Everybody knows one of the main attractions of going to Penang is the FOOD! However, in recent years, the equally famous notorious traffic jam in the city has kind of deterred me from going more often, until I discover this ‘Chee Cheong Chook’ (pig intestines porridge) stall in New Lane. It is the BEST pig intestines porridge I’ve ever tasted and might well be the main reason for me to go back to Penang again, which I hope will be soon! The small intestines are so tender and the big ones so crunchy... slurrpp ... yum-yum ... :-)
MY FAVOURITE ‘G CHUP CHOOK’
Everybody knows one of the main attractions of going to Penang is the FOOD! However, in recent years, the equally famous notorious traffic jam in the city has kind of deterred me from going more often, until I discover this ‘Chee Cheong Chook’ (pig intestines porridge) stall in New Lane. It is the BEST pig intestines porridge I’ve ever tasted and might well be the main reason for me to go back to Penang again, which I hope will be soon! The small intestines are so tender and the big ones so crunchy... slurrpp ... yum-yum ... :-)
MY FAVOURITE WATERFALL/CAMPSITE
Having been to many waterfalls in Malaysia, one of my favourite is Berkelah Waterfalls in Pahang. Berkelah Waterfalls consist of a series of waterfalls of different sizes and heights, each with its own pool to play/swim around. There is a fair amount of walking, mostly under the hot sun, in order to reach the campsite. From the first waterfall to the main (tallest) fall, it takes about another hour of trekking, with tricky paths to be negotiated at certain parts, at times close to the river gorge. One has to be very careful as one slip could mean a sheer drop into the swift and rocky river below. 
Despite having been there numerous times, Berkelah never fails to make my break from the traffic jams of Klang Valley a most serene and wonderful one, made even more enjoyable when spent in the company of great friends. :-) 
Top pic on right: Main Fall
Pic left above: Easy does it!
Pic on right: Yippee!
Pic left below: Another fall
HOW MANY PERSONS CAN A TOYOTA HILUX ACCOMMODATE?
It was the day after our conquest of Mount Kinabalu. Full of jubilance, we wanted to celebrate the achievement. Our friend Mr. Loh, who joined us in the climb, works in Ranau and drives a Toyota Hi-Lux. He recommended us a restaurant situated along the trunk road in Kundasang, which is about 10 minutes drive from Kinabalu Pines Resort where we were staying.We set off for the restaurant after a wonderful afternoon of soaking our aching muscles at Poring Hot Springs. From the hot springs, we took the taxis to the restaurant.
Dinner was delicious and by the time we finished, it was way past 10pm. We tried calling the previous taxi driver for the journey back but were unsuccessful, so we thought we will go to the main road and try to wave down any cab that may pass by. But as we stepped out of the
restaurant, the air that hit us smacked on the face caught us by surprise – it was freezing cold!!! It was easily 10C or below, made worse by the strong wind which added to the chill factor. It was something we were all totally unprepared for, with only our T-shirts and short pants on us as we came directly from the hot springs. After just a few seconds of waiting, we realised there was no way we could wait by the road side with the billowing wind as the kids were already shivering with cold. Bear in mind we were in the outskirt of a small village along a rural trunk road late at night so not many vehicles actually passes by.So it looks like we all have to depend on Mr. Loh and his Toyota Hilux. He offered to take the children first with one or two adults to take care of them and, if we still couldn’t get a cab by then, he will come back for a second or even third round if necessary. So we loaded up the back of the pick-up first - up went the kids, one by one by one by one. We got them to squat down (or rather half-squat!) and packed them like sardines, for 2 reasons – no. 1, because of space and no. 2, more importantly, to shield from the wind and to keep each other warm. Before we knew it, we found that we could actually fit all the kids into the back with 2 adults sitting precariously at the edge to watch over them! By then, everybody were so cold, nobody wanted to stay back, so we decided to cram as many as we could. Amazingly, in the end all of us managed to cram inside the vehicle (with my 6-ft husband, myself and the driver on the front seats and 6 adults in the back cabin)! When we reached Pines Resort, there were a few other house-guests chit-chatting outside and when they saw us arrived and got down from the car, piling out one by one, the incredulous look on their faces was hilarious!! Because all in all, there were 21 of us!!!!
Top right pic: Kundasang trunk road, in front of Kinabalu Pine Resorts.
Top left pic: Waiting by the roadside for taxis to Kundasang.
CONQUEST OF MOUNT KINABALU – 10-11 MARCH 2008
THE CHALLENGE
What started off as a teasing about ‘old bones’ and challenge to go forth one more time turned into reality when my nature-loving friends and I finally decided to take up each other’s challenge to give Mt Kinabalu another go before we really become old bones.
So it was with a sense of excitement and nostalgia that we planned for another ascent of Mount Kinabalu – after 18 years! For some of us who have been up there before, we were young and very fit then. Now, all of us are married and with kids (and extra baggage in front for the guys! :D), we needed some training to get back in form. :-) This time, we decided our children will come with us. Aged 10-16, our kids were used to jungle trekking but this was the first long haul uphill trek for them.
So after only a couple of weekends of going up and down Batu Caves and Bukit Gasing (which weren’t really enough), it was on 8 March 2008 that the 20 of us flew off to Kota Kinabalu, with another 2 families of 10 having left the day before.
After a night in Kota Kinabalu town and another at the Sabah Park HQ, we only ascended Mt Kinabalu on the morning of 10 March 2008. (One family of three was not part of the climbing group and was just tagging along for a holiday.)
THE CLIMB
All sorts of adjectives (and expletives!) were used to described the climb up to 11,000ft by the members but for myself, I am very pleased with my form as I didn’t really have much problem going up to 11,000ft. While I was confident of making it up, I was a bit wary initially whether I am going to find it tough as it had, after all, been 18 years so I was rather pleased
that I did alright! :-) And I believe another two who felt the same were Siew Wan and Lenny.
The cool air and the scenery that greeted us at every corner of the climb were still as beautiful as I remembered it 18 years ago, especially from 9,000ft onwards. Despite the tough uphill climb I believed everyone of us enjoyed the climb, except for one or two of the younger kids who couldn’t quite appreciate nature yet asking, ‘what are we doing here? Climb, climb, climb only, no waterfall at the end, nothing to play, then tomorrow got to climb down again…..’. Poor kids didn’t know what they had let themselves in for ….
All said, we all made it up safely to 11,000ft in time to enjoy a very nice buffet dinner. However, some of t
he members were experiencing high altitude sickness. That evening, the temperature was only around 2C! Later that night, quite a number decided not to proceed with the climb because the high altitude was causing giddiness and nausea, especially among the males and some of the kids. The rest were just too tired and decided to give up. So it was with a tinge of sadness that out of the 31 of us (including one friend who joined us from Sabah), only 10 finally set off at 2:30 am the next morning for the final climb up Mt Kinabalu. However, only 9 made it to the peak. Where did one more go? ;-)
What started off as a teasing about ‘old bones’ and challenge to go forth one more time turned into reality when my nature-loving friends and I finally decided to take up each other’s challenge to give Mt Kinabalu another go before we really become old bones.
So it was with a sense of excitement and nostalgia that we planned for another ascent of Mount Kinabalu – after 18 years! For some of us who have been up there before, we were young and very fit then. Now, all of us are married and with kids (and extra baggage in front for the guys! :D), we needed some training to get back in form. :-) This time, we decided our children will come with us. Aged 10-16, our kids were used to jungle trekking but this was the first long haul uphill trek for them.
So after only a couple of weekends of going up and down Batu Caves and Bukit Gasing (which weren’t really enough), it was on 8 March 2008 that the 20 of us flew off to Kota Kinabalu, with another 2 families of 10 having left the day before.
After a night in Kota Kinabalu town and another at the Sabah Park HQ, we only ascended Mt Kinabalu on the morning of 10 March 2008. (One family of three was not part of the climbing group and was just tagging along for a holiday.)
THE CLIMB
All sorts of adjectives (and expletives!) were used to described the climb up to 11,000ft by the members but for myself, I am very pleased with my form as I didn’t really have much problem going up to 11,000ft. While I was confident of making it up, I was a bit wary initially whether I am going to find it tough as it had, after all, been 18 years so I was rather pleased
that I did alright! :-) And I believe another two who felt the same were Siew Wan and Lenny.The cool air and the scenery that greeted us at every corner of the climb were still as beautiful as I remembered it 18 years ago, especially from 9,000ft onwards. Despite the tough uphill climb I believed everyone of us enjoyed the climb, except for one or two of the younger kids who couldn’t quite appreciate nature yet asking, ‘what are we doing here? Climb, climb, climb only, no waterfall at the end, nothing to play, then tomorrow got to climb down again…..’. Poor kids didn’t know what they had let themselves in for ….
