Amputee Climber

I feel like writing something today....

After getting acquainted with Mark II, I started to 'venture' into other activities which was previously seemed impossible to me. 

One thing that I always wanted to do was rock climbing. Ever since I saw Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2, it was the one thing that I never got to do seriously.

With the encouragement from a good friend, I gave it a shot. My first attempt at climbing was at the MadMonkeyz Climbing Gym (13th November 2011)

Me, climbing with Mark I

 

@ MadMonkeyz with Mark II

I was so happy that I was able to do it I made myself a video on youtube:

Once I got some basic knowledge on climbing from MadMonkeyz, I started climbing elsewhere such as the Putrajaya Challenge Park (PCP)

Some photos from PCP

Here's my second video on climbing. This one should have better quality compared to the first :P

I love climbing but I haven't been doing it for a while now. Mainly because I injured my wrist during a small motorcycle mishap. However, once I am fit again, I will definitely climb and climb and climb!

DISABILITY IS JUST A WORD!!!!

Epic Road Trip (Episode 9 & 10)

Hello Hello Hello

This is the last of the FLASHBACK for the Epic Road Trip....for that I will do something different. I will combine TWO Episodes together.

It is also a good opportunity to introduce my 'sister-blog' (NO! My sister didn't write the other blog) which is the travel diary of me and my wife. Check it out! :)

http://tohereandthere.blogspot.com/

Epic Road Trip (Episode 9) - Italians in Pak Meng

For this episode, you can read about how I took a couple of friends to a nice beach in Thailand which is not as crowded or 'commercialized' as some of the other famous named places.

We went Island hopping.....well, you can read em here :)

Read about "ITALIANS IN PAK MENG" here

Epic Road Trip (Episode 10) - Thailand 'Mini' Adventure, the ride before Ramadhan 

In this episode, read about how me and my wife rode to Koh Lanta but we went through 'unconventional' route, found some nice places to eat, etc etc

Read about "THAILAND MINI ADVENTURE" here

So that is all for the FLASHBACK Epic Road Trips. After this, everything will be updated on this blog as soon as I came back from that particular ride. Ride ON! 

First ride after Ramadhan

I haven't been riding for a little over a month now. Normally, I don't ride during Ramadhan. So after Medusa's long holiday, its time to take her for a spin.

I called up a few friends and we agreed to go for a breakfast ride to our normal Nasi Lemak place at Olak Lempit. I arrived at the RV point at around 7:35am. I was the first one there. As the organizer, I've to be the first one there and respect other people's time. :)

It was raining since early in the morning so the road was wet. In fact, when I left the house, it was still drizzling.....but hey, what's the point of buying the 'all-weather' riding gear if you don't use them right? 

My old friend whom I've known for the past six (6) years, Drifter, was the second to arrive. I haven't ridden with him for years now and it was good to have him together in this ride.

At around 7:50am, almost everyone was there. We waited for another two to arrive. It was a mixture of riders as some of them joined for the first time. 

It was still raining and at around 8:30am, we decided to ride to the second RV point. Two of my friends were waiting for us there, one of them is my mentor, RJ Rider who now rides a Harley Davidson Road Glide. 

Everyone admiring the Road Glide

We then made our way to the Nasi Lemak place but unfortunately, it was closed. My second alternative was also closed. I guess people were still in their Hari Raya Mood.

Luckily we found this nice, small place for breakfast. The food they serve was nice too. I didn't manage to snap any food photos as we were too hungry. :P

It was a nice session as we were able to trade stories. After everyone was full, it was time to go back home. Thank you everyone for joining. We shall do this again! :)

Epic Road Trip (Episode 8) - Solo ride exploring new border

Time for another......... yes, you've guessed it.... FLASHBACK! :P

For this ride, I will share my experience exploring a new Malaysia-Thailand border. I first heard about this border during my stay at Dannok. While having dinner with the locals, they mentioned about a new border. So, I decided to check it out for myself.

* Mind you, this ride was done in 2012. I am pretty sure things are different nowadays *

As usual, before leaving, I checked out googlemap but there was no information on that border. There was however a road labeled 4113 on the Thailand side, however, there was a section 'missing' heading to Malaysia. Since people were talking about this border, I'm sure the road exists. So, I decided to give it a go. 

I left KL around 3:30 - 4 am. I stayed according to my usual schedule and fuel stops. When I arrived at R&R Gurun, I decided to take it easy and stop for a drink.

I met this uncle who rode his classic bike. He was travelling around 200km to attend his daughter's graduation. The rest of the family had gone a day earlier. However, he was having a little bit of leak but that did not stop him. Salute to you uncle!

Salute to this uncle! 

Since this was my first time, there was a slight change to the route. I will be taking the Alor Setar exit then I'll be taking the first left and will be riding straight to the border.

Medusa and me at the Alor Setar exit

The journey from the exit to the border was indeed an interesting one. I saw everything from beautiful paddy field to old temple. The route made you second guess whether you were on the right track but I kept to the plan. Keep on riding, don't stop until I see a border.

Some nice road heading to the border

After riding for a while, I finally reached the border. It was so nice and.... new :)

Me and Medusa....we did it! We found it!

After clearing the Immigration on our side, I proceed to the Thailand side. To my surprise, everything was still under construction. This presented the problem of stamping my passport. I finally found the immigration, which was in a container!

I then do as I normally did and cleared the immigration and declared my bike at the custom department. I then snapped some photos of the new complex which was under construction.

After the photo session, I rode out of the complex. I saw there was a proper road and was like.. "nice new road". 100 meters away.... guess what? THERE WAS NO ROAD! ahahahaha.

Well, there was a road, but it wasn't a proper road. It was gravel, potholes, rocks, etc. You can see it from the onboard shots below.

Along the way, on the left and right were filled with rubber plantations.

Imagine what was going on in the head of the locals when they came out from the rubber plantations at around 10am and saw a Malaysian riding all by himself. I rode together with them just for the fun of it. hahahaha :D

After about 5km or so, the road became better. It was a sign we were getting near to a town. Yipeee!!!

I finally reached the town of Na Thawi. From there, I rode to Cha na and stopped by at one of the cafe for lunch. It was a 'bulan bintang' cafe and served very nice food okay :P

But before that, It would not be a 'khairullhafiz ride' without my compulsory BUS STOP POWER NAP :)

Take a look at some photos at the 'bulan bintang' cafe. yummmmm :)

After done eating, I rode to Songkhla. Then I rode to Dannok where I spent the night there. I went back to KL the next day. Epic Road Trip during the weekend....no need to take any annual leave. Hahahaha.

Till next time..... DISABILITY IS JUST A WORD! :)