6th august 2009, 2345
just in blinks of eyes, i'm about to be in kk for mountaineering. when my friends know this, they seem to get me into a question - have you prepared for it, exercising, building up stamina and things like that. my answer is always a NO~if i could, i'll be at the summit, waiving my hands to you. if i couldn't, i shall see you down the hill. just as simple as that and i will only try my best and not force into it. wishing myself a very good luck : )
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7th august 2009, 0800
reach lcct and looking up and down for tammy. she doesn't pick up my calls. i start to get nervous when the third call is still unattended. is she still in bed? tammy is not anyone like this. she's so 101% reliable. just a little while later, she called back and at last i can 'phew' a relief. we waited for some other members who come a little bit later while we introduce ourselves to one another. first time meeting them is already a fun kinda feeling. they joke, talk nonsense and the mutual eye contact shows that they are really good friends and care for each other. i know the journey must be a fun and safe one. a little while later, we start preparing ourselves for luggage check in, breakfast and on board. a little nervous, excited and worry... kk mount, i'm coming...
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after a 2hrs and 30 mins flight, we finally reach kk town and meet up with our cutie gigantic tour guide, warren. i'm wondering how could there be so many fun people appearing at the same time. he is a fun loving guy as he talks nonsense too. hahaha... he drives us to our lodge for free, we unpack a little, hunt for lunch and get prepared for a boat out to manukan island.
it's now 1557 - seated on a bench by the beach
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a wonderful day with windy and warm weather, a safe journey frm kl-kk, a tasty lunch, 1 hr walk to the jesselton jetty, 20 mins speedboat ride, reaching a beautiful beach, seeing hundreds of people from all around the world, hearing laughter along the beach... what else could i ask for?
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going back to town in the evening and again we hunt for food. we have a great dinner - 6 courses with rice. yummy~~!! we grab our timing tight for a walk-round-town and... of course, chilling beer to cool the hot air down... it has been a tiring day and it's time for a good rest.
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8th august 2009, 0800
we admit that we didn't have a good night sleep yesterday. some of us complain that the mattresses are too hard, some of us are too worry thinking about the journey up to to the kk mount. sorry guys, my night sleep was good... : )
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after breakfast, we meet up with warren again to make our way to the kk park, where we will be staying a night over there. wait and wait and wait... hey, we are lack of 1 person... sunny!! it's almost 1000, 30 mins later than scheduled. where is he? we are not sure if he wake up late or he need to put on make up or he need to pop in supplements. just because of his profession as a nutrition and dietary consultant, we do not doubt but have judge him doing all this that causes him late. from that moment on, we call him 'mr. dry'. why?? he needs to make himself 'wet' with lotion and sun block. hahahaha...
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the kk park is such a beautiful place. cool air, fresh breeze, quiet, green environment... ooh... the place is just too perfect for a relaxing holiday. if you wish yourself to be out-of-space, go for the kk park. but make sure you have plenty of dollars and cents in your pocket. a plate of kampung fried rice can easily cost you rm18. think twice??
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we sleep quite late too as we need to pack our things - 9 persons' into 2 backpacks. amazingly, these 2 bags weigh 39 kgs and to be carried by 2 porters to the hostel at km8 up the mountain.
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9th august 2009, 0630
today is one of our remarkable days in kk. we are to walk 8 km up to the hostel where we gonna stay for some hours before moving up to the summit. to be frank, the 8km journey really terrifies me. i hardly could imagine the tiredness of my legs as i have been pampering them for 20 over years.
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we start walking from 0830, after our breakfast and a short briefing. as usual, we are told not to yell and scream along the journey and we must respect the forest. if i'm not mistaken, there are 8 huts for r&r and each of them are away by 1km to 1.5 km. our way is measured by every 0.5km. these measures actually motivate us in a way. at least we know we are almost there, we are reaching the destination bit by bit.
