I guess my theory is right, that u can just be anything and be anywhere that you want to be with a camera in your hand. I had another unforgettable moment just recently, circling Kuala Lumpur city centre particularly KLCC and KL Tower on a flying machine, the lightest and the slowest aircraft ever … a paramotor.
It was totally unplanned.
My flying partner and I saw an opportunity and we decided to grab it. Our second time flying tandem together in a crowded city centre while our first experience was quite scary. We were new and inexperienced at that time while we took up a flying job to circle around Petaling Jaya area, a crowded highly populated city centre in the heart of Petaling Jaya.
We always wanted to fly circling Kuala Lumpur particularly KLCC, once was the tallest tower in the world. Who doesn’t want to do that? Had a goosebump though when we started our flight that morning. I smell fear.
Curiousity will conquer fear even more than bavery will
Flying in between congested building area is not easy. Wind in between tall buildings is unpredictably strong due to the funnel effect and obviously dangerous for a light flight aka paramotor like us. Yes … fear of the unpredictable.
View of the city from the Royal Selangor Golf ClubI love this!
We started with a good vibe.
The weather was good with a zero wind condition at our takeoff site, it added great confidence to both of us. We made our usual safety test while on air before heading to KLCC and KL Tower, we circled a few times around the Royal Selangor Golf Club and as we gained our confidence … we then proceed to the city centre airspace.
Uhhh … after years of taking photos at high altitudes while flying, I still had that ‘gayat’ or vertigo feeling especially if we were flying close to buildings. Scary but worth it!. Both my flying buddy and I love flying so much that little hurdles or challenges while on air so far couldn’t kill our spirits.
I set my camera at ISO 800 and put it on S mode and start framing my visual composition. Instead of my usual D810, I opted for a mirrorless camera with an equivalent of 24-70mm lens. For safety reason, I am looking forward to changing my photography gears to another lighter option.
The other side of KLCCWefie on air while cruising at 1000 feet up on the horizon
This experience honestly inspired me to dream further.
I want more experience like this. Am adding a few more things to my “to do list before I go senile”… a dream of flying across the pyramids in Egypt, flying across the beautiful landscape of Yemen and exploring the airspace of the City of Dubai. In Sha Allah, if Allah permits.
I like!
I hope that I would never get bored of this.
Maybe my life is not as perfect as the rest of makcik and pakcik bawang out there at the kitchen corner safely curling in their comfortable nest. How I choose to live my life might look a bit weird compared to the rest of the so-called ‘perfect’ people … but so far I feel alive, contented and blessed with whatever presented by the Al-Mighty to me. I don’t give a damn … It’s my life, I’ll have it my way.
A seagull checking on me while I was staring at the view of the Wellington Habour
I am in Wellington, New Zealand at this time being.
Accompanying my daughter for her first-year University registration here in the city. Spent 2 weeks here with her, exploring the city and its surroundings while at the same time trying to make her comfortable with this new place where she would call her second home for the next 3 years.
Being a green brain, I got bored with CITY easily. Flipped through the “Free guide to NZ” Arrival magazine that I took from the airport, the turquoise colour of an acid lake in South Crater valley of Tongariro National Park caught my attention. But … naaaah! 8-hours walk of a total 19.4km would kill me instantly … so I think.
Then … I got really bored and kept thinking of that National Park.
The view of the mountains – Mt. Tongariro 1967m, Mt. Ngauruhoe 2291m (Mt Doom in the Lord of the Rings filming locations) and Mt. Ruapehu 2797m – make me more curious and I can’t hold it anymore and I purchased my Intercity bus ticket from Wellington to National Park station for the next day trip. And booked my 2 nights stay at YHA hostel, National Park.
I said to myself … fine, I just have a look at the park and walk around the easiest trail while enjoying my favourite thing to do when I am alone, breath in and breath out the air of freedom – the mountain fresh air, hmmm nice – it feels like home, comfortable.
