Well, as a matter of fact, YES!

When a few good friends of mine find out that I’m going on a camping trip at 35 weeks pregnant, many shook their head in disbelief. Even my mother-in-law wasn’t so approving but did not stop us as Terry ensures her that I’m in good hands and there’s nothing to worry about. Of course, my mother is the more paranoid one, so obviously I did not tell her that I was going camping. 

Unlike some people who think pregnant women needs to rest more, walk less and stay away from outdoor activities, I belong to the group of mommies who believe in the benefit of working out during pregnancy (as long as it is safe, non-strenuous and your pregnancy is low-risk). I’ve always been into outdoor activities before pregnancy, so I do not see a reason why I should limit myself into staying indoor all the time. Of course, I’m not suggesting that you should be running a marathon, hiking a big mountain, carrying a heavy backpack or participate in water rafting, but milder outdoor activities such as picnicking, brisk walking, easy trekking (flatter terrain and shorter distance) and for my instance here, car camping can be done. 

It all started with William’s message asking how we are doing, which mountain we are going soon and whether we shall meet up since it’s been eight months since our Everest Base Camp (EBC) trek in December 2019. With that we ended up planning a weekend trip to Endau where William is currently based, to visit both Pulau Mawar and Gunung Arong. Apart from Yogi and David who couldn’t make it, this trip is technically a mini gathering for our EBC trip (E.C Choi, Uncle Mak, William, Terry and myself) and we had Angeline (Uncle Mak’s girlfriend) and E.C Choi’s whole family (including his 7-months baby boy) tagged along. 

“First Nuang experience, 20km hike... The most strenuous day hike I ever did. No wonder this place is training ground for G7 mountains... I should have come sooner!”

As Facebook reminded me of my first Nuang hike 4 years ago, I recalled that I have never blogged about this hike before. Back then I have just started my blog and was more interested in blogging about my oversea and local travels. Day hike was not in my interest. However, as time passed, I hiked more and more hills and mountains and ended up writing about every single hike regardless of the difficulty and duration. It’s a pity Nuang were left out despite being a very interesting hike and an important milestone in my hiking life. 

Those close and dear to me or those who have followed my blog from the very beginning would have known that I started this blog right after my Mount Rinjani (Part 1 and Part 2) hike. However, that beast is definitely not my first mountain. Having climbed and blogged a number of mountains and hills over the past 4 years, the very first mountain I scaled was actually Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia’s highest mountain, 2 years prior to my Rinjani hike. 

List of Tabur Hills:
❶ Tabur East
❷ Tabur West
❸ Tabur Far East (hiked in Oct 2016)
❹ Tabur Extreme (hiked in Oct 2016)
❺ Tabur Extra

With Covid-19 virus still lurking around, our country’s border is closed and any oversea travel is still prohibited. With so many annual leave still unutilised, are you looking for a domestic trip to kill your boredom? Cameron Highlands, Penang, Ipoh and Melaka are good choices to spend the weekend but if the crowd put you off, you may consider Pulau Pangkor for a less touristy and more laid-back, toned down experience.