All said, we all made it up safely to 11,000ft in time to enjoy a very nice buffet dinner. However, some of t
he members were experiencing high altitude sickness. That evening, the temperature was only around 2C! Later that night, quite a number decided not to proceed with the climb because the high altitude was causing giddiness and nausea, especially among the males and some of the kids. The rest were just too tired and decided to give up. So it was with a tinge of sadness that out of the 31 of us (including one friend who joined us from Sabah), only 10 finally set off at 2:30 am the next morning for the final climb up Mt Kinabalu. However, only 9 made it to the peak. Where did one more go? ;-)THE FINAL CHALLENGE
Setting off at 2:30am on 11 March under the moonlit night armed with our torches and protected with 4 layers of clothing, I could still feel the chilly air made worse by the strong wind. The final assault was quite a challenge. The thinning of oxygen really drained us and it was just up and up and up. At one point, the lack of oxygen was causing some drowsiness and I was so tempted to doze off but pushed myself onwards. From 13,000ft onwards it was every man (or woman!) for himself. There was no waiting for friends or family members but the guides were very good in tailing those in difficulty, motivating them and making sure they kept on. For the rest of us, we just prodded on, looking only ahead and not stopping to rest for more than a few seconds lest we give up! We have to keep our own pace as otherwise we will lose our momentum and of course with the chilly air, you cannot wait for too long before your body temperature starts to go down, and picking up again will be more difficult. So it was at this point that I got further away from my husband and friends.THE PEAK
The last 500 meters was the MOST DIFFICULT part of any mountain climbing I’ve ever done! Seeing the peak at the distance but not seeming to be any nearer after walking and walking
was sheer torture and that was usually when we started to question ourselves what the heck we are doing, suffering up there. It was at this point, too, that I was glad I did not insist that my daughter come along as I was having difficulty motivating myself, much less her!But all was ok again when I FINALLY REACHED THE PEAK AT AROUND 6:30AM!
I was in time to catch the sunrise, which was beautiful, and Siew Wan was hot on my heels. One by one our team members arrived but the air was so cold up at the peak, we were trying all ways to keep ourselves warm while waiting for every team members to arrive to take a group photo. We waited in anticipation for my husband to appear at any time, and around 8:00 am we finally saw him, making his way up, inch by inch. With his arrival, we took the group photo and were quickly on our way down again.
(One of our young members decided to give up just before reaching the peak as she was feeling really drained but she still deserved a pat on the back for making it thus far and was later justly rewarded with a full certificate.)
The guide was hushing us to start moving down as we have to be down at 11,000ft by 9:00 am before it gets too hot or sometimes clouds may set in and it becomes misty, hence making it difficult to walk.
And the climb down was another story……
REFLECTIONS, REFLECTIONS ...
Our kids did pretty well to reach 11,000ft without too much problem considering the limited training that we had so we parents were very proud of their achievement.
Our kids did pretty well to reach 11,000ft without too much problem considering the limited training that we had so we parents were very proud of their achievement.
On our way up we came across two young men on their way down who were having difficulty due to muscle crams and had to ‘walk’ really, really, really slow and using sticks as walking aids. Another had to be carried down by 4 porters on a makeshift stretcher. And on our way down the next day, we overtook one guy who pulled a muscle on his back and was walking snail-paced and in so much pain, he was really a pitiful sight. Another who was just as bad was another man who broke his big toe nail and was walking, again very slowly, in his bloodied shoe. And then there is another one who was walking like a zombie for 16 hours straight, non-stop, except for a quick lunch at 11,000 ft! (Find out who is this gentleman in my write-up ‘Ooh, the Pain, the Pain: Part 2’!)
One of the few sights that really touched my heart were those of the porters, both males and females, young and old, who were at times carrying 4-6 mattresses in one go, or gas tanks, steel beams and what’s-not that you can think of up to the stop-off point at 11,000ft. And all this were loaded on their back with just a big plank and thick ropes serving as their
‘backpack’ – a vast difference from our Karrimorrs!!! Many of the guides doubled as porters (as ours did) and were carrying 4 backpacks at one go and we really marveled at their strength! These natives lead a really hard life and that was also one of the reasons why we decided to employ their services as porters as guiding and porter-ing are the only source of income for many of them.
Compared to our first trip 18 years ago, there were some differences that made our life a bit easier this time around:
- We paid extra to a few of our guides to double up as porters to help with the weight because some of the children are still young and not able to carry much weight, and (ahem) of course with weakening knees and muscles on some of the older ones.
- We do not need to carry and cook our own food as food was included as part of the package – and boy, were we surprised with the generous spread awaiting us up at 11,000ft!
All said and done, the climb was most memorable and nostalgic for those of us who have been up there before and it was good to see that not much have changed up at the peak, although the same cannot be said for the exorbitant price we had to pay for the so-called package now.
Few of us toyed with the idea of making another try in two years time when the children are bigger and this time making sure that they make it to the top! :-) Game, anyone?
One of the few sights that really touched my heart were those of the porters, both males and females, young and old, who were at times carrying 4-6 mattresses in one go, or gas tanks, steel beams and what’s-not that you can think of up to the stop-off point at 11,000ft. And all this were loaded on their back with just a big plank and thick ropes serving as their
‘backpack’ – a vast difference from our Karrimorrs!!! Many of the guides doubled as porters (as ours did) and were carrying 4 backpacks at one go and we really marveled at their strength! These natives lead a really hard life and that was also one of the reasons why we decided to employ their services as porters as guiding and porter-ing are the only source of income for many of them.Compared to our first trip 18 years ago, there were some differences that made our life a bit easier this time around:
- We paid extra to a few of our guides to double up as porters to help with the weight because some of the children are still young and not able to carry much weight, and (ahem) of course with weakening knees and muscles on some of the older ones.
- We do not need to carry and cook our own food as food was included as part of the package – and boy, were we surprised with the generous spread awaiting us up at 11,000ft!
All said and done, the climb was most memorable and nostalgic for those of us who have been up there before and it was good to see that not much have changed up at the peak, although the same cannot be said for the exorbitant price we had to pay for the so-called package now.
Few of us toyed with the idea of making another try in two years time when the children are bigger and this time making sure that they make it to the top! :-) Game, anyone?
1st pic on right: Beautiful view of Mt Kinabalu
2nd pic on right: The whole gang, all eager to go
1st pic on left: Way to go!
3rd pic on right: Nearly there....
4th pic on right: Beautiful view of Donkey Ears
2nd pic on left: My 2nd time!
5th pic on right: Yes, we made it!
3rd pic on left: Making way down from the peak
6th pic on right: Terrain at 11,000ft on the way down after the rain
VL
March 2009
OOH, THE PAIN, THE PAIN : PART 1 - A LESSON (NOT) LEARNED
Other than the joy of reaching the top of Mt Kinabalu again after 18 years, and wonder at the magnificent sceneries from the top, the other feeling that is still vivid in my mind about the climb was of my toes!On the early morning as we were getting ready to do the final assault on Mt Kinabalu, I decided to exchange shoes with my girl, who at that point of time, had a flare-up of her eczema on the soles of her feet so she was in bandages. As such, I exchanged my shoes which were one size bigger than hers as otherwise her shoes will be too tight for her. Her shoes fitted me a bit too snugly with my socks on but I thought it was ok.
However, we were not even an hour into the climb when she was all teary-eyed, wanting to go back down to 11,000 ft to be with the other kids, all of whom had to stay back at Gunting Lagadan due to various reasons. As she was not suffering from high altitude sickness like some of the other kids, I thought she should make it a try. When she found she was the only child going up on that night she felt that I was ‘torturing’ her by insisting that she made the effort. After nearly half an hour of whining that she was also not feeling well, I decided I had enough of motivating her, so I got one of the guides to take her back down. At that point of time, I didn’t have the foresight of changing back to my own shoes, which proved to the bane of me!
For most of the climb up, I was ok with the shoes although it was a tight fit. However, after the jubilation over the reaching the peak and the mandatory group photo-taking and we were making our way down, the pain started to hit me. Because the shoes were tight and there was hardly any extra room for my toes, it meant that when I was heading down (really down, all the way!), my toes and nails were just pushing onto the very front of the shoes (and the worst thing was, I forgot to cut my nails!). The pressure on my nails and toes was so painful that I resorted to trying to walk with just my socks, but then it was also not possible because the plateau surface was jagged and therefore painful to walk without shoes. So I walked with shoes on, shoes off until at 13,000 ft, the uneven terrain made it totally impossible for me to walk with just my socks and I had to bear with the shoes. From then until we reached down to 11,000 ft, I had to bear with the immense pain and I was practically whining and shouting in turns, ".... pain, pain, ooh, my toes...", nearly all the way down – much to the amusement of Xin Lei and Chung Weng, who were with me most of the time on the way down. I was so glad when we finally reached 11,000 ft and I could change back to my Teva sandals. (God bless my faithful Teva!). The sad thing was, because of the pain, I did not bother to sto
p and take any pictures of our descent from 13,000 – 11,000 ft. :-( I was feeling rather stupid because during my last climb up Mt Kinabalu, I was facing exactly the same problem – also pain on the way down due to tight-fitting shoes with hardly any toe-box and ended up losing the nails from my two big toes!
