Tag: Damai Wall

Gua Damai @ Batu Caves

On Sunday, Amos, Cris, Ping and I forced ourselves to wake up to head to Gua Damai to climb. Since Krabi is just 3 months away, Ping, Cris and I had to familiarize ourselves again.

Gua Damai has changed tremendously since we came last year in February. There’s a grand entrance to Gua Damai now – with pathways and huts built around the vicinity.


Pathway for wheelchairs/trolleys!


3 years ago, the place was like this.

The old houses around Batu Caves were demolished and at one part, a playground sits over one of the old houses.


3 years ago, a monkey and rubbish sat here


Pool with stairways


3 years ago, no stairways!

Perhaps the only thing that didn’t change is that the place is still infested with monkeys.


Monkey having McD

Unfortunately, it was bloody hot. We went home with sunburn. We had to come out with ingenious ways to avoid the sun. Umbrellas were very handy.


Umbrella boy


Bea’s new invention


Copycats!


We managed to top the “Monsoon” route (many rock climbing routes have names) – a long but easy route.


After topping 3 routes or so, we headed for lunch at Bintang 7 mamak.


Mmm..fulfilling lunch..

Climbing @ Damai Wall, Batu Caves 3.2.2007

It’s been more than a year since I climbed outdoor. Thank you Hon San (frequent commenter AHLOKKOR) for providing us with the gears and guiding us.


This time round, Ping and a group of outdoor newbies (Abner, Eddy, Roland, Ben, Maylin, Lai and Cicak) climbed at Damai Wall. The surroundings at Damai Wall have changed considerably. The houses around there were removed and many of the monkeys were long gone.

Damai Wall was chosen because it has many 5C routes which are suitable for the newbies. Hon San said that one person actually said that all routes in Damai Wall are actually “5C routes”.


Hon San belaying


Ping the Belayer


Mosquito repellent- FULL POWER MODE ON


A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step..

For a person who doesn’t climb outdoor often, ‘leading’ “5Cs” routes were quite tough but doable. But climbing routes 5 – 6 storeys high is not my cup of tea. Further, climbing outdoor involves a lot of waiting.


The metal chain is the anchor, the only stable thing that holds you while climbing – provided its stable..


Me on top!


Picture taken from…

Halfway through climbing, it rained. Everyone had to run to take shelter. However, some people couldn’t leave the climbing spots as some were still climbing and belaying.

I took a nap after climbing. I dreamt that I fell off the cliff while climbing O___O

For more info on climbing in Malaysia, purchase Climb Malaysia by Climb Asia

White Wall @ Batu Caves

This morning, the usual climbing gang, couple of new members plus 2 photographers and I went to climb at @ Batu Caves again.

This time round, we went to White Wall. The journey there was tedious. We had to park our car at Damai before trekking up the steep hill into White Wall. The path was slippery and we even have to trek through a garbage dump.


Garbage dump…euw..


A sohai threw a motorcycle here..


Hiking up…

By the time we reached the hill, we were already exhausted. Further, it was bloody hot as well. The wall was hot, our shoes were hot and it was full of mosquitoes! There were not many easy routes as well. Since there were many of us and we had only 2 ropes, we had to wait a long time for the others to finish the routes as the route was tough and long. Fortunately, we had a 5C route to climb.


Ahh..white wall at last!


Creepy stuff..


Something is among the trees….can you spot it? 😀

By 1PM, it started to rain. Everyone scrambled their belonging and fled the scene. Getting down wasn’t easy as well. Since it rained slightly, the treks were already slippery.


ciao the scene!


Going thru the garbage dump again


This place reminds me of Amsterdam.


Damai

Fortunately, the rain stopped as soon as we reached Damai. We hung out at Damai for a while. Some were bouldering and some went to disturb monkeys. But suddenly, it rained heavily. Once again, we had to fled the scene.

It wasn’t a good day for us!


Monkey: Kiss ma ass.


Monkey not happy


Road to the unknown..


Ping on a journey of discovery


Karat & I

Rock Climbing @ Batu Caves II

Guy, Mikey, gMing, Ping, Wai Keong, Yong Lin, Cris, G-wan and I made another outdoor climbing trip to Batu Caves.

This time we headed to Red Wall, which is nearby Gua Damai. Red Wall is just a small rope-topping wall. We had to climb through bushes and trees to get to that place. Further, before we got there, a bunch of monkeys were having hanging out there. They ran after seeing us.

This time round, there were no mosquitoes or fleas. Flies were abundant though.

We started off with an easy route. Everyone managed to clear it. Pet Pet Lin struggled for a while but in the end, he finished it. Bravo!

Then we proceeded to another route, which was about 30 metres high. It was bloody tough. Out of the 9 people who tried, only 2 made it to the top. Further, the wall isn’t entirely flat. There are loads of boulders around. Hence, whenever we fall, we would end up swinging out from the wall. It was pretty exciting though. We could see a good view of the area. However, once the rope pulls us back to the wall, we would end up crashing into a tree.

Another thing worth nothing is that the villagers around Batu Caves are friendly. One of the villagers was happy to let Wai Keong to use their toilet. However, Wai Keong felt uneasy cause the toilet has many holes around the wall. I hope I don’t see Wai Keong’s face in any toilet fetish VCDs. Then, when we were about to leave, a bunch of Malay girls greeted us with, “Gong Xi Fa Cai!!” (A greeting for Chinese New Year). Hon San replied, “Sayanggg Sayanggggggg” (Darling… Darlingg). The Malay girls giggled non stop.

We ended the day with juicy mushroom Swiss double cheese burger…oOoohhhh.. orgasmic…