Tuesday, August 24, 2010

I came, I saw, I conquered

Yes the guy who only does finger exercise with his Mac and qwerty keyboard phone decided to take on a challenge to climb the tallest Mountain in South East Asia Malaysia. ( Even our mountains isn't the tallest anymore)


A series of dramatic twist always occurred to me whenever I have the feeling of going to climb Mount Kinabalu.


It all happen a few months back when my buddies had an idea to climb and I hesitated, so by the time I had the balls to join in, they had already booked the tickets without me.. =(
A week later I received a call saying some had already back out last minute leaving a space for me. =) 
Rejoice!
A couple of days later just 2 months before the climb, after making the final payment for my trip, I was admitted to hospital for 6 days with all sorts of diseases and symptoms such as Palpitation, tachycardia, pneumonia, dengue shock syndrome, etc etc.
It kinda looks like I won't be able to participate in any sports for sometime. Also it certainly looks like God is trying to stop me from going on that trip and this was it's signs.


But anyway, I recovered, did some light jogging and futsal weekly and decided to take on the challenge of climbing up to 4095.5m of Mount Kinabalu.


Our trip started on a lovely Tuesday morning from LCCT to KKIA
The spectacular view from the window


Our epic trip consist of (from left): Warmachine, Chinaman, Cambodian guy, Parrot Bu, Taiwanese Girl,  Double rainbow guy, Mother and cute raincoat girl



Abu depicting Warmachine (inside joke)



Day 2: The climb
We took the Mersilau route which apparently is longer but with lovely scenic views, and if you were to ever want to hike up Mount Kinabalu, trust me, this is the route you want. The other route, Timpohon is as dull as dishwasher mud. (literally)
Yes thats me, with my 10kg bag.


Though the steps are freakishly high, some of them only fit for people who are 8 feet tall. But trust me at certain part of the trail, you really wish that you have your full kit of Camera equipment with you.... (I only brought a compact point and shoot)



It was really foggy that day and when it's foggy at the mountains, it can only mean one thing.. Rain.. This picture was taken a few minutes before the rain pours. When the rain pours, immediately your motivation just commit suicide, because the temperate drops, your body cools down, your muscle tend to ache, you're dripping wet and for me, I feel like sleeping.


It's hard to believe that we are going to climb to the very peak of that mountain, after 6-7 hours of climbing(yes we were that slow), glimpse of the mountain top began to reveal itself out of the fog and the dense forrest.



This was taken after the rain has finally stopped, Its muddy, slippery and some steps are like little waterfalls.

 
This are porters that carry up to 60kg of items daily. They can climb up and down the mountain with heavy loads on their backs in less than 3 hours
The final 1km to the rest house, Laban Rata was one of the longest 1km ever, (until the next day). Every 15 steps we took, we took a 30 second break... Also because the view was fantastic and we were all amid photographers too.. =D



My trusty walking stick - The Apple iVan (given by Alice), without it, my legs would have been shattered to pieces and I would have probably died there too. Best RM3 I've ever spent.
Obviously, being like a immature child, I couldn't get my hands of vandalizing  pimping it with my website, and words of inspiration.

"I want to see the double rainbow"
Random Fat Dude on Mountain
And hey! after 6578965647 stops we finally made it to Laban Rata, the rest house. The buffet there was excellent or maybe it was just the extremely cold weather and the fatigue of our body that made everything we taste there tasted like a piece of heaven. 
After that, we headed back to our rooms in the soaking rain, with mud and sweat all over. I being a hygiene freak, insisted that I need to take a shower immediately. However, I didn't want to wait for the water to boil, and i felt like my balls just grew. 
I decided to take a shower directly from the pipe itself when it was already heavily raining outside at night. It felt like ice cubes were thrown on your head. But hey, showering in cold water cured my fever!


Day 3: The climb to the peak. 
At 2am, We had to make a 3 hour climb to the peak of Mt. Kinabalu. The distance to Low's Peak is about 2km but every step of it gets harder and harder. 
The first 500m were pretty easy, just like climbing stairs, and after that, the stairs just went missing. All we had to aid our climb were just a pair of ropes. It was pretty straight forward, you let go the ropes, you die, you slipped when you're holding the ropes, you die. There's no turning back once you're on the ropes.
Waters on the rocks made it extremely slippery.
The smell in the air was filled with the person infront of you's early morning fart.
You even have to careful to not step on somebody's puke. 



Flashlight thongs on our head really helps.
It's really funny that each time we took a photo, we look really happy. But in actual fact, everyone was feeling miserable.

Until we saw this


The sunrise.

The entire journey, the pain of climbing those awful steps were finally rewarded with what we wanted to see and Thank God that we made it just in time to witness it. 
We were above clouds, This picture is what you normally see in old ancient Chinese paintings.
The view was breathtaking (not because of the eclipse). We totally forget about all the pain and altitude sickness that we had once we've reached the top.
We Made It!
Yes we were prepared for this.
Hi Bunny!
Maybe its because of the cold weather and the altitude, but I miss u even more up there. hahaha
I've even tried to get connected to the internet at 4095.2M up but damn no reception. Looks like there's no technologies in heaven then. 
But hey, my iPod's working =)


But my shoe didn't, after climbing up the torturous journey and sliding down boulders, my shoe finally gave way. 