This was the exact reason why I insisted on wearing my Teva sandals instead of normal trekking shoes for the climb this time - I wanted the open room for my toes and yet, at the crucial part of the climb, this very thought of having enough room at the toe-box just flew out of the window. And guess what? I ended up losing the nails of my two big toes - again! Talk about not learning a lesson…..
Top right pic: Walking into the clouds
Top left pic: At 13,000 ft, down, down, down. Terrain definitely not suitable for the shoe-less. ;-)
Bottom right pic: My family & I with our faithful Tevas
(Note: It is not possible to wear the Teva sandal on the final assault because of the very cold weather. I brought along the covered shoes for the final climb only.)
VL
March 2009
OOH, THE PAIN, THE PAIN : PART 2 – SLOW AND STEADY WIN THE APPLAUSE
The other person in our group who was suffering more pain than me would be my husband. He started the journey with the nagging worry that one of his knees might give him problem as it has been giving him pain every time he exerted it too much. So with his knee braces, he was pacing himself slowly and carefully.
As it turns out, the first part of the climb right up to 11,000ft was manageable for him. However, the toughest part of the journey for him, and all of us for that matter, began at 2:30am the next morning….
When my husband finally reached the peak at 8:00am, he looked a mess and really, really tired. As he was the last to arrive, we quickly had our group photo taken before we had to start moving down again. My husband hardly had time to rest and only had time to munch on a wafer before he had to set off down again.
While I was trying to walk as fast as I could so that I can reach 11,000 ft as soon as possible to change out of my painful shoes, my husband was slowly making his way down with one of the guide staying behind as anchor.
I reached 11,000 ft in time for lunch and to meet up with the rest of the group. Just as we were finishing lunch, my husband finally reached the restaurant and again, because we were
rushing, he also had to quickly gobble down his food before setting off with us.
After lunch, on the way down, I was walking a bit more slowly in order not to leave my husband too far behind. Xin Lei and Chung Weng were nice enough to accompany me and we had a wonderful time just chatting, walking and resting as we wished. As it turned out, we were among the last few groups to arrive. That was around 4:30 pm and all the other members of my group have already reached the base camp and gone back to the hostel as did Xin Lei and Chung Weng. I decided to stay back to wait for my husband. That wait was one of the most anxious – I kept asking the other groups who came after me whether they have seen my husband – and the reply was always the same – a vague 'yes, I think we saw him and he is ok'. I was so worried that he may end up like the poor chap we saw on the way up who had to be carried down because his muscle was all crammed up and he couldn’t walk any more.
I was so happy when I finally saw him (walking on his own two feet!) just before 6:00pm! That last 200 metres seeing him walking towards me at a snail pace (he was in pain and was actually just inching his way!) was one of the longest! And he looked a real mess – his lips were parched and white as he has been breathing through his mouth because he was having blocked nose due to the cold air, and his hair was all messed up! When I asked him about his hair, his retort was, ‘I’m half dead, got no time to worry about my hair!’ And this coming from someone who was always so careful that not a single strand of his hair is out of place! :-) He said he was so exhausted all he could think of was to keep walking and to just breathe!
When I asked the guide later how was my husband throughout the journey, he said, ‘your husband was very good. His knees were giving him some problem and he knows he can’t go fast. In order to make it back to camp before dark, he knew he had to keep a constant speed and stopping will make it more difficult for him to pick up speed again, so he didn’t stop at all, he just prod on and on and on’.
In total, we counted that my husband had walked a staggering non-stop 16 hours! From 2:30am in the morning, until 6:00pm that evening, he hardly had a rest except to take the group photo with us at the peak and the 10-15 minutes lunch break.
That night, as we were having a well-deserved dinner, I asked him what gave him the strong will power to make it to the peak instead of giving up half-way through like so many did when he was finding it so tough, his reply was, ‘my thought was my wife is up there, waiting for me to take photo, so I pushed myself to make it up there.’ Aw… shucks…. ^_^
Pic on right: My girl and my husband with his knee braces and walking stick
Pic on left: A well-earned shot with the peak of Mt Kinabalu in the background
Note: Luckily no shots was taken of him upon arrival at base camp as he would have otherwise killed me!
VL
March 2009
As it turns out, the first part of the climb right up to 11,000ft was manageable for him. However, the toughest part of the journey for him, and all of us for that matter, began at 2:30am the next morning….
When my husband finally reached the peak at 8:00am, he looked a mess and really, really tired. As he was the last to arrive, we quickly had our group photo taken before we had to start moving down again. My husband hardly had time to rest and only had time to munch on a wafer before he had to set off down again.
While I was trying to walk as fast as I could so that I can reach 11,000 ft as soon as possible to change out of my painful shoes, my husband was slowly making his way down with one of the guide staying behind as anchor.
I reached 11,000 ft in time for lunch and to meet up with the rest of the group. Just as we were finishing lunch, my husband finally reached the restaurant and again, because we were
rushing, he also had to quickly gobble down his food before setting off with us.After lunch, on the way down, I was walking a bit more slowly in order not to leave my husband too far behind. Xin Lei and Chung Weng were nice enough to accompany me and we had a wonderful time just chatting, walking and resting as we wished. As it turned out, we were among the last few groups to arrive. That was around 4:30 pm and all the other members of my group have already reached the base camp and gone back to the hostel as did Xin Lei and Chung Weng. I decided to stay back to wait for my husband. That wait was one of the most anxious – I kept asking the other groups who came after me whether they have seen my husband – and the reply was always the same – a vague 'yes, I think we saw him and he is ok'. I was so worried that he may end up like the poor chap we saw on the way up who had to be carried down because his muscle was all crammed up and he couldn’t walk any more.
I was so happy when I finally saw him (walking on his own two feet!) just before 6:00pm! That last 200 metres seeing him walking towards me at a snail pace (he was in pain and was actually just inching his way!) was one of the longest! And he looked a real mess – his lips were parched and white as he has been breathing through his mouth because he was having blocked nose due to the cold air, and his hair was all messed up! When I asked him about his hair, his retort was, ‘I’m half dead, got no time to worry about my hair!’ And this coming from someone who was always so careful that not a single strand of his hair is out of place! :-) He said he was so exhausted all he could think of was to keep walking and to just breathe!
When I asked the guide later how was my husband throughout the journey, he said, ‘your husband was very good. His knees were giving him some problem and he knows he can’t go fast. In order to make it back to camp before dark, he knew he had to keep a constant speed and stopping will make it more difficult for him to pick up speed again, so he didn’t stop at all, he just prod on and on and on’.
In total, we counted that my husband had walked a staggering non-stop 16 hours! From 2:30am in the morning, until 6:00pm that evening, he hardly had a rest except to take the group photo with us at the peak and the 10-15 minutes lunch break.
That night, as we were having a well-deserved dinner, I asked him what gave him the strong will power to make it to the peak instead of giving up half-way through like so many did when he was finding it so tough, his reply was, ‘my thought was my wife is up there, waiting for me to take photo, so I pushed myself to make it up there.’ Aw… shucks…. ^_^
Pic on right: My girl and my husband with his knee braces and walking stick
Pic on left: A well-earned shot with the peak of Mt Kinabalu in the background
Note: Luckily no shots was taken of him upon arrival at base camp as he would have otherwise killed me!
VL
March 2009
IS IT THE SEA? IS IT THE STOCKING? NO! IT'S THE SMOKED SALMON!
I was in the U.K. in May 1992, visiting 20 over British universities in a familiarisation visit as part of my new job portfolio. My lady boss, Carmen, who is British, was my wonderful guiding light. It was on the last segment of our ‘tour’ when she decided that we deserved a weekend break and suggested that we take the scenic Scottish coastal road and stay in any nice B&B that we could find while heading up to Aberdeen to visit yet more universities. It was a Friday, after a full campus tour of Dundee University, when we set off on our holiday. At the end of the campus tour, I was aching to slip off my shoes and give my toes a break as I have been walking non-stop in my heels from university campus to university campus for the past few days. (I wore heels because I am very petite and didn’t want to look too small standing among the ‘kwai-lohs’!) :-) I dare not let Carmen knows that my feet were actually killing me lest she chides me for wearing heels.
