Gunung Angsi (Y2016 MTT)

BASIC INFORMATION

Trek: Y2016 MTT

Date: 5 - 6 October 2016

Location: Gunung Angsi, Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

Elevation: 824m

Duration: 2D1N

BRIEF ITINERARY

Day 1

Transport to base of Gunung Ledang

Day 2

Day Trek up Gunung Ledang

Overnight at base camp

Day 3

Transport back to SG

With the hectic schedule of school after a gruelling 7 weeks, it was visibly and mentally refreshing to go for a 2D1N trip to climb Gunung Angsi, followed by a food trail in the nearby town of Seremban!

Group photo at the summit!

This all started off at 4th October where those of us who wanted to stay over in school came over to SMU Labs to sleep over. Have to admit that this is the first time some of us slept over in school, but being a freshman, I know that there will be more opportunities in the future(preferably not haha). It was entertaining to interact with our only exchange student, Marcus(Guess who in the picture), who did entertain those of us around with his stories of travel and his fascination with Asian culture.

We woke up to the still dark sky at around 4am and met with our transport at 5am. But how could we leave without the mandatory group shot

Can you see our tired faces?

It was quite a long ride of about 3-4 Hours, and with all of us having to wake up this early, you can guess how fast it took for all of us to take a trip to dreamland before the actual trip. It did not take us long to wake up to the sights of the town near the trekking location, Seremban, where we had breakfast at McDonalds (Cheaper than Singapore, that’s for sure).

After stocking up on water(36 L), we departed to our starting point of the trek. Again, mandatory shot

Starting the trek!

Received the briefing and trek details from the tour guides, we then proceeded off with the trek with slightly cloudy weather, meaning that it won’t be too hot when we trek up Mount Angsi. We started our trek at around 10 which was good timing, 5 hours after we left Singapore!

The trek started off with a very steep entrance, where it was about 5-10 mins of climbing on all 4 limbs, but the rest of the trek was relatively manageable, with its fair share of obstacles.

Treks like this are good opportunities for everyone to engage in small talk with each other. Ranting about school life and asking random questions while climbing up a mountain is one interesting thing to do during trekking

Breaks at certain points of the treks did give rather decent views, but more was waiting at the summit.

Cloudy view at the rest point!

Reaching the summit took 2 ½ hours, in which after I asked the guide, he said we were rather fast! Lunch at the summit at around 1 was another round of small talk and more photos. I would have to congratulate all of us for making this trek up the mountain, but the photos will speak for itself

Lunch + small talk!

After our stomachs were filled and cameras full of pictures, it was time to head down. The skies were getting too cloudy at this point, so our guide sped up the pace, luckily we managed to descend safely down the mountain (Score 1 for safety I/C, who is also me).

The trek down was a lot more dangerous due to our steep ascension, so we took close to 3 hours down. That being said, no one was complaining much and we completed the trek at around 4pm.

At the starting point, as the guides were ready to send up to our accommodation, some of us just decided that the scenery was too good a place to miss out and spent the time to chill and enjoy nature to its fullest

Credits to Gabrielle with her poster worthy shot

We finally reached the accommodation at 430pm, and amazed is an understatement to describe our accommodation. The organising committee was expecting an abbreviation of a chalet, but damn, a real chalet was in sight for us to enjoy! There was a nearby stream and facilities like a snake farm free for us to visit! Time before dinner was free for all, so some of us went to explore while the rest of us (me included) just chilled at the chalet.

The faces of some of us after the trek ^

Marcus buying his first ever Ramly burge

Wading in the cool, clear waters of the stream (it leads all the way back to our chalet!

There was a playground at the back of our chalet but this playground was no child’s play though. (Foreground of second picture features the monkey bars of death

sssssup, this is a real snake shot

At 630pm, we decided to start our field cooking outdoors! There were that many instant noodles brands that I saw and ate in 1 evening but satisfying nonetheless. Fruits were a good addition which I made a mental note in my head to bring for subsequent treks. Bringing the pan and pot were a very welcome addition with the stir fried eggs (a must for outdoor cooking)!

Post dinner activity was a game of undercover and more lateral thinking games(all imported from intro trek haha) before we went to rest after the exhausting day.

Waking up at 9am for me to the sounds of water running through a stream was the pleasant end of a sleep duration I did not had since school started. Packing up to leave the chalet, we proceeded to the last highlight of the trip: Food Trail

Unable to miss the morning view!

Our Finance/Marketing I/C Gabrielle sourced for famous places with good food in Seremban, the nearby town. Seremban boasts several delicacies like their beef noodles, chendol and roasted pork bun(siew bao). We travelled to the food locations in this order, before bringing some siew baos back to Singapore for loved ones and friends to enjoy

Digging into his chicken rice with impressive chopstick skills

The trip was a rather enjoyable one, be it the trek itself or the food trail. Really a good breather from the rigid schedule of school. It was encouraging to see more freshies sign up for this as compared to intro trek, but all were welcomed, nonetheless. People trek for all reasons, but interactions during the experience is what draws people back to it. That being said, for those who are reading this, enjoy the rest of the semester and hope to see more people in future treks!

Lastly, thank you to the organising committee for making this trip possible