HIS love for the great outdoors started when he was 16.

Raymond Leong, our Sporty Boss for this week, was then a member of his school's scout team, which called itself the 1st Bandar Maharani Group.

His first expedition was to scale the 1,276 metres (4,186 ft) Mount Ophir, which is a popular destination among amateur climbers located in northwestern Johor.

'One fine day, a group of us decided to climb Mount Ophir on our own,' recalled the 45-year-old Malaysian, who is the national marketing manager for DHL Express.

'At that time, we were young and dared to try crazy things.'

Without any official guide, the 13 of them embarked on the expedition.

Leong said: 'We were given only one piece of advice, that is to turn left whenever we see a fork road.

'It took us seven hours to reach the peak, but that was because we took a longer route.'

He added: 'There was also a big thunderstorm that day.

'All of us squeezed into one tent and sang songs all night to keep ourselves warm.'

The adventurous Leong has since grown up from a boy scout to a seasoned mountain climber.

HIS DEEP LOVE FOR THE OUTDOORS: Raymond Leong in the deep end (Top) and in his office (above). Photos/ KELVIN CHNG, RAYMOND LEONG

He has lost count of the number of mountains he scaled, but he still has fond memories of his US stint, where he studied and worked for 12 years.

'Every July, I would take one week off from work and one of my friends would join me in the US. We would hit the road and drive to places such as the Great Smoky Mountains,' said the University of South Carolina graduate.

'Sometimes we would go to places where the roads are not even found on maps.

'To me, that is what life is all about.

'Most of us live and work in the city. That is why I love to go back to nature - to smell the flowers and to listen to the birds sing.'

Besides mountain climbing and hiking, Leong is also into the recreational sport of exploring caves.

So far, he has explored about 10 caves in Malaysia and in the US.

One of his favourite caves is the Gua Tempurung near Ipoh.

He said: 'Unravelling the mysteries of nature is what makes caving so thrilling.

'It is not that scary as most people think it is. It's a sport that people of all ages can take part in.'

MALAYSIA TO SINGAPORE

He has not done much mountain climbing or caving since he was posted to Singapore four years ago.

Firstly, there are not many places for him to pursue his interests. Secondly, he laments the lack of like-minded 'kaki'.

Nowadays, he spends most of his time diving. He was first introduced to the sport by his colleague four years ago, and has since been hooked.

Leong dives regularly with a group of 40-odd divers who used to call themselves 'Underwater breathing addicts' back in Malaysia.

As an advanced diver, he can dive up to 30m, including night dives.

He said: 'I feel so calm and relaxed underwater. It takes away all the pressure from work.'

UNDERWATER THRILLS

In four years, he has registered 112 dives, which he meticulously records in a dive log.

He said: 'Every time I come back from a dive, I will do some research on the sea creatures I saw and record those experiences with photos.'

His most memorable trip was also his last trip to Manado in Indonesia.

He said: 'It was a night dive. I managed to get this perfect shot of a seahorse which was nicely framed up in a seaweed.

'My instructor was so jealous of me. She has about 2,000 dives under her belt, but she has never taken a perfect picture of a seahorse.'

So far, Leong has not encountered any life-threatening incidents.

But he once had a close shave with a trigger fish during a diving trip at Pulau Perhentian in Malaysia.

He said: 'On that occasion, the trigger fish attacked my partner and his mask fell off.

'Luckily, nothing happened to him. He felt as if someone gave him a hard slap. It could have happened to me.

'Trigger fish gets very defensive when you get into its territory which has a 45-degree radius.

'Also, never get near one when it is in its mating season. Too bad I found out all these only when I got back from the trip!'

Leong said: 'There are people who are very gungho and like to take risks.

'The first rule for all divers is not to touch anything that you see underwater, not even the corals.

'There is a layer of film that potects that corals and it can be broken by our hands which may be contaminated.

'That will allow bacteria to attack and kill the corals.'

Spoken like a true outdoor lover.

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