So while we were safely on our journey and admiring the coastline and the villages dotting it, I slowly slipped off my shoes into my stocking-ed feet. A short while later, I thought I detected a fishy smell, and my first thought was, ‘oh dear, it smells suspiciously like my stinking sweaty stockings, hope it will not get to Carmen!’ (Incidentally, I’ve been wearing the same stockings for the past 3 days as I didn’t have time to wash them. :-) )
At the very next moment, as we were nearing a small town, Carmen asked, “did you smell that?” ‘Oh my God’, I thought, ‘my stockings did smell that bad!’ I just kept quiet and pretended not too hear and tried to slip my shoes back on again, very quickly but slowly, so as not to attract her attention. Then she stopped the car, wound down the car window further, stuck her head out and exclaimed, “Ah, the smell of smoked salmon! Don’t you think they smell wonderful? My dear, welcome to Arbrough, the seaside town famous for its smoked salmon!”
The relief I felt knowing it was not my stockings she was referring to was instantaneous and I was laughing so much inside that I was close to bursting but luckily she wasn’t paying attention as she was already getting out of the car and heading into one of the smoked salmon shops.
Hahahaha, so what to me was the stinking smell of smelly stockings was the wonderful aroma of smoked salmon to her! At that instance, it reminded me how durians smell like heaven to us Malaysians, but not so to most westerners!
Picture on left: Beautiful coastline of Scotland
Picture on right: Picturesque view of one of the fishing villages dotting the coastal road, much like Arbrough.
(Now, everytime my girl asks for smoked salmon (and she loves smoked salmon!), it always remind me of that little fishing village in Scotland. It was many years later, when I didn't felt silly anymore about myself, that I shared this secret with Carmen and we had a good laugh! I hope she still remember this!)
P/S: I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Carmen & David Guard for a wonderful part of my working life. The experience I gained from my visit to the U.K. has been priceless and has carried me through for much of my work in academic counselling. This would not have come about if not for their kind generosity and guidance while I was working with them. Especially to Mr. Guard, I would not have been where I am today if not for your unselfish sharing of your wealth of knowledge and mentoring to make me a good counsellor. It is this very trait that I bring with me to my working life in the hope that I can help another fellow colleague as how you have helped me. Thank you so much. :-)
So while we were safely on our journey and admiring the coastline and the villages dotting it, I slowly slipped off my shoes into my stocking-ed feet. A short while later, I thought I detected a fishy smell, and my first thought was, ‘oh dear, it smells suspiciously like my stinking sweaty stockings, hope it will not get to Carmen!’ (Incidentally, I’ve been wearing the same stockings for the past 3 days as I didn’t have time to wash them. :-) )At the very next moment, as we were nearing a small town, Carmen asked, “did you smell that?” ‘Oh my God’, I thought, ‘my stockings did smell that bad!’ I just kept quiet and pretended not too hear and tried to slip my shoes back on again, very quickly but slowly, so as not to attract her attention. Then she stopped the car, wound down the car window further, stuck her head out and exclaimed, “Ah, the smell of smoked salmon! Don’t you think they smell wonderful? My dear, welcome to Arbrough, the seaside town famous for its smoked salmon!”
The relief I felt knowing it was not my stockings she was referring to was instantaneous and I was laughing so much inside that I was close to bursting but luckily she wasn’t paying attention as she was already getting out of the car and heading into one of the smoked salmon shops.
Hahahaha, so what to me was the stinking smell of smelly stockings was the wonderful aroma of smoked salmon to her! At that instance, it reminded me how durians smell like heaven to us Malaysians, but not so to most westerners!
Picture on left: Beautiful coastline of Scotland
Picture on right: Picturesque view of one of the fishing villages dotting the coastal road, much like Arbrough.
(Now, everytime my girl asks for smoked salmon (and she loves smoked salmon!), it always remind me of that little fishing village in Scotland. It was many years later, when I didn't felt silly anymore about myself, that I shared this secret with Carmen and we had a good laugh! I hope she still remember this!)
P/S: I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Carmen & David Guard for a wonderful part of my working life. The experience I gained from my visit to the U.K. has been priceless and has carried me through for much of my work in academic counselling. This would not have come about if not for their kind generosity and guidance while I was working with them. Especially to Mr. Guard, I would not have been where I am today if not for your unselfish sharing of your wealth of knowledge and mentoring to make me a good counsellor. It is this very trait that I bring with me to my working life in the hope that I can help another fellow colleague as how you have helped me. Thank you so much. :-)
IT DOESN'T RAIN BUT IT POURS!
15th day of the 8th moon in the Chinese lunar calendar is the day when the Chinese celebrates moon festival, the night when the moon is at its most beautiful. This is the night when we ‘siong yuet’, literally translated to ‘appreciating the moon’.
It was on this day around 15 years ago that a few friends and I decided to scale to the peak of Gunung Datuk Rembau in Negeri Sembilan to ‘siong yuet’. We decided that we will sleep in the open, with only the sky and the moon above us and nothing else in between except our sleeping bags. :-) We knew the view from the top will be fantastic on a moonlit night as we have been up there numerous times before and had stayed up late but never to camp overnight.
The climb up Gunung Datuk Rembau is moderately tough but the view at the top was well worth the climb. The top of the mountain is a small plateau with bare boulders and only enough space for a dozen or so people to stand around to appreciate the view. From the peak we can get a clear, unobstructed view of the beautiful valley below us, far into the distance which is just beautiful.
So on that fateful 15th day of the 8th moon, we started off at around 6pm, packing our dinner and enough food for breakfast and lunch the next day. We eventually reached the peak around 8.30pm in time for dinner. It took us slightly longer than it would have at daylight as we were hampered by the dark and only guided by our torches. At the peak, there was only enough space for 6-7 people to sleep. The night went by wonderfully, the beautiful, bright round moon was up, we chatted happily and snacked, the 7 of us. Soon one by one we dozed off, out in the open, with just our sleeping bags.
All of a sudden, we were woken by pelting rain on our face! The sky has decided to open up and the wind was coming on strong! We hastily packed our stuff and rushed down to the campsite. Because of the strong wind and pelting rain onto our faces, it was a difficult descent for us and we were all eventually drenched.
Down near the campsite, there is a little ‘cave’ made out from big boulders, with enough room for 20 people or so to squeeze in and we quickly rushed for it. When we reached the campsite, we found there was another group of campers, who had arrived after us. They were also rushing into this ‘cave’. Soon there were around 20 of us huddled in there, waiting and hiding from the fury of the thunderstorm. It was cold and all of us were wet. Out of a sudden, we smelt and saw smoke coming out from the very interior of the cave – it seems some smart a** from the other group decided to start a small fire to keep himself and his friends warm! But what happened
was that the twigs and leaves they used were all wet, so there was more smoke than fire! Oh my goodness, eventually the whole cave was covered with smoke, tearing our eyes and choking our breaths! All of us had to quickly run out of the cave out into the open rain! We dare not seek shelter under any trees as there was lightning and thunder and we didn’t want to risk being struck down!
Because the smoke wasn't clearing due to the enclosed area and the heavy rain outside, we eventually went searching for big boulders to shield us, albeit very slightly, from the wind. (Remember we didn’t have any tents with us!) That night, we spent it huddled under our ponchos, pressed close to any big boulders we could find, with our ponchos flapping noisily around our ears due to the strong wind but we still managed to sleep right through it because we were so tired. The rain didn’t stop until the early morn and the next day was another story. :-)
Thinking back, we were very lucky while we were up at the peak trying to make our way down to the campsite, that there was no lightning because if there was, we would be first to be struck as we were at the highest point in the whole of Negeri Sembilan!
This was indeed my most memorable moon festival celebration for a long, long time - although not for the right reason! - but not one I would want to go through again!
Picture on the left: View from the top (pic taken during another trip)
1st picture on right: Our 'campsite'
2nd picture on right: We had to make our way down these steps in the dark the night before, with pelting rain and strong wind
3rd picture on right: Happy again the next morning - back at the peak, cooking our breakfast
It was on this day around 15 years ago that a few friends and I decided to scale to the peak of Gunung Datuk Rembau in Negeri Sembilan to ‘siong yuet’. We decided that we will sleep in the open, with only the sky and the moon above us and nothing else in between except our sleeping bags. :-) We knew the view from the top will be fantastic on a moonlit night as we have been up there numerous times before and had stayed up late but never to camp overnight.
The climb up Gunung Datuk Rembau is moderately tough but the view at the top was well worth the climb. The top of the mountain is a small plateau with bare boulders and only enough space for a dozen or so people to stand around to appreciate the view. From the peak we can get a clear, unobstructed view of the beautiful valley below us, far into the distance which is just beautiful.So on that fateful 15th day of the 8th moon, we started off at around 6pm, packing our dinner and enough food for breakfast and lunch the next day. We eventually reached the peak around 8.30pm in time for dinner. It took us slightly longer than it would have at daylight as we were hampered by the dark and only guided by our torches. At the peak, there was only enough space for 6-7 people to sleep. The night went by wonderfully, the beautiful, bright round moon was up, we chatted happily and snacked, the 7 of us. Soon one by one we dozed off, out in the open, with just our sleeping bags.
