My Mount Kinabalu Tale (Part 2)

The Climb

The next morning i woke up refreshed. Walopon i aku ni seorang yang sangat susah nak tido (especially at a strange/new place) tido malam ini memang sangat nyenyak. Penat agaknye. The bathrooms here don't have water heater, maka AIR NYE SEJUK GILER! Pagi tu mandi ala kadar je sebab dah mandi beriya sebelum tido (heh, alasan).

We took our breakfast at around 7.30am, took some photos, then got on the bus to Timpohon Gate. The bus ride took about 10 minutes. Everybody is required to attend a short briefing by the mountain guides at the Timpohon Gate.

 Breakfast!

i had nasik lemak with omelette for that extra energy. They also offer toast, cereals, variety of breads and buns.

Magnificent!

 Mount Kinabalu from; the view Kinabalu Park. This view kept me going.

The start: at Timpohon Gate.

Ini lah rupe Timpohon Gate dalam Google Map iPhone.
In the middle of nowhere!

We were lucky that the weather was good that day. Tak panas sangat, tak sejuk sangat masa mula-mula mendaki tu. As we get higher, the tempreture dropped. It rained a bit in the afternoon. That time memang sejukkkk dan penattt.. 

 And the journey begins!

Endless big stair-like trek.. Penat!

The trek goes up and down like this.

We started climbing as a group of maybe 9 people but two hours into the climb, our group was left with 4 people. The others are either too fast or too slow for us. Only Mariah, Ali , Abang Isnin and i. berjalan mengharungi bukit-bukit itu. It's funny, dulu mase naik Bukit Kutu pon kitorang jalan sama-sama. Now pon stuck together. i'm grateful for these people. We didn't walk in silence. We chatted, debated, laughed and SING throughout the climb. It made me forget that i'm tired. Biler kitorang start nyanyi lagu Isabella, terus hujan. Memang betul-betul katak panggil hujan. Huhu.

 Meet my companions; Ali, Mariah and Abang Isnin. We call ourselves The Fellowship of The Elwood. (don't ask me why)
These people made my journey fun and more than bearable.

It's gonna rain! The boys are helping cover my bag with a plastic bag.

Climbing up, we can see many changes of type of plants around us. Near the bottom, the trees are like any other tropical trees - tall, leafy, and huge. As we go up, the plants gradually changes to bamboo-type, bonsai-type and lastly, moss-type. Ah-ma-zing!

 Started off with tropical, leafy trees. (ignore that purple girl please)

 Some pretty flowers

 Delicate leafy-moss. Errr.. sorry dunno their scientific names.

 Gorgeous neon-green moss.

This type of moss looks like corals in the sea!

As we get higher, lagi banyak this bonsai-like trees.

Enough about plants. It took us almost 7 hours to get to Laban Rata, where the pit stop and accommodation  hostel is located. That is 6 kilometers climbing up, people! Oh boy, sangat la bersyukur dan happy sampai situ. At this points my legs were so sore that i can't feel them anymore! Not to mention the cold weather and our wet clothes. My 7 hours of climbing dikira sangat lembap okeh. Ade mamat salleh ni 2.5 hours dah smpai.

 

 Laban Rata at 4pm.

The sight that made me squeak with joy.

i shared a room with 7 other girls. It's more like a dorm actually. Sampai je bilik, kitorang sume melepet kepenatan. Bilik tak rupa bilik dah. Our things were sprawled all over the place.We were too tired to care.

Selepas mandi (yes, i took a bath. The water was ICE COLD but the thought of going to bed without shower after 6 hours climb is unbearable) we went to the canteen for dinner. Dinner was yummy. Bila lapar nak mampos memang semuanya yummy kan? Tapi sebab penat sangat, tak selera nak makan banyak.

My dinner!

 Subhanallah!

A gorgeous sunset at Laban Rata. Priceless!

Miss this moment :'(

We went to bed at about 8pm that night coz we have to get up at 1am to resume our climb. Despite being ultra super-duper tired, i can't sleep coz BISING! Ade penghuni asrama bilik sebelah-sebelah memekak. Stress gila dah penat takleh tido pulak. i fell asleep at about 11.30p, kol 12.30pm dah kene bangon. Sigh.

The journey continues: Laban Rata to Low's Peak

Sumpah sejuk! For this journey i wore a thermal t-shirt, a sweater and a windbreaker with khakis and 2 layers of socks. Glove pon yang waterproof (lesson learnt sebab first time dulu tak waterproof habis basah tangan and sejuk sampai tulang). i think i'm one of those people yang tak tahan sejuk. Memang berbungkus habis. 

After a light breakfast/supper, we started our journey at 2am. It was cold. Initially there were stairs, endless stairs. Then it changed to a rocky path. At some points the path got more challenging, more vertical, that we had to use ropes to climb. But most of the time the path is only slightly inclined. No matter how challenging or how easy the path might seem, it was not an easy journey for me. About an hour into the climb, i felt sleepy and nausea. Sumpah la kalau boleh nak berenti dan tido je. i didn't care if i don't get to the top, as long as i can sleep. But i can't simply sleep. Kalo tido memang takkan bangon dah wehh.. This are symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). Makanya memang aku menahan diri daripada berhenti terlalu lama. Even though penat, i just kept on walking. Biar lambat dan lembab, jangan berenti dan tido.

 Semasa masih segar, bertenaga, belum mengantok dan belum rasa nak muntah. Sempat posing!

Ni la contoh keadaan dah nak give up.

First ray of sunshine. The sun is rising and we haven't reached the top!

The last few meters to the top is the hardest. Sebab dia extra inclining. Ali, Abg Isnin and i memang tak larat sampai kitorang berpuas hati utk hanya duduk di situ dan tengok je sunrise, tak payah pegi puncak. We told Mariah, "Babe, ko pegi la. Aku nak dok sini. Same je view sunrise kat sini and kat atas tu. Ko pegi la, kitorang tunggu ko kat sini". But she didn't buy it. "i'm not going without you guys" she said. Reluctantly, we got up and mencuba sedaya upaya untuk sampai ke puncak. I WAS PRACTICALLY CRAWLING, I SWEAR! Mariah's an angel. If it's not for her, i wont reach the top.

 Ko nampak tak perempuan pakai serkop opah tu? Haa... That was me practically crawling.

 Muke takleh blaaa..

i'm finally there!!

Penat lelah berhasil juga.

i can't resist putting up this photo:

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HAHA!

i didn't notice i did this. i guess this is my true feelings. Happy but why-the-eff-did-i-do-this kind of feelings.

Once i was there, hilang segala kepenatan. i came here for THIS. For all the great view. Allah is great.

And Then We Went Down..

Harus lah cam-whore banyak-banyak kan kat atas nunnn? 

  

 Gayat!

 Happy nak turunnn..

 Reflection

 Gamba profile Facebook. Hikhik.

 Baru boleh ceria.

 Donkey's Peak

Seringgit Peak

(sebab ade gamba bukit ni kat duit seringgit)

 Way above the clouds

 Berhati-hati lah!

 Beautiful Mariah!

We returned to Laban Rata to get our stuff and continued our way to Timpohon Gate. The way up was exhausting, but the journey down is a pain in the bottom, literally. Lutut sakit yang amat. walaupon malu, tapi saya mengaku yang the four of us (The Fellowship of Elwood!) are the last ones to reach Timpohon Gate. Masing-masing sakit kaki. Mariah injured her knees, poor girl.

 My favorite Kinabalu girls.

 Nenek kebayan nak turun.

 Penceria perjalanan saya. Terima kasih!

 Off we go.

So.. There goes my Kinabalu Tale. i wasn't the fastest to reach the top, but i'm not the last either. Tapi masa turun memangggg the last. Muahaha.. Regardless of time, i'm proud of myself to made it up and down for the second time. It was one hell of a journey for me. When i was there, i swore that i won't do it for the third time but now that i think about it, why not? Aku nak pegi third time kalo Via Ferrata. Hihi.

Okay, roger and out!

