Expedition to Gua Tempurung - May 11th 2006

Gua Tempurung, located in Perak was reputed to be one of the most beautiful limestone caves in Malaysia and I am certainly proud to have been in there.
I cannot vouch how beautiful it was as I was definitely very unfortunate to be there just when they had a power trip due to the heavy rain or storm the day before...bummer :(
However, despite the darkness of the cave once we are inside, I must say it was pretty cool and I am referring to the air....it was definitely chilly within the cave.
Okay, to start the story on how I ended up going on this expedition was due to this group in my company which I joined. Within each department of the company, there is this some sort of a special interest group which comprises of the voluntary members in the working department who are willing to spend some time on organizing activities off the working hours for the enjoyment of the department. Pretty much its objectives are to promote social linkage and also to promote the motto of the working place as a great place to work. This provides you the gist of this cool group. I joined this particular group and was involved in the community program which organizes the activities intended for the community and also promoting the social life.
This Gua Tempurung expedition is very much the first project by my small team...so I am technically the organizer for this as well :) Hehehe....yeah, but that's not THE reason I went for the expedition...I just wanted an eye-opener and also to gain some natural experience; despite my credentials and my nature for physical activities.
Nevertheless, I went and had a great time and proceeded to go home down to KL...after all, I am already in Perak; might as well go home...hehehe...furthermore, I followed my friend's car; the President or Chairperson of this whole group...she's cool..and I really owed her one ;)
So, Zue was also the one who picked me up from my place in the morning and then we travelled in her car to go to Perak. It was also an unlucky day for poor Zue as she was pretty worried about her car's battery which was actually getting weak. Originally there were supposed to be 4 of us in the car(including her) and all girls; but due to the battery issue, Zue requested for another guy to drive the car and also in case of any arising complications on the road.
From the Penang bridge, we took about an hour to reach the Gua Semanggul R&R and had our breakfast there. Then we waited for the others and had breakfast together...of course along with some banter (as usual). Then, observing the time, we left at approximately 8.45a.m. to catch up with the others...also to note that we are supposed to reach there by 10.00a.m.
We halted and waited after the Kampar toll. Then all the cars went together to Gua Tempurung and finally there we were.
Stretching ourselves and also recovering from the news that there was a power trip and it will be totally dark in the cave and also we will be wading through the water in the cave as part of our expedition package. So, all of us armed ourselves with torchlights and also plastic bags for our cameras :D We left the remaining of our "properties"; cell phone, purse, etc in the car...sssshhhhh:p We were then given a briefing outside the cave and also took some pics for our later comparative analysis of the before and after effect of the expedition...hehehe.
The ladies in front and the guys...all energetic and pumped up with bursting eagerness to explore the limestone cave....Gua Tempurung...here we come!! :)
We then went in with the guide; too bad it was pitch black inside the cave else we should be able to see the effects of the centuries' accumulated erosion on the walls of the cave. As the tour guide led us into the cave, we switched on our torch lights which were our only source of light to help in our navigation. Anyway, I forgot to mention that they have well-established pathways or rather, staircases which provide the civilized way of touring around the caves, admiring the natural carvings on the walls of the caves.
From time to time, after a flight of stairs, we would actually pause at those strategic platforms specially built for the scenic viewing of the amazing walls of the cave. At the same time, I believe these are also meant for rest stops; as you come to this clearing area after a few flight of stairs which I must say was rather tiring and could be taxing for those with low stamina....hmmm...probably I am one of them...for the athletes or regular exercise goers, this is no feat for them :D
Anyway, as we look at those walls, it was such a shame that there were no lightings to show us how magnificient the imaginative shapes as described by the guide which entails from an old man to a pregnant woman, a human leg, a monkey, dragon, dinosaur(T-Rex), chicken thigh, an eye....it was pretty eerie to look at them in the dark and at the same time, you couldn't help but chuckle at those imaginary shapes as the guides made them out to be and also getting the crowd to envision and agree with them...hahaha:)
As I have mentioned, if there were power supply, the caves would be lighted up as depicted in the picture which was taken from the brochure guide.
Isn't that nice? It would be good for us to take more decent and lighted pictures instead of huddling in the darkness and goodness knows what's lurking there....hehehe.....creepy...but thank God there were not much creepy crawlies encountered or should I say, as far as I was concerned at that time. In fact we only hear the screeching of the bats from time to time but surprisingly none in sight, even as we shone those lights at the top of the cave. There were those guano, or droppings in layman terms though on specific locations of the cave. There were even water puddles here and there and these, as described by the guide were due to the heavy rain the day before.