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the first part is already a disaster. perhaps, some of us are not used to the breathing 'rhythm' yet and we feel extremely uncomfortable. the some of us, of course, include me. i must admit that i didn't prepare well, i didn't even jog/swim/walk more than usual before coming for kk mountaineering. i feel awful but i just don't wanna give up!
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walk and walk and walk... i have lost tract of the people who walk at the front. now only left yen and i at the back. she is having difficulty in breathing and i'm having difficulty in continue walking. my legs are just too tired... there's no turning back, there's no way to say no by that time. well, we have no choice but to continue walking. i choose to wait for yen as i really wish to walk in a group/ with buddy. come on... we are not born in the forest, we know nothing about the place. i'm sure we need companion if anything happen.
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we stop at hut 5 for lunch... we are given a lunch box, which has slices of bread, a piece of fried chicken, 2 pieces of spring rolls, 1 can of 100 plus, an egg and an apple. everyone wants to save the apple for the summit : )
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after lunch, we continue walking and our final destination for the day will be laban rata. i have lost count on how many huts to reach before reaching laban rata. i have lost count on how far to walk before reaching laban rata. i have lost count on how many steps i have made, how many stairs i have climbed, how much water i have drank, how much calories my body has burned, how many sighs i have claimed... i'm exhausted. and at this point of hopelessness, they are thousands steps that i need to make and thousands stairs that i need to climb. the road and stairs are like no end...
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i pray at every hut that i reach, i pray for the energy, strength and power to move forward. thanks GOD that HE answers all my prayers and i finally make it to laban rata @ 1730. praise the LORD.
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quickly we find a table and chairs to be seated in the canteen for dinner. we are just like ghosts during the hungry ghost festival (as illustrated in films and books-lah. i have not seen any, so far and never wished for that). i decide not to take shower although my body is bloody smelly. the weather although not as cold as per description, i'm just too lazy to wait for 30 mins for the hot water. who cares... bearded men all over laban rata. i wouldn't believe it if they told me that have bathed. they look dirty, anyway... kakaka...
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readily change into the attire for the midnight climb, i go to sleep straightaway. the more i wanted to force myself into sleep, the more i'm awake. i can't sleep. worry? excited? afraid couldn't wake up later? a little for all... eyes open wide till 0100 and it's time to wake up.
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10th august 2009, 0300
up we go to the summit. 2.2 km ahead is actually not far. we have walked for 8km yesterday, what is this 2.2 km? in fact, this 2.2km is the distance that wins the whole journey. this 2.2km is the final destiny. this 2.2km is the most breathtaking. this 2.2km is so near yet so far.
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along the way up, there are people who couldn't tolerate with the latitude, altitude, thinning of oxygen, extreme tasks, never ending rocks and stairs. at last, yen gives up then yuen lung and then lai. this is really demotivating when the porter tells that my friends are heading back to the hostel. me being the last in the group, so far away behind the crowd, left with 3 indons who are trying as hard as myself to be up there. together we hold on, move forward and still hoping so much that we could make it to the summit.
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after going through all the big rocks and stairs, the real challenges come. we need to hold on tight to the rope, count our steps on narrow and steep pathway. again... the feeling of hopelessness comes and haunts me. i can do nothing but pray and pray and pray. i can't remember what is in my prayers. the tense makes me lose part of my memories. i just remember myself holding tight to the ropes, catching up with breath, still hoping to be up there.
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reach the check point about an hour later than the crowd. the attendant asks me if i still wanna continue with the journey. well, he doesn't kill my hope at once, although he knows that it's quite impossible for me to reach the summit on time. he says, 'you can just stop whenever the time strikes 0700. maybe you can make it, who knows... miracles do happen, sometimes'.
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yes, miracles do happen and i do believe in miracles. i wanna continue... i'm already here, why don't i just give it a damn try? i continue and as predicted, the way is getting tougher. the oxygen level is lowering and i can feel that my body is weighty than ever. my whole body is suffering from total dehydration and my lips are cracking to the extent that i could taste my blood.
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i never stopped praying to GOD for the little air that i could breathe and the little step that i could make. thank you GOD and praise the LORD.