Missing In Action

Iye..

Saya sedar, sudah lama tidak berbelog. Entry Kinabalu tak habis lagi. Tak show off lagi gambar berjimba di puncak.

Rindu jugak berbelog. Tapi agak busy.

Busy uruskan hal rumah sbb tenant sudah move out. Banyak maintenance kene buat. Cat rumah, install new kitchen cabinet, repair stuff..

Busy bekerja. Balik agak lewat. Tapi tak la lewat smpai kol 8pm.

Busy tengok cerita Korea LAGI. Sekarang i'm soooo into LEE MIN HO! OMG HE'S SO HOT I'M GONNA DIE!!!

Ok, nanti cerita panjang lebar.

P/s: cantek tak saya lukis ni?? Saya tiru lukisan orang. Hihi.

i Just Can't Blog Right Now..

..because i'm in this crazy-over-Korean-drama-series stage.

i found a great DVD rental place 3 weeks ago and i can't stop renting Korean series ever since! Gila engkau aku macam meroyan everyday balik keje tengok cter Korea sampai kol 1-2pagi. Pedulikan kain tak berlipat dan dapur tak berasap. Tak peduli jugak esoknya pegi keje mengantok dan terpikir-pikir ape nak jadi ngan cter tu next.
 

It scares me. The last time i was like this when i was in uni. Nak exam pon aku still tak tido nk tengok cter Korea. i hope it's just a phase. Mampos la jugak kalo sampai ke tua macam ni.

Cter yang recently aku tengok:

Personal Taste

Naughty Kiss

Boys Over Flowers

This is my current watch. Cter ni adalah Meteor Garden versi Korea. Dulu pon tengok Meteor Garden!

*images are from Google image*

i got a feeling that this phase will NOT be over soon. Kawan-kawan suruh tengok cter Secret Garden and Marry Me Mary pulak. 

p/s: Selalu sakit hati bila tengok hero/heroin cter2 ni bongok tak nak luahkan perasaan walopon dah chenta. Pastu buat each other sakit ati bila kuar date ngan pompuan/lelaki lain. i'm so glad Mr. Chenta and i got over that phase. Oih, dulu kami meroyan camtu jugak. Tak nak go thru that dah!. ;) 

Ok bye nak gi sambung tengok cter Boys Over Flowers.

My Mount Kinabalu Tale (Part 1)

Hello all!

Agak lama i menyepi. Bukan sahaja busy, malah takda mood untuk membelog. Ni dah ada ilham, baik haku curahkan sebelum writer's block menyerang kembali. Writer kah?? My Kinabalu trip post ni terbahagi kepada dua lah ye. Dah try to sumbat in one post, tapi panjang sangat bebelannya.

Anyway, as you probably have read here, i have climbed Mount Kinabalu when i was 21, while studying at Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Over la kan kalo ko study kat Sabah tapi tak panjat gunung itu.

Back then i wasn't prepared. Didn't have proper attire and tools, i jogged and played futsal twice as my so-called training. As a result, i was freezing up there and while descending the mountain, my toenail was severely damaged that it had to be removed. And i vowed never to go EVER AGAIN!

Apparently i've forgotten my vow.. i went again for the second time, last month.

Training and Preparation

A wise person will learn from her mistake. Being a 'wise' girl myself, i've learnt my lesson this time. i went to the gym more frequently 2 months prior to the climb, did intense training for the last 1 month (my definition of intense training is going to the gym for 4 days a week. Intense for me, baby training for some people -_-), and played a bit of futsal. i focused more on strengthening my legs by using the steps machine and went for RPM (spinning classes) twice a week to build stamina. Aside from gymming, i joined the SOC Club hiking up Gunung Kutu and Bukit Tabur on weekends. Diorang ajak gi panjat tangga Batu Caves on Saturday mornings but i love my bed more than i love those stairs so i didn't join.

 On the way to Bukit Kutu.

Saya dan Chuna, my partner-in-crime when i wanna do crazy things (like bungee jumping, climb mountains, and see concerts) :D

 Almost there, bebeh!

