Thursday 25 August 2016

#AllianzCrazyGames2016, and the Awesome 3some!

Gosh, it's been a long while since I've written anything here. This blog has become eerily quiet since I started work; Maybe I gave it up out of fear it would compromise my employability. Of course, we all know we're not supposed to be judged based on our political leanings, but it's something that's hung over our heads regardless.

In any case, I don't want to talk about the current political climate. It's depressing to think about and pointless to discuss. So let's talk about how I've decided to avert my attention:

A couple of weeks ago, a good friend of mine whom I've known for eons called me up, and asked if I'd like to join him and another friend in the #AllianzCrazyGames2016. I, of course, was all over it, as contrary to popular belief, I love activities and events like these just to break up the monotony of daily life. And as part of the pre-event tasks given to us, we were asked to talk about the healthy, outdoor activities that we love most.

The first time I properly went hiking was with a full-on hiking group, called the PELOPOR Adventure Team. At the time, the team was assigned to assist with training a group of VPs and department heads from a leading telco in Malaysia, and I was roped in to help where I could. Although I didn't engage much with the technical side of things, I did get to enjoy the physical aspect of the course, which required us to climb and 'cave' through the various nooks and crannies of Gunung Senyum, near Temerloh, Pahang, to reach the summit.

Admittedly, I'd never been much of an outdoors type, so this was indeed a challenge and definitely saw me thrown arse-over-head out of my comfort zone. But I enjoyed the expedition so much, that I found myself hiking more and more often. 6 years on, I am happy to report that I continuously seek out adventure whenever possible, be it hiking through the mountain ranges of Pahang, or off-roading in remote areas of Selangor, or just walking through some of the beautiful paths of Taman Rimba Kiara or Bukit Cahaya, Shah Alam.

Hiking feeds my need to explore and discover things on my own. Often, I am forced to think out-of-the-box to deal with situations at hand, and it reminds me to always be prepared and be aware of my surroundings. A city boy by birth, I have to ensure that I am never complacent or stagnant, and these outdoor outings serve to ensure I am never truly in a rut.


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