Dreaming of Laban Rata

Finally, the day has come. The van arrived on the dot to pick us up and chauffeur us to Mesilau Resort in Kundasang. It was quite a long ride. I was extremely drowsy as i lacked sleep the night before. We booked a room in Akinabalu Youth Hostel and what i can say is, Sabahans are really healthy folks. They wake up real early to start their new day, approximately 4am. By 4.30am or so, i started hearing cars wheezing past the hostel. It was such a nightmare! If you want to totally give up sleeping, i believe you can just lie on your back and count the number of cars passing by. This is the room in Akinabalu Youth hostel. Even though the bed frames creak with your every move, squeaks with your every toss and turn, the rooms are clean.


Along the way to Kundasang, we drove past plains of plantations and forest. The greenery that greeted us was never ending. Waves after waves of forest flooded into our sight. I was struggling to keep my eyes open as the bumpy ride was like a lullaby to me, putting me to sleep. We were told that 2 tables had been reserved for us at Bayu Restaurant in Kundasang for our lunch.

Upon reaching Bayu Restaurant, we immediately placed our orders. All of us were starved. Bayu Restaurant is quite a cosy restaurant run in a small scale. It is trying very hard to provide variety to its menu.

Next stop after fulfilling our hunger pang was a cow farm! I admit that i was not excited at all about it. What is there to see in a cow farm, it sounded boring to me. How wrong was i. I was skipping all over the place squeezing to look at the cows waiting in line to be milked. The cows roamed free on the meadow grazing and relaxing. At the same time, some are queuing up to be milked by the machines. They are so obedient. It is either the lure of the food provided while milking process is carried out or they have been trained to rush in whenever the gates to the queue is opened.



A must-not-miss is buying fresh milk produced in this cow farm. We went over to the production line where machines were working very hard to sterilize, pasteurize and package the milk. A small box of milk, i think it's half the size of those normal cartons sold in supermarket, costs RM2.00 and RM2.50 for chocolate flavored.

We carried on with our journey to Mesilau Resort. The air was getting cooler and cooler as we are going higher and higher in altitude. It was such a relaxing, calm ride. The driver dropped us at the parking bay and we followed a park ranger who led us to our rooms. When we saw the slope leading to our rooms, we took a deep breath. It was such a steep slope! By the time we heaved and hoed our luggages and reached the top of the slope, we were out of breath, panting heavily. Gosh, how are we going to conquer South East Asia's highest peak when we couldn't even bring our luggage bags up this slope! We started to have second thoughts.

I headed straight to the shower room. The water was freezing cold. Just washing our hands under running tap water sent my fingers numb. I was very thankful for the hot water they provided. Unfortunately, those who were late were not fortunate enough to enjoy hot water. The lesson that i learnt was : always go for the bathroom for your shower in place like this, you never know when the hot water supply will run out.

We wandered around Mesilau Resort. The chill wind sent shivers down our spines. Air was so cool and fresh, the aroma of leaves and the flowers wafted through the air. It was so ever refreshing. If only we are able to smell natural fragrance like this in KL city. Our dinner was in the Restaurant in Mesilau Resort. The buffet style dinner really caught us by surprise! We never expected to be able to enjoy sumptuous dinner before our deadly climb the next day. Of course, we attacked the food like scavenges.



After sweeping in plates after plates of food into our mouths, we decided to give our tummies a rest. We headed back to our room. The atmosphere was serious for a moment when all of us pondered about the ascend the next day. All of us wanted to call it off and just enjoy the stay in Mesilau Resort. We were practically buoyed by all these worries and concerns to sleep.

Pre-KK symptoms

1st May 2009, a very special date in my calendar. It is when one of my dreams will be fulfilled. Amidst the excitement exuded from my exterior, there is a lot of trepidation and concerns inside. Will my injured ankle fail me? It has been more than 1 month but my ankle has not fully recovered from the sprained ligament. Will my condition allow me to conquer Mount Kinabalu without hiccups?

Besides the adrenaline rush of scaling Mount Kinabalu that thrills me, it is the idea of going on another trip with my besties. Since schooling years till now, we have gone through a whole lot. Who wouldn't have when you've walked through around 10 years together. From the innocent, rebellious teenagers to the matured, wacky young adults. We witnessed the transformation of each and everyone. Gosh, no idea where the sudden nostalgia came from, *grins*.

Anyway, my heart has flown to Kota Kinabalu where the grand, serene highest peak awaits me. Do tune in for the details next week. There will be a great story to be told.

Nuang-Lolo Camp

On one of our practice sessions for Mount Kinabalu, we picked Gunung Nuang, Selangor's highest peak. However, due to my injured ankle and due to my buddies' nature of enjoying instead of going through gruesome training, we decided to stop at Lolo Camp instead of heading to the summit. I know, i know, it defeats the purpose then but i would rather give my ankle a chance to recover than deteriorating it more. I need only 1 more week for it to fully recover, that is according to the doctor, let's pray that he is right.
We arrived at base at around 8.30am and started out on our hike at 8.50am. We had read from blogs that described thoroughly how the trek to the peak of Gunung Nuang is. The first stretch is purely steep muddy trail to Lolo Camp. There are no steps but slope all the way. In fact, if you have a 4x4, you can even drive to Lolo Camp. This slope is perfect for my ankle as climbing steps would be a tad too risky as I could land my foot on an uneven surface and twist it again since my ankle is very vulnerable at the moment.


The stretch seemed never-ending. Due to the rain the night before, most of the trail was muddy. That impaired our advance and slowed us down as we didn't want to have our shoes covered with mud. The trail went on and on and on. Most parts are steep and we had to toughen our calf muscle to ascend. The challenge here was more on mental strength as it could get really boring. Somehow, we survived :D.

Lolo Camp is dirty! We were greeted by rubbish dump and rubbish piles scattered everywhere. It really didn't make us feel like lingering long. We tried to look for a quieter spot away from the workers who were doing some construction work. We found an isolated spot right beside the waterfall. It was narrow but that's the best we could find.


Without further delay, we attacked the food we brought. You would never be able to guess what our main course was. KFC!! To go with KFC, there were tuna sandwich, watermelon, longan and lychee dessert and hard-boiled eggs. What a sumptuous feast right in the heart of nature.


After spending 2 hours by the waterfall, we headed back to civilization. Below are some photos along the way down.

Project Sun Tan Part IV

As though 1 day of sun-tanning was not sufficient, we decided to go on another island-hopping tour. Well, what's an island trip if you do not soak yourself in sun rays?

Our first stop was Maya Island. This is the very famous island where the movie "The Beach" was filmed. I guess you know what movie this is. I have not watched it so nothing looked familiar to me. When you stand on Maya Beach overlooking the breathtaking sea, you feel as though you are out of the world. You have fine, white sand underneath your feet, sky blue glistening, glittering sea water calmly and gently rushing onto the shores and towering, gigantic mountains enclaving the crystal clear water and the sandy beach. It felt too much for me to take in, too hard for me to believe that this view was for real. How could there be such a view! Sadly, the throng of tourists and the noise pollution that ensued drew away most of its beauty.



We ventured into the heart of this small island only to find ourselves in a deep ravine. You would feel as though you were in a lost world with dense forest and strange-looking trees all around you.

After the brief stop at Maya Beach, we were brought to a lagoon where the water level will rise another 20meters during high tide.

For lunch, we had at Monkey Beach where there were supposed to be throngs of monkeys on that island. Too bad, due to the weather (it rained!!!), that plan was postponed. Instead, we headed to our next destination, Bamboo island. We were left with no choice due to the heavy rain. It was astonishing to experience heavy downpour in open sea. Due to its vastness you can spot clear sky on your left but surprising blurry view on your right due to the rain.
All in all, the only highlight of this island tour is Maya Beach where our breath was really taken away. The rest was quite a disappointment, sad to say.
The next day marked the last day in Krabi. We did not have much time to travel too far hence we opted for an elephant ride and another session of traditional thai massage.

