tick number 1 -twice!

as predicted, bukit gasing was indeed tick number 1 off the list albeit it being on the 3rd day of raya instead of the first.



however, what i thought would be an uneventful (but physically exhausting) hike with mom turned into a rescue mission of sorts.
we arrived at the entrance to loud, incessant cackles of the neighbouring house's geese and after investigating found a poor little gooseling on its own on the opposite side of the fence, down in the drain.
of course i immediately picked it up and brought it back up the tiny hill. but this was the nearest i could put it to its 'elders'


everytime i tried to pick it up and shove it thru the fence holes they would hiss and snap at me.
by that time i had already pricked my finger quite badly on a thorn and did not want to get geese bite marks.
mom was quite insistent that we get the poor thing in, by hook or by crook as there were quite a few monkeys around the neighbourhood and leaving it out on its own wouldve been fatal.
lucky for us, a kind man came by and used his backpack to lower the little baby into the compound


after it was safely back in, it was quite obvious that the baby's mom and all its aunties were giving him a loooong lecture on the dangers of venturing into the outside world while telling him exactly which boundary he ought not to cross.



thankfully, we still had enough daylight to enter gasing hill and we were able to do so with a clear conscience.


in the beginning, mom was quite enthusiastic and trudged ahead at quite a steady pace


but after awhile, she decided that it wasnt fun enough to detach herself from her blackberry and went on to bbm, update her facebook status and view photo comments.


however, i certainly enjoyed immersing myself in nature (bugs, mosquitoes n all). it was quite shocking to find a jungle right smack in the middle of pj

of course the jungle got much thicker as we progressed and believe me, much much more hilly.
by the time we got to the hills where we had to literally hold on to branches to climb up, i just didnt bother taking pictures anymore.
after we finished the hike, which by the way took us much longer than necessary *cough* blackberry 'stops' *cough* i promised myself that i would definitely do this again.

and that i did! right the very next morning, in less than 24 hours!
but this time with marisa, her mom and the two little monkeys

oops wrong picture

THESE two monkeys, nazim and ilyas



although this time we made quite a few rest stops,



we also decided to be alittle bit more adventurous.
aside from hiking till the hanging bridge (which i also did the previous day)



we decided to test its sturdiness by really shaking it up and jumping on it

well actually, the accompanying adult started it, the rest of us just followed suit.

besides that, we also followed the 'anak sungai' trail



some parts of the trail, we had to walk IN the shallow river as it was surrounded by thick jungle and there was nowhere else to walk
the boys i could tell, really enjoyed this part of the trek as they were able to splash around in the water (so easy to make little kids happy)


of course they were in their crocs which they didnt mind soaking at all whilst i wasnt too happy climbing back in soaked training shoes.
but overall, i really liked the 'anak sungai' trail.
however, its not something you would want to do if you were looking for something more physically challenging.
i enjoyed it for the soothing sound of running water, lush greens and general peacefulness of the area. it was a good ' winding down' trail.

will definitely go to bukit gasing again, since its really near my house and all!