All of a sudden, we were woken by pelting rain on our face! The sky has decided to open up and the wind was coming on strong! We hastily packed our stuff and rushed down to the campsite. Because of the strong wind and pelting rain onto our faces, it was a difficult descent for us and we were all eventually drenched.
Down near the campsite, there is a little ‘cave’ made out from big boulders, with enough room for 20 people or so to squeeze in and we quickly rushed for it. When we reached the campsite, we found there was another group of campers, who had arrived after us. They were also rushing into this ‘cave’. Soon there were around 20 of us huddled in there, waiting and hiding from the fury of the thunderstorm. It was cold and all of us were wet. Out of a sudden, we smelt and saw smoke coming out from the very interior of the cave – it seems some smart a** from the other group decided to start a small fire to keep himself and his friends warm! But what happened
was that the twigs and leaves they used were all wet, so there was more smoke than fire! Oh my goodness, eventually the whole cave was covered with smoke, tearing our eyes and choking our breaths! All of us had to quickly run out of the cave out into the open rain! We dare not seek shelter under any trees as there was lightning and thunder and we didn’t want to risk being struck down!Because the smoke wasn't clearing due to the enclosed area and the heavy rain outside, we eventually went searching for big boulders to shield us, albeit very slightly, from the wind. (Remember we didn’t have any tents with us!) That night, we spent it huddled under our ponchos, pressed close to any big boulders we could find, with our ponchos flapping noisily around our ears due to the strong wind but we still managed to sleep right through it because we were so tired. The rain didn’t stop until the early morn and the next day was another story. :-)
Thinking back, we were very lucky while we were up at the peak trying to make our way down to the campsite, that there was no lightning because if there was, we would be first to be struck as we were at the highest point in the whole of Negeri Sembilan!
This was indeed my most memorable moon festival celebration for a long, long time - although not for the right reason! - but not one I would want to go through again!
Picture on the left: View from the top (pic taken during another trip)
1st picture on right: Our 'campsite'
2nd picture on right: We had to make our way down these steps in the dark the night before, with pelting rain and strong wind
3rd picture on right: Happy again the next morning - back at the peak, cooking our breakfast
SAME SAME MALAYSIAN, SAME SAME CAMBODIAN?
One of the main reasons for us to visit Cambodia in 1994 (see my other post on Phnom Pehn) was to visit the Angkor Wat, one of the olden Wonders of the World, which is located near Siem Reap. At that time the only means of transport to Siem Reap for tourist was by air (there were train lines but tourists were not allowed to travel on them). Accommodation at Siem Reap (the set-off point for Angkor Wat) then was spartan and basic – half-brick, half-wooden houses with rooms to let. (I understand there are now 5* hotels 
in Siem Reap, booming with tourists, thanks to Air Asia.) The road leading to Angkor Wat was still laterite and gets muddy when it rains.
We were awed and impressed with all we saw of Angkor Wat – the temple ruins, the intricate carvings on many of the walls as well as the structures and had a most enlightening and enjoyable time. Except for one thing – there were many child beggars around, and they would hound and follow the tourists around, asking for “one dollar, please” with hands outstretched, until they get the money, or gave up and start pestering the next tourist. During the time we were there, there were hardly any other tourists and the kids had taken to following two of my friends around, but surprisingly leaving me alone! (I found out later that they were following the other two friends because they looked like Japanese and the Japanese were known to be very generous with these child beggars!)
in Siem Reap, booming with tourists, thanks to Air Asia.) The road leading to Angkor Wat was still laterite and gets muddy when it rains.We were awed and impressed with all we saw of Angkor Wat – the temple ruins, the intricate carvings on many of the walls as well as the structures and had a most enlightening and enjoyable time. Except for one thing – there were many child beggars around, and they would hound and follow the tourists around, asking for “one dollar, please” with hands outstretched, until they get the money, or gave up and start pestering the next tourist. During the time we were there, there were hardly any other tourists and the kids had taken to following two of my friends around, but surprisingly leaving me alone! (I found out later that they were following the other two friends because they looked like Japanese and the Japanese were known to be very generous with these child beggars!)
Since they left me pretty much alone, it meant I could roam around freely on my own and after a while, I decided to take a rest. Slowly, some of these kids joined me where I sat and asked me where I was from. (They speak very little English.) I mentioned Malaysia but they didn’t seem to know where Malaysia is. I told them that they looked like our Malaysian kids (and they do look like our Malay kampung kids!) but they shook their heads and said, “no, no, you same same Cambodian”. I replied, “no, no, you same same Malaysian”. This went on for quite a while until one of the little girls finally said, louder than the rest, “no, you same same Cambodian” – and she pointed to her
nose and said “your nose, same same Cambodian”. I was taken by surprised and took a look at all of them and indeed all of them have snub noses just like mine!! (Which incidentally I always felt was my worst feature!) :-( So, as far as these lovely kids are concerned - case closed. We had a good laugh! And I found out then that they were curious where I came from as I looked like one of them (since I am also quite petite) and that was the reason I was left alone and not pestered for “one dollar, please”!
nose and said “your nose, same same Cambodian”. I was taken by surprised and took a look at all of them and indeed all of them have snub noses just like mine!! (Which incidentally I always felt was my worst feature!) :-( So, as far as these lovely kids are concerned - case closed. We had a good laugh! And I found out then that they were curious where I came from as I looked like one of them (since I am also quite petite) and that was the reason I was left alone and not pestered for “one dollar, please”! 1st Pic at right: One of the many many intricate carvings on the temple walls.
Pic at left: Me and my friend, who looked like a Japanese, resting at one of the temple ruins.
2nd pic left: Some of the child beggars who roamed the city of Phnom Pehn and tourist areas like Angkor Wat, begging for money. Notice their snub noses! (And they do look like our regular kampung kids!)
VL
May 1994
PHNOM PEHN AT NIGHT IN 1994
It was in 1994 when my husband, myself and 2 other friends decided that we will go on a budget, back-packing tour of Indo-China, covering parts of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos over a period of 21 days. Our first stop was Phnom Pehn and during that time, 
the Khmer Rouge was still active and the country was still backward, much unlike now. Hardly anybody speaks English then and tourists were not allowed to take public transport like buses and trains (because of occasional daylight robbery by Khmer Rouge) so we either had to travel by private taxis or motorbikes or by air.
the Khmer Rouge was still active and the country was still backward, much unlike now. Hardly anybody speaks English then and tourists were not allowed to take public transport like buses and trains (because of occasional daylight robbery by Khmer Rouge) so we either had to travel by private taxis or motorbikes or by air. (Picture at right showing us scooting around town on a rented scooter - a cheap and safe way for tourists to travel within the town at that time.)
Upon arrival, we checked into a budget hotel. That night, we decided to venture out to look for dinner instead of eating in the motel cafe. It was around 7pm. When we stepped out, we found that the whole city was in darkness. Oh-oh, power failure! However, some small stalls selling local food were opened for business, lit by candlelight. We noticed that all the customers were local. We hoped there may be some proper restaurants opened elsewhere as we were told to be careful with local hawker food, so we decided to take our torches and walked down the long mainstreet, guided by our torchlights. However, all the shops were closed but there were some locals on bicycles going about their business. So we went back to one of the stalls, packed some hot food and went back to our room. That night, we assumed our room lights and fans were run by generator.
The next night, we thought we will try to go out to look for food again since we were not successful the first night. However, when we stepped out, again the whole city was in darkness! This time, we went looking for the motel manager, who speaks a little bit of English, and asked him whether it is normal for Pnomh Pehn to be facing frequent power failure at night although during the day it was fine. His answer caught us by surprise – Pnomh Pehn was not having power failure – it’s having curfew every night! Oh my gosh, we were so surprised and were so glad that the first night when we ventured out with our torches, nothing happened as the manager informed us that
sometimes at night the Khmer Rouge will come into the city and rob (which is why the whole city is on curfew) and tourists like us, with our pouches on our waist, were easy targets!
(Picture at right showing main part of Phnom Pehn town in 1994 during the day - crissed-crossed wires but no electricity at night - view from budget hotel room.)
VL
May 1994
Upon arrival, we checked into a budget hotel. That night, we decided to venture out to look for dinner instead of eating in the motel cafe. It was around 7pm. When we stepped out, we found that the whole city was in darkness. Oh-oh, power failure! However, some small stalls selling local food were opened for business, lit by candlelight. We noticed that all the customers were local. We hoped there may be some proper restaurants opened elsewhere as we were told to be careful with local hawker food, so we decided to take our torches and walked down the long mainstreet, guided by our torchlights. However, all the shops were closed but there were some locals on bicycles going about their business. So we went back to one of the stalls, packed some hot food and went back to our room. That night, we assumed our room lights and fans were run by generator.
