I was so lucky & truly honoured when Kak Lina asked whether I was
interested to join the preview route in Langkawi last week. It's
definitely too good to resist offer so I immediately agreed to join the
bandwagon. For your information, this was my first preview route as a running blogger.
Therefore I was totally thrilled & excited to participate in this
short Langkawi trip.
Moreover, the haze situation in Klang Valley was getting worse with
ongoing dry spells. So I guessed it was about time for me to go for a quick runcation/getaway
from the neverending haze.
So in total there were 15 runnners/bloggers for preview route mission. We took FireFly to Langkawi
on Saturday. It was my first time moment too flying with FireFly from Subang Airport (SZB).
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| Safely landed at Langkawi International Airport.... Excited xhengat nih... |
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| We came, We see, We will conquer this 4,287 steps tomorrow! Today was just for sightseeing only hehe =) |
Once we reached the Langkawi International Airport, Ariff Syafik the Race Director himself took us to check on the starting
venue in Hutan Simpan Lubuk Semilang. It was an ideal place for local
& foreign tourists to chillax, have picnic with family & take a
dip in the pristine water during this hot & dry season. 😁
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| Our home for one night stay there.... Super comfy bed & spacious twin beds room.... |
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| We could see Pulau Dayang Bunting from the balcony of GeoPark Inn... Super awesome scenery |
After the simple briefing & some photo session, we went back to
GeoPark Inn, our official hotel for the trip and getting ready for dinner
with the representatives from Bina Darulaman Berhad (BDB) PR Team and the sponsors.
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| Happy group photo session after our tummy were so full! Scrumptious dinner buffet! Pic credit to Sis Marlina |
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| Please Do Not Disturb... Bed Time Already... Zzzzz... |
I slept soundly during my short stay in GeoPark Inn & woke up to get
ready for the route preview session. I just had Runbananaz energy balls
& Syco Bar energy bar from Marathonbaker to fuel my climb &
run. Did not feel like having a hearty breakfast.
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| Ritual pre-run group photo as always.... Pic credits to Misz Ella... |
After the group photo session with the team & organizers, off we go
into the woods to tackle the 4,287 steps of Thousand Memories of Eagle
Stairs (Tangga Helang Seribu Kenangan). We were flagged off by
8am sharp.
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| Let the climb began! |
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| You will seel so many beautiful natural architecture & art along the way up |
The first 1,000 stairs were doable. Easy and not so steep. There were
hand rails too along the climb. You know you've reached the Check Point A
1,000 stairs mark once you saw the red signage on your right. Just look for this huge jungle tree.
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| 1,000 stairs mark on my LEFT, while 2,000 stairs mark on my RIGHT side... Had to wear the buff since some nasty jungle fly kept on buzzing on my ears hahaaa! |
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| You can see some of the steps marker along the way up. Count as you wish... |
After that, I kept on climbing & counting the stairs too. It was be
daunting at some time but you just had to enjoy the fascinating view of
the jungle along the way. Right before I know it, I reached the Check
Point B 2000 stairs mark. Yayyy! Another 2,287 stairs to go!
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| Here got some railings.... Easier for you to climb the dreadful mental stairs hahaa! |
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| We still got time to take a breather & took photo together. Pic courtesy of Ariff Syafik |
Along the way up, I was lucky enough to hear the flapping sound of the
giant hornbill. It was loud! Heard some noise from the dusky leak monkeys or long tail macaque
too hooting from the tree top hehee.
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| Feeling2 Diva of the Jungle/Stairs on top of the lying trunk.... Hohoho! Thanks to Misz Ella for the awesome shots! |
Could not resist to pose on this big tree trunk lying in the middle of the stairs.
Hehee... I was totally drenched in sweats! Could already hear my
heartbeats pounding so fast hahaa... It was a great cardio workout
nonetheless! I would like to suggest you to bring at least 500ml of drinking water/isotonic drinks with you. A hydration vest or bag would be a great option so that your hands are free to use the railings at some stretch.
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| Self timer pose ala2 dramatik padahal tengah semput ciked time nih hahaaa! |
I could not find the 3,000 stairs marks anywhere but I saw the number of
stairs on every 10 stairs. That "distance" marker kept me going to
finish this climb asap. Quite a motivation I must say.
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| Wajah pasrah tak berapa nak insaf time nih... Selfie bersama anak tangga ke 3920 dulu hehee! |
When you thought that you have to climb all the way up, you were wrong.
There was a nice temporary descent of stairs before you had to climb up again.
Ideal spots for me to take a breather & soldier on. From there
onwards, it was getting a lot steeper and some uneven steps.