View in front of the hostel where I was staying. Well, look at that … thick clouds covering Mt Ruapehu. Not a clear weather to do the crossing
I don’t mind travel alone as I don’t have the urge to talk or even binge talk to anyone because most of the time my mind is always fully occupied with my own thoughts and imagination. I tend to forget about my surroundings too.
New Zealanders are super cool and very helpful too.
My first time in NZ … ohh I love New Zealanders as they treated me more as a co-human than as a strange Muslim lady with a head covered wandering loose alone.
The view of Mt Ruapehu without the thick clouds
The weather was not very good on the day that I arrived at the National Park.
Raining with thick fogs surrounding the valleys. While contemplating either I want to do the crossing or just hang around, a group of people popped into the hostel front desk returning their gears. They just did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in the rain and the thick fogs … and with their red and cheerful face even when they were soaking wet.
Damn it … I said to myself.
And this guy from Thailand with a wide happy eye just bluntly tell me … hey! have you done the crossing? If you haven’t, you better just do it … even if the weather is like this, it would be worth every single second.
And guess what … I paid the 40 NZ dollars for the National Park return transportation and rented a waterproof boot, a walking pole and a raincoat. I fixed my mind … I am all in for this. Just like that.
I need to see what the havoc is all about. Well … well … well … bare in mind that I hate trekking, I am not well trained and I am not even sure which box to tick in as Lucy, the front desk lady passed me a form to fill in … which level of mountain trekker am I? should I tick the beginner box?
As I am not even a beginner lol coz I am the type of person if given a choice where to park my car at the shopping mall … I would always choose the one very very very near to the entrance door.
Well … done with that. Lucy asked me … what makes me decide to do this? And I said “hmmm, I just wanna get over this. This curiosity bugs me” and she laughed.
The park signboard … I had a goofy feeling while looking at this
Omg … It was a beautiful sight as I first stepped in the Mangatepopo car park but as I looked at the signboard (above) I got really scared. “Urghh I am so gonna die,” I told myself lol.
Overall from the opptimistic point of view, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing is worth every second of the 8 hours walk despite the thick fog and the occasional rain. I managed to click a few photos with my iPhone while struggling to keep up with the trails.
The beginningMoving forward with the running water sound coming from the stream along the wayThe moody and wet surrounding has that calming effect on meAnd the horror parts came … the trail starts ascendingAnd this view as I looked down at my trailsThis is the point where we start descending and trolling along the longest 11.3km in my whole entire life. Honestly … I never walk this far in my entire life
As I continue for another 11.3 km trails to Ketetahi Carpak the weather started getting irritated. The fogs thicken, the temperature started to drop further down (9-12 degree) as the raindrops started to clouds my glasses.
Omg, I was standing on a narrow trail between 2 very steep craters while my feet were shaken due to lack of sugar aka energy and my glasses was clouded. The sulfur smell filled the air. The air was super foggy, truly looked like from a sci-fi movie this place is.
This is the turquoise colored lake that I saw in the magazine, the one that makes me want to visit this place
I was tired … near to the point of ‘I want to give up’ mode. I kept reminding myself that if I quit in the middle of the trail, I have to pay NZ500. The cost to rescue you out of this place. But this place even in its worst weather is uniquely beautiful and I couldn’t help wondering to myself, how would this place look like if the weather is beautiful?
Passing a flat crater before trekking up again in thick fog
It was all foggy and raining the whole journey down towards the carpark and I didn’t take many photos as I was super-super exhausted. This trail is not for beginners but maybe for intermediate trekkers. You need to be well prepared if you decided to do the crossing. It was so hard for me and I still have sore muscles all over my body now (after 3 days).
I cried at the very last 6.3km, as my feet could not take it anymore.
I discovered how does it feels when you are too damn tired but you still need to go on. I discovered that I am mentally strong even when I am alone. I discovered the feeling of helplessness when my feet were out of its physical strength but with my will to go on and survive, I ended up winning.