The next night, we thought we will try to go out to look for food again since we were not successful the first night. However, when we stepped out, again the whole city was in darkness! This time, we went looking for the motel manager, who speaks a little bit of English, and asked him whether it is normal for Pnomh Pehn to be facing frequent power failure at night although during the day it was fine. His answer caught us by surprise – Pnomh Pehn was not having power failure – it’s having curfew every night! Oh my gosh, we were so surprised and were so glad that the first night when we ventured out with our torches, nothing happened as the manager informed us that
sometimes at night the Khmer Rouge will come into the city and rob (which is why the whole city is on curfew) and tourists like us, with our pouches on our waist, were easy targets!(Picture at right showing main part of Phnom Pehn town in 1994 during the day - crissed-crossed wires but no electricity at night - view from budget hotel room.)
VL
May 1994
TAHAN – THE STORY CONTINUES…..
After we returned from the peak of Gunung Tahan, and Sherry, Joseph and Carlene joined us, we decided to have a relaxed time around Kuala Tahan for a few days, to enjoy the nature in the park. We had booked one of the hide, Bumbun Yong, which overlooked a saltlick to try to catch some nocturnal animals while we spent the night up there.
So the day after, we set off for the hide with our overnight backpacks. After dinner (which we cooked ourselves) and some chit-chatting, we decided we will take turns to keep a look out, as some of us have yet to fully recover from the Tahan conquest.
Because most were so tired, they fell asleep almost immediately except for 2 or 3 of us who took the first watch. Shortly after, the ‘orchestra’ started - grrrrr…. prrrrff…. pheewww….., ngorrk……. The symphony of ‘motor-having-difficulty-starting’ and ‘kettle-whistling’ to ‘pig-snoring’ and ‘dog-growling’ were getting so noisy they must have frightened the animals because despite waiting for more than 3 hours, nothing came to the saltlick, not even a deer! :-(
We tried waking up those guys or pushing them to their sides to stop the snoring but nothing worked! They were just like dead bodies if not for the commotion they were making with their snorings! We were so frustrated and contemplating what to do next, when out of the above snorings, in the silence of the night, an unfamiliar sound appeared ……. pppuuuuuuttttttt! SOMEBODY ACTUALLY FARTED IN HIS SLEEP! He wasn’t just blowing noise from his mouth but also his arse! (Pardon me on the crude word! ;p)
For that one micro silence, we looked at each other, stunned, and the next we were roaring with laughter!!! HAHAHAHAHA. We laughed so loud we woke up some of the other guys but our culprit was still blissfully snoring away! We were rolling around with so much laughter that we decided – that’s it, we give up! With all the commotion, right in the jungle in the middle of the night, there was no way any animals were going to t
urn up and so we thought, if you can’t beat them, join them! And so we decided to join the ‘orchestra’ for the rest of the night! :-) And that put paid to our 'night-watch'!Pic top right: The Hide, Bumbun Yong
Pic bottom right: Members of the 'orchestra'
March 1991
THE CONQUEST OF GUNUNG TAHAN, HIGHEST PEAK IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA (2,187m) : 16-23 MARCH 1991
March 15 (Setting off)
11:30pm Arrived at Jerantut Resthouse.
(Pic left: Before the expedition.)
March 16 (Day 1)
9:00am At Kuala Tembeling jetty. Boat departed at 9:40am. Water was shallow. Some of the guys had to help to push the boat at one point. 3 hours later we were at Kuala Tahan. Registered ourselves and had packed lunch from Jerantut.
2:20pm Beginning of the first of a series of long, tiring treks! 20 minutes into the walk and already panting, who should we bumped into but the ‘birdma
n’ Mr. Dennis Yong (fellow MNS member) himself! His comments when he saw us: ‘Ai yo, I worry for your guys. Why are you carrying so much? You’re overweight. The rain is just starting and you’re going to have problems.’ Great, just the kind of encouragement we need.
Trail was lowland, gradually sloping and ends after a hill. All of us felt exhausted halfway through the trek, largely due to the weight we were carrying (Dennis Yong was right). Arrived at Kem Melantai at 5:45pm. Weather was very good. Had a refreshing bath in cold river and had a good dinner. That night, we decided to bury some of our excess food the next morning – personal as well as communal – in anticipation of the 27 hills! Slept in the open as night was quite warm.
March 17 (Day 2)
Dumped excess food and stuff. One or two members buried their extra pair of shoes! Trek was pretty tough but not as bad as we expected. There are 5 major hills to go through, the rest being merely slopes. Finally arrived at the 27th hill, Gunung Rajah, at 1:40pm. Because of our good timing, we decided that we will continue on to Kem Peliting after Kem Kuala Putih.
From Gunung Rajah it was downhill all the way to Kem Kuala Putih. Heard the rushing water after nearly an hour’s walk but didn’t actually reached the river until half an hour later. Arrived Kem Kuala Putih at nearly 3:00pm. Dumped return dinner and breakfast. Continue on to Kem Peliting at 4:00pm after a well-deserved rest. Reached camp at 5:30pm after crossing 2 rivers. Kem Peliting is next to the 3rd river. Bathed in the river. River level was low. Had dinner and tea. Evening: threats of rain with fine drops and lightning and thunder in the distance but nothing happened. Most of us slept outside, under the flysheet. Had a short singing session. :-)
March 18 (Day 3)
Depart Kem Peliting at 9:00am. Went through remaining 5 rivers and random hills and reached Kem Teku at 10:45am. Had tea, dumped return dinner and breakfast and left Kem Teku at 12:10pm.
Uphill all the way to Kem Wray’s. This, for me, is the toughest part of the journey – the uphill climb, the lack of sleep and the weight we were carrying were finally taking their toll on me and my soles were beginning to ache with the weight bearing down on me. Finally arrived at Kem Wray’s at 3:45pm. On arrival, I just plonked myself down onto the groundsheet and refused to move for at least 15 minutes.
At around 5:00pm, went down to a 7-minute(!) side trail to the only water source to collect water and bathed. Extremely cold but very refreshing! The water tasted sweet! Had early dinner with mushroom soup (the first of the many that we had). Later sat and chit-chatted with Pak Teh, our guide, while having tea and tid-bits – and not forgetting the XO and whisky(!) – until 10:30pm. Had a bit of each myself, to help me get a good night’s sleep (which I haven’t been able to do so for the past few nights), but after a while could feel my eyes beginning to swell!!
March 19 (Day 4)
Woke up with swollen eyes because of the hard liquor the night before! :-( Left Kem Wray’s at 9:30am. Went through Gunung Pankin, Gunung Tangga 15 and Gunung Reskit. We had to climb up and down vertical ridges, which was very exciting at certain parts! At the very first rope climb down, I slipped and nearly fell, causing some anxious moments but was ‘saved’ by Pak Teh, who was just below me, by supporting me with one hand on my buttocks! Got a small cut on my knee. The vegetation here was very nice, very different from lowland forest, the air was cooling and it was misty at certain parts as we went higher. All these combined to make this part of the climb the most interesting part of our journey. Siew Wan, Chong, Lim and myself took our own sweet time at this stretch, taking photographs and generally enjoying the cool air and scenery, albeit swollen eyes on my part!
The last climb was the steepest, with loose rocks at certain parts and goes through a mossy forest before it took us on the way to Gunung Gedong. Gunung Gedong is flat-ish and was misty (and fantastic!) on arrival. Had photo snapping session before we took a left turn at the junction and headed down towards Kem Padang. Few of us again took our time and went down leisurely while taking photographs and watching the mist came and went. Arrive at Kem Padang at nearly 5:00pm.
The first thing that strike my eyes just before we reached Kem Padang was our water source - the pristine, unpolluted, beautiful tea-coloured Teku River, looking so inviting, and where we were to take our baths later – and immediately changed our minds and decided it was not so inviting after all! (The water was ice-cold and I couldn’t take more than a few scoops of it!)
Heard a lot about the rats in Kem Padang but didn’t realise how atrocious they were until just before dinner one of the members went into the tent to get something and heard some rustling sound and, upon checking, saw a rat scurrying way. Found a small hole at the back of the tent and Lim’s sleeping bag! The rats were early today!
Had early dinner. Had early night myself, too, mainly because it was too cold outside and the tent was cosy and I was tired.
That night the guys placed our food in a cone-shaped container which they improvised from some scrap metal pieces they found as an anti-rat measure. Middle of the night we could hear the rats trying to get at our food.