The peak is on a huge rock. Kalo ko naik atas batu tu, kemungkinan untuk jatuh dan mati adalah tinggi. Maka saya hanya berdiri di bawah batu itu. Gayatttt!

 My brother, Redha and i. And the chimney near Bukit Kutu peak, hasil tinggalan tentera British dulu. Bukit Kutu ni dulu adalah kubu untuk mempertahankan Fraser Hill dari serangan musuh.

Chimney and tempat kitorang melepet kepenatan.

 Berjaya naik puncak pertama Bukit Tabur. Perjalanan tak diteruskan sebab safety reason.

View from Bukit Tabur. Area Taman Melawati and KL.

Itu saja training saya.

Untuk tidak mengulangi kesilapan lepas, aku bawak banyak sikit barang lah to Kinabalu ni., just to be more prepared. Kalo korang (especially ladies) yang fit-tak-berapa-nak-fit macam aku ni nak naik gunung, boleh la ikot this list as your guidline.

Clothes + Accessories: 

-i brought 2 t-shirts, 1 thermal t-shirt, 1 sweater, 1 windbreaker, 1 tracksuit, and 1 pair of khakis.

-Waterproof gloves, non-waterproof gloves (spare), 3 pair of socks, arm socks, and snowcap.

-A light-weight waterproof backpack, 3 disposable ponchos and 1 headlamp (for your climb from Laban Rata to the peak which starts at 2 in the morning.)

-A pair of hiking/outdoor shoes and a pair of hiking sandals

-Hiking sticks (can be bought at any outdoor shops for minimum of RM20 each or you can get it at the Sutera Sanctuary Lodge for RM3)

-Toilettries

Foods + Medications:

-3 bottles of mineral water (2 for ascending and 1 for descending), 2 bottles of 100 Plus (each for ascending and descending)

-3 chocolate bars, 1 energy bar, 2 liquid energy bars

-Lunch: sandwiches and bananas provided by Sutera Sanctuary Lodge

-Cramp creams/minyak angin/ Yoko-yoko

-Pain killer and other medications

Yes, these are a lot to bring. Dah la nak mengangkut benda-benda ni, nak mendaki lagi. For that reason, our team leader had hired a few porters to carry some of our stuff to Laban Rata. Barang-barang macam gloves, thermal shirt, and water bottles (meaning benda alah yang ko nak pakai from Laban Rata to Low's Peak and  perjalanan turun), ko bagi lah siap-siap kat porter tu. Kalau nak bawak sendiri pon boleh je. Tapi patah pinggang tak jamin yeeee!

February 12 finally came. We flew off to KK that Friday morning. As we landed in KK, i felt strangely happy. It's like coming home. Rindu gila KK okeh. Berair sebak jugak la mata ni.. Sampai airport we went straight to Kinabalu Park sebab esoknya nak terus mendaki.

 Just reached the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

These are the girls that made my Kinabalu trip bearable. From left Mariah, yours truly, Chuna, Mas, Azna and Noni. Shim and Lela are not in the photo.

 Ready to go!

We reached the Kinabalu park around 5pm. It was raining super heavily, we were worried that it'd rain like that tomorrow during our climb. Penat gler time tu, all i wanted was to get in our hostel room, mandi, eat dinner and sleep. Hehe. I thought our hostel will be like those cheap-backpackers kinda hostel but i was wrong. The accommodation was managed by Sutera Sanctuary Lodges so they are nicely kept. A room for four with two double decker beds. There are a few types of accommodation to choose from; depending on your budget. We were served with buffet dinner that night. Though there were not much choice, they cater Western and Eastern food. The grilled stuff were yummy!

 One of the two double decker beds at The Rock Hostel, Sutera Sanctuary Lodges, Kinabalu Park.

 The toiletries provided. You don't have to bring any, these are enough.

Okay. i'll continue later with The Climb.

Hello from Bali!!

Hi!
I'm currently at Ngurah Rai, Bali airport!
Saje je short-blog tengah boring2 tunggu flight nak balik ni. Will update about the trip when i feel like it.
Muah muahz from Bali.