DISCOVER the Road to Financial FREEDOM!

A New Year’s Resolution is a commitment that an individual makes to a project or the reforming of a habit, often a lifestyle change that is generally interpreted as advantageous and to get better.

Improving your Health, Getting Fit and Losing Weight NEVER Fail to top the List of New Year’s Resolution.

All the New Year’s Resolution List above would be easier if only you could keep the cost to the minimal.

Many have choose to join Gym membership and this can be an expensive affair as the membership Package fee can easily cost few Thousand Ringgit per annum.

There is no need to Join Expensive Gym membership as there are better Alternative. 😀

Yes.

You can practice Hill Hiking!

Hill Hiking is normally used to describe the recreational practice of walking in hilly or mountainous terrain, generally with the intention of visiting the tops of hills and mountains.

You just need a Good pair of Hiking Shoe.

One of the best Hill to explore is Broga Hill.

One thing You Must do before you travel to oversea is to Climb Broga Hill!

Who said we do not have a nice location or place  to visit here.

Broga Hill, Semenyih, Malaysia – 茅台山- Above the Cloud Hike

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Nothing beats the sheer freedom of walking up the Broga Hill and breathing in the fresh air whilst taking in the views of the magnificent scenery surrounding you.

A part of  improving your cardiovascular fitness levels and reducing your body fat through aerobic exercise, hill hiking offers many additional benefits which, to many, far outweigh those which you can achieve simply by pounding away on the treadmill at your local gym.

Without any doubt, Broga Hill also known as Bukit Lalang has becoming a popular spot among hikers, photographers, nature lovers and those eager to experience a fun outing up the hills.

Broga Hill is located near to Nottingham University Semenyih and about 30 minutes drive from Kuala Lumpur city center.

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Broga Hill, Semenyih, Malaysia – 茅台山

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Broga Hill is not Tough to hike and it takes roughly 30 to 45 minutes to reach to the Peak!

It’s a easy and  safe climb trek and easily accessible via major Highway!

Feel free to join Broga Hill Lovers – Facebook Group and enjoy the friendship by making even more friends while hiking.

Get FREE the Latest Hiking tip, more Broga Hill’s Photos and experience sharing as well at the Broga Hill Lovers – Facebook Group .

After the hike, feel free to visit  Broga Sak Dato Temple.

It is blessed with both natural and man-made attractions. It has been attracting tourists and worshippers by the thousands since it was expanded 16 years ago.

Most of the Chinese New Year MTV was shot at this temple.

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Broga Hill, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia – 茅台山

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How to Go To Broga Hill, Semenyih?

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• If you are going by KESAS, or Sunway Pyramid, you will eventually bump into IOI Mall, Puchong
• And after few minutes, naturally TESCO on your right side
• and Giant Hypermarket (not really obvious) on your left side
• Go straight and use the route towards Putrajaya, it should be pretty obvious, the only way you will realize you went the wrong way is when you are heading towards (a) HICOM Shah Alam (b) KLIA
• As you pay the R.M. 1.60 again, not long after that, there should be an exit towards Serdang, look out for signs that points to Kajang/Semenyih/Serdang
• At this point onward, go forward without exiting to any exit at all, of course, unless you need a leak.
• Go towards the end until you see an exit to Jalan Semenyih (EXIT 1), it should be after you passed Kajang.
• If there is something that you need to take note on, you will be heading towards the Semenyih town, which is you are on the wrong direction, you will most likely to end up in Kajang.
• Once you are in the Semenyih town, you will pass by Semenyih police station on your left and Mosque on your Right.
• Go straight until you see Restaurant 69 on your left, Maybank and Petronas at your right.
• At the Petronas traffic light, turn left into (a) Taman Tasik Semenyih (b) University of Nottingham Malaysia (c) Kampung Broga
• Take note that there should be a petrol station (PETRONAS) at the right side of you when you are about to make the turn, and the petrol station should be behind (right side) you.
• Go straight and you will reach to a point that there is a RABBIT FARM on the right side of the road. Stop there.
• Congratulations! You’ve reached.
• Car Parking is RM2 per entry at the Palm Oil Estate as it is privately owned.  If you park at the Road side then parking is FREE.
• What you need to do, is to walk towards inside the path along the palm oil estate.

from:www.manmeng.net/blog/2009/02/26/travel-broga-hill/

Broga Hill, Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia – 茅台山

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Great walks and views within an hour of KL’s city centre

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AS I recall, Broga was a small town at the border of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

Prior to my first visit to this town 17 years ago, I had never even heard of it until I was sent there to cover news on escaped convicts from the Kajang prison.