Was told the next morning that the night was very nice, with starry skies.
March 20 (Day 5)
9:20am Set off for Gunung Tahan summit. Felt so nice that for once we did not have to carry anything except our water bottle. Went through series of open grounds and 2 small streams and mossy forest as we crossed ridges and saddles to our destination. Saw some fresh cat prints. Lim, Giam, Chong and myself did a leisurely walk, enjoying the scenery and vegetation as we made our way up.
12:55pm
WE FINALLY REACHED THE TOP OF GUNUNG TAHAN! WE HAVE CONQUERED THE HIGHEST PEAK OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA!
The rest were already up there an hour ahead of us and were waiting impatiently for us to take the group photo. That done, they went down and the 4 of us stayed for a while longer and finally started to walk down at 1:30pm.
It was windy and misty on the way down – very nice and cooling but not much could be seen. Was glad I took my time on the way up and took photographs because there was nothing to shoot on the way down due to the mist.
Back at Kem Padang at 4:30pm and the guys cooked Maggie mee, which never tasted so delicious before!
Wanted to celebrate our achievement with liquor, green beans soup and jelly that night but had to change plan. The rain that had been threatening to pour for the last few evenings finally unleashed its fury on us that evening halfway through our cooking! All we could do was hurriedly finished our cooking and dumped everything into our mess tins. The mushrooms, fried dace, dehydrated vegetables soup and French beans with onions all tasted the same. What a waste of all our efforts in trying to make the dinner a special one. :-( Huddled together under the small flysheet with the rain beating down on us and the strong wind blowing, some of us had to make do with gas canisters as stools while others squatted because the groundsheet was soaking wet as we gobbled down our dinner, including Pak Teh, our supposedly ‘guest-of-honour’ for dinner!
Rushed back to the tent one by one after dinner. Didn’t do any washing up. (The rats were going to have a feast tonight!) After the rain drizzled out, we went to the big tent and had another of our sing-song session and celebrated with miniature bottles of brandy, whisky, beer and 100 Plus - but no alcohol for me! Not after the swollen eyes!
Decided we would postpone the actual celebration until the next day.
Note: Siew Wan’s jelly still haven’t hardened by the time we went to bed!
March 21 (Day 6)
Left Kem Padang at 10:00am after much packing and re-packing and cleaning our rat-shit infested mess tins. (Looks like the rats had a field ‘day’ the previous night!) Had thought our bags would be much lighter without any more dinners to carry but somehow they still weighed heavy on our weary shoulders. Went through another session of climbing up and down vertical slopes and then the looong(!) downhill climb from Kem Wray’s to Kem Teku. Down and down we go, myself not stopping to rest at all, despite aching knees and a slight sprain on my instep. The pain which had been nagging me since the first day was now more pronounced and the effort to put less weight on it made me clumsy and I fell so many times that I got fed-up. (Knowing very well that I will have to go at a slow pace because of the pain, I decided to carry on walking on my own without stopping in order not to slow anybody down and the slowness of my pace meant I didn’t actually have to stop to rest at all.)
Arrived Kem Teku at 4:00pm. Had dinner with Pak Teh after the opening of his fast. Decided we would stay up a bit longer today after last night’s disappointment. Had the green beans soup meant for last night for supper. Had another small sing-song session before the drizzle drove us back into our tents again.
March 22 (Day 7)
First thing I felt when I woke up was my aching backside, due to the falls I had the day before!
Left Kem Teku at 10:20am. Did the 7 river crossings safely though rocks were slippery and water current was slightly swift at some parts. This is the only part of our journey where we came across leeches which we tried to outrun!
9:00am At Kuala Tembeling jetty. Boat departed at 9:40am. Water was shallow. Some of the guys had to help to push the boat at one point. 3 hours later we were at Kuala Tahan. Registered ourselves and had packed lunch from Jerantut.
2:20pm Beginning of the first of a series of long, tiring treks! 20 minutes into the walk and already panting, who should we bumped into but the ‘birdma
n’ Mr. Dennis Yong (fellow MNS member) himself! His comments when he saw us: ‘Ai yo, I worry for your guys. Why are you carrying so much? You’re overweight. The rain is just starting and you’re going to have problems.’ Great, just the kind of encouragement we need.Trail was lowland, gradually sloping and ends after a hill. All of us felt exhausted halfway through the trek, largely due to the weight we were carrying (Dennis Yong was right). Arrived at Kem Melantai at 5:45pm. Weather was very good. Had a refreshing bath in cold river and had a good dinner. That night, we decided to bury some of our excess food the next morning – personal as well as communal – in anticipation of the 27 hills! Slept in the open as night was quite warm.
March 17 (Day 2) Dumped excess food and stuff. One or two members buried their extra pair of shoes! Trek was pretty tough but not as bad as we expected. There are 5 major hills to go through, the rest being merely slopes. Finally arrived at the 27th hill, Gunung Rajah, at 1:40pm. Because of our good timing, we decided that we will continue on to Kem Peliting after Kem Kuala Putih.
From Gunung Rajah it was downhill all the way to Kem Kuala Putih. Heard the rushing water after nearly an hour’s walk but didn’t actually reached the river until half an hour later. Arrived Kem Kuala Putih at nearly 3:00pm. Dumped return dinner and breakfast. Continue on to Kem Peliting at 4:00pm after a well-deserved rest. Reached camp at 5:30pm after crossing 2 rivers. Kem Peliting is next to the 3rd river. Bathed in the river. River level was low. Had dinner and tea. Evening: threats of rain with fine drops and lightning and thunder in the distance but nothing happened. Most of us slept outside, under the flysheet. Had a short singing session. :-)
March 18 (Day 3)
Depart Kem Peliting at 9:00am. Went through remaining 5 rivers and random hills and reached Kem Teku at 10:45am. Had tea, dumped return dinner and breakfast and left Kem Teku at 12:10pm.
Uphill all the way to Kem Wray’s. This, for me, is the toughest part of the journey – the uphill climb, the lack of sleep and the weight we were carrying were finally taking their toll on me and my soles were beginning to ache with the weight bearing down on me. Finally arrived at Kem Wray’s at 3:45pm. On arrival, I just plonked myself down onto the groundsheet and refused to move for at least 15 minutes.
At around 5:00pm, went down to a 7-minute(!) side trail to the only water source to collect water and bathed. Extremely cold but very refreshing! The water tasted sweet! Had early dinner with mushroom soup (the first of the many that we had). Later sat and chit-chatted with Pak Teh, our guide, while having tea and tid-bits – and not forgetting the XO and whisky(!) – until 10:30pm. Had a bit of each myself, to help me get a good night’s sleep (which I haven’t been able to do so for the past few nights), but after a while could feel my eyes beginning to swell!!
March 19 (Day 4)
Woke up with swollen eyes because of the hard liquor the night before! :-( Left Kem Wray’s at 9:30am. Went through Gunung Pankin, Gunung Tangga 15 and Gunung Reskit. We had to climb up and down vertical ridges, which was very exciting at certain parts! At the very first rope climb down, I slipped and nearly fell, causing some anxious moments but was ‘saved’ by Pak Teh, who was just below me, by supporting me with one hand on my buttocks! Got a small cut on my knee. The vegetation here was very nice, very different from lowland forest, the air was cooling and it was misty at certain parts as we went higher. All these combined to make this part of the climb the most interesting part of our journey. Siew Wan, Chong, Lim and myself took our own sweet time at this stretch, taking photographs and generally enjoying the cool air and scenery, albeit swollen eyes on my part!
The last climb was the steepest, with loose rocks at certain parts and goes through a mossy forest before it took us on the way to Gunung Gedong. Gunung Gedong is flat-ish and was misty (and fantastic!) on arrival. Had photo snapping session before we took a left turn at the junction and headed down towards Kem Padang. Few of us again took our time and went down leisurely while taking photographs and watching the mist came and went. Arrive at Kem Padang at nearly 5:00pm.
The first thing that strike my eyes just before we reached Kem Padang was our water source - the pristine, unpolluted, beautiful tea-coloured Teku River, looking so inviting, and where we were to take our baths later – and immediately changed our minds and decided it was not so inviting after all! (The water was ice-cold and I couldn’t take more than a few scoops of it!)Heard a lot about the rats in Kem Padang but didn’t realise how atrocious they were until just before dinner one of the members went into the tent to get something and heard some rustling sound and, upon checking, saw a rat scurrying way. Found a small hole at the back of the tent and Lim’s sleeping bag! The rats were early today!
Had early dinner. Had early night myself, too, mainly because it was too cold outside and the tent was cosy and I was tired.
That night the guys placed our food in a cone-shaped container which they improvised from some scrap metal pieces they found as an anti-rat measure. Middle of the night we could hear the rats trying to get at our food.
Was told the next morning that the night was very nice, with starry skies.
