Monday 14 December 2009

A Good Dose of Qi

Last Saturday morning we again went to trek up the Kiara Hills at Taman Arboretum. The previous one we spent an hour walking. This time was two hours - by order - from hubby.

Here is the signboard at the entrance explaining what exactly an arboretum is.


 

The location:



View Bukit Kiara Trekking Route (Tarmac) in a larger map


Actually up until a few years ago, word has it that  this area of lush green jungle nestled between Taman Tun Dr. Ismail (TTDI) and Bukit Damansara, was earmarked for a high-end property development. There were roads and drainage already in place but the project was shelved after vehement protests from the residents of TTDI, and the area has been converted to an arboretum where many walkers, joggers and mountain-bikers gather for their exercise.



At 7.45am, began at a leisurely pace due to my right knee that went clickety-click as I alighted from the car. It's a slight uphill gradient all the way to the crossroads.




A biking trail begins here about quarterway up.





8.07am reached the cross roads. I took the road down on the left-hand side.




An easy walk downhill ..... at first








This is a stream of clear water that originates from a spring further up the hill. It flows down into the TTDI recreational park below.




The walk goes uphill after the stream





A biking trail emerges here.
There's another one further up. 






The marching mak-sallehs - there were 4 of them last week yakking away as they marched energetically uphill.





A pipe siphoning off some spring water 




8.35am: Back at the cross-roads. Did some leg stretches.


8.40 am Turned back and walked in the opposite direction down the same route, turning it up a notch.



9.05am: Made it back again. Some more leg stretches. 







9.15 am: Walked down the dead-end road with the princess.


Returned to the cross-roads at 9.35am.



Proceeded back to the entrance. On the way the princess recorded the gentle qigong? gait of an elderly gentleman - same-side arm same-side leg. Watch below. 
(Apologies for the poor quality - ahemm .....is deliberate to protect the innocent.)





9.50 The girls and their father were already waiting for me at the rendezvous point.






Hearty sandwiches for breakfast after!


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22 comments:

Capt's Longhouse said...

,,,well done, 2 hrs of healthy valuable family time together that indeed is a treasure !. growing healthier, wealthier and happier by the minute...quality family time spent indeed.
,,,nine tenth of wisdom is being wise in time yaa. syabas to all o.k.!!(i would take home some of the air bukit if i were you)
Tok Uban

Zendra-Maria said...

Capt, all week last week I've been slacking exercise-wise, blame it on the school holidays..... and the rain... and etc... hahaha but I guess I just wasn't being wise in time.

This week will be different!

Oh ya, air bukit bagus untuk awet muda kan?

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Hi Zee & RA, I envy both of u lah, great parenting skill. Your 5 kids r lucky to be born out of love & to live in an atmosphere of warmth & interest with highly strung parents :)

“Nature isn’t a television show or a video game, it’s a multi-sensory experience that kids are naturally attuned to,” said Joe Thatigan, author of The Kids’ Guide to Nature Adventures.

“Outdoor projects with your children are fun.” He suggests planting a herb garden, putting up a bird feeder or attracting butterflies with butterfly feeders. “It’s fun to get DIRTY,” he says…hehehe (Birds & Butterflies (Bees) & parents getting Dirty beating around the bushes ;)).

Keeping fit,

Tommy

P/S - 6 inch Subs mana ada cukup makan lah. Healthy food, 12 inches is ok lah. Size does matter!

Capt's Longhouse said...

zendre,

,,,i bagi you satu pertua ini, minum-lah air bukit selalu untuk hidup sihat !. my secret recipe for good health.
,,,air bukit mah !!, containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the water. Mineral water can often be effervescent. Am very very healthy & very very strong cos. I drink it everyday..tak ada sakit sakit badan or tulang Yeop Oii !! meself looks only mid-40 only...ada orang ingat mid-30 pun ada hahaha !
,,,Fill up a few jerry cans of it-lah...go and get it from where you took the pic. last sat. Betul ini, its really very healthy.

Zendra-Maria said...

Alamak Tommy, how embarrassing - just a few blog entries and you're ready to confer on us the John-Boy Walton Award HAHAHAHA!!! So funny... but RA and I, we do like to run a tight ship albeit with good healthy outings on the side. And lots of prayers too hehe...

And I must try a bit of pot-planting too. Apart from the bean-sprouts for science project at school, I've never grown anything at all. Bad, bad...

Hey the foot-longs are only for kangaroos lah hahaha!

Zendra-Maria said...

Capt,

have this info from River Basin Initiative:
However, Sungai Pencala has a little secret: At its upper catchment, especially its headwaters on the hillock of Bukit Kiara, the river is CLEAN and BUBBLING as it flows through the secondary forest there. The sight of the crystal-clear water gushing out from the rock crevices have exhilarated the few privileged hikers who have been there. Those who have quenched their thirst with it attested that it tasted as good as it looked.

