Hiking Up Gunung Nuang on Merdeka

Most people would spend the National (Merdeka) Day of their country participating in parades or sleeping in on their cozy bed. Others would watch TV programs laden with National songs and documentaries about the history of the country. As for me and a few others, we decided to hike up a mountain. Truth be told, I was "persuaded" by a friend to join the hike. However, given that I haven't exactly exercise in a long while, I reluctantly joined because if not, my laziness would literally tangle me and suffocate the willpower out of me.

Fast forward - we ended up hiking Gunung Nuang, the tallest mountain in Selangor. As I knew, we didn't really plan to come here but GPS lady led us there. Now, I have been on numerous treks before but as I mentioned, that was a long while ago. Thinking that this should be like no other forest trekking that I have experienced, I enjoyed the first few meters of strolling. Not even 1km into the forest, the trail turned into a slope which after a few more meters, turned into another steeper slope. By the time we reached the first rest stop, we realized we had been only hiking for 1.6km. You have no idea how astonished I was. I thought we had hiked at the very least, more than 2km. I was really out of shape.

Now, the total journey to the peak of the mountain was at least 9km away. Initially, I told myself, "Meh, easy peasy". After being reminded of the hardship of trekking, I wanted to stay back and play with the butterflies. Luckily, the group unanimously agreed to trek half the way up since there was a waterfall in middle of the journey. Since the journey was cut short and I was a quarter way there, there was no point turning back, might as well move forward.

Thus, the journey continued and of course, there were more slopes to come (Don't forget, we were hiking up a mountain). Halfway up, my brain fried and I went into autopilot, letting my adrenaline took over me. I jogged up the trail, leaving the group behind (I'm such a horrible person). Before I knew it, I reached a stream with people having picnics around it. We regrouped and persisted onwards to the waterfall. When we we reached, I was glad that I didn't stop or else I wouldn't be able to take the following picture:

Imagine all sorts of Tomb Raider or Lord of the Rings scenes with this picture in mind. While the waterfall was spectacular, the object that caught my attention was the breathtaking tree that stood in the middle. It was just magnificent to see such a scene with my own eyes. Not from a book, not from Internet, not from any media but up front and close.

So, we stayed there a while, enjoying the scenery and the water. I would talk about the dreaded journey back but I do want to visit this place again. Hopefully, I have the energy to go all the way up to the peak then. In the meantime, let me enjoy my little comfort in my room.

And of course, not to forget:

Before I signed off, Happy Merdeka Day to all Malaysians!