Clear Skies On The Eternal Horizon

Times are good. Work has slowed tremendously over the last few weeks, and life has been quite enjoyable to say the least. The indulgent nature of all this fun in recent times does take a toll on the wallet, but I figure there's no harm so long it doesn't become a habit. What's more - next week is filled with travel plans stretching across the peninsular.

Let there be banter; let there be laughter..

In this stirring quest for fun.. we will not falter.

Hopefully with all this new-found spare time, immortalizing my recollection of the upcoming travails in this blog shouldn't be too much trouble.

It's nice to feel like I finally have some time to spare. Suddenly I feel extremely vibrant again.. a feeling that I last experienced almost 2 years ago in Chicago. Certainly brings back some wonderful memories to mind.

A Bridge Burnt

I can hardly remember the last time I published a post filled with negative emotions.

Well.. here goes one. It's not one that is forged out of recent experiences, but rather an accumulation of feelings that have tormented my soul for - well for as long as I can remember. Truth be told, despite always trying to portray myself as an open book, I think those who know me a little better can probably tell that there are some issues I hold within and not speak a word of. I guess it is fair to say this post is simply a calculated mollification from one such issue.

Life as a first born may have its perks, but not everyone understands the pressures and pains that can come with it. These pressures and pains are accentuated even further when the next born is an egocentric blob with an inherent selfishness to boot. And when the so-called 'perks' are non-existent, said pressures and pains can grow to incomparable magnitudes. Of course, the saying goes that there is ALWAYS a way out, and even in this case there is. Escaping is really not very difficult once one finds a semblance of balance in this world - it cannot be, so long the will is strong.

As and if one begins to ponder an escape and the lack of agony that awaits, the shackles built from responsibility begin to appear in sight. As I've grown older, these shackles have only grown stronger.. and I simply cannot see myself breaking free in the near future. The other option would of course be to fix the problem itself, but arrogance born from the fear of persecution makes for a formidable barrier. It's been almost a decade since I recognized the source of the problem and began attempting to mend it.. but all I have managed is to find a definitive and exaggerated example of pure selfishness.

Given the options at this moment in time (as the 'calculated mollification' draws to an end) with all things considered - the shackles look less intimidating than the barrier; if only by the slightest of margins. The question then is, do I act on this, or simply continue to wait?

A Nice Break And A New Year Dawns

Before I begin, let me delve into something I feel will set the tone for the rest of the year.. especially considering I shall never bring the topic up again.

Exactly twelve years into the new millennium. Back then, when we were transitioning into 2000 A.D doomsday predictions were aplenty, and the dawn of 2012 has been peppered in similar fashion with talks about the world's end. This time though.. the recent advent of serious natural disasters along with the effects of global climate change has added substance to these predictions. The question of whether I do believe in any of the predictions, is truly irrelevant. Here's why. There is no way to validate these claims until the predicted doomsday actually dawns upon us, and the reason (or reasons, as a certain movie suggests) manifests itself. If it does end up being true, and destiny deems that it be so - we are all powerless to change anything. So.. there really is no reason for us to change how we carry on with our lives this year.

Hence, I plan to get through this year like it is just another year - even though for me personally there'll be silver overtones to go with it. Last year I didn't come up with a list, so no formal review of resolutions this time around. What I did realize - and should apologize for - is the worryingly low number of posts in the blog in comparison to previous years. For the first time, I went entire months without a single post. Perhaps it is a sign of me committing a little too much at work, as much as it is of me neglecting my passion for writing.

In retrospect, there were a number of things I managed to accomplish over 2011, ranging from zero-medical leaves at work to dishing out favors to the people around me. Of course there was also that small achievement of scaling Mount Kinabalu, one I've managed to document adequately on this blog. What is most important though - is how I have managed to set things up to plan for achievements this year. I believe I've managed to reach a certain comfort zone at work, which gives me a license to pursue other interests, be it work or non-work related.

So... here goes a rendition of things I will attempt this year, given work doesn't take a sudden U-turn to hell..

- Jog at the park/go to the gym twice every week

- Get back in touch with 5 friends I haven't met for more than 2 years

- Complete 5 poems

- Finally watch Lord of the Rings trilogy

- Complete the Haruhi Suzumiya light novel series

- Join Institute of Engineers Malaysia (IEM)

- Attend 3 job interviews (Not implying I'm leaving my current job, but I think it is essential that I keep my options open and have a good gauge of my own value in the market for engineers)

- Play ping-pong (believe me.. tougher than it sounds)

That's about all I could think about for now. As much as I can tell myself that this list is by no means complete, prior experience indicates the chances of me ever updating my resolution list within the year is close to zero. I guess there is a lot more panache' to the items on this years list. Heh.

Have a great year everyone, and here's to my writing growing in quantity and quality. :)

Sabah Trip - Part Three

Alas.. the chronicle resumes.

After a night at the shabby Ernah Lodge, we were up early to continue our journey east across Sabah. Our first stop was along the journey was Labuk Bay to catch a sighting of the famed proboscis monkeys. As we were approaching the destination, we drove by acres of palm oil plantations that stretched for miles. We even managed to spot a few eagles hovering above the bay on that sunny afternoon. Apparently there were 2 different platforms to catch the lively creatures from, with different feeding times.

Now these viewing platforms were well within the 'sanctuary' where the monkeys live freely, so naturally we had to walk through a wooden walkway into the jungle to access them. Upon reaching Platform A, we managed to spot a few proboscis monkeys sitting atop trees and gazing at us from afar. Now given the self-planned nature of our adventure, it shouldn't be too surprising that upon arrival we were the only ones on the platform. A few minutes later, a horde of foreigners marched upon the platform, along with a guide who began squealing and making odd noises to catch the attention of the monkeys. All of a sudden, throngs of monkeys began appearing and rapidly made their way towards the platform. Soon they were right next to us, as we had a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with these creatures.

