And when he turned 82 on Dec 27, Ho’s companions – fellow members of the Evergreen Hash Walkers (EHW) – treated him to a unique birthday celebration in a forest.
After Ho and the hikers completed their three-hour trek of Bukit Cerakah in Puncak Alam, he was feted with a birthday cake and asked to give a speech, followed by a fellowship lunch camping-style.
Among those present were event organiser Steve Sivan, EHW leader Peter Leong, and veteran hiker Brig-Gen (Rtd) Soon Lian Cheng, 81, a renowned mountain climber during his heyday as a pilot with the Royal Malaysian Air Force.
Ho, the most senior member of the EHW, considers himself a grandmaster of the Chinese fitness practices of taijiquan and qigong, which he learnt from his late father.
“You need mental and physical coordination to be an active hiker. I have found that taichi movements blended with hiking are superb, because it cultivates alertness of your mind and muscles,” said the father of two and grandfather of eight.
An active life
Ho was a secretary with a chartered company who also served with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF). He was then seconded to the United Nations as a consultant for several Pacific Ocean nations.
He retired in December 1995, following which he continued to be self-employed as a management consultant.
Recounting his early life, Ho shared that he had grown up on Jalan Kandang Kerbau in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, behind the YMCA.
“As a boy, I used to walk from home to the Chinwoo Stadium (near Stadium Merdeka) to learn swimming and kung-fu. My first hike was in 1953 from Kuala Lumpur to Port Dickson, followed by a campfire at a coconut plantation next to the Lido Hotel by the beach.”
Explaining that his “excitement as a teenager” fired up his interest in the great outdoors, Ho next set his sights on scaling Gasing Hill in Petaling Jaya.
“I was determined as I started my hike from Kampong Pasir in Pantai Dalam. My heart began to beat fast as I made my way up through the muddy path through rows of rubber trees,” Ho recalled.
“It was tough but I succeeded in scaling to the top, where there was a Hindu temple.”
In addition to the EHW, the affable octogenarian is a member of the Pathfinders of Kuala Lumpur, a still-active group of forest and mountain hikers, which he co-founded in 1955 at age 15.
After his birthday speech, Ho handed over the “Pathfinders 1955” trekking pole – aka the master staff – to Leong, installing him as the new “chef d’montero maestro grande”, or “grand master chief of mountains”.
“With age catching up, I find it increasingly challenging to lead the Pathfinders,” Ho said. “I will remain an adviser but hope the younger Leong will encourage more youths to trek and keep fit.”