Daddy Lim's ex-colleague saw our victorious pictures at the Needle Hill and jioed us to join a hiking tour to Mount Broga, organised by his brother's tour company. He promised that it would be a easy hike, suitable for family. Having just conquered Needle Hill, we were still feeling formidable and signed up. Woohoo!
The meeting time was at 10.45pm Friday night at the Woodlands MRT station. We drove and parked at the nearby hdb mrt and walked over with our barang. It was drizzling and we were told to bring poncho in view of a light drizzle at Mount Broga.
We were on time and had some last min snacks for the hungry tummies.
Daddy Lim must be really hungry, he bought fried carrot cake. What?
Then it was waiting for the rest of the tour group and the bus.
The kids were tired; it had been a long school and student care day. Zaky had a hard time trying to stay awake while waiting for the bus. Towards the end, he didnt really care anymore and was almost dozing off in the little comfy den that he made. Never mind that it was in the middle of nowhere or that he was lying on the floor.
The group was about 25 people. It would be an overnight bus trip before bfast and then the hike. I was hoping and hoping that it would be some kind of luxurious tour bus. The hope was slim with the cheap price that we were paying - $65 per adult and $55 per child. Still, I couldnt help hoping.
It was a 40 seater tour bus. Sob. We were among the last few to board the bus and were lucky to get seats together and even an empty seat in front.
I was freaking tired bcos of 2 late nights of chasing k drama and I knew that I needed to sleep. *sheepish laughs* I sat with Zaky and there was sufficient leg space. The seats could recline somewhat as well. It wasnt too bad until Zaky decided that my laps are his personal pillar.
We soon all fell asleep. Daddy Lim also shifted to the empty seat in front so that Lil Shauna could have the whole row to herself and our bag as her pillar. I was dozing on and off and woke to a super aching butt. Zzzzzz. That is what happened when I sit too long in a same position and with Zaky giving me extra weights. That was also went I realised that the bus was moving very slowly and we were still stuck in the custom jam.
The jam was quite bad and it took us 2+ hours and 2 very sleepy kids to cross the custom. Then it was back to lala land. According to the itinerary, we should stop for bfast at 4am and the climb was supposed to start at 5.45am so that we could catch the sunrise at the 1st peak.
After a night of very rough dozing, the bus stopped for toilet break stop at 4am. Yes, we were running late bcos of the custom jam. I didnt mind that we were late bcos I was in a super sleepy state but unable to doze off bcos our seat was right under the aircon vent and I was freezing cold. That must be why nobody took those seats. Zzzzz. In my very desperate state, I even attempted to use a little bit of chewing up to hold up the window curtains to block the aircon. It didnt work; I needed a lot more chewing gum and I didnt want to vandalise. The solution was to switch seat with Daddy Lim. Hahaha. For the next 1 over hour, I slept so much better. Daddy Lim said that the driver seemed to switch off the aircon from the aircon vent after the toilet break too. Chey!
Bfast didnt happen until about 5.45am. We stopped at a nearby Mac. There wasnt enough time and we had to tabao. We also took the opportunity to wash up. There was a long q for food and the kids took the chance to warm up at the mini playground.
Bfast was done half at Mac and the other half on the bus. While the kids happily chomp down the food, I was busy packing the bags for the hike. It was a short drive and soon we can see Mount Broga.
Hello, Mount Broga.
There was a very light drizzle when we alighted the bus. Nobody mind being late too bcos we wouldnt be able to catch the sunshine in this gloomy weather anyway. The rain didnt dampen ths spirit.
The hike started off with dirt track and it was a very different experience fron our previous hikes. It was dirt track paths throughout, created by the many hikers before us, unlikely the service paths or the cemented or log steps. The rain caked thd soil and I think it wouldnt be a clean experience to fall.
The official "base" of Mount Broga and then it was more climbing.
At some parts, we could see deep soil erosion from the rain. Pls pay attention to the dirt paths in the picture, not the posers. Thank you. Haha.