Below is our dear elephant darling whose name is Moon. She is such a good girl, she would obey the instructors's every single instruction. Even though she would be curious and mischievous at times by being distracted by new plants or leaves, she would put it aside and carry on with her journey.

How comfortable would it be if we are always surrounded by greenery and mountains and clear blue sky. This is paradise!

Well, this marks the end of my krabi trip. It had been enjoyable. There are so many more attractions that we didn't manage to cover. It would be awesome to be able to go back one day to cover those areas!

Project Sun Tan Part III

For the 3rd and 4th day, we opted to stay in Railay Beach, that is accessible only via long tail boats. Instead of going directly to Railay Beach, we went with our friend-cum-tourist guide called Buddy who would bring us visit Chicken Island, Poda Island, Tub Island and to Railay Beach ultimately. We started off at 9.30am.

It was a fun ride on the long tail boat. The speed was not even close to the speed of a speed boat but it allowed us to enjoy the view in more detail at a slower pace. What's the point of rushing to every destination exactly in the same manner as we rush for work? The whole idea of going on a vacation is to slow things down. We were amazed by the half-island-half-rock formations that are scattered all around the sea. They are extremely grand and pompous. You can't keep your eyes off them as they make such a grand sight. It made us feel so minute in this infinity vast sea with humongous rock formations towering over us.


Our first stop was Tub Island. It is quite a unique island, rather small but without sandy beach surrounding it. Instead, there is a sandy pathway that spreads on the sea surface extending to another part of the island.
The boats would dock along this sandy path and tourists would sun bathe, snorkel around. This is also where i cut my feet and leg on dead corals. It certainly hurt. Too bad i don't have any photos of the wound to share. Due to the injury, my snorkeling adventure was cut short. Instead, i merely soaked myself in the sea water, hoping to sterilize my wounds.

The next destination was Chicken Island. Chicken Island is named after its "look". Yep, you guessed it right, it looks like a chicken. We merely went around it to have a full view of the island. Somebody commented though, that if the Thais know about Loch Ness, this island would have been called Loch Ness Island instead.


We headed next to Poda Island. From afar, it looked like paradise, with its white sandy beach and wooden huts. However, when we explored the area, there was nothing much for us to do except to sun bathe. I do not mind being exposed to the sun during vacation but i still shun away sun bathing as it takes ages for me to remove my tan.


After answering nature's call, we decided to check in to our hotel in Railay Bay. Along the way, we immersed ourselves in the gorgeous scenery all around the sea.


Railay is separated into Railay East and Railay West. Railay West is deemed to be more secluded and quieter as compared to Railay East. Buddy dropped us at Railay East even though our hotel is in Railay West. You see, east and west is separated by a short distance that can be covered by foot. It is really interesting. The jetty at Railay East is odd. There is practically no beach at all. The boats can stop right in front of the pathway that is buzzing with people.

We hopped down and bade farewell to dear Buddy. Taking cue from the signboards, we went on our search for our next accommodation. We were lucky to bump into a buggy driver of the hotel called Railay Bay Resort and Spa. It turned out that the moment we stepped down from the boat and walked a few steps ahead, we were already in the vicinity of Railay Bay Resort and Spa, talk about how close the jetty is to the hotel. However, it was sure a long long way to the reception. The buggy driver drove us to the reception counter. Under normal circumstances, i would walk with no qualms as I love moving around on foot. But, at that moment i had my luggage with me, i had a bad cut on the dead corals hence the buggy ride was a welcome!

We weaved through all sorts of rooms provided by Railay Bay Resort and finally arrived at the reception counter. After checking into our rooms, we explored Railay West to hunt for food. The restaurants in Railay surely costed a bomb. It is equivalent to the price of food in restaurants in KL. That is explainable since almost 95% of patrons are Caucasians and all food supply be it raw or processed have to be brought in via boats.