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passed km7.5, i can see sunrise. i know it's impossible for me to be at the summit on time, so i decide to stop wherever i am. this is the level best that i could afford, i have tried my best.
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i say prayers to GOD, thanking HIM for bringing me to wherever i am now, thanking HIM for making me being able to see the sunrise at another angle, it is still beautiful. GOD, you are my almighty GOD. YOU proves miracles to me as i know, it is quite impossible for me to reach that point too.
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after taking a nap for about 30 mins, i make my way down, back to the hostel. oh ya... not forgetting the apple that i saved for the summit. i eat it up on my way back and i can tell you that it is the greatest, tastiest and sweetest apple ever. kalah fuji apple... !! hahahaha...
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laughter fills the canteen and i know they have come back. we share funny and dangerous experiences among ourselves. and the best part after the sharing and meal - we gotta go back to town. we have used up all the energy climbing up there and we need to go back down there before we could rejuvenate ourselves. OMG... this is terrible!!
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basically, we 'roll' ourselves down the hill. within 3 hrs walk, jump and 'roll', we reach the downhill. FANTASTIC, isn't it? we want to spare no more in the forest. enough is enough!! luckily i find the 2nd group in the middle of the 'roll'. if not, i wouldn't have reached the downhill so fast. i almost wanted to give up going down. i rather hire a porter to carry me down. i don't mind paying!! this really crosses my mind.
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the most funniest thing is - there is another 50m stairs to reach the final hut. i really can't take it and i sit at the beginning of the stairs for almost 10 mins before proceeding to the hut. there, i swear i will not return to kk mountain again. i never gonna walk those bloody stairs again, i never gonna climb those bloody rocks again. the whole journey is f**kingly s**t!!
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i'm sooooo glad that everything is over now!!
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we change our stay today to 1 borneo, a better treat after 2 days of suffer. hahaha... at last, we can enjoy ourselves in an unlimited non-stop hot water bath and watch astro on a plasma tv. yahoo... i'm too relunctant to go out from the room, so i just stayed in the room for the whole night. it isn't hard to get me into sleep - jz a few mins. i remember the last vision was 2000 drama series on astro wah lai toi. my eyelids drop before the 2100 drama series. i think you can feel my tiredness.
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11th august 2009, 0730
i wake up quite early today. perhaps i got too much sleep the night before. go out to sort of roof top to pamper myself with a nice breakfast. the feeling is like arising from death. so glad that everybody is still alive although we lost our arms and legs, in fact, the whole body is not ours. the sensations are just unbearable.
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later we take a shuttle bus from the hotel to town to collect our clothes from the laundry and pick up some souvenirs. it is a hot day and we almost get burnt under the sun. i do not get any local souvenir from the market BUT while waiting for the shuttle bus to send us back to the hotel, i buy a pair of roxy sandals. i remember the pair was on 30% sales in kl but my eyes catch them on 70% sales. i'm gonna wait no more... let's get them into the bag and they are mine!!
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the flight back to kl is an 1/2 hour shorter. we reach kl at about 1815 and head back home by ourselves. till then... cherious... see you all on fb & msn.
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although some of us didn't make it to the summit, i'm sure, we still feel very very proud of ourselves. to be there, it's already not an easy thing. there's nothing to feel disappointed about, ashamed about and regretted about. we have done our best and this is best that we get.
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there's always a thing for us to be grateful about, as i always mention to my friends and myself. i didn't make it to the summit but in return i found a bunch of fun loving, caring friends.
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after coming back from kk, i experience a serious problem in breathing. i could hardly breathe, harder when i was up there. the problem has lasted for 2 days and i went to the Dr yesterday. i was informed that i would have possibly die if i reach the summit, by looking at my current condition.
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~GOD always knows what's the best for us. Praise the LORD~
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i plan to put my experience up for sharing during the coming sunday service. some people spend their entire life, seeking for GOD. i'm glad that i have successful sought HIM. not reaching the summit... but what's it to regret when i found more treasures than a piece of coloured certificate?
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