Finally, we could see the 1st peak before our eyes. The same way up is the same way down. We past by many returning hikers with soil covered pants.
We soon found out why... it was a literal "climb" up the 1st peak. There was some rope to aid the ascent and many times we had to use our hands to pull ourselves up. We too were soon soil clad.
The kids found the adventure very exciting and were taking in every bit of it. Their dear mother was starting to worry about the descend.
Finally, we arrived at the 1st peak and people got too excited with the pictures taking.
The kids were asking for their pictures to be taken at every other big rock, much to their poor mother heart's protest.
We were above clouds!
The stop for pictures was much too long that we appreciate and the kids started getting restless. It wasnt a good thing when we were that high on a mountain. While the kids, particularly Zaky, were enjoying a good climb on the various rocks, I was yelling for them to be careful and not fall over. It was very stressful. Sob. I was so glad that we were finally moving towards the 2nd peak.
It was meant to be a leisure hike and it didn't help that we were much faster than the rest. We arrived at the 2nd peak faster than the rest, which meant more waiting.
Again, we subtly hinted to proceed to the last peak. By the time we arrived, I was exhausted from having to yell at Zaky to be careful.
It was again another super long wait being the final peak. My hair grew white from the waiting and worrying that somebody will slip and tumble down the hill. Zzzzzzz. After like forever, they finally announced that we would be making our descend. While some were still happily taking pictures and making merry, we started our way. I needed to keep Zaky occupied so that I can keep both kids safe.
The descend was even more exciting than the ascent. By then, I really had given up yelling at the boy, doing it only when what he was doing seemed like extreme danger. Surprisingly, he was much more agile than I expected and didnt injured himself the entire hike. I spent more time making sure that I dont slip and fall myself. Some of the slopes were really challenging and Zaky did better than I conquering the slippery slopes.
Our reward was this little snack stall at the bottom of the hill. Woohoo! It was their 1st day of business and they were given out free nasi lemak. We tried paying them but they refused to charge for the nasi lemak. We tried to buy other snacks from them and ended up spending less than RM10 after picking and choosing a lot of stuff. One stick of 3 nuggets was only RM1!
Lunch was at a pitstop place not far away. When Singaporeans see A&W, we must eat A&W.
Then it was another long drive to Malacca. The parents were happily snoozing while the kids watched downloaded movies on the phone.
We had 2 hours to burn in Malacca. Seriously, sightseeing wasnt a good choice with 2 tired kids. The Mamee musuem was our life saver.
We paid RM20 to diy 4 cups of instant noodles.
That fortunately burned majority of the 2 hours.
The rest of the time was spent loitering around.
We managed to grab a light bite before gathering at 5.30pm for home.
The bus ride back was very peaceful bcos we all knocked out. It was 3+ hours later before we finally arrived at the custom. My poor butt again!
It was already almost 11pm by the time we arrived back to Woodlands MRT. I was amazed at how much Daddy Lim and I were snoozing on the ride back. We were constantly sleeping but feeling constantly tired. It must be the very disturbed naps. Despite the naps, we all fell into a deep slumber when we finally hit the pillows and I didnt wake up until 8ish this morning. Haha.
Overall, it wasnt too bad a trip. Would I do it again? I am hestitant bcos of the bus ride; it was seriously painful to try sleeping on the bus. I would probably try again for a mountain nearer to Singapore.
The in between stops were way too long too. It took us over 4 hours to complete the hike, which was only 4km according to strava. We would have probably took half the time on our own. The kids got very restless with the long waits.
On the pros, the group was super nice and the aunties started chatting up the kids along the way; they were very impressed with how energetic our kids were. The best was how everybody watched time and were on time at the agreed meeting time and there was no excessive waiting for late comers. The kids definitely enjoyed the new experience and asked to hike again. It was like a big adventure for them. Let's see, the same hike organiser already have so many more hikes lining up for the year and we are in their call list. Haha.
Mummy Lim