RIP Reebok. 
You've served well.
19th August 2010

I had to hike down the mountain the old school way.. barefoot. =)
All and all, this is truly an unforgettable experience and definitely the most challenging. I've learned a lot from this trip, the spirit of comradeship, how a little team motivation and encouragement can bring you to the top and finally determination. 
Next up, Mount Everest.. haha.


Friday, August 13, 2010

One Malaysia

In conjunction with Merdeka month, here's some very racist jokes.

1) How the 3 races buy a car...
Chinese will ask: Boss ah, resale value good anot?
Malay will ask: Encik, minyak dia satu tank bape ringgit?
Indians will ask: Inche, ini kereta brapa orang buleh masuk?


2) In Malaysia ...
If you're not lazy, you're not Malay,
If you're not greedy, you're not Chinese,
If you don't get drunk every night, you're not Indian~~~

3) What does CIMB bank stand for?
Cina India Melayu Bank

4) When Hari Raya comes close to Chinese New Year, they call it 'Kongsi Raya'
When Hari Raya comes close to Deepavali, they call it 'Deeparaya'
When Chinese New Year comes close to Deepavali, they call it 'Kongsi Gelap'

5) Q : Why cant the indians win the world cup?
A: Every time they get a corner,they set up a mamak stall. 

6) Dating Malay, Chinese, and Indian chicks.
Malay girl
1st date: You get to hold hands
2nd date: You get a goodbye kiss.
3rd date: You both get caught by JAIS. 

Chinese girl

1st date: You take her to a restaurant.
2nd date: You take her to an expensive restaurant.
3rd date: You take her to a very expensive restaurant and buy her a diamond necklace. You get to hold her hand later that night.
Indian girl
1st date: You meet her parents.
2nd date: She meets your parents.
3rd date: Wedding night.

7) One day a chinese, malay, and indian guy died and went to heaven. The guardian of heavens gates said that heaven was overpopulated and he can only let a person in if they are truly and purely holy.To determine whether they are holy enuf or not they had to climb the "100 stairs of dirty jokes" where at every step an angel will appear and tell them a dirty joke. If they can climb the stairs without laughing at any of the jokes they would be able to enter heaven.
So the chinese guy started first....on the 3rd step he laughed and *BOOM* was sent to hell.
2nd the indian guy went......on the 40th step he laughed so loud he craped his pants *BOOM* he was sent to hell
Finally it was the malay guys' turn....he climbed climbed and climbed without laughing at any of the jokes...amazingly he made it to the 99th step!! 1 more to go and he would make it to heaven. BUT as he was going to climb the final step he laughed out loud and *BOOM* was send to hell
The Chinese and indian guy in hell were confused and asked him why did he laugh!! he was so close to getting into heaven
The malay guy said :" i finally understood the first joke"


8) One day, two Chinamen got into a lift from the 20th storey of a building and wanted to get down to the ground floor. As they looked at the dial , they could see the number 20 down to number 2. It was then followed by a G. As they were not English-educated, they were puzzled and really had no idea what does the letter G mean. Suddenly one of them exclaimed excitedly and hit G. When they finally reached the ground floor, the other Ah Beng was so impressed and asked the first Ah Beng, "Wow, how you know wan?"
The first Ah Beng replied smugly, "Easy lah.. G for Gero mah..."


9)Chinese "practice" for Simple Living :
1 - One Wife
2 - Two Children
3 - Three Bedroom Condo
4 - Four Wheels
5 - Five Figure Salary
Malays "practice" to Simple Living:
5 - Five Children
4 - Two Wives
3 - Three Figure Salary
2 - Two Wheels
1 - One-Storey Link House


10)Q: What do you call a self-made SIKH Businessman?
A : EnterpriSINGH

Q: What do you call a A paralegal Sikh....
A: ConveyanSINGH


11)An Old Imam
An old kampung imam had a teenage son, and it was getting time the boy should give some thought to choosing a profession. Like many young men his age, the boy didn't really know what he wanted to do, and he didn't seem too concerned about it.
One day, while the boy was away at school, his father decided to try an experiment. He went into the boy's room and placed on his study table four objects.
1. The Holy Quran.
2. A fifty ringgit note.
3. A bottle of whiskey.
4. And a Playboy magazine.
'I'll just hide behind the door," the old imam said to himself. "When he comes home from school today, I'll see which object he picks up."
"If it's the holy book, he's going to be an Imam like me, and what a blessing that would be!"
"If he picks up the fifty ringgit note, he's going to be a business man, and that would be okay, too."
"But if he picks up the bottle, he's going to be a no-good drunken bum, and God, what a shame that would be."
"And worst of all if he picks up that magazine he's going to be a skirt-chasing womanizer."
The old man waited anxiously, and soon heard his son's foot-steps as he entered the house whistling and heading for his room..
The boy tossed his books on the bed, and as he turned to leave the room he spotted the objects on the table. With curiosity in his eye, he walked over to inspect them. Finally, he picked up the Holy Book and placed it under his arm. He picked up the fifty ringgit note and dropped into his pocket. He uncorked the bottle and took a big drink, while he admired the magazine's centerfold.

"God have mercy," the old imam disgustedly whispered. "He's going to be a Politician!"

Wednesday, August 04, 2010

Barney and Ted


Meet Barney



Meet Ted, 
Ted is aaaa.. I don't know. Bear/Rabbit/Dog. Berabbiog?

And no they're not from How I Met Your Mother. =P