Friday, December 14, 2007
Just met my RNS batchboys (JX, YX, Uday) for a gathering dinner at Crystal Jade. The last time we all met was before we ORD. And really, this dinner took a great amount of time to materialise.
It was first set to be on the week we ORD.
But JX went Hongkong that week.
Then ON THE DAY JX came back, I flew to Japan.
Then ON THE DAY I came back, JX flew to Taiwan.
Then shortly after JX came back, I flew to Sabah.
Because of such coincidental flying 'relay', the dinner was postponed week after week.
I'm glad we still keep in close contact. And I know we still will.
人生是黑白的.
10:44 PM <3
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Thursday, December 13, 2007
Sabah Trip day 6: 8 December 2007, Saturday.Fly back!
This had been a memorable trip. Just like the recent marathon, I've never thought of climbing a mountain before. But yes I did it. No, WE did it. I guess it was certainly a good climb. Painful on the thighs, the calves, the knees, but it was all worth it.
The experience. The friendship. The memories.
Neither could be easily described in words.
Thank you to CCY, LWL and CYS.
人生是黑白的.
11:00 PM <3
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Sabah Trip Day 5: 7 December 2007, Friday.
Today was White Water Rafting! It was my second time doing this, on the same Padas River, 3 years after the previous one.
It was a 4-hour journey of car + train, to reach the point.
Yes, White Water Rafting still brought me the thrills and excitement. We conquered around 7 rapids and the activity ended with a barbecue lunch at the ending point.
I really enjoyed the excitement, and hopefully there'll be chances to do it again, though not on this river again.
Back at the city again, we had a luxurious seafood dinner! Crabs, prawns and fish! I think the real highlight was when the bill came. "RM 11"! And the waitress was downright dumb. She could see the crab shells and prawn shells, but she just kept insisting that the bill was right. Ok, she couldn't really understand English, but she should have caught whatever we were trying to convey. In the end, we paid the right bill though--RM 140.
Smile!
Smile again!
A bigger smile!
人生是黑白的.
10:46 PM <3
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Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Sabah Trip Day 4: 6 December 2007, Thursday.
We woke up at 2am, set off at 3am, to continue upwards. We still had a remaining 1000metres of vertical height to conquer, to reach the summit before sunrise.
Which means to say, this part of the climb was done in pitch darkness, aided only by our own torchlights. I panted very heavily at first, and slowly my body got used to both the activity and the thinner air at this altitude.
After quite a long while, we reached the edge of vegetation. Which means to say, beyond this height, the mountain is void of all plant life. This part of the climb was most challenging, as we were climbing on rock surface, which could be rough when dry, and slippery when wet.
Finally, at 5:30am, we reached the peak. 4095.2 metres! It was sunrise and we could see how great the view was. Clouds were far, far below, and I felt as if I was on the top of the world.
Here we are, at the peak with our guide. At 4095 metres!
It was also until the sun came out when we realised how treacherous the climb up was!! Spot the rope in the picture below. This rope was the lifeline for all the climbers.
After some photo taking, we started to make our descent. Oh my, descending is much worse than climbing up! First, you have to withstand the immense strains on the knees when you make each daunting step downwards. Next, you also have to overcome the fear of looking down!
My legs were shaking when going down the steep rocks, holding on to just the rope.
Back to the bottom, it was such a relief! We had endured more than 3 hours of knee pain. I wonder how much damage had been done huh.
We left this World Heritage Site and back to Kota Kinabalu City, to the inn we stayed in Day 1. Here, we caught 'The Golden Compass' at just RM 7!
人生是黑白的.
10:02 PM <3
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Monday, December 10, 2007
Sabah Trip Day 3: 5 December 2007, Wednesday.
Armed with our Climbing Permits, we met our guide, bought our walking sticks and set off for the Timpohon Gate, where the climb began.
We started at around 9:30am, starting from about 1800metres.
We came across a waterfall.
There are porters bringing food and other necessities up and down the mountain daily. It is really, a tough job.
The climb to our resthouse at 3000metres took us a solid 5 hours of steep steps and uneven rocky terrains. 
We trodded through the tropical rainforest nearer to the bottom of the mountain, and saw how the vegetation got more and more sparse. This climb was just like a Geography field trip.
Eventually, we came to the part of the mountain where temperate plants thrive. Here, the colour of trees spot more interesting colours other than green.
It really got colder as we climbed, but luckily the constant activity kept us warm.
We reached Laban Rata, our resthouse for the evening, at around 2pm in the afternoon. The high altitude kept the temperatures low. So even at 2pm, it was just 10.1 degC!
See how far below are the clouds! It's just like the view you get when you look out of the plane.
Here at Laban Rata, we had a buffet dinner and stayed for the evening. Thankfully, the rooms were equipped with heaters. We slept at 8pm, so as to have a 6-hour rest, before we set off again in the midnight, to reach the summit by sunrise.
人生是黑白的.
8:03 PM <3
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Sabah Trip Day 2: 4 December 2007, Tuesday.We had to find out way to Mount Kinabalu. Since the theme was still BUDGET, we rejected the bus option (RM 40 each). Then we went looking for cabs, which charged by a mutually-agreed sum. It worked out to be around RM 30 per person. But we went on to another group of taxis and found them offering a price of RM 20 per head. Of course, we took that. The taxi driver was very helpful actually. After a nearly 2-hour journey to reach Mount Kinabalu Park, he helped us saved RM 12 in entrance fees by telling the officials that we are Malaysians, whom are entitled to special rates.
BUDGET! Look what we had to settle for lunch! Biscuits! Food is expensive there, although still cheaper, if going by restaurant standards in Singapore.
We spent the night at the Park HQ, where there are hostels. It is already 1500 metres above sea level here, which is 9 times higher than our Bukit Timah. And I think we underestimated the temperature here, as the fog and wind sent nasty chills down our backs. And it isn't comforting to think about how much colder it'll get after we actually start!
人生是黑白的.
6:44 PM <3
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Sunday, December 09, 2007
Sabah Trip Day 1: 3 December 2007, Monday.
We touched down quite early, and checked into the familiar CityParkInn, where the OCIP team had stayed in 2004 and 2005. It was really fortunate that Mr Jimmy Wong offered us such wonderful rates.
Theme: BUDGET! The lunch adhered to the theme well, but the food taste wasn't compromised. And look at the rice.. It certainly reminds us on our main agenda for this trip.
We went on to catch a movie afterwards. Guess how much it cost?! We paid RM 6 each to watch Enchanted! That worked out to be just S$2.50!
Dinner was seafood. We went to a food street, with stalls barbecuing fresh seafood. It might not have been very hygenic, but the food was really great. The thought of those large succulent prawns and the stingray is making my stomach growl again.
Back to the inn, it was Spade-ing. This game was to become our main entertainment every night.
人生是黑白的.
6:22 PM <3
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