Other trekkers passed by me one after another leaving me alone struggling with my incapabilities. I discovered how sad it is to be left behind. Oh and I really hate that feeling of being left behind, it is lonely … but I kept my chin up and walk slowly imagining myself doing a brisk walk at my most favourite park.
Struggling even to lift up my iPhone, ohh I am not fit … something that I need to work on
Would I do this again?
Minus all my self-discovery moments, weirdly I would say yes.
I am not done yet with this place. I definitely would do this again maybe in December when summer is here. I want to capture the beautiful landscape of this place in its most beautiful setting but I am gonna make sure that my body is fit enough to do this … so that I could see more and enjoy more of this place.
I saw colourful plants along the crossing trail … very interestingThe trail from my STRAVA My shaky feet with that rented waterproof boot after the 8 hours journey. Yaaay! I walked 19.4km for 8 hours … victory!
Conclusion:
Feb 28, 2018. I walk the 19.4km Tongariro Alpine Crossing on my own in 6 hours. I took 37,000 steps that day equivalent to climbing 139 floors. My first time. I survived with a 3-days worth body muscle ache but feeling alive and spiritually nourished. I am glad I decided to give it a try … to push myself to exceed my limit.
That night I had the worst sore muscle ever. Sooth my body with some boiled eggs and a litre of protein (fresh milk). I hit my bed early at 9pm while listening to my best friend’s voice on the phone, soothing me down with his calm voice. He thinks that I am crazy but I assured him that at least I didn’t die.
I took the next day bus to Wellington with a victory and a bliss feeling. Alhamdullilah.
I plan to explore more of NZ during these 3 years, taking it slowly and meaningfully. Learning to improve me … while inspiring my children and people around me to do more in life than just merely living. Anybody can do this. Just do it, no excuses, please.
Excuses are just for the weaklings, and I am not!
Bye for now
Cheers,
MM
New Zealand: Tongariro National Park February 27th to March 1st, 2018
2018.01.18: Time for revisiting my 2017 resolutions and evaluate my yearly self-achievement. What have I done in 2017? Have I achieved all 3 of my 2017 Resolutions? My 2017 resolution is here in this previous post.
Kiasu ‘win’ attitude – yes! I signed up and participated in some competitions but no sign of winning yet, but at least I am out of my comfort zone.
I think I need new resolutions for 2018, realistic resolutions just like last year, to keep me moving forward. Ok … my 3 resolutions for 2018 are:
Light and shadow
I want to have a constant income from this hobby of mine, to be able to support my hyperactive wandering activity. So that one sweet day … I could be a full-time nomad, living just anywhere but I still earn a decent income from working while wandering. So, what should I do this year? Hmmm, puzzle …
This year I aged another year … women at my age, another year of aging is horrifying lol. But everything aged, even my old cat Chicken would turn 13 this March. I want to age gracefully … I want a healthy lifestyle in 2018. Cutting down on sugar and meat. Eating only healthy home food … maybe I should stop eating at that mamak restaurant. Hmmm, puzzle again.
More meaningful wandering aka traveling. I don’t want to follow the crowds … I want to follow ME. I want to wander and explore because the selfish me want to, not because everybody is going to Iceland then suddenly I have to go to Iceland, no way … I would go to Iceland because I want to go to Iceland lol … okay, puzzle again and again. Mental …
A yak and a great sky in Lhasa, Tibet
I’ll write about my visit to Gandruk, Nepal last-last year on my next post lol … I need to see mountains and smell the cleanly filtered foresty air badly before I turn insane.
Ok lah … lemme get my beauty sleep in that rabbit hole of mine. Bye for now …
It was all about capturing moments of human interest when I was in Dhaka, Bangladesh recently. My first time and like always, I have a zero expectation of this place … I was like ok Dhaka surprise me, please.