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| Doing down for a while, felt so relieved a bit.... hihii |
Honestly the last 20 steps were the steepest but I could not wait to end
my misery as quickly as possible. Hahaa! That's where the photographer
was stationed to capture our suffering look. LOL!
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| Almost there, ho yeahhh! No suffer face please hahahaa! |
Finally I reached the top in 2h10min, inclusive of taking pic stops,
hydration breaks & selfie pace.. I read the estimated time to reach
the top was 2h15min from the information board. Yayyy! Still within the
estimated time then. By right we could be able to see Tempur Island
from the top but it was not visible due to misty gloomy weather. I drank
cold mineral water provided by the organizer & off I go to run
downhill.
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| I`m at the top of the world! So many clouds in the background too... |
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| Unfortunately I could not see the Pulau Tempor from here.... Too misty at that time.... Wajib repeat! |
It was already around
10.30 am
when I started running downhill. The weather was just perfect for a
run. Totally overcast with some fog coming up the mountain. Thus the
route was not that steep to run too.
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| Running downhill was so much fun! Sejuk dan nyaman weh udara di sinih.... |
Met some smiling "mountain" cows along the way down. Saw some monkeys
too. Me & Abg Zaini walked - ran - walked together while having some
chats. The downhill route reminded me of Route 68 challenge. It's
totally runnable even for a newbie.
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| Even the cows were very friendly & grazing happily up here.... |
Unfortunately my downhill run was cut short due to time constraint. Boohoo... :( We need to be ready to checkout by
1pm.
Plus I started to have a hunger pang after the extreme climbing
workout... With my super wet socks, I hopped on the organizer's sweeping
van. I wished to climb & run here again soon for the unfinished
business hehee... I always love to finish what I've started before.
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| The elevation profile... Courtesy of Mr Razif yahya.... |
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| Thank you so much Marathonbaker Runbananaz & Syco Bar Energy Bars for fuelling me up along the challenging climb... |
In total, I've covered 10.5km++ distance starting from the entrance of
Lubuk Semilang Reserve Forest and went all the way up & ran
downhill. The actual distance for BDB CLIMB & RUN LANGKAWI 2016 were
3.1km stairs & 15.5km downhill run. So I owed this route 8km++ then hehee...
All in all, I had so much fun time traversing the trails of Hutan Simpan Lubuk Semilang via 4,287 stairs Tangga Helang
Seribu Kenangan. It felt like climbing the iconic KL Towerthon twice!
Hahaa... Minus the stuffiness claustrophobic suffocating climb. Hehee... I love the beauty of Mother Nature here...Even pictures won't do justice... You have to come here to experience it yourself.
For those who wants to push your limit & yearning for some
challenges in the nature, feel free to sign up by clicking the link
below
https://home.hooha.asia/BDBLangkawiClimbRun.aspx
Here's some extra info about BDB TRIPLE CHALLENGE 2016. Check it out folks!
https://home.hooha.asia/BDBLangkawiClimbRun.aspx
https://home.hooha.asia/BDBExtremeJitra.aspx
https://home.hooha.asia/BDBMarathonJitra.aspx
Now they are offering a promotional rate for those who signed up for all three challenges for only RM200. That's right, Climb & Run Langkawi (Any Waves) + Extreme Jitra (Any Waves) + Jitra Marathon (FM = 42.195KM Category Only) That's quite a bargain & good news I must say....
Just follow their Facebook or Instagram @
BDB Triple Challenge 2016 for more updates and announcement.
Thank you so much to the PR team, BDB as the Organizer for your great warm hospitality, Ariff Syafik the
RD & Brooks Running Malaysia for the awesome running tee & Pure Grit 4 trail shoes giveaway prizes, the sponsors and all the sporting running/bloggers group for making this short
getaway a memorable one indeed.
Till then, toodles! Langkawi I'll Be Back in
4th June! :P
P/S: Thank you for reading my humble blog entry. For more updates, do refer and please follow these links to several channels of my social media. =D #bdbtriplechallenge2016 #bdbclimbnrun2016 #discoverkedah2016 #brooksrunningmy
https://www.facebook.com/hafizaizat7
http://www.instagram.com/aizatyanan
http://twitter.com/aizat147
- See more at: http://www.missyblurkit.com/2016/04/bdb-climb-run-langkawi-2016-route-review.html#sthash.udDlZUQT.dpuf
- See more at: http://www.missyblurkit.com/2016/04/bdb-climb-run-langkawi-2016-route-review.html#sthash.udDlZUQT.dpuf
Nice review Aizat, felt like I was there. Good luck in June!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Fairy! Yup I was giving my honest review... Definitely I'll be back with the free slot too hehee :D
DeleteWe made it! Yeayy!!
ReplyDeleteYeayyy to you too... U ladies were really amazing super fit kind! Truly inspiring folks
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