Broga Hill Escapades

A couple of days ago I got dragged from my nice comfortable not so fluffy bed by my long time friend Sean who is back on a holiday for the Chinese New Year from his Masters course in RMIT Australia for something unexpected. Hiking. Mountain hiking + jungle tracking + zero visibility exploration to be exact. The place? Broga Hill. Located in Semenyih. Home of the infamous Semenyih Detention center where ISA detainees are kept under lock and key.But its not like we were tracking up the detention center anyways.

Woke up at an ungodly hour of 4.30 am to be picked up by Sean at 5-ish. We overshot the Broga Hill makeshift parking lot and got lost at the Broga Village. Almost hit a couple of dogs in the process too. Finally got our directions right after referring to the Broga police station who’s police officer on duty was nice enough to kindly paused his facebook session to direct us to our destination. No, I did not add  him on FB after that morning thank you very much.

The track up the hill was dark. Very dark to be exact as there was not even a single hint of light except from our torchlight. I recommend anyone going up there to bring at least one torchlight per person cause the route is quite rocky and slippery due to loose sand. Not to mention sudden gaps in the ground or rocks randomly positioned so you might trip, fall, break a bone and die. Okay so you won’t actually die but its still a bummer if you get hurt. A good pair of shoes are very VERY recommended as well. You’ll be needing the grip on the way down.

It takes about 30 minutes to reach the first peak at the initial climb but since it was our first time it took us less than 45 minutes I think. We realized that morning that we really need to work on our workout routine. Anyways, Once you’ve reach the first peak you will be rewarded with a nice cool morning breeze and an amazing view to behold.

The additional peaks are not hard to get to once you reach peak one as they are all nearby. The further up you go the better the view is of course. Perfect for outdoor photography it is something I’m grateful I brought my camera all the way up the hill that morning.

Having a cup of coffee at the top waiting for the sun to rise is such a refreshing feeling. Initially I was wondering on what the hell was I getting myself into committing myself to such a ridiculous thing so early in the morning. But as we both sat there we realized that life is short and if we do not do this now that we might never have the chance to. I felt like an old uncle and I had no regrets.

We continue our climb up to the final peak when the crowd dwindled down and we had almost literally the whole peak to ourselves. The peaceful quiet serenity was something that made me feel humbled by nature’s beauty. I was in awe with the type of scenery that I thought I could only see in other places but my own.

The highest point is about 400meters above sea level and if one should tend to be a little bit more adventurous the track continues 3.1 kilometers inward towards Gunung Tok Wan.

The journey downhill was faster but we had to take it slow and steady as the ground is soft and steep and that’s where you good shoes come into play. The last peak is only accessible by rope as you can see above. Its especially difficult when you are carrying your camera gear in your bag, tripod sling across your chest with your DSLR hanging around your neck. I felt like a commando going for a hike.

We ended the morning by stopping at Restoran Malaysia on the way back in Kajang for some EPICALLY AWESOME SUPER DELICIOUS MOUTH WATERING satay. Open since 1971 apparently, the shop is run by chinese and the satay cook by an old chinese uncle but no pork satay is served so I guess the place is Halal. You get you standard choices of chicken, beef, mutton, duck and fish of satay with original leaf wrapped ketupat. The meat is so juicy and tender and so infused with the satay spices I was stunned for a while after my first bite. It was that good. My favorite was the mutton satay. Its a simple corner shop located along the main road near the police station it is a must try and I believe this the where the term satay kajang came from.

In the end of that day, all I could say is that it was all worth it. Although tired and bruised all over with sore muscles and aching joints victory when reaching the top is simply…priceless. Cheers.