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Juz someone who wants to lead an ordinary life. =)

tjc 07/04
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    memories carved at the back of my brain

    Sunday, July 04, 2010

    july!
    sunrise at mount kinabalu!


    grp photo of mount k pple!


    guitar peeps!


    at the finishing line of lnp!


    haha okay its been a long time since i've last updated. been too busy and tired to update as usual but i think lazy is the best word to describe haha. a good and happening month that i'll say =)

    firstly on the 6th, we did legs and paddles at bedok reservoir! my event was scheduled to start at like probably 8am, but sadly it rained in the morning. had to wait for around 6 hours to attend the afternoon's slot for woman's challenge instead since the stupid arrangement was that there was only 5 of us in the morning and only 3 of us turned up! thankfully we went to val's place as she stays next to the reservoir and rested a bit before heading back to the race. started with the 5km kayak and it didn't turn out good haha. i reached as the last of my wave as i missed one of the buoy and hence have to reverse back and paddle again. and also taking the bright yellow banana boat means that the directional control is harder. my kayak was going zig zag so by the end of the kayaking leg i was already tired out. not to mention that i still have a 6km running route to do. val waited for me so we ran and walk together. couldnt really breathe at all after kayaking and my lungs felt quite numb so we walked most of the journey. the route was 1 round around the reservoir then a bit of the park connector towards SAC. there was quite a few jc students taking part in the race and we commented on how young and energetic they were haha (some took part in 2 events!). thankfully we (or rather I) managed to finish the race and the race timing came out and we werent last of the pack though i felt that val could have just ran and did a better timing. nevertheless it was a good race. participated in LNP in the 1st year as an organiser, participated in LNP in the final year as a participant. a good round ending to it =) the break in running to switch to swimming and gyming did lowered my stamina in running, so probably i'll switch back to running soon (to prepare for runnus2010), provided my knees don't die on me =)

    and yup we finally had our full attendance for guitar gathering! the gathering in may took place in june but nevertheless it was fun and enjoyable! finally met yut's magic man haha! seems like the numbers are getting bigger with the involvement of the partners every year haha. will be quite fun with that i suppose =) a good zi char and a good dessert at my favourite ah chew dessert store with my favourite mango sago! yay! =) and san we can go have our frog porridge next time okay! =) everyone's started on their new job and its good to know we are all embracing on new chapters in our lives =)

    and went for the mount kinabalu trip with nusodac recently! the 20 of us embarked on this journey but before that we had a short get-to-know each other session to the bukit timah hill climb! its the first time i did the trails in bukit timah and to think that its tough, mount k is n times harder! the 6km climb is never ending towards the midpoint pendant hut at 3000m with a 13kg load on my back uphill. and indeed this climb is tough for first-timers like me. the uphill climb took more than 6 hours with rest huts in between, with the terrains ranging from steps to rocky to muddy to whatever you name it. thankfully we bought the walking sticks for RM3 which probably did help us a lot in both the climbing up and coming down portion, and the day i reached back i couldnt even walk properly, not to say to even stand up or sit down or worst till stairs.

    we had a short break at the midpoint hut and we're supposed to sleep from 8pm to 1am to prepare for the submit climb, but being unused to the high elevation of 3000m, i couldnt sleep though i was tired. and to think that the hut did not havent have any heaters! its less than ten degrees and i was already freezing and shivering all the way even with fleece and windbreaker on. no one bothered to even bathe and the water was like freezing when we washed up. so w/o any sleep for more than 24 hours, we started our submit climb at night, using our headlamps. there were many dangerous parts with just using ropes to support ourselves at the edge of the cliffs, and we could only see a small area in front of us illuminated with our headlamps. to think that the 2km climb up to 4095m took us around 4 hours. worst still, i was hit with the acute mountain sickness whereby you will start getting dizziness, nausea and lack of breath all the way up. together with calves cramping every now and then, i have to take rests like every 50 to 100m. in the end we couldnt catch the first glimpse of the sunrise but nevertheless the sunrise was nice and its worth the pain to just climb up and see. i didn't actually reach low's peak at 4095m as our guide told us that there wasnt enough time, and being too sick and tired already we ditch the attempt for another half an hour to an hour's climb up to the peak (we were at the base of the peak).

    and it was the journey down back again. if you think the way up is tough, think again. the way DOWN was painful for my knees and my toes from all those movements and stress on my knees. and w/o the walking stick, we have to support ourselves and bend low enough to descend without losing our stability. and to descend initially we were scheduled to come down via the ferrata way, whereby we have to walk on metal wires and do abseiling down the cliffs. given our conditions (from the acute mountain sickness) and my height phobia, val and i decided to skip the ferrata way and descend via the way we came up from, which requires less time and energy as compared to the high elements. and its really HARDER to go down than to come up, and some we have to really hold on to the rope tightly else we'll fall off the cliffs! (imagine climbing down w/o any harness supporting). the 4 hour submit climb took us only 2 hours to climb down and by the time we reached back pendant hut, everyone wasnt back yet. tried to take a nap but we couldnt sleep. i was shivering inside the sleeping bag for whole 2 hours till everyone came back and we started the descend down the hill again.

