The Trail of Mount Yong Belar (7,156 Ft.)

                 At the highlands, a convoy of 3 military vehicles were slowing down toward a sharp rising bend at a bottom, before the road steeply inclined upwards. Suddenly, shots rang out and the bullets accurately found its marks through the windscreens of the jeep at the front and the rest of the vehicles; more poured at the sides. At the end of the day, 4 soldiers were killed, one dying and scores wounded. A civilian from the Malayan National Board (MEB) was among the dead.

                The ambush occured on the 2nd of March 1950 at a road was set up by the Communist Terrorists (CTs) just beyond Brinchang,  then a village, some 6 miles from Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands in the State of Pahang, British Malaya (now Malaysia), at the height of the local communist insurgency. The convoy was caught in the ambush while on its way to Blue Valley to recover a vehicle belonging to the electricity board which had gone off the track and slid down deep into the jungle. (Facts extracted from Britain's Small Wars)

                Cameron Highlands was once a hotbed of communist activities many decades ago. It was also one of the gateways from the southern region to the ridges of the Titiwangsa Range, spanning a few hundred kilometres across mossy forests and thick jungles to the borders of  Thailand, a mere 3 weeks of hiking. According to an ex-army personnel, the route was tranversed up to 40 times by a veteran communist insurgent during its heyday and located along the paths of the 6 peaks of mountains  at a height of over 7,000 feet. which are called Mt Yong Belar, Mt Korbu (another gateway), Mt Yong Yap, Mt Chamah and Mt Ulu Sepat respectively. For an aspiring mountain hiker in Malaysia, having summited all the above mentioned peaks and Mount Tahan (highest in the Peninsular) from a different range, categorised fondly as G7 mountains, is considered a great personal achievement! With the surrender of the CTs in 1989 and all booby traps cleared off from the ridges, the restriction to the Titiwangsa Range was thus lifted.

             In the '80s and '90s, only a handful of groups organised hikes to the Titiwangsa mountains. However, with the influx of affordable GPS handsets  and in particular, the Facebook network have spurred countless groups into existence paving a way for more young and old generations together to embrace the rough and tumble in the jungles. One such group was led by the energetic, Ray L. and accompanied by his mentor, Wong whom he calls Master or "Sifu". I found myself hiking with the group on a day's hike to the summit of Mt Y.Belar which normally requires an overnight trip at the peak as I had done twice more than 10 years ago.

             Hitched a ride in Benson T.'s car and instead of using the long and winding road which sloped up to the highlands where the ambush took place in 1950, a new highway emerging from Simpang Pulai near Ipoh was used. In his fifties, Benson who is a newbie to the mountains, was a tad worried that he may not reached the summit before the turnaround time set at 2.00 pm.  So, the hike was a race against time for him. In the car were Chen B., a lady trekker, Vincent L., another recent hiker, and a flora photographer enthusiast, Vincent G. We arrived by nightfall at the Chinese's Kwan Ti Temple in Kampung Raja near the Blue Valley, and got a place to bunk in overnight free of charge!

  

              The next morning, we boarded trucks for a bumpy ride through a vegetable farm in Blue Valley and were dropped off at a dam in forty minutes. The trailhead started with a long flight of stairs on the right side of the dam. Thereafter, at the top and minutes later, a nice flat track at a distance of a few hundred metres has now turned into countless mini swamps. Ten years ago, there was only a lone 3-inch pipe in diameter along the entire track. Now countless illegal pipes, some leaking water straddling along the entire length and width like giant ugly-looking worms fighting for limited open space on the ground. One has to tread carefully on the slippery pipes as stepping on unstable ones will sink your foot together into the water and thereby trapping it between the pipes. Stepping on newer ones will increased the odds of not falling off the pipes!
  
           After crossing a stream and up a ledge, the trail continued along a flat terrain to the left of an abandoned shack infested with swift's nests. On the right side of the shack was a former trail. indistinct by now, which was used years ago connecting to another hillside and to the back of the Blue Valley farms. Having changed from sandals to trekking shoes, we bolted into the faraway hills. After a slippery slope at the hillside, the terrain changed into a thick mossy forest; a hiker's delight!

 

 

                                                     Photo Credit: Vincent Goh

                                               Photo Credit: Vincent Goh

                                                 Photo Credit: Vincent Goh

    Choosing to follow closely while observing Vincent G. taking photos of the variety of flora, a sleepless night and insufficient training, had somehow affected my momentum. After only 2 hours of hiking and finding myself at the tail end of the group, I've decided to stop at a small peak with a view of the Mt Y. Belar's peak at a faraway distance! Not wanting to push on anymore, I rested and took a nap for a few hours. Dark clouds had gathered around the area from a distance and soon a drizzle commenced. From here, a few small peaks stand and one would arrive at the first campsite,   Kem Tudung Periuk, which has a water source. Thereafter, the final source of water is at Kem Kasut. The peak is just half an hour away for a hiker with a small backpack. At the peak, on a cloudless day, the summit of Mt Korbu, the other gateway to the Titiwangsa Range, can be spotted across a valley, reachable in a full day's hike into the night from Mt Y. Belar. By the time the last hiker reached the summit just after 2 pm, the rain finally poured out. Benson T. has made it to the peak, more than an hour before the turnaround time, which was an achievement and whatever trepidations he may had, faded away.

                                          Photo Credit: Jess Low.
                                                   At the peak of Mt Yong Belar with a background
                                                   view of Mt Korbu in 2002.

                                          Part of the surrounding view of the Titiwangsa Range.


             The return trip for tough hikes are more challenging, prone to lapses of concentration and maybe injuries. Compounded with the tropical rain, things can get quite rough ahead. I was wondering who will be the first hiker to appear at the trail back from the summit. Just then, someone appeared out and was quite glad to see me as he doesn't like to trek alone. Having turned back before reaching the peak, it's quite awhile before he meets any soul in the jungle.  So, we hiked together off the mountain until we reached the shack. Here, two hikers were running towards us and followed by another runner later in the hour. Then more hikers came down lead by Ray.

             We continued the journey back and encountered the pipes again. There were two sets of pipes running at the trail. One set goes down along a stream while the other up a slope. There was a hesitant moment as the paper markers marking a direction had either vanished or soaked in the mud. When we were heading the other direction in the morning, the other set of pipes weren't evident then. There was a plastic marker tied high up at a slope but it may lead to another trail while the lower pipes seem to be on a flat terrain. Having wasted much time checking out both ways, I decided to hike up the slope and thereafter managed to find a flat terrain high at the top. In the dark, returning hikers will have difficulty determining the actual route, which unfortunately happened to a couple as they wasted more than an hour locating back to this spot after choosing the wrong route!

          When I reached the dam, the first group had already left and driven back to the temple. Much later, smaller groups begin to troop down. Among them, Benson and Chen B; tired but elated. Some were hungry and the chocolates I had brought up came in handy. Back at the temple at 7.30 pm, but waited until 11.00 pm for the final truck, bringing back the last group of hikers. Among them was Vincent G. and they were on the mountain for more than 12 hours in the cold weather. I would certainly be among them too if I had continued the trek to the summit and thus avoided a personal odyssey! Of the 41 hikers, only 2 didn't reached the summit, and a great success even if destination was used as a yardstick.

                                             Standing at the left end: Myself. Photo taken at the temple.

           It was equally a tough terrain for the CT's decades ago who used the ridges along the Titiwangsa Range to escape from the enclosing dragnet set by the commandos in the British Army. Having raised our Malaysian flag at the peak during the month of our Independence Day, we should also take note of the sacrifices that took place near the Blue Valley, prior or after 31st August, 1957. These young men too played a part in ensuring a bright future and a democratic way of life. So, here goes their names in the following sequence:-

Lt. Richard W.J. (aged 20) and Sgt. Ritter C.R. (aged 21) -  Jeep

L/Cpl Haggart N. (aged 21) and Mr Yates, a civilian         -   Ford Recovery Truck

Driver Jones R.H. (aged 19) and Cpl. Hand F. (aged 26)   -   3-ton Truck

(Source: Britain's Small Wars)

         

           
                

Journey to Mount Sinai, Egypt (2007)

                       In the wee hours of the morning, under a moonlight terrain, the assembly of pilgrims and visitors alike, some mounted on camels have arrived at the last camel terminus, just before a basin. The final ascent to the summit of Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa) at 2,285 metres consisted of 750 slabs of stones courtesy of some medieval monks, begins, and was only slightly more than half an hour away. Unfazed by the scent of dry dung, a single traffic file of humans making their way cautiously in a moving mass up the ancient stairway. Minutes thereafter, at a bend; a young boy was seen laying down flat on his back besides the steps. "Its rare for a hiker to assume such a position at a slope", I muttered to myself, "Someone is in trouble here". I quickly exit the column of steps and make my way towards the boy who is being attended by a woman.........
                      
        A tall Egyptian man hopped into our bus and proceeded to sit behind the driver. As he was sitting down, he unbuttoned his cream suit and unintentionally revealed a gun pouch at his side. The bus was carrying 45 Jerusalem-bound Malaysian pilgrims from Cairo to the foothills of Mount Sinai in the Egyptian Peninsula. He was not formally introduced to us so we can only assumed that he was a security personnel attached to our entourage.

         Leaving behind Cairo and heading towards the plains in the desert etched an unforgetable experience in my mind. Hailing from a rainforest country, her jungles are teeming in foliage of vegetation and trees where the myrid hues of green are the norm. Here, nothing grows,  the vast wilderness of the terrain consists of sand, peebles, stones, rocks and bare hillsides with its own spectrum hues of brown; not even a single leaf to be seen miles after miles and such landscape momentarily dampened one's spirit! A great empathy arose to think of the fate of the aging Moses, a biblical prophet who set out to lead thousands of Israelites across the desert in searing heat to the Promised Land.
      
         Upon reaching the 1.63 km-long Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel which spans from the town of Suez on the African mainland to the Asian Sinai Peninsula, our Egyptian guide warned that no photos were to be taken near the entrance; just as a machine gun nest loomed into view mere metres away from the side of the bus. A jubilant mood prevailed in the bus as it thundered through the tunnel under the Suez Canal. During the period of Moses, the sea miraculously split in the middle for his people to cross the Red Sea while we get to sneak through below it!
     
        The bus arrived at a traditional site, the sixth station of the wandering Israelites from the biblical exodus era at a place called Marah. A fountain whose waters were so bitter that prompted the Jewish people to start murmuring in earnest throughout the entire journey. Moses promptly threw a log which took away its bitterness. Presently, this hamlet with a faraway view of the Red Sea contains a long row of huts selling trinkets and other souvenirs. Among the palm trees, there are several scavenging sheeps and near a centuries-old well, the Malaysian pilgrims lead by our Pastor Richard T. read a passage from the bible, prayed, and reflected on this episode.

        Our second stop was for lunch at a secluded beach resort facing the Gulf of Suez. Moving on to our next destination is Elim; site of another camp of the ancient Israelites with a few springs and tall palm trees. In a distance, the barren hills shimmering in colours of long horizontal broad lines of dark and light brown being laid out under each other along its slopes were a pictureque sight! Under the shelter of  the leaves of tall palm trees, our group had a short prayer session and a reflection before departing from the area.

        Our bus came to a stop beside a road and across it lies a small hill where Moses once stood on it and directed the fierce battle that erupted between his people and the Amalekites which ended with the latter defeat.  In Rephidim too,. Moses had to strike a rock with his staff  and miraculeously water came out forth to save his thirsty people. As we approached the rocky foothills with its peak sporting sharp potruding edges, curious locals swarmed around us and later watched us prayed solemnly at the site.

       Shortly after that, we continued our journey along the sides of the rocky outcrop towards a mountaineous region. Later the bus came into a halt and jolted me out of my nap. My cheek was  leaning on a glass window and as soon as my eyes opened, I noticed the barrel of a mounted machine gun stood pointing out towards the road.. A soldier standing next to it on a platform was slightly bemused at the startled look on my face. Our Egyptian guide generously offered some mineral bottles and promptly handed over to one of the soldiers stationed at the checkpoint. Our final stop for the night is the St. Catherine Motel, located a few kilometres from the foot of Mount Sinai.

      We arrived at our destination in the late afternoon. The motel is among a handful at the oasis, within the 4,350 sq ft of Saint Katherine Protectorate established in 1996, which emcompasses the mountains of Sinai (Jebel Musa) and Saint Catherine. At about 2.00 am the bus deposited us near the high walls of St Catherine Monastery to embark at the trailhead to Mount Sinai.

                                          Local legend says that an imprint of a calf was the mould
                                          used by the ancient Israelites to shape a "Golden Calf" 
                                          while Moses was at the peak.
                                

      Behind the forbidden looking walls, lie a scrub of the original bush, widely known as the Burning Bush which played a pivotal role in not only luring Moses over while tending to his flock of sheeps but also attracted countless monks, hermits and early Christians seeking refuge from presecution from pagan Rom. No less touching than the many tales that survive until this day is the story of  a couple, Galaktion and Episteme. Galaktion was born to a pagan childless couple resulting from a prayer to the Lord. Eventually, he met Episteme, married her and settled in Sinai with their followers as a monk and nun respectively but living separately. When the presecution of Christians surfaced here, they were hauled up, brought to Alexandria and tortured based upon their faith. On the day of their martydoms in AD 271 by the sword, they were finally reunited albeit a short time. St. Galaktion was 30 years-old while St. Episteme was just sixteen. The ruins of a monastery and a cave were named after them can still be spotted at the slopes of Mount Sinai along the Camel's Trail.