Having a breather: Sheik enjoying a break at the second peak.

This is a place surrounded by a series of rugged hills and the Broga town centre is located in a valley. Being a dead end, there are no more settlements beyond the town square. But if you ask around, this place has an interesting past.

Some said the town is haunted by its inhabitants who were massacred by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War Two.

And judging by its obscure location, it is not surprising why this legend lives on. Folklore and myths aside, Broga offers plenty for city dwellers who want a quick getaway.

I recently hooked up with an old friend, Sheik Eng Meng, who told me that there is an interesting trail called Bukit Lalang.

“The reward is a scenic view of the Broga valley and a glimpse of Semenyih. You have to see it to believe it,” he said.

Sheik, who also runs a blog on his adventures, added that the location is only an hour’s drive from Subang Jaya.

Two more peaks to go: Michelle enjoying the view at a staging area on the way up.

I checked out his photographs and found that the hill in question was indeed a good location for a weekend hike. And since we live in Subang Jaya, I corresponded with him to arrange a trip there. He said the best days to hike are on Saturdays.

“If you go there on Sundays, the hill is full of hikers,” he said.

The drive from Subang Jaya to Broga took us about 45 minutes. To get there, we used the LDP and SILK highways.

Since I haven’t been to this part of Selangor for a long time, much has changed.

Our destination was the Nottingham University campus and when we passed Semenyih, we made a left turn about 2km away from the town centre.

On top of the world: The writer’s pooches waiting for their turn to descend to the trail head.

By the time we reached the campus area, my dogs were already restless. We pulled over to let them stretch and proceeded to a palm oil plantation.

“Sam, this is the trail head. It takes about an hour to ascend to the peak. First, we will hike through an oil palm plot. As we progress, you will see some tertiary forest. The hike will get a bit tough at this stage,” Sheik said.

My dogs, Sir Naughty and Dame Queenie, were equipped with their specially-made backpacks and a trekking leash.

And since this was unknown territory for me, I came prepared with plenty of water, a pair of hiking boots and a trekking pole.

This minimises injury on the trail especially during a descent from steep terrain. Michelle. my wife, was handling Dame Queenie, our two-year-old female Siberian Husky while I hiked with Sir Naughty, the older dog.

Halfway through the hike, we found an obstacle which was easily cleared by the dogs. But another one ahead proved to be taxing for Dame Queenie.

Our female pooch had to be lifted across a ditch. Our next staging point was a boulder resting on a steep slope. By the time I got there with my pooch, I was drenched in sweat.

I could feel my knees aching and my dog seemed to be panting heavily. Nevertheless, we slowly pushed to the last stage which was an easy walk to the first peak.

Sheik, who is in great shape, was already waiting at the clearing. There, we were greeted by a group of hikers who went there to catch the sunrise.

We spent about 15-minutes there before proceeding to another peak. The Broga hill is like a dragon’s back. There is a series of three peaks and the last one is heavily wooded.

And the view up here is spectacular. We were lucky that it didn’t rain and the weather was excellent for a hike. After we reached the second peak, Michelle and I took turns to give the dogs their drink of water.

Many of the hikers there took turns to snap photographs with our Huskies. After spending about an hour at the peak, Sheik signalled that it was time to leave.

The hike to the trail head took almost an hour. After we concluded our hike, Sheik told me that other than the hills, Broga has a rabbit farm for visitors.

“There is also good food here. There are some restaurants that you can check out on your follow-up visits. And Broga is also the place to be during fruit season,” he said.

Soon after we loaded up the dogs in our car, we parted ways. To sum it up, the hike was excellent and it cost us nothing to carry out such an activity. From Subang Jaya, our petrol cost no more than RM25 on the return trip and the toll was roughly about RM5.60.

For all you Internet savvy day trippers, there are plenty of resources on the Broga hill on blogs and personal websites.

Meanwhile the Lat, Long grid reference for GPS users are: Lat 02 56 830, Long 101 54 050 for the hill peak, while the trail head is located at: Lat 02 56 304, Long 101 54 071. Good luck and happy hiking!

fr:thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?sec=central&file=/2009/8/31/central/4596680

On top of the world

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SEMENYIH: There’s nothing like a snooze after a long hike. And it is even better if it is in the open, on a hill in the midst of lush greenery, with cool breeze and breathtaking views.

This was exactly what these hikers did after reaching one of the peaks of Bukit Broga in Semenyih, also known as Bukit Lalang.

The hike was tiring and so the breathtaking view had to wait as they stretched out on the ground.

