Friday, June 17, 2005

Bye Bye Honda Jazz

guess i had been contemplating to whether blog this matter ... still sakit hati la but maybe this closure would be the final nail to the coffin. Heck I have even deleted the pictures of my (yet-to-owned) Honda Jazz which I ordered and ready for delivery liao ... the car was just right in front of me ..how cruel can things get la!!!!

maybe from now onwards, no deposit, no deal. You see, it all started just after i resigned from Giant weeks ago. Being really free, i decided to put in some effort to sell-off my car. Its been more than half a year since i advertised yet nothing has pull off, so maybe this summer break will break the 'sui' as well. So after a view from a few buyers, managed to a confirmation from a guy. Well to cut the story short, he agreed to my offer price, got a loan and will pay me the balance soon.

So happily before I left for KK, I booked the Jazz, applied for loan ... sigh ... i can't go on anymore la .. sudah kena aeroplane la upon returning from KK ...

Monday, June 13, 2005

Chicken Pox!!!!

I have been sleeping like a baby since yesterday ... guess the sheer exhaustion and dehydration has taken a toll on me, not sure bout the rest of the gang though.

Anyway, as though thats not enough, I woke up this morning with a real icing to the cake. Funny reddish spots on my face and body ... dont tell me its chicken pox please !!!

Well it is, says my sister... so how la ? gonna start work pulak in two weeks time wo? sigh ... decided to go see doctor for a jab, apparently it will help to 'push' all the dirts out faster hence hastening the drying period. Its still not so bad now... cant imagine what would it be tomorrow and the day after tomorrow ... zzzzz. There goes my little holiday.

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Padas River Rafting

8th June 2005

As though we have not tortured ourself good enough, we headed back to KK town for a free & easy day, just to wind down a bit before going to Beaufort to catch a train upstream ... for the start of our white water rafting escapade!!!


















Just slightly after breakfast, we parted with the rest of the gang, making our own way to KK in a chartered van. almost kena cheated though when a junk (yes, it was a yellow junk they call van) turned up at our chalet. NO way Jose that I am going to step into it ... pity that I dont a picture of the whole van .. it sjust so worn out, rusty, had bald tyres, worst-than-minibus-seats that you wouldnt wanna look at twice, let alone cling your life onto it for a 2hr downhill journey back to KK. Thats suicide!















the junkie ...















and the junk ... my dirty look at it ...
and our government wonders why therez so many road accidents. Wake up dude!

So after much haggling, the obviously pissed driver referred us to his friend and thank god ... a much decent/clean/well maintained van turned up for you. Oh yea .. we managed to psycho him into giving us a better rate too!! Hurray .. pays to travel with a bunch of buyers.














Shopping time ...

Once in KK, we went round looking for a budget hotel; found one; not bad @ $70/night and therez 7 of us .. u do math!
















thats how u do the crab walk ...


wah.. got free shampoo and soap, take first b4 the rest sapu ..

Once settled in ... miracle happened. =) We went round looking for FOOD and boy were we lucky.

Found a Chinese chicken rice shop in a nearby shopping complex and it was god-given ... goodness, I could swear on my pet-dog's grave that it serves the BEST char-siew/roasted chicken rice ever!!! Maybe all of us have not had a single decent meal for almost 5 days.. hence the scavengers in us came to life. ...Pity that gluttony took over that day so much so I forgot to snap a pic .. just for the memories after all are digested..buuurppp..

With much time to kill .. we typical malaysians headed for the pasar tani/philipino market ...


Shopping time again ...
Ah Sou : makcik, kalau beli SATU biji boleh kurang gah?


and again....
Lina : Mahal la, tak mau tak mau ... saya kolompor beli lagi mulah!














quick la, wait until neck orso long adi lo



and the compulsory seafood for dinner ... sorry no pic again (didnt u notice by now whenever we eat, therez no pics?)
Final Day
9th June 2005
Quite honestly, one of the most anticipated part of the trip for me.. wonder how I got hooked after trying it for the very first time in Bali couple of years ago.

