Tuvkhon Monastery

Horse ride or hike? This isolated hilltop monastery can only be reached by foot or horse, so be prepared to hike, absorb a bit of history, marvel at the stunning views and work up an appetite on the way down just in time for a picnic lunch in the middle of nowhere. Tuvkhon Monastery sits …

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Heliconia Trail, North Kiara

This less frequented trail grew in popularity during the lockdown as all forest reserves and most parks were still out-of-bounds. From an obscure bashing-path mainly used by hashers, Heliconia trail was transformed into a 'highway' as foot traffic picked-up when Malaysia entered the recovery phase of the movement control order (MCO). Entering from Kampung Sg …

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Hike up Penang Hill via Botanic Gardens

In August 2019, my wish to hike up Penang Hill finally materialised during a family holiday to the Island State. I found a wealth of information on Hiking Trails of Penang Hill - various trails, distances, maps and respective entry points. Managed by the Penang State Government, the website also provides GPS coordinates of all …

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Post-MCO hike to Bukit Besi

This was my first proper hike following the easing of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to "conditional" after 11 weeks of strictly stay-at-home. Hiking in small groups are allowed with social distancing strongly encouraged. Unlike 5 years earlier, there is now a clearly marked path leading to the trail head along the slope parallel to …

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Baptismal Site on the Jordan River – Qasr Al-Yahud

For more than 40 years, it was almost impossible and dangerous to visit the original baptismal site of Jesus due to the presence of landmines, planted by the Israeli Army after the Six Day War in 1967 to prevent infiltration from Jordan.Fully re-opened in 2019, I had the privilege to stand on the banks of …

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