March 20 (Day 5)
9:20am Set off for Gunung Tahan summit. Felt so nice that for once we did not have to carry anything except our water bottle. Went through series of open grounds and 2 small streams and mossy forest as we crossed ridges and saddles to our destination. Saw some fresh cat prints. Lim, Giam, Chong and myself did a leisurely walk, enjoying the scenery and vegetation as we made our way up.
12:55pm
WE FINALLY REACHED THE TOP OF GUNUNG TAHAN! WE HAVE CONQUERED THE HIGHEST PEAK OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA!
The rest were already up there an hour ahead of us and were waiting impatiently for us to take the group photo. That done, they went down and the 4 of us stayed for a while longer and finally started to walk down at 1:30pm.
It was windy and misty on the way down – very nice and cooling but not much could be seen. Was glad I took my time on the way up and took photographs because there was nothing to shoot on the way down due to the mist.
Back at Kem Padang at 4:30pm and the guys cooked Maggie mee, which never tasted so delicious before!
Wanted to celebrate our achievement with liquor, green beans soup and jelly that night but had to change plan. The rain that had been threatening to pour for the last few evenings finally unleashed its fury on us that evening halfway through our cooking! All we could do was hurriedly finished our cooking and dumped everything into our mess tins. The mushrooms, fried dace, dehydrated vegetables soup and French beans with onions all tasted the same. What a waste of all our efforts in trying to make the dinner a special one. :-( Huddled together under the small flysheet with the rain beating down on us and the strong wind blowing, some of us had to make do with gas canisters as stools while others squatted because the groundsheet was soaking wet as we gobbled down our dinner, including Pak Teh, our supposedly ‘guest-of-honour’ for dinner!
Rushed back to the tent one by one after dinner. Didn’t do any washing up. (The rats were going to have a feast tonight!) After the rain drizzled out, we went to the big tent and had another of our sing-song session and celebrated with miniature bottles of brandy, whisky, beer and 100 Plus - but no alcohol for me! Not after the swollen eyes!
Decided we would postpone the actual celebration until the next day.
Note: Siew Wan’s jelly still haven’t hardened by the time we went to bed!
March 21 (Day 6)Left Kem Padang at 10:00am after much packing and re-packing and cleaning our rat-shit infested mess tins. (Looks like the rats had a field ‘day’ the previous night!) Had thought our bags would be much lighter without any more dinners to carry but somehow they still weighed heavy on our weary shoulders. Went through another session of climbing up and down vertical slopes and then the looong(!) downhill climb from Kem Wray’s to Kem Teku. Down and down we go, myself not stopping to rest at all, despite aching knees and a slight sprain on my instep. The pain which had been nagging me since the first day was now more pronounced and the effort to put less weight on it made me clumsy and I fell so many times that I got fed-up. (Knowing very well that I will have to go at a slow pace because of the pain, I decided to carry on walking on my own without stopping in order not to slow anybody down and the slowness of my pace meant I didn’t actually have to stop to rest at all.)
Arrived Kem Teku at 4:00pm. Had dinner with Pak Teh after the opening of his fast. Decided we would stay up a bit longer today after last night’s disappointment. Had the green beans soup meant for last night for supper. Had another small sing-song session before the drizzle drove us back into our tents again.
March 22 (Day 7)
First thing I felt when I woke up was my aching backside, due to the falls I had the day before!
Left Kem Teku at 10:20am. Did the 7 river crossings safely though rocks were slippery and water current was slightly swift at some parts. This is the only part of our journey where we came across leeches which we tried to outrun!
Arrived Kem Putih at 1:30pm with only two leech bites on me. At last, we could take a longer break than usual and even had the sun to dry our bags and clothes. This camp has lots of bees, attracted by the sweat and grime attached to our bodies and bags. Had a relaxed bath and an afternoon nap. Late evening after dinner some of us went down to the river bank and watched the stars appeared. Had early night again myself while the rest enjoyed tea and hot chocolate. Rained slightly again tonight.March 23 (Day 8)
Woke up and discovered the river had swelled during the night (at least by 2-3 feet) and the water was murky. Thank God our timing was good. If we had planned things a day later, we would have been stranded on the other side of the river. Left camp at 8:30am. For once we had dry clothes on us. :-) Had to bandage my ankle with crepe bandage because it was beginning to feel more painful. Took about 1 hour – uphill all the way – to reach Gunung Rajah. From here it was up and down the 27 hills again before we reached Kem Melantai at 12:30pm. Time taken: 3 hours – very good indeed – had thought we would need at least 4 hours. Lunch break at Kem Melantai and retrieved dumped food and stuff. Refilled water bottle and started to head back for Kuala Tahan at about 1:30pm. This part seemed to be the longest walk in all our days here. We were like zombies, walking up and down the undulating trails which seemed never-ending. About 2 hours later saw a sign that says 5 km to Kuala Tahan. Good, will soon be there. Walked and walked and saw another sign – 4 km it says. What, I thought I’ve covered more distance than that? Never mind, continue on. Another sign! 2.5 km (Oh, God!) … 2 km (No!) … Grr… who’s the smart alec who put up these signs? Would gladly wring the fellow’s neck (and tear the signs down). Finally heard some humming sound – the generator! We’re nearly there! AT LAST(!) we saw the first human being besides ourselves at 4:20pm. Hip Hip Hooray! Was at the storeroom by 4:30pm to collect our bags.
TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 130km
NO. OF HOURS OF WALKING : 47 hours (approximately)
WEIGHT LOSS : 4-5 lbs (approximately)
Went to Park Office to settle our guide and storage bills and registered ourselves again for the certificate of achievement, booked the boat back for Siew Wan, Yong and Wong, and asked about accommodation for the rest of us who are staying back.
Met a ranger friend, Halim, who recommended a place on the other side of Sungai Tembeling called Camp Tembeling. Decided to stay there tonight and the next few nights. That night a much-deserved satisfying meal awaits us at the floating restaurant. We ate like pigs, trying to regain what we’ve lost during the past few days and I for once had two plateful of rice, something which I’ve never done before!
March 24
Siew Wan, Yong and Wong left by the 9:00am boat. The rest of us went with them to the jetty across the river so that we can wait for Sherry, Joseph and Carlene who were joining us for the next few days where we were going to just have a relaxed time around Taman Negara, but of course that’s another story .....
TOTAL AMOUNT SPENT: Approximately RM160.00
REFLECTIONS, REFLECTIONS...
During the whole journey our timing was good. We were always 1-2 hours ahead of schedule and reaching camp on most days well before 5:30pm. This, therefore, left us enough time to rest before preparing dinner. Pak Teh, our guide, rated us 2nd among the groups he had taken up to Gunung Tahan, the first being a Scottish guy who did it in 3 days in the rain, so we were mighty proud. :-)
The only problem we had was with our weight. It would be worthwhile emphasising for future extended trekking trips that personal stuff should be as minimal as possible and that communal weight should take precedence.
The only discomfort was that we had to wear the same piece of clothing (with swimsuit underneath) everyday, which means slipping on wet clothings every morning! (Our only other piece of clothing which we have to keep dry was for sleeping.)
The trip was tough, tiring but a worthwhile experience. Reaching the peak was an anti-climax, so unlike Mount Kinabalu with its beautiful scenery at the peak. After all the beautiful terrain we passed through, there was nothing to see at the peak. Although I did not feel the sense of achievement I had expected to feel when I reached the top, I enjoyed the climb throughout tremendously in-spite of all the knocks and cuts I got on my legs. (And talking about my legs, it was unsightly(!), with bruises and blue/black marks all over them throughout the whole time.) The vegetation, especially, was beautiful, my favourite stretch being the mossy forest on the way from Padang to the peak.
I was especially glad that I took my time going up from Kem Wray’s onwards because I got to enjoy the place and cool air to the utmost. I didn’t want to rush like we did in Kinabalu and did not see all that we should see, something which I regretted very much.
All of us lost weight, the most obvious being Duncan, Lenny, Lim and myself and especially Don, who went through the most, with sores on his groin and hips and sand-flies bites all over his legs. Don had been experiencing difficulty since the first day with his bag which was too big for him and chafing his skin and Yong had been helping him with his share of the communal load. Yong was the most consistent in the group, always staying ahead of us no matter how heavy his bag was.
We reached the peak on 20th March 1991, but it would have been marvellous if we had planned things a day earlier and instead reach Gunung Tahan on 19th March, exactly on the same date as we reached Mount Kinabalu last year – what a wonderful anniversary that would have been for some of us who were up there in 1990.
And to answer the question which everyone was asking when we got back, ‘will you go back there again?’, my immediate reply was: ‘No, thank you. Once is enough.’ But then, a lady is entitled to change her mind….. :-)
VL
March 1991
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