    half way down the descend, rain falls, making the tracks slippery and muddy. imagine hot on the inside (from the heat generated from walking) and cold on the outside (from the high elevation and the rain). the walking stick served to its full purpose her in determining and supporting down the rocky steps and muddy routes. by the time we descended, the sun had set, and we didn't had lunch at all (i didn't have any food at all since 1am). by the time i sat back in the van, i was hungry, giddy, having headache, shivering, nausous and whatever you named it. with our wonderful driver who drives the van like a ferrari through the bends and slopes, i was quite glad not to get motion sickness and tried to sleep though i failed totally. upon reaching back lodging back in kota kinabalu, everyone was glad to be back in the hostel and grabbed a quick dinner at our nearby 24 hours kfc instead of the great seafood dinner for RM19 we had on the 1st day.

    with me being sleep deprived and tired, everyone almost concussed early that night. sadly i only slept around 3 to 4 hours thanks to the aircon that was too cold and i woke up with a full body muscle ache that mainly concentrated at my quads and my calves. nevertheless we headed out for our next highlight of the trip: white waterrafting at padas river! the journey to tenom took hours with the van ride around 2 hours. the train that we took is actually pretty old but interesting. the railway track we heard was built 120 years ago and the train was meant for local people. its like those 1940s train with only 2 carriages and it was shaking madly. nevertheless it was a good experience and we had a chance to get a glimpse of the lives of the local people.

    the white waterrafting was worth the time to go there! we were split into 2 grps, 12 and 8 and i was in the grp of 12. everyone had the chance of paddling and we went through the various levels of rapids. rafting really required group work whereby the paddlers will row as hard as they would but they would also need the support to those to grab and hold on to them tightly in case they fall into the river. and being lucky and tall, i was situated at the back of the raft to balance the weight. the reason why i said i was lucky its because when through rapids, everyone is supposed to lean forward to prevent the raft from capsizing while i at the back is supposed to lean back, hence having a good view of the rapids and the whole scenery of the river which is like being enclosed by the forests. we had high spirits and no one was thrown overboard! the guide we had, spiderman, really helped us to bond and pull up our spirits. was glad to have to chance to talk to him and kingkong (another guide) more while i was sitting at the back. we rafted for near to 2 hours plus and it was really fun and exciting! will really want to raft yet another time =)

    so with high and thankful spirits, we headed back to the train stations where some of our guys actually played and talked with the local kids in malay. its really heartwarming to have the chance to interact with them and this is unlike any other trips that i previously had, whereby i had such back-to-earth heartwarming feeling, thankful for everything that i had and the chance to get near to the nature. and we took the last train back, observing the nice sunset along the way , with the forests and the padas river forming a nice scene with the sunset, with birds flocking way along the way. its such a peaceful way back to kota kinabalu. and with that, our day comes to a perfect end.

    and finally it reached the last day where we could finally sleep in. this was when it turned out to be my worst day of all. after sleeping for 2 to 3 hours i woke up in cold, with severe stomachache, fever and nausea feeling. had diarrhea all the way from 5am to almost before the flight back to SG at around 2pm. was totally weak and had difficulties in climbing down the stairs thanks to the muscle aches and didn't have any appetite at all whereby i feel like vomitting out everything which nothing came out. thankfully, val took good care of me in getting me food and making sure that i was okay all the way. i was totally white and pale and tired all the way and for the first time, i slept all the way from the hostel, to the airport, to the journey back home. upon arrival i tried to have a bit of dinner before heading to see a doctor immediately (thats even before i went back home) and i was diagnosed with traveller's diarrhea. what a great way to end my exciting trip.

    nevertheless i am now almost fully recovered with just lack of appetite and really thankful for the trip. im also glad to meet those people that went on the trip with me, whom had made the trip even more exciting and tolerable despite the tough times that everyone went through. its my first outdoor trip, and hopefully it wouldnt be my last. with different kind of trips you'll meet different kind of people, and this group is outgoing and active and sporty and happening which makes things much fun. the gathering that i had last night with them at chijmes watching world cup map was indeed fun despite it was short and i left earlier. photos will be up the next time i blog then. im thankful to have met new people on the trip, and it did broaden my perspectives and allow me to know myself better. an unforgettable trip that i've said =)

    and yup todays yet another day that i'll get older. and thanks to 07 who celebrated chyork's and my birthday together yesterday as well =) just another peaceful day spent at home with my family and i am glad for that after a long time out in the wild nature haha. thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes on fb or smses and im really glad for them =) for now let me just wait for my mum's wonderful dinner in the cooking =) the taiwan trip is also set to be on the 15th to the 29th! hopefully it would turn out good =)

    meanwhile good luck to those on their new jobs! and to sandy to her new life in munich! and to everyone else who are enjoying their holidays! =) and its finally my 150th post haha =)


    6:48 PM //