weekend

Bukit Senaling: A hike above the clouds

| Fahim & Yasmine

Last Sunday, both of us, joined by our college friends have decided to hike Bukit Senaling of Kuala Pilah, popularly known for her panoramic views above the clouds.

The hike up is a lot less challenging than her neighboring counterparts, namely Gn. Angsi and Datok. The route is less steep and of average distance. However, Senaling offers you a trail through different landscapes and plantations, and personally for us, the best way to learn your topography.

Info:

  1. Location: Pekan Senaling, Kuala Pilah
  2. Trailhead coordinate: 2.690491N, 102.264534E
  3. Summit elevation: 394 meters (1, 293 ft)
  4. Elevation gain: 341 m
  5. Distance: 3km one way
  6. Duration: 45 mins — 1hr one way
  7. Permit fee: RM15 per head
  8. Parking: Provided
  9. Road condition to trailhead: Tar road, thru a residential area. You will park at a designated parking area prepared by the locals, just a walk away from the trailhead.
  10. Facilities: Surau is provided. Food and drinks available. Toilet is provided.

Trail route:

The trail is actually very easy to follow. You will see red arrows at every 0.5 km or so, and follow them exactly (even if you doubt them when its leading you downhill instead of uphill, just follow them).

Start of the trail —> walk uphill till you see a pondok (hut) —> rubber plantation —> follow the arrow that leads downhill —> palm tree plantation —> cross a mini creek (anak sungai) —> trek uphill which you may now observe the clouds engulfing the panorama —> steeper trail, going thru an open forest —> wooden staircase —> flat trail (400m) to the panoramic point.

Pics:

  • Dry, rocky trek most of the way.
  • Follow the red arrow
  • Mini creek at halfway point
  • Steep trail with the help of ropes
  • View at false peak
  • Wooden staircase
  • Peak
  • Panoramic point

White water rafting @ KKB

| Fahim & Yasmine

Last Sunday, both of us and a couple of our friends (Luqman Aidil and Hariz Rokman) decided to try out white water rafting at Sg. Selangor, Kuala Kubu Bharu with Xventure Mind tour group.

There are several other locations that provide commercial white water rafting trips across Peninsular Malaysia, namely in Ulu Slim, Gopeng as well as KKB. But, the Selangor River in KKB is among the best if you’re one of those daredevils that want to go for the hardcore straight away.

Kuala Kubu Bharu is located in Hulu Selangor, about an hour-ish drive from Kuala Lumpur. Honestly, our trip was pretty last minute, but fortunately, there wasn’t a lot of crowd particularly on that Sunday, so we managed to join in with a couple of foreigners on our raft. There were two groups including ours, and each raft was filled with 5-6 people, as well as a guide (steerer) and a captain. The guide and captain were part of the tour group, yet they were professional and very reliable so we were pretty much in good hands. Both of the guides and captains make us feel really safe in this somewhat dangerous sport, so even as first-timers, you should not worry a thing.

Essentially, for a price of RM175 per head, this was what we got:

  1. Duration of rafting: 2 hrs
    • We didn’t really expect it to be long, but it was definitely tiring as we were expected to be alert at all times, and to heed the orders of the designated captain in which we were briefed on what to do during the safety briefing.
  2. Rafting difficulty: Class 1 – Class 5
    • We experienced different difficulty levels from easy, straight forward rapids to some violent rapids. Bear in mind that the water was very fast-moving, although this may depend on the season.
  3. Lunch provided
  4. Snacks provided during our rafting break, where we stopped at a waterfall.

Without further ado, let’s get right into the pictures and videos:

This is everyone in the 10 am slot!
Rafting mates
During our safety briefing
In the midst of a Class 3 rapid.
Honestly, our guide was doing most of the steering and we’re just always looking out for cameras!
The guides from each boat will alternately take turns to continuously take pictures and videos throughout the rafting session, so fret not about not getting your photos.
Going into a Class 5 rapid.
In the middle of our rafting, we took a break to a nearby waterfall somewhere along the Selangor River. We were provided biscuits and water here.
Towards the end of our rafting session, our captain purposely capsized our boat, and we swam all the way until the end point. It felt really nice tho, to be floating in the water.
And… we’re done! Here are pictures of our rafting mates and our guide and captain.

Overall, we had a great time. We honestly recommend you thrill-seekers to try rafting at Selangor River, especially if you haven’t. Even our foreigner buddies said that this was the best water rafting experience for them despite having done 4-5 water rafting in the US prior to this. As for us, we will definitely try rafting at other places, because it is just too exciting. Believe me, this sport is intense as we all ended up exhausted after paddling through 8-9 rapids throughout our 2-hr session. But, we’re not complaining as it was definitely worth the price and experience!

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more.

sushi love

| Fahim & Yasmine

Who here loves sushi as much as we do? 🙋🏻‍♀️

This evening, I brought Fahim to one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in KL called Rakuzen. We had some good ol’ salmon sashimi, some yakinikujyu (grilled beef 🥩 on rice 🍚), some spicy zosui-beef (spicy beef broth on rice), and also some tempura mori (combined deep-fried veggies and shrimp). The meals were absolutely delicious and we felt that it was worth the experience and the price tag.

Truth be told, Fahim was never a big fan of sushi 🍣 or anything raw prior to today, but now, it is safe to say that he has a completely different opinion on Japanese cuisine. He loved every single dish and I’m glad that I brought him to Rakuzen. As for myself, I’m a big sashimi fan! Although I haven’t had the luxury of trying out sashimi in Japan yet, but I can always tell the difference between sashimi from an upscale sushi restaurant such as Rakuzen versus the ones you get from Sushi King or those ready made ones at the grocers. I hope I’m not being offensive, it is only my personal opinion that there is an obvious difference in the taste. No doubt that fresh, delectable sashimi can burn a hole in your pocket, but that is why I have them on special occasions only. To me, sashimi is an indulgence one should crave for.

If you’re a sashimi lover, you can always tell the difference between a fresh sashimi, and mediocre ones.

There are no pictures for the yakinikjyu or the spicy beef broth since we were too busy devouring our food, but trust me, they were just as delicious! Fahim and I enjoyed their thinly sliced beef that were topped off with rice and half boiled egg, and yum! They were so good. Some restaurants give you small portions of beef and a whole lotta rice, but in Rakuzen, you get equal portions of beef and equal portion of rice, which is so reasonable yet so sinful!

This isn’t really a sponsored post, hence the lack of pictures. But we just wanted to share our thoughts on it, and that if you’re craving or been wanting to try really good sushi, you should give Rakuzen a try. It is definitely a little pricier than Sushi King or other franchises equivalent to that, but with Rakuzen, you definitely get more options in terms of menu, with a much cleaner and cozy atmosphere, as well as having meals that comes in big portions which are always worth the price tag.

All in all, we had a great dining experience! Tell us where your favorite restaurants are, and we would love to give them a try.