Friends shading from the early morning rain on the street of Dhaka
It rained cats and dogs during the first 3 days of my 6 days stay. But being a hardcore wanderer … the rain couldn’t subside my curiosity. I was out wandering along the markets and back lanes of Dhaka … in the rain.
My first impression was that the street smells pleasant.
Surprisingly Dhaka is way cleaner than India, 10 times cleaner than India … I shall think so. At least the street is not treated as the public toilet by the 18.2 million city residents. People everywhere seemed busy and fully occupied here.
A peak from the train window in Dhaka
My second impression is … the food is good.
It tastes about the same as in India, Pakistan and Nepal. And my taste buds think that the biryani here is very delicious and I had mutton biryani for almost every day here too. Sharing a clip video ↓ of my obsession with mutton biryani … obsession lol?
We traveled in a big group this time around … 15 of us scattered around the street yet we saw completely different views. How awesome was that? When I saw my friends posted their version of ‘the street of Dhaka’, almost always I would pound my head and asked myself about why oh why I did not see it from their angles.
It is proven then … every each of us is unique in our own way.
Hard life for an honest living in Dhaka
As I strolled along the streets, villages and some back alleys I saw hard work and hard life here … yet the people of Dhaka is rich in hospitality. Walking and talking with strangers has never felt a burden here … some even invited us to their homes for a cup of cha or tea.
A boatman trying to make an honest living in Dhaka
To be honest, there are hundreds and probably thousands of Bangladeshi working here in my home country Malaysia. I see them everywhere and every day too. When I posted my whereabouts to a group of friends … they jokingly teased me on why the need to be in Dhaka when I can just hang out at Pasar Borong Selayang (a wholesale market in the heart of KL) or the famous Chowkit road and just be surrounded by them?
It is normal to have that tendency to treat foreign workers at your country home differently ( I guess I am guilty too) but being in Dhaka … experiencing just a few days living in their home country does change my perspective.
I see them in a different way now … a more human way of looking at fellow humans trying their best to survive in the high-density human populated area on our one and only earth.
Boats at Buriganga River in the middle of Dhaka
Would I recommend Dhaka for your next trip? Should I repeat for another round of trip exploring Dhaka?
………. absolutely, yes!
Thanks for dropping by here at my space… on the last day of 2017. Resolution time … resolution … resolution. Bye …
Cheers
MM
ps: my January article in NST bots on ‘People at Work’ with Dhaka as the background story.
Being an organized freak, I always wanted to organize my thought during each photo moment that I had. What is the best angle, compo, light, subject positioning, mood etc? I would go back and forth figuring out on how to do it right and fast.
I want to simplify that process and reduce my mistake during each photo moment.
It goes back to the right technical knowledge, mastering the tools in your hand and having the technical understanding of visual compositions. As my mentor told me … before you decide on bending the rules, master the rules first.
So, I started with something simple as the classic six design elements. Understand the elements of color, line, shape, texture, space, and form are an advantage.
In the NST Bots Click! column for this year, I had covered 5 of the elements (line, shape, texture, space, form) and my friend Razz Rossfaisal of Travelberdua.com covered the element of color.
Sharing it here for my easy reference.
1. The classic 6-design elements: COLOR
2. The classic 6-design elements: LINE
3. The classic 6-design elements: SHAPE
4. The classic 6-design elements: TEXTURE
5. The classic 6-design elements: SPACE
6. The classic 6-design elements: Form
Knowledge sharing works in both ways, the giver and the giving gained. As we are moving closer towards the end of 2017, I feel sad. Have I learned enough during this year? Have I worked hard enough?
Life has its own karma … if I didn’t work hard enough and if I didn’t learn well enough … life would come back and hunt me again with regrettable errors and mistakes.
Thanks for dropping by. Gotta run …
Bye
MM
ps- still trying to figure out on what topic to cover in 2018 … hmmm hmmm hmmm