I've seen people fill up their water bottles there and splashing themselves also. Will do that next time round. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

i love the sun streaked trail :)

must try out that one with kids next...letih giler lah bawa dia org pi ulu langat one week, horse riding the next..next week tah apa pulak...christmas week ingat nak let them camping kat kuala gandah wth my bro in law and sleep with the elphants (im not much for camping anymore...dok chalet sebelah campers ok laaaa..hehehe)

Kiara looks so nice.

*BTW, i never eat subway sandwiches..kalau nak tau smslah saya..nanati saya bagi tau sini, kot ader yg tak suka :P

Saya

Capt's Longhouse said...

Zendra,

,,,but you should not get it from a flowing stream/river cos.of possible pollution/contamination issue yaa !! Must come from its primary source i.e. flowing out from the ground or well/bore hole which is where I get mine on Kapas.
,,,don't get it after a rain again it might just be more rain water as to mineral ground water.
,,,best not even to boil it, if its from the ground direct, its quality plus dissolved substances could be compromised !. Just leave it standing and take 3/4 of its top end for drinking, the remaining 1/4, use it for facial wash etc..good for the skin too.
,,,city folks !! yooo.
...leaving for the city tonight and be away fm kapas for a couple of weeks. Destination ; open agenda hahaha..Bangkok on the list but might hang around K.L. to supervise some projects. byeeeee ! no news is good news from me hahaha..still surviving yaa.

Zendra-Maria said...

Saya, let them pi lah, will be fun for them to smell the elephants and hear them trumpet hehe. We might go wedding in KT ourselves that week.

Pasal sub tu, kita tengok ada ha-lam-alif-lam terus bismillah dan bedal....

Zendra-Maria said...

Capt,

Waah you not around to leave your comments, I pun tutup kedai lah...



Happy Holidays, hehe

NanaDJ said...

Zendra,
I confine myself to the Park and have yet to venture to the nearby 'hill'.
I don't think our gentleman is doing the correct qi gong walk unless his Sifu taught him that way. Anyway to each his own. As for me, my Sifu, Dr Amir Farid, made sure we will never walk that way. Having said that, qi gong walk does look funny and a sure way to attract attention, I will only do it alone when there are not many people around otherwise I will do it in groups. Then I wouldn't look so odd.

Anonymous said...

adore your fitness and interest in this kind of activities.

Lee said...

Hi Zendra, wow! Beautiful place. Regret I have never heard of this place, but it sure looks interesting.
Wa, ada time limit for walking? No chance berenti smell the flowes, ha ha.
Hey, love your new blog header pic, very nice, Zendra.
Already miss that Alfa Romeo, ha ha.
Have fun and keep well, Lee.

Zendra-Maria said...

NanaDJ, you sure are into this qi thing - tai-chi, qigong - didn't you say you liked ly-chee too? hahaha...

But you know, it's amazing what different styles of walk we can see up the hill - there was one gentleman who walked backwards uphill all the way, then there were the ladies practically marching, there was one going sideways downhill, also the normal qigong style, quite a number jogged too. I simply strolled.

So NanaDJ, come to the hill and do just w

Zendra-Maria said...

(continuing for NanaDJ....)

do just what you like. No one is odd there!

Zendra-Maria said...

Yo Fleece Master, retirement gives us much time that we try to fill with activities that are free-of-charge hehe ;) But for makan - no holds barred!

Zendra-Maria said...

Hello Lee, yes that place is indeed beautiful - just trees and shrubs all around. If alone can get eerie too especially when you hear a dog go wowoooooo from somewhere deep in the jungle hahaha. You can see some monkeys also darting about in the trees.

My header pic is of one of the bicycle trails. The arboretum is a very popular spot for mountain bikers as well.

And you have fun too and don't let the weight creep in this winter.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Zen & Capt,

Please don't drink, river, mountain H2O; fishes & what not pee/poo in them :)

Tommy only drink bubbly Perrier water in glass bottles or Naive, oops Evian water - doesn't upset the tummy mah...hehehe.

And Capt, please sokong Zen with more2 of your comments; if Zen tutup kedai, Tommy got nowhere to get his daily 'fixes' :)

Cheers,
Tommy

Zendra-Maria said...

Tommy, that old soldier was trained to survive in the jungle lah. So I guess his fundamentals must be quite strong hahaha. Not like you - anak manja wan. Why you so sure evian don't have bacteria poo/pee kah?

Pssst, if you want Capt to sprinkle his gems of wisdom here, you've gotta provoke him sampai he cannot tahan OK? He was a military officer mah.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Capt = An Officer & a Gentleman :) or 'A few Good Men' - You can't handle the truth! or Combat Sgt Saunders (Vic Morrow) with his ever reliable 'Tommy' machine gun!

Capt, macam mana?

Tommy

P/S - No agreements yet in Copenhagen; how sad :(

DrSam said...

This type of calorie-burning activities was the one I kept missing nowadays. Resting too long, wondering whether I can catch up with you now :)

Zendra-Maria said...

Dinda, come along with us and bring the wife and kids. It's a fun famly activity and it's definitely not a matter of catching-up, it's taking that first stride that's important.

C'YA