Bukit Broga is becoming a popular spot among hikers, photographers, nature lovers and those eager to experience a fun outing up the hills.

It offers a good spot to observe sunrise and sunset, and hikers can always be seen making their way up from as early as 4am.

Bukit Broga is located between Kampung Sri Broga in Semenyih and the University of Nottingham (Malaysia) campus. Pic: Gan Jin Liang

fr:mmail.com.my/content/20598-top-world

A little piece of paradise

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NESTLED among undulating hills on the Selangor-Negri Sembilan border, the Broga Sak Dato Temple is like a little piece of paradise.

Not only is the temple the backbone of the quaint Broga village, it has been attracting tourists and worshippers by the thousands since it was expanded 16 years ago.

Scene from the tales: The temple is adorned with statues and landscapes depicting characters and scenes from Chinese folklore and fairy tales.

Located on 0.73ha, it is nothing to shout about as far as size is concerned, but it is blessed with both natural and man-made attractions.

The prayer halls, adorned with antique artefacts and intricate carvings, near a landscaped garden that, interestingly, is named the Orchard of the Fruits of Kindness.

Statues of Chinese folklore characters and giant replicas of local fruits line the side of a sculptured staircase that zig-zags through the hillside garden, which is guarded by the Monkey King perched atop a boulder. Fish ponds and oriental gazebos add to the charm.

The staircase leads visitors to an ornamental arch called “The Dragon Gate”, which opens to a serene view of clear skies and green hills. Statues of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac and mythical animals are lined near the arch for photo opportunities.

Path to kindness: The entrance to the Orchard of the Fruits of Kindness.

“The temple structures were designed by a feng shui master who stumbled upon a cave where the local folk had been worshipping the Sak Dato deity about 120 years ago,” said the temple’s committee member, C.K. Lim, who oversees charitable activities.

“According to the master, the local fruits are meant to make this place vibrant all year round as they represent the different seasons of the year,” he said.

Word has it that the master, who was Lim’s close friend, recognised the area’s great feng shui and together they sought the permission of Sak Dato through prayers to develop the then crude place of worship.

It is said that a member of the committee who took care of the small village temple had even dreamt of driving up in a car before they arrived.

The development initiative generated overwhelming response among the villagers and the temple has been popular ever since.

And, it is not only worshippers and tourists who have been streaming in; donations have, too.

Symbol of vigour: Replicas of local fruits are scattered in the Orchard of Fruits of Kindness, to symbolise vigour all year round.

In the light of this development, the committee set out to channel the funds to the most deserving recipients and hence the Orchard of the Fruits of Kindness foundation was established in 1992.

Funds are channelled every month from the foundation to poor people carefully vetted by a 14-member committee. From a modest RM4,000 a month back in 1992, the foundation now gives out between RM30,000 and RM50,000 monthly to the recipients.

So far, there have been a total of 181 monthly donations totalling about RM3mil given out to some 3,000 people.

“We are thankful to the worshippers for being so charitable.

“They come from near and far; some even from as far as Singapore, Johor and Penang.

The Chinese zodiac: Statues of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac are lined behind the Dragon Gate.

“An anonymous donor from Brunei has been supporting us for more than 18 years and now donates about RM15,000 every year,” Lim said.

The temple also emphasises the importance of education by rewarding the high scorers in the village.

“Our contribution is nothing; we are only acting as a conduit that channels the donations to the right recipients in accordance with the donors’ wish to help the needy,” said treasurer Yong Kin Leong.

“The committee members are grateful for the chance to do this. We derive happiness from it when we hear that a patient gets well, a child achieves his or her ambition and this place is well received by the villagers and visitors,” he said.

Busy and happy: The Broga Sak Dato Temple committee members busy administering funds collected for the Sichuan earthquake victims.

It is learnt that the temple would be further developed as a tourist destination. The committee has secured another 6.48ha to build more facilities for visitors, including a jungle-trekking trail, suspended bridge and a children’s playground.

Meanwhile, the committee is organising a dinner tonight to raise funds for the Sichuan earthquake victims.

A table for 10 is being sold from RM1,000, and all proceeds will be presented to a representative of the China Embassy at the function. The committee is bearing all expenses for the dinner.

The temple is located at No. 4, Jalan Besar, Broga, Negri Sembilan. For details, call 016-693 4068 (Yong), 012-656 4636 (Lee) or 03-8761 0035

fr:thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2008/6/6/central/21443736&sec=central

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IT’s really all about food: Taking a break in Broga – Part 1

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IT’s really all about food: Taking a break in Broga – Part2

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