We snapped a picture at one of the rest stops, though in darkness....
As you can see, the darkness did not shut out the bright spirits within us as we beamed at the camera :D
Another interesting highlight would be the opening which allows a strong gush of wind to blow into the cave and the unique bit is that it is only at this particular spot. I remember that it was at this spot where the guide was telling us the story of the dragon at the tail of the dinosaur and they are not fighting. The dinosaur is an old one and barely has any teeth...hahaha...hilarious...the imaginative mind :D
It was truly an air-conditioning experience at that particular spot....and according to the guide, it was only at this spot; the rest of the journey will no longer be as cool. Anyway, I find the whole time inside the cave was kinda cool; probably due to the limestone and also the enclosed area and also the nature itself :D Praise Mother Nature for her wonders *winks*
After all the "civilized" walk up and down the stairs, we came to an end; yup, the end of the first part of our tour package; which is a combination of the tour and also the water adventure for the journey out of the cave. They offer a few combination of packages for the purpose of the tour anyway; which I presented in the meeting for the team to decide...at that time, it didn't make much sense....but now it does. My tip is, if you are planning on an expedition trip to Gua Tempurung or anywhere, do check with people who have gone there before and find out what it's like :D Read on and you will know why I said so....
So, we came to the end of the flight of stairways...and there were no further road...at least civilized road...hehehe...I know I know...I am a little princess...spoilt to the core....and though I love nature, I am not exactly that close to nature either...contradicting? Hehehe...I don't understand that myself sometimes.
Anyway, the guide told us that this is the end of the Part 1 and we are embarking on the 2nd part of the tour which is the water tour; for our journey back and out of the cave. With bewildered looks on our faces, we stared at him as we did not see any paths or routes which gives us the hint of the water path. He then pointed to the steep ledge and told us we have to slide our way down to the strong platform. We gaped at him....and he told us, if we want to chicken out, we can use the stairs to go back but we have to do it on our own. I stared at him as if he was nuts; since it's dark and also, there were forks here and there at those stairs as well...but at the same time, I cannot deny that I was truly feeling so scared....the thought did come across my mind. Nevertheless, we slid down; one by one....though scary as it was. But I must thank those guys who went down first and then assured us ladies by catching each one of us...this is the time where trust and faith comes in...you do need to put the fully trust in them that you will be caught down there by your pals...and to Izwan, Tean Wee, and JLo, you guys are da best!!! Thanks for making this a less scary experience for all of us.....:) It was pretty hilarious as they were cracking jokes...though it was in a teasing mode, but I believe that they were trying to ease the tension building in the air and it soon became a breeze for the rest to slide down. In fact, some even took pictures; posing before they slide down :D
It was pretty funny when a few of the guys were left on top and they started saying that guys do not need to be caught anymore....hahaha:D
Well, everyone made it; even one of our teammates who was claustrophobic...a person who's afraid and intimidated by confined spaces. Cheerios to everyone...and it was such a relief. Then, comes the next shocker, just when we thought that's it, we are starting on the journey, then the guide pointed to a small hole and told us that we have to jump into the hole and begin our journey....well, again, thanks to those guys who caught us at the bottom.
Thus begin our journey in the water...and we were wading, yeah, no kidding in the water. There were certain areas where the ceiling was so low and also the sharp stalagmites were pointing down, we even had to walk like a duck, crawl on fours and also lie down. Another thing to note is that the water current was unexpectedly strong....I was almost swept away by the water; I could not hold my balance.....and I am the only one...hahaha...not too light I suppose....actually I was also almost blown away by the wind in Shanghai before...hehehe...okay, let's stop at that. But I must again thank Ping Ping who gripped me to balance and guided me all the way through this journey. Though it was taxing but it was definitely a nice and fun experience. It was about an hour; and we again snapped pictures here and there.
The only guy in the picture; and he was the one who often made those ghostly faces and sounds by shining his torch up at his face to scare me from time to time...hahaha....but he's a pretty funny guy :D
This was totally unexpected....hahaha...Tean Wee just threw himself in front of our nice pose and got the attention....hahaha...talk about stealing the limelight...and in a limestone cave :p
Now we have come to the end of our expedition and we could start to see the light of the entrace from where we came in on top of us...phew....and everyone started cleaning their socks and shoes and then play with the cold water for a short while...hehehe...some snapshots.

Now out in the sun...and at the end....yeayyy...we did it...and look at the team rapport in getting everyone to shore :D

The whole team who made it....CHEERS guys and gals!!! :D *winks*

Be proud of ourselves, GPTW BOLEHHH!!!!!

All bathed and nice....on our way home.... great trip....and I finally can go home to KL!!! Yippee...

Visiting the Lion City - Part 3

So, after the training, I have one more day left...hmmm, half day left before I fly home. On Friday, I went out to take a look at the city.
Now, who could miss the famous Orchard Road where all the huge shopping malls are located? Anyway, I was there tad a little too early and most of the malls are not open yet. The Takashimaya was the largest shopping mall in Singapore, according to the taxi driver....which contradicted what my classmate told me about the mall in Tampines.

So, this is a view of Orchard Road.











Then I went to the Tampines mall which was also kinda big...most of the malls here are kinda big...but compared to the ones in Shanghai? Those were huge and gigantic....:p Can't be compared:D

After that, I recalled Haw Par Villa which I didn't get to visit the last round I was in Singapore, which was way way back then..I was only eight at that time:) So, I took a ride to Haw Par Villa, one of the famous tourist places in Singapore. The taxi driver told me that they have lifted the admission fee and now it's free to visit the place. I was there pretty early, made it in good time too...reached the place at around 9.30a.m. and went in. There was not too much of a crowd at that time anyway and so, there I go, snapping pictures frantically....of myself...I am alone, after all:p






























There's the main entrance :) There's a small family there....and I guess they must be thinking that I am slightly out of my mind to be taking pics of myself...hehehe....but then again, probably not:p


























These are the statues...it's pretty much like a recreational park with the built statues for tourist viewing. Mostly are related to the ancient China history. There's one particular museum on the famous Chinese scholar...which I didn't have time to visit...I have to check out from the hotel by noon and I have to visit this place in a short time to get back to my hotel in time and also to pack and get to airport soon after.














Phew....anyway, I snapped as much pictures as I can but pretty much, I think their attractions died down and some of the statues have tarnished in the colour.
Then I noticed there is this place called the Ten Courts of Hell. I headed there in a jiff and there they impose the admission fee; SGD$1.00. I paid and went in....pretty creepy. If I am not mistaken, I used to read in the True Singapore Ghost Stories that there was this place called the 18 stages in Hell which was in Haw Par Villa. It seems that the place was too eerie for words and that the stages were depicted in a too realistic manner and it was described by the author that it practically feels like you are in the place; Hell itself. Furthermore, they have even simulated the heat factor and also the environment which looks red and fiery around you. To read further about the story, just visit my other blog...Starry Starry Night *winks*...the pics will even be posted there..on the Ten Courts of Hell which I visited. I guess they closed the 18 Stages of Hell.

Hehehe...my dad was staring at me as if I was out of my mind to snap pics of those scenarios in Hell when I showed it to them...also, I'd add that it was rather scary to be in the Ten Courts of Hell alone. There was a foreign couple when I was to enter but then they left and I was all alone.
I waited for more visitors before going in....of course....anyway, I will not elaborate much on the Ten Courts of Hell here, else it will be redundant story. I will share those in Starry Starry Night..an exclusive feature article on the Ten Courts itself *winks*

I proceeded to the little park outside the Ten Courts and there was this little area which details all the filial piety stories...pretty interesting...but if you are interested, I would recommend a temple on your way to Genting Highlands which describes all the 24 filial stories...pretty famous in the Chinese saying...I will cover that in my Starry Starry blog in the future :)

So, to continue my scouting around as I call it, there's more statues in the park
Here, even the walls have unique carvings of the deities on them.

And there's the small pond and the memorial.


Oooo.....look at this...Fook, Luk, Sau (the 3 deities of Prosperity, Wealth and Longevity)

There's Goddess of Mercy

These are the unique masks on the doors...and no, they are not exits..bummer:(

That's all of Haw Par Villa...I did it on pretty good timing...time well-managed, huh :) I caught a cab and got back to my hotel; did some final packing and bidding my hotel room goodbye, I checked out of the hotel. The receptionist(a guy) actually asked me whether I have been to the hotel before because my name sounded very familiar. He even asked me whether I am coming back to Singapore...I was like, of course...even looking forward to my next visit to this city*wink*

Then I was soon in the nice Changi International Airport and flying back to Malaysia...hmmm, to KL....yippeee.....my hometown...and if you may say it, my palace of a home....hahaha...not the palace in reality...far from it, it may not be as luxurious, but since it's where I grew up, it's definitely a palace in my heart:)
Coincidentally, it was Good Friday and it was raining so heavily that I half-thought my flight's gonna be delayed. Anyway, I was on time and there's my Singapore trip....goodbye Lion City...will be back soon :D

Training Trip in the Lion City Part 2 - Training

Yeah, now to the main purpose of the trip to Singapore; to undergo a vendor training....and yeah, I was the earliest to reach the business office...being the annoyingly punctual freak as usual. Hehehe...the tea lady cum the cleaning lady allowed me entrance into the office and even made me a cup of hot green tea which I was certainly glad to have since it was pretty cold in the office.
Anyway, while waiting for the others to come in, I had the privilege of looking around the training room and also to choose my strategic seat *wink*...after all, that's the privilege of being early and a rewarding experience indeed :D
I even captured some of these sneak peeks of the training room...

Hehehe.....this is my so-called nice and strategic seat during the training. I was alone for a couple of minutes and then someone came in; from Altera...hehe, one of the first classmate I met. Oh ya, did I mention that there were only 2 girls in the whole training class? hehehe...that's the world of engineers:p

Anyway, the training was for 4 days and pretty hectic; with lectures and also intercepting tutorials and practicals from now and then. Sometimes the instructor will even give us some travel tips and the places to go shopping in the city...hahaha....one particular statement he made which I was pretty amused with was when this particular lady asked about the location and the distance of this particular place and guess what he answered? He used a pretty unique and distinctive comparison...and these were his exact words:

" Hmmm...it's not near but yet not far. It's just like the moon....you can see it but you know it's very far away"...

Hahahha....good right? Needless to say, the whole class roared in laughter. I must say this is the first time I heard of such a comparison....comparing distance of a place to that of the moon.

Anyway, the training ended on a pretty nice note; and it rained quite often during those few days I was in Singapore. Pretty cold in the classroom....and we even went for lunch with the manager; their treat of course! *wink* We had Japanese food...too bad I don't have the pics:(

Also, they treated us pretty well, with drinks well-served and also breakfast was also provided:)

Well, besides the knowledge, I've made new friends from this training which was a pretty good return; with everyone coming from different background and job scope; there's even lecturers from Ngee Ann Polytechnic....and the following picture was captured on the last day:

There's Yu Shien from ST, CP the instructor, Raymond from MCT, Soon Yee from Altera, Ragu from MCT, Choon Keat from Ngee Ann and also Tong Bee from Ngee Ann.

~Glad to have met all of you...keep in touch!!~