Our van/tour guide came just as promised to pick us from the hotel. From there, it was yet another 1.5 hr journey to the town of Beaufort, a small little town to the southeast of Kota Kinabalu and what lies ahead was something we totally did not expect, the train ride.


a quiet little town ...

I guess words alone are just not enough to express the magnitude and sheer adrenaline rush from just trying to board the train as it comes to rest at the station... my my, it was frentic to say the least. All ye minibus graduates sure fail one ...

You see, the train functions like a commuter bus, which means it makes regular stops along the way to its destination and therez only ONE, so if u missed it, sorry la brader ... wait la for the next sunrise. Hence, you would have to shuffle and bulldoze your way through the (much experienced) locals, chicken and tourist; aim for the nearest window opening and slam dunk your belongings onto a seat. Now this still does not give you the birth right to seat though ... you'd still have to home run your way in ...

What else is so "chee-kek" bout the train u might ask ... well lets go through the vital stats then
1. Its old .. dont ask how old .. just take it as very OLD.
2. There were no air conditioning or fan
3. There were not enough seats for everyone
4. It spews out carbon monoxide like a chicken backside
5. Everything under the sun travels with you ... yes, thats including inanimate objects such as cars to chickens.
6. It makes the most annoying noise that you could ever imagine and bear!!!

Rite, enuf of the train .. maybe some info on Padas River and its rafting capabilities.


a compulsory photo of the train station






and of the track ... but no thanks to Pandi, u cant see it... hehehe
Pandai nkau Pan


Lina getting restless ... showing off her body step moves and grooves, that poor kid on the left must be traumatised la!


Plan B if I cant get into the train ...
















the boarding frenzy ... pandi reaching for the coach

VIDEO : Boarding Train
















Lina : no Siew Foong, thats NOT the door!!!
Siew Foong : aiya, same one ...















my precious .... mine! mine!




the calm after the storm ...


got place to seat sure happy le ...













Ah Soh ah ... itu rafting puya tempat macam mana pergi? ... train driver stoping by to ask for direction


The Padas river ... nice train ride (scenery wise) as the track run parallel to the river





are we there yet? letihnye, whoz brilliant idea was it 2 raft after climbing Mt Kinabalu
aaarrghh...
Pan : Pandainye nkau .. main air ah..


One two paddle !!! hmm.. we were making more than necessary noise actually!
excited ma ...
see the two guide behind .. selamba onli ..


hey look ... the raft is on auto-cruise ...


u might wonder whether we raft or pose more ya?


no tis is not the Trojan invading KK ... this is the finale!


this is the kandang where we had our private function


those lamb chops were superb, BBQ tea time by the river bank after rafting ... heaven!!!


never play on a railway track .. hv to tell how many times?




We did it !!!

as the trip unfold and comes to an end, so is our itinerary in KK ... as we were driven to KK Airport, exhaustion soon took over and it was obvious we could barely open our eyes ... let alone chat.

Guess deep in everyone thought while they slumber was a well spent holiday and never wanting it to end (of course I need not work for at least 3 more weeks... hurray!!!)


caught on tape ... mouth never stop one ..


zzzzzzzzz..................
Pan : Pandainye nkau ye .. main tangan/muka blakang


See you again KK next year ...






























Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Mt Kinabalu : The Hike & The Descent

The journey begins

5th June 2005
Departed from KK town in two cabs which cost $150/cab, not bad considering it's a 2hour journey through hills and mountains, something like going up Genting Highlands but more terror. Pretty tired adi by the time we started, tar-pau-ed KFC, char-siew pau & water coz by the time we arrive in Mesilau, it should be around 6pm++, which by KK standard, is pretty dark adi and everyone should be hungry (not that we had decent food in Pulau Gaya!!!) and god-knows whats left at the resort.

Fell asleep almost immediately after munching our KFCs; only to be awaken when I felt being thrown from left to right. No, this is no supernatural stuffs, just that we were quite through with our journey; crossing mountain range into zig-zagging B-roads of inner Sabah.

Quite a sight to behold too as it started to rain heavily, the view of the mountain range and valley below was just simply breathtaking. Low and behold as we approach (actually we did not know where we were!) an imposing view of Mt Kinabalu began to filter through the thick clouds and fogs ... looks nothing though from where we were at that time; even I had doubt that it was Mt Kinabalu (it is mt kinabalu la ... says the cab driver out of nowhere .. walau! how he knows what's in my mind ah? darn freaky how the locals here think).

The journey soon become a chore as dusk falls, the rain got heavier and our cabs were still leeching at the speed of sound (yeah, something like those Genting driver but thank God the two cabs were brand new) Of course, after the lil feast we had, our reservoir were almost busting its banks too ... mana boleh berhenti pakcik? No response ... sigh ...



and just when we thought our journey is killing us slowly, mother nature decided to bring us closer to our maker through a series of mudslide, nothing major though but the last one was good enuf to bring traffic to a stand still. A trunk fell right across the ONLY single-lane road that we were using. Right ... bring out the chopper


Bang, depan ada toliet gah? pokok tumbang.. tak boleh lalu la.

As if thats not enuf, our cab drivers soon made his shocker confession that he actually did not know/ not sure how to get to the Mesilau park but thank God after a few wrong turns and detour, we soon found our way... heck we even thought we were in Australia for a moment...


somehow we found outself in this remote kampung ... a cattle ranch with houses miles apart from each other. Pakcik, kita mau panjat gunung, bukan naik lembu wo ...

It's way past 8pm now when we arrived at the gates of Mesilau ... ha but it's also then that the action got even more exciting. As though we needed a reminder of our intention here, our cabs were unable to tackle the steep slope of the resort, so we the guys had to get down and hike our way up .. not too far though but try that in a super heavy downpour and chilly temperature!!! Aaaarrghghhh... dugaan.

and as though thats not enuf for a day (it just never ends), our relief were kinda shortlived for a moment when we had to find our way to our chalet .. in the dark!!! It was obvious too that our cabs drivers were pretty restless as they had to make their way back to KK town (a good 2hr journey.. pity them too) but they were kind enuf to drive us to the so-called river bank. Yes.. u read that right, river bank.

U see, the farny receptionist thought we young cikus must had a pretty boring day and decided to play a prank on by telling us we needed to hitch a sampan to get to our chalet ... hmm... hello, its raining cats and dogs now and each of us had an elephant to carry on our back!!! so what to do, yours truly (ahem ahem) became the hero of the night, got down, walk thru the dark park/centre round and round trying to snif out the river bank....mana ada wo, and mind you, the walk was mostly uphill...something not right !!!

anyway, after a good 5 minutes of being goofed, i made my back to our cab .. yea, my friends actually i was lost. Wet, cold and hungry, I was quite bengang adi that time but luckily, a good soul emerge out of nowehere with a torch and led us to our chalet (yea, thats when we knew we had been dooped by the receptionist) ... and the rest of the night were history ... with little to no strength left, we called it a night, eargerly anticipating what lies ahead tomorrow. Lights out.

talk about convenience ... 7-11s in Mt Kinabalu too!!! Good job Pan.


wat?? can 'set' hair one ah if go climbing ..


my my ... how did I end up with so many plastic bags?

The Hike
6th June 2005
Alrite, not sure why I blogged so much bout the journey to Mesilau but promise ya, the following are the fun part and let the pictures speak for themselves....

Gaya mesti ada !!!! Sorry Karen's pic not there ...


7am : Our chalet at Mesilau Resort, nice and quiet


All the muka tak bangun .. dressed up and ready for the challenge


Ahhh.. the peak (well not really) but thats roughly where we were headed


Lina : Karen, this is my plan, once we reach the peak, u bring out the mahjong set tau?






Presenting the team !!!


Tengok keluar apa nombor ekor dulu ... 7802 dunno got 1st prize or not.


Girls listen up .. Lina u take left, Amanda, u corner the right, dont lets the guys go past us ...


Listen up guys, we'd better not let the kwai low whizz past us kay?


Cheers! One for album ...
From left : Lina, Karen, Me, Pandi, Guet Li, Siew Fong, Ah Mun's nephew, Ah Mun, Bee, Cindy & Fauzi



I talk u listen, u listen what i talk ... understand?


$6/kg ... haiya, should have diet more b4 I came!




10:50am : the starting point ..
man behind : aiyo tingginye ... taktau ada kedai mamak atas ke tidak


memang tinggi la ... macam Lord of The Ring kan?


our strong (Harry) porters .. Hali, Jason and err....


alvin keep walking, this is not a talent casting session


Hut and toilet provided @ every 1km interval ... not bad


and milestone every 500m ...


those icy cold water is a must to stay awake ...


see, people take picture the two behind orso wanna sibuk

my fav part of the hike from Mesilau .. just awesome


all smiles from a weary bod .. motivation at the max!


View like this just kept us goin ... awesome


poor cindy look .. but she made it!


I'm alone now ... the final push to Laban Rata, got more and more spooky
Very Lord of The Ring scene.




Be extremely glad when u see this!!!
6pm : i'm finally there ... letihnye

VIDEO : Finally there...


ahh... i see light, the reception/restaurant


Lina and Bee ... second/third to arrive at 6;30pm, macam Amazing Race pulak


our nest for the night ... think this is 2am just before the hike up to the summit


Stich dont leave us behind! Say hi to Elvis will ya ...


The Decent
7th June 2005






Bee : aiyo .. why this 2 women squatting in the middle or no where one .. or-si gah.

Ah Sou : eh boleh diam gah ... tengah pening ni ...




this would have been King Kong's regular view


More (Harry) porters in action





The girls with Hali and Jason. Cant help but notice how happy Ah Sou was!
Jason duduk jauh sikit ...


Good la good la .. the final mile of the decent, exit at Tunku Abdul Rahman Park


Fauzi making the final step ...




Guet Lei : haiyo very d ng-seng-mok one ... where got meaning let us sit on the floor one
(Pan .. senyum lebar je, syok sendiri ah?)


Lina : Bee, lets count and see whether our toes are still there or not?
Bee : Lina, dont take ur leg so high la ... i wanna pengsan liao
(due to sensivities and privacy, the owners of the hiong-kong foot has requested for anonimity... names have been to protect them.. serious)


Fauzi : My 'cari makan' equipments for this trip ... wait till u see the result
The rest : Anyone still got food left in ur bags ... i'm starving!!!


The starting point if you were to take the taman negara route ... nearer too, but this is the exit for us!


Wonder if Christy Har came, how big her bag would have been le?


Pose again ... The magnificent Mt Kinabalu and the team ...


Our chalet in TAR Park ... aargh finally civilisation


more civilisation ... fav national chinese past-time
u should hear the noise and laughter from u-know-who : ah hahahaha.... ah hahahaha




Our chalet (on the left)


nice and cool foggy evening ...


night view of the TAR Park .... tat's the lil us at the stairs
guess this pic has become the official wallpaper for those who went!!! Perfect job Fauzi



tak sampai atas pun senyum besar besar, gila la budak ni.

We made it !!!
(to Laban Rata only ... shy la, those certs were actually to certify we were at the national park!!! tipu...)

I guess everyone left Mt Kinabalu with a bit of mix feeling. Of course we were really disappointed not being able to reach the peak but we were glad that at least we made it safely to Laban Rata without much drama (save for Ah Sou's throwing up along the final paths).

It has been a towering experience for me personally and am glad I have almost gave my all during the preparation, trainings and the actual climb and decent. Truly, living our lives is not just about reaching the destination, but how we got there. I got there with my friends and had a super duper time. Thanks CB.



VIDEO : Mt Kinabalu June 05

Looking forward to going again.. till then, adios!