One of the most widely read blogpost in 2014 is How to go to Bukit Indah by bus. I did this post to keep a record of how I went to this place in Johor by bus in case I needed it again. This is after all a personal blog of someone who happens to be a pastor. As it turned out, many have googled about going to Bukit Indah and landed on my post.
We just had a photo sharing time with the Marine Parade cell with whom I went to Kyushu, Japan. It was a time of food and fellowship. We viewed and shared photos and videos. We remembered the funny and interesting moments and had many a good laugh. I heard and saw things that I never knew happened until I saw it on video or photo. It was fun.
There were so many photos and fond memories I want to keep – too much to write about in one blogpost. So I will do it in manageable bits and tie it up together once it’s all completed. Who knows there may be people out there who are searching for interesting itineraries to explore Kyushu. This will certainly help them. Travelling by tour groups is convenient but it has its limitations. Travelling free and easy is hard work at the research and planning stage, but it later yields greater flexibility and enjoyment.
I have always wanted to visit Japan. That was why I requested to join this cell group in their Japan trip. It is called ‘tompang’ in Malay, or jumping the bandwagon. If you do not like tour groups and have no time to plan a free and easy, then ‘tompang’ is the best option. They were gracious to let me join in and I was happy to follow the leader Jasmine. My wife and I just went with the flow and it was blessed by the Lord and became a special trip for us both.
The Brompton is a folding bike with a cult following. Those who have ridden it usually became Brompton evangelists. They are unashamed to give testimony to its build, versatility, usefulness, comfort, head turning looks, and portability. It’s the BMW of folding bikes.
So it was with enthusiasm that a pastor friend “shared” with me his “testimony” and I was “almost persuaded”, like King Agrippa, as he listened to Paul the apostle. That conversation seeded me with a desire that germinated. I found myself googling about Brompton and watching YouTube videos about it. This expanded to searches about competing cheaper foldable bikes like Dahon, the largest manufacturer of folding bikes in the world.
The catch was the price. It costs $2,800 to get a Brompton bike in Singapore. It’s higher than in England or South Korea. For bike enthusiasts and serious road cyclists this price is nothing. Some bikes even go for $11,000. For a pastor like me, it is a shocking introduction to the world of biking. The Brompton bag attachment costs $200. To me you can buy a bicycle for that price at Giant Hypermarket. After all, the bike is a green machine with two wheels, brakes, a steering handle bar and a seat, that brings the rider from one place to another. Getting over the price was a hurdle.
Saved by a pastor
I was sharing this with another pastor friend who listened to me intently and at the end of the conversation made me an irresistible offer. Would you like to buy over my folding bicycle for $100? Its only 2 months old, and I bought it for about $500. That certainly shook me from my growing fixation on the Brompton bike. Let me try the bike over a few days, I said. So he passed the folded bike to me from the boot of his car and after a few days standing in my house I finally took it out for a test ride to the Jurong Lake cycling rim. It was a good exercise and pleasant to have the wind brushing against your face with the waters and trees all around. Like he said, the Cronus, Earl 2.0 squeaked a little when you lift up the handle bar too high. Other than that it was a so-so ride and I was happy there was suspension for the seat. The bicycle was purportedly French but I think it’s just a marketing gimmick. It has made in China written all over. At the end of it, the decision was still easy to make. It was a generous offer I could not say No to. As Sherlock Holmes would often reply to clueless Dr Watson, It’s entry-level, Watson, entry-level. Ha,ha.
Part of Jurong lake in the background.The Cronus Earl 2.0 The Cronus Earl 2.0
The Brompton is still on my mind of course. This is the way I figure it. $3,000 over ten years is $300 a year. And if you use it a hundred times a year, it would mean an average of $3 each time. Furthermore the pleasure of riding a piece of British engineering genius cannot be quantified. I can see from online searches that used Brompton bikes keep their value well.
So I am still tempted to buy a Brompton or a hybrid bike so that my wife and I can ride off together into the sunset, or sunrise haha, in a common leisure activity that is also low impact and good exercise. The ride to the end of Jurong Lake and back takes about 45 minutes. There are also many park connectors to explore. Since the Bukit Timah Hill has been closed this may be an addition to my currently depressing exercise regime.
After I came back from Rinjani, I discovered that a fragment of the perimeter of the lens cap of my Olympus Stylus XZ 2 broke off. I did not drop the camera and it was okay when I was in Gili Trawangan. I was puzzled how it was damaged. So I tried to buy a spare from camera shops but they do not carry them, and they pointed me to Olympus service center. I wrote to them explaining my situation and they were very sympathetic and graciously offered me a free one on a once-off basis. Thank God for good customer service. After all, how much does a lens cap cost? But good service stories spread goodwill towards the company and is priceless. Wise policy, Olympus.
Gunong Rinjani National Park is slightly more than half the size of Singapore’s 716 square kilometres.
The park is amazing and beautiful with a variety of vegetation and interesting geographical features from caldera-lake and hot springs, to active volcanoes and a recently formed new mountain; from grasslands to alpine and equatorial forest. The air is fresh and the views awe-inspiring. The sunrise and sunsets are stunning. It is a national treasure to be preserved and enjoyed for generations to come. It is God’s gift to Indonesia to be treasured and managed well so that all can enjoy and give praise to the Creator.
Yet during this trek I was appalled that this rare natural beautiful park is marred by litter. Litter of all kinds. There were paper, plastics, and even human excrement. Sweet wrappers, plastic water bottles, paper, empty food containers, plastic bags and paper can be seen every 500 metres along the route. The litter was concentrated where the camps were set up but much lesser along the trekking paths. They were an eyesore. It marred what God has made and given for people to enjoy. It assaulted my senses; it stirred up anger and disgust. And this is not my country. I am sure there are many Indonesians who are angry with this too.
One of my friends said, Mt Ophir used to be as dirty. But now the mountain is clean. The park officials have taken action. One of them is to insist that people who climb pay a money deposit and can claim it back only if they show proof they have brought back litter they were responsible for. How true this is I do not know, as I have not been there in the past nor more recently after the changes. But this was what I heard. If Malaysia boleh, then Indonesia boleh.
I also understand that local guides and porters make regular trips to pick up litter but I suspect this is not true. I heard that Singaporeans organize two trips each year where scores of young adults climb Rinjani to pick up litter along the way to bring back. How true this is I do not know but that was what the guide told me when I asked whether efforts have been made to clean the park.
It’s obvious more can be done. I wish for Rinjani what I saw at Kinabalu – a relatively clean park for all to enjoy. I wish for Rinjani what I saw in Nepal. It can be kept relatively litter free. It is not impossible.
So please when you do your treks keep all litter with you till you return back to the villages for proper disposal. The plastic wrapper of your energy bar, chocolate or sweets can be kept in your pocket. The water bottle can be kept in your backpack. Be responsible for your own trash. This will help keep other people’s land clean and litter free and later generations can enjoy it too.
Mt Kinabalu (4,096 m) in Sabah, MalaysiaMt Rinjani (3,726m) in Lombok, Indonesia
At the end of our trek, we compared the level of difficulty of the Rinjani trek with the many Kinabalu treks we have done. Most of the trekkers have done Kinabalu a few times. It was unanimously agreed by all who have done both, that the Rinjani trek was tougher. I had talked about this with trekkers – people I do not know – I had met in Bukit Timah and most of them tell me Rinjani was tougher. When these fellow hikers in Bukit Timah mentioned the comparative difficulty I found it hard to believe because Mt Kinabalu is higher than Mt Rinjani. However, now that I have done Rinjani and am in a better position to compare, I have to agree with all the other people’s opinions.
Perhaps one factor that weakens my opinion is that I climbed Kinabalu about 5 years ago. Memory of the hardship and challenge has faded. However, my friends have climbed Kinabalu recently and their opinions are that Rinjani is tougher.
My friends and I are easy trekkers. We are kiasu, kiasi, and kia bo. These friends have done several treks in Nepal like Poon Hill, Annapura Base Camp, Thorong la Pass and other Everest treks. They have done Mt Fuji in Japan, Mt Agung in Bali, and a tough Trans Gopeng Cameron trek. When compared all other treks with Rinjani – everyone said this was tougher.
The comparison between Rinjani and Kinabalu will look like this in a table of comparison:
