hammock under a flysheet. Bring also durable ropes and some nylon (parachute) strings of abt 3-4 m long.

Miscellaneous – I always bring along second pair of dry cloths, socks, disposable poncho, plastic bags (to put all your things in, unless your bag is rain/water proof), toiletries etc. Mobile phone & digital camera (don’t forget to bring extra batteries). Binoculars & whistle can come handy at times.

Super tip – Travel light ^_^

Trekking Up Gunung Irau

One Friday afternoon on 8th Dec 2006, thirty-two members of KPTM Trekkers from KL and Alor Star took the PLUS Highway to Cameron Highlands. We were later joined by other members from Ipoh before exiting through Simpang Pulai.

Upon arrival at Sungai Pauh base camp we set up our tents and cook something light for supper, or rather a very late dinner. 

All of us slept well that night, as the weather was a bit cold after the drizzling rain.

The next day, we woke up early to prepare for the hike. After Subuh prayers we had breakfast prepared by volunteers among group members. We packed some for lunch at the peak of Gunung Irau (2110 m ASL). After taking group photos at the base camp, we drove to Gunung Brinchang through Sungai Palas, which is about 10 km from our Sungai Pauh base camp. 

Along the way, our team leader, Cik Liza stopped by at Brinchang Police Station to drop a list of names and phone numbers of our group members. This is a requirement, a sort of safety measures just in case if any emergency happens. 

This is the main entrance n stairs to Irau ..  Met a Chinese family of about 12 people camping nearby. When we arrived, this place was quite windy and cool. After reciting our prayers, we started our hike around 0920 hrs.

From the starting pt, we trek down from Gunung Brinchang, then trek up again to Gunung Irau.

The ground was all mossy. Besides being wet and slippery, the trail was actually quite different from other trails we trekked before. We don't really feel thirsty, due to high humidity level and low temperatures.

Taking a breather .. ;)

Laluan basah n lembab dgn mosses n akar2 kayu .. All the way, we have to be very careful when stepping on the wet grounds. There are parts where some of us got their shoes stuck in the mud.

Showing off dirty muddy shoes !

Reached Baby Irau at 1230 hrs ! We noticed there are actually 2 peaks at Irau. The first one is meant for camping as it is less windy there. Most of us had tit-bits and chocolate bars to replenish our lost energy. Tapi ada jugak yg blasah nasi goreng, sbb perut dah lapar sgt .. ;)

After taking a short break at Baby Irau, we continued our trek to the real peak of Gunung Irau .. This is the time that actually challenges our mind. Some felt so tired that they just want to stop here n turn back. We don’t have much time to argue as we have to go down before dark. At the end, all of us decided to continue our trek to the peak.

Finally .. the Gunung Irau summit ! At 1330 hrs, we finally reach the peak of Gunung Irau standing at 2110m above sea level ! Wow, what a feeling. It was difficult to describe with words, especially after going through the grueling treks of muddy trails, full of slippery tree roots and mosses.

Many of us couldn't believe that we finally made it to the peak especially when some of us already lost their spirit to move on even at Baby Irau. Took lots of pictures and had some food we brought in the backpacks.

Compared with other mountains that we have climbed, the scenery from Irau's peak is nothing to shout about. Actually the scenery along the way up to the peak was more breathtaking n interesting, making this trek worthwhile.

Looking at the sky getting dark, we decided to descent early. After spending just about 20 minutes at the peak, the first group starts trekking down at 1400 hrs. The temperature was around 10-15 degree Celsius, and the sky was getting darker and the rain was starting to drizzle. Along the way down, we spent most of the time identifying the correct path as some parts of the treks can be really confusing.

The first group reached our campsite at 1700 hrs. The last group, though it was quite late, were still able to make it down safely at around 2300 hrs.

The next thing was to clean ourselves.

After having a cold shower and scrubbing off all those mud from our bodies, we felt alive again.

We had hot BBQ chicken with fried rice for dinner. Many thanks to Che Jan n Kak Rose, our Master Chefs n those who stayed back at the base camp and prepared such a great dinner for us trekkers. If not for them, we would have to cook our own dinner. Just imagine, with mud all over us and drained tired, who is interested to cook ?

Soon after dinner around 2000hrs most of us decided to call it a day. Many slept early that night.

Overall, trekking up Irau was a great experience. It was different from our previous Brinchang and Berembun expeditions. I highly recommend Irau to all hikers especially if you are for the mossy, highland cold weather.

Hiking tips: Always bring torch light and extra batteries for hiking. And batteries mean Energizer batteries, not the ones u buy from Tesco ! And make sure you start your hike early !

Kinabalu Thru Timpohon

Standing majestically at 4,095 m (13,455 ft) above sea level, Mount Kinabalu is known to be the highest mountain in South East Asia. Some guidebooks may say that one doesn’t need special climbing skills or apparatus to trek up Mount Kinabalu, but I would suggest that they must at least have the basic fitness level, plus a strong mental and fighting spirit, as some parts of the trail can be really challenging.

There are two main trails to the summit. The first one starts at Timpohon Gate, about 4.5 km from the Kinabalu Park Headquarters, while the other starts at Mesilau. The whole trek from Timpohon Gate to Low’s Peak is about 8.5 km, while the trek through Mesilau is longer by 2 km. This time we decided to go up through Timpohon.

Our expedition was led by Tubik Tuapit, a Kadazan Dusun local guide. There were 9 climbers from Kolej Poly-Tech MARA (Rose, Liza, Wani, Liana, Sham, Atoi, Fendi, Zul, myself), 3 ex-KPTM students (Iskandar, Yusran, Yob), and ex-KPTM lecturer Datin Zainah with daughter Aishah tagging along.

Less than half of our group members had some prior experience in adventure trekking and climbing; while the rest were first timers. Rose brought along her teenager daughter Azza while Wani was accompanied by her hubby Shah.

We began our ascent through Timpohon Gate on 2nd May 2005 at 1140 hours along with trekkers from other groups. As we trekked up the mountain, the big group gradually splits into smaller groups depending on one’s own speed and fitness level.

The weather was good and we had never seen such a wonderful view of Mount Kinabalu. Here we can actually feel and experience the fresh mountain air and the real challenge of mountain climbing.

Later on the climb at 1500 m the weather became a bit misty, making the trek wet and slippery. We managed to negotiate several difficult and dangerous points where we had to climb steep slopes and cross some slippery rocks covered with muds.

Along the way up we encounter many huts with very basic toilet facilities available at intervals of about 500 m each, for climbers to rest or take a break.

We stopped at Layang-Layang hut at about 2500 m to take a breather or two as it has the best rest area facility since Timpohon Gate. It is a good place to stop and have lunch (chocolate bars and biscuits) and relax in the cool mountain air. The water we brought in the haversack turned icy cold. Felt like it just came out from the refrigerator !

Tree ferns and mosses are common at this altitude. For those who were observant, this is also the zone for Pitcher-plant or “pokok periuk kera”. A couple of friendly tiny but furry squirrels can be seen hopping around waiting to be fed by visitors.

We were advised not to rest too long as it might make us feel lazy to continue. A short stop once in a while can help reduce the pain and ache already developing at the lower abdomen area, especially the thigh, knee and ankle. After about 15 minutes break, we continue our trek up the mountain.

Finally as we were about to approach Laban Rata at 3300 m (6 km from Timpohon Gate), it rained very heavily. The cold mountain rain caused everyone to shiver. Most members found the cold weather challenging. The night temperature was very cold around 15 degrees Celcius, turning everything especially water into icy cold.

At Laban Rata resthouse and cafeteria we had good food (RM 11.30 for a plate of fried rice Chinese style). Shortly after dinner we took another short trek of about 100 m to reach Gunting Lagadan resthouse where we stayed overnight for a rest, as well as to acclimatize with the high altitude. Unfortunately, there was no hot showers here. But it has a nice cooking area for us to boil water and prepare simple meals.

At Gunting Lagadan we grabbed some much-needed sleep and food to refuel our energy supplies before rising very early the next day in the hope of reaching Low’s Peak (at 4095 m), in time for the sunrise.

Most climbers rose at 0200 hours to get prepared for the early morning climb. After a short briefing by our chief guide, at 0250 hours we’re off again for another 3-hour trek to the summit, depending on their individual fitness level.

In the darkness, we can only see the beam of torchlight as the procession of climbers trudge higher and higher.

About an hour from Gunting Lagadan, we saw the Sayat-Sayat Hut at 3668 m (7 km from Timpohon Gate). This is the highest shelter available on the mountain, and it only provides very basic facilities.

Back on the climb, we walked across the bare grey granite slabs. The vegetation comprises of stunted shrubs and tough grasses in the rock crevices. From this point onwards, most climbers began to feel dizzy and sleepy as the oxygen level in the air gets thinner and thinner. A couple of our group members vomited. Those with acute breathing problems will normally has to quit at this point.

At last, our group reached the final destination at Low’s Peak, the summit at 4095.2 m above sea level (8.5 km from Timpohon Gate). As we waited in the cold, dawn gradually creeps over the horizon, bringing light of a new day. Almost all of Sabah can be seen. At around 0900 hours, clouds already begin to form. These swirling clouds obstructed our visibility, so we began our descent by then.

It was a normal descent to Timpohon Gate and we spent a night at the Magellan Resthouse at Kinabalu Park to enjoy the rest of the day - breathing fresh air and listening to the soothing sounds made by the flora and fauna of the jungle.

The climb was indeed challenging. It is definitely NOT for just anyone who thinks he wants to do it. One needs to be physically, mentally and spiritually fit.

Mount Kinabalu offered breathtaking views and a great sense of achievement. It is a good way to be close to nature and appreciate God’s creation. It is an ideal spot for those who simply want to get away from it all and enjoy the cool mountain air while exploring the forest trails.

Here, one can recharge for strength and force, to face the day-to-day challenges and succeed in life. The climb was done in the spirit of esprit-de-corp and camaraderie among our group members.

One may ask, was it worth the pain, slog and sweat of climbing and descending the mountain ? The answer is a definite YES, feeling 100% worth it and well rewarded.

We have developed not just trekking and climbing skills, but shared amusing and interesting memories for the years to come.

“Take nothing but photographs. Leave nothing but footprints."