     Decades later in AD 330, a small church and a tower were added at the site of the Burning Bush as ordered by Empress Helena, mother of the first Christian Emperor of Rome, Constantine. When hostilities escalated in the region in the 6th century, Byzantine Emperor Justinian ordered a fortified monastery to be created. The decendants of the soldiers and servants from the Justinian era who intermarried the local nomads, assimilated into their culture and beliefs, are found among the Jebeliyah Bedouin. They have a symbiotic relationship with the residents of St Catherine Monastery throughout the centuries. While the Jebeliyah Bedouin assisted and tried to protect the monks from threats and turmoil in the region in the past, in return, they are employ as general workers; and any unsettled disputes among them are refer to the Archbishop to resolve.

      Unlike most of the Malaysians who prefered to ride the camels, accompanied by the cameleers, I'd opted for a hike up the gradual meandering slopes to the last terminus. After awhile, I saw my fellow pilgrim, Henry dismounted from his camel and seemingly unzipping his pants! Upon reaching him, he bitterly complained that he felt uncomfortable riding the camel along the gradual slopes as the potruding pegs at both ends of the saddle were hitting his crotch. He had to make an adjustment; whatever that means! Before the trip, the guys were instructed to bring and use a tampon for the camel ride but Henry didn't realised it then.

       At the last terminus and after sipping tea for one US dollar, we were ready for the final leg of the ascent. A boy was lying down at the side of the staircase and beside him was his sister and mother fanning away. I offered my assistance and upon hearing my voice, the boy raised up his head slightly and slowly sat up. The Europeans started hiking the night before for the summit and were coming down when the boy was too exhausted to continue. I promptly gave him some chocolates which were entrusted to me by another fellow lady pilgrim at the start of the hike. What a coincidence! After wishing them a safe return, I quickly rejoined my group and set off for the summit.

      Moses was handed the Ten Commandments by God at the summit. Thus, there is a willful expectation as one treads on the holy mountain. For the Jebeliyah Bedouins who have revered it since time immemorial, asking for good health and blessing for fertility are the norm. For the monks and pilgrims of the past and future, Mount Sinai is a place of worship to the Lord. Personally, I have asked for a sign or a message and it came quite discreetly via my walking pole or staff! While standing on a flat boulder waiting for the sunrise at the summit, my pole fell into an elongated crack, one and a half inches wide. It rested in a horizontal position, six inches in the boulder. Having regarded it as a momento, various ways were used to haul it out from its fixed position but all in vain. Finally, in a last ditch effort with a bit more light, and after surveying the crack that extended to the edge of the boulder, an idea struck in my head! With both hands holding another pole like a golf club, I slowly putted the pole along the crack and, hey presto, out of the boulder in mere seconds.  So, the subtle message was that a simple solution will present itself in due time by looking at matters in a wider perspective rather than a fixed one. Amen!

        "Nothing can exceed the savage grandeur of the view from the summit of Mount Sinai. The infinite complication of jagged peaks and varied ridges, and their prevalent intensely red and greenish tints"   ~~~  Edward Hall,  1885

Catching the sunrise and looking at such a beautiful landscape warms ones' soul whilst the breeze softly caressing our face. The Malaysian pilgrims sang a few Christians songs atop the summit among the different nationalities standing around, near an Orthodox church which was rebuilt in 1934.

     Every mountain has a story to tell and few revered as holy mountains. Critics have a field day disputing not only whether Mount Sinai or locally known as Jebel Musa (Moses Mountain) is the actual one mentioned in the bible, but also if the exodus led by Moses ever happened at all. Hitherto, the legacies left behind by the believers and the faithful are unrefutable. Saint Catherine Monastery, the beacon of a sentinel stands proudly from a different era, and the existence of the Jebeliyah Bedouins are the surviving and living testaments of these legacies.

    As we were getting off the peak and down to the foothills of Mount Sinai, the woman and children of the local Bedouins were standing along the trail trying to peddle trinkets. However, the gleam in their eyes betrayed an indomitable spirit in this God trodden-land; and the holy mountain, yet unrivaled, by any.