Our itinerary for the evening was to visit Phranang Cave and Phranang Bay. We had to walk through Railay East to get there. It was a unique walk as we saw lots of climbing enthusiasts with their equipment since Railay is extremely renown for rock climbing activity. Further down the narrow walk way that separates the rocky hills and the resorts, there was a signboard that says Lagoon View Point. And, it was pointing up! Sigh, too bad i injured my foot if not i would have loved to hike.

There is nothing special about Phranang Bay and Phranang Cave except that they are more exclusive as compared to Railay West, much smaller too. Well, i did kayaking at Phranang Bay and it was fun!

Project Sun Tan Part II

After a tiring first day in Krabi, we decided to take it easy on the second day. This time, we'll explore the beaches in Krabi since it is well-known for that. We took a Thai taxi to Ao Nang at 50Baht per person. Having no specific plan in mind, we wandered around Ao Nang.

You would never believe that you're in Thailand once you arrive at Ao Nang. Anywhere you turn your head, you'll be greeted by Caucasians, not just one or two of them but a whole group. You'll hear a mixture of languages from Italian, English and god-knows-what language.
To cover more ground, we decided to rent motorcycles and ride around. We found a really cute-looking scooter for 200Baht a day and we took it.


Along Ao Nang beach, the long tail boats and speed boats "parked" by the beach stretched across the whole beach. Boatmen and tourists were seen tangled in a haggling process. Boatmen were shouting out to tourists to take up their best price for boat rides.

Our first destination was Noparatthara beach ( i hope i get the spelling correct). It has very shallow beach that extends a great deal into the sea. This part Ao Nang has more locals as compared to Ao Nang beach. We quickly moved on to our next destination, Klong Moung beach.

To reach Klong Moung beach, it was quite a long ride. We rode along trunk roads, rode past shop lots, villages, plantations etc. We stopped by a catfish farm that had around 5 ponds teemed with gigantic catfish. It gave me the shivers when i saw the school of catfishes. I could only see their whiskers and the gasping mouth right at the surface of the water. It was extremely gory and disgusting. They are so used to being fed by tourists till they thronged towards you following your every step. Even now when i thought about it, i would cringe! Sorry, no photos of disgusting creatures to share with you. Let's move on.

Klong Moung beach was surprisingly quiet and empty. Even the shops seemed to be shut. At this time around, we were already hunting for restaurants to fill our tummies. They looked too commercialized for our liking hence we persevered. We trespassed into one of the private beaches of the resorts but it was too glaring and scorching hot to enjoy the moment and to snap any photos. Hopped back onto our scooters and we headed up north to Tup Kaek beach. That would be the last accessible beach for us. Anything further up north would be too far.

Tup Kaek beach was not teeming with life either. It had rows of resorts, very exclusive, very expensive. It would be a great spot of honeymooners and families if what you want is just a get-away from the hustle and bustle of city. After Tup Kaek we headed back to Klong Moung to hunt for food. We found a restaurant called Tup Kaek thai restaurant that is situated right beside the beach. We wanted somewhere that we could eat while enjoying the sea breeze. There was not a single patron except for the waiters and waitresses. Skeptical as we were, we had no other choices.

We picked the spot on the sandy beach and ordered. I again had my thai coconut, as usual. What is a beach holiday without coconut drinks? The beach was extremely peaceful and quiet. We spotted an elderly Caucasian couple drinking by the beach. It was just so relaxing and calming. We sat down and yakked over our drink and food. After we got tired of chatting, we stared into the vast sea and enjoy the sea breeze, savoured the view. To tell you the truth, my holiday plans are always packed with activities. This is my first attempt on such a slow-paced, laid-back holiday. It isn't too bad to indulge in holidays like this once in a while, but definitely not all the time and the company makes a whole lot of difference. Boredom can come kicking in and seeping in very easily.
When the merciless sun finally showed some mercy, we hopped onto our bike and continued our journey.

By afternoon 4pm we arrived back at Ao Nang feeling all sweaty and dirty. We unanimously agreed to go for a massage after a whole day ride on bike. We randomly walked into one of the spa centers that was recommended in the map and turned out pretty good. You would never be able to find a massage with that price in Malaysia! We then rushed to the beach to view the sunset.

Project Sun Tan Part 1

Having sun tanning in mind, i headed off to Krabi Thailand. Famed for its throng of Mat Sallehs, sandy beaches and sunny skies, Krabi certainly lived up to its expectation. The itinerary i planned was simple enough, 2 nights in Krabi town, 2 nights in Railay West and 1 night in Ao Nang.

First day activity is rather easy as we just touched down hence we didn't want to do anything too tiring. We hopped onto a long tail boat at Chao Fa Pier, the pier in the smack of town and went on a short tour to visit the landmark of Krabi, Khao Kanap Nam. It is two stone hills carving an arch above the river and you can visit the cave in one of the hills. There are stalactites and stalagmites in the cave. Of course those are nothing compared to Pancing Cave in Lembing, if you read my previous blog entry.


Having a few hours more to spend before dinner time, we decided to visit Tiger Cave. Our long tail boatman Buddy recommended his friend Minai to bring us there with his taxi. After bargaining a price we deemed not exorbitant, we hopped onto his taxi to Tiger Cave.
It was a very peaceful and quiet place. No tourist crowds, no blaring of honks or loud murmuring of voices. This is what I prefer, to blend in. Definitely no problem for me as i can pass anytime as a local Thai with my tanned skin. We went for a swift visit in the smaller cave at the foot of the hill. After that, we headed towards the staircase, altogether 1372 of them!
We started off lightly but slowly, we started to feel the strain on us. We huffed and puffed, dragged our legs along with us. This was not even half or quarter of the whole journey! How are we going to complete this?? Along the way, we did bump into other avid climbers. It was a good mix of local Thais and foreigners. Some even took off their sandals, even though i have no idea why. The surface of the steps certainly isn't smooth. I wouldn't want to have any abrasions on my feet.
Beautiful scenery as we hiked up.

Look at the amount of steps we have to conquer!

Some parts the steps are so steep and narrow that we had to ascend sideways. It gave me the shivers when i thought about my trip down. I have always preferred uphill as i do not need to look downwards, perhaps i have a slight phobia of height. Gosh....we really felt like giving up. It seemed forever to us. When there were questions raised about how many more steps, i didn't dare to disclose that we were able to know by reading the carvings on the steps itself that identify the number of steps that had been conquered. It definitely wouldn't serve as an encouragement!
To cut all the hardship short, we finally arrived at the peak gasping for air. However, the moment we lay our eyes on the scenery all around us, we knew that all the turmoil we went through was too minute and trivial. It was paradise!


The wind blew away all our tiredness, the setting sun recharged us with its last calming, soothing sun rays. The fresh, cool air refilled our lungs that were so deprived of oxygen. In the middle of the plateau sits the huge sitting buddha statue. We were so busy checking out every angle of the scenery as the place is huge till we forgot that the sun is setting and as night falls, it will be hard for us to snap photos!
Throughout our conquest to the peak, not only did we find peace and beauty, we found friendship too. They certainly aided us a lot during our ascend, deepest gratitude to Vern, Rossana and her family. How ironic that different nationalities would bond under weird circumstances.
By the time we headed down, it was already dark. Oh yes, the sun sets earlier as compared to Malaysia, by 5.30pm you will notice that the sun is setting and by 6pm it is dark. The trip down hill is surprisingly relaxing and quick. Amidst chats and laughter with our new found friends, we got down in a jiffy. After bidding farewells and exchanging email addresses, we parted ways.
We went back to town to serve our growling tummies. Recommended by the taxi driver, we tried our luck in a simple-looking local thai restaurant. We didn't want anything commercialized, we wanted the most authentic thai food that locals would consume. It turned out well. I had my thai coconut drink yummy yummy. It was so sweet and tasty! It puzzled me why all the coconuts in Thailand are sweet whereas the ones we have here in Malaysia just taste plain. With a big burp, we left back for our hotel and called it a day.