After spending about an hour photographing and simply marveling at the fun-loving monkeys, we left Labuk Bay for our next accommodation for the night - the Paganakan Dii longhouses in Sepilok. After checking in at what looked like a really neat place to stay the night at (further accentuated by the awful conditions at Ernah Lodge the previous night), we continued our drive eastward to Sabah's 2nd largest city - Sandakan.

Upon reaching, we decided to first pay a visit to the Sandakan War Memorial, built in the vicinity of the Sandakan POW camp from where the Ranau Death Marches began during the Japanese occupation. To be frank, we didn't have too much of an idea about the death marches until we visited the memorial. Just imagine more than 1000 prisoners-of-war embarking on the daunting march from Sandakan to Ranau (incidentally where we began our journey the same morning, 300 kilometres away!), and at the end of it all only 6 of them surviving by managing to escape during the marches. Emotions aside, the memorial is well-preserved and doubles as a park with a serene jogging trail for the locals.

By the time we were done at the memorial, it was time for dinner and we rode into town to visit the town's Ramadhan Bazaar for dinner. The food seemed pretty over-priced, yet our empty stomachs couldn't wait much longer so we had to settle for it. With food purchased our stomachs could finally be filled - or so we thought until a period of sheer pointlessness ensued as we spent more than an hour simply looking for spoons to eat our food as well as driving around Sandakan to find a place to eat them at. There really didn't seem to be anything extraordinary about Sandakan, as we soon drove back to the longhouses for a good night's rest. And what a sleep it was. Sleeping amongst the natural setting was a nice experience, and the caretakers really do a neat job in maintaining the place. Here are a few photos I managed from what was easily our favorite accommodation of the lot, and for RM30 a night it's definitely a great bargain.

The following morning was our last in Sabah, yet there was one other activity lined up - Sepilok's orangutan rehabilitation centre. With the long drive back to Kota Kinabalu in mind, we couldn't afford to miss the morning's first feeding hour. The experience really paled in comparison to that of the proboscis monkeys in Labuk Bay. To begin the orangutans are much less active, and have a distinctive messy look. What did them in though was the number of orangutans we managed to see - a mere 5 as opposed to the throngs of proboscis monkeys we spotted the previous day. However, I guess I'm not exactly comparing apples to apples as this was a rehabilitation center by name and the orangutans are the more endangered of the two primate species.

With that out of the way, the long trip to Kota Kinabalu to catch our evening flight back to Kuala Lumpur began. Thanks to the light traffic, we managed to reach Kota Kinabalu with some time to spare and squeezed in a drive to the Central Market for some souvenir shopping. Of course, no trip of mine is complete without a little airport drama, and this one was no exception as I accidentally disposed of my "visa" which was issued to me upon entering Sabah like a receipt (frankly even receipts would look a lot more significant.. sigh). The customs officer let me off with just a warning, and I guess that will add to my list of travel lessons learnt the hard way. Heh.

With that another wonderful adventure drew to a close. Despite the packed schedule, it really was quite a wonderfully enjoyable experience for me - and I guess the only possible qualm would be that we didn't manage to catch a glimpse of the world's largest flower, the Rafflesia. Perhaps (just perhaps), another trip down the line is in order.

Sabah Trip - Part Two

Come the next day, we were up early and cruised by the empty Sunday streets of Kota Kinabalu on our way to the foothill of the majestic Mount Kinabalu. Along the way, we took in some spectacular views of the towering mountain; accentuated by the wonderfully bright, sunny weather.

On the way I also noticed the entrance to the via ferrata route. Having no prior mountain-climbing experience whatsoever, this wasn't something I was going to take a chance on this time regardless of the temptation of adventure. However, I certainly won't rule out the possibility of me doing it at some point down the years.

Soon we arrived at the entrance, and in all our enthusiasm drove all the way up to the Timpohon Gate without stopping to register at the Kinabalu Park Headquarters first. Heh. After making our way back down in a hurry (with Kwong Hann displaying some daredevil driving lol), we met our guide for the climb - Andrew Sundang. We geared up in a jiffy and were all set for the climb. Just before I embarked on the challenge, I purchased a wooden climbing stick for RM3 - be not fooled by its sheer cheapness for it truly proved a worthy companion throughout my ascent and even more so on the descent.

The Timpohon Trail is known to be the steeper of the two trails (Mesilau being the longer and more winded one), but I'd say a little bit of adrenaline and persistence will get you up in no time at all. Along with Andrew the guide, we didn't rush it to fully appreciate the beauty of the trail itself.

Along the way there are a few huts where climbers can stop to catch their breath, or even a bite for that matter courtesy of the 'compulsory' packed lunch provided to us at the park headquarters. In short, I'd recommend any climber to start early and simply take it slow and steady up the mountain - and it'll really feel like a nature walk with fairly well-paved pathways, which in retrospect is exactly what I remember my ascent to the Laban Rata resthouse as. A good 5 hours later, we reached Laban Rata, greeted by a wonderful view of the Kinabalu peaks before us.

At the resthouse, a buffet dinner awaited us. Of course it was all included in the new exorbitantly priced climbing package, and the food was reasonably good. After happily stuffing ourselves, we wrapped ourselves in blankets (did I mention it was freezing cold and there was NO HEATER at the showers!) and went to bed early as we were expected to wake up at 2am that night to continue with the summit climb.

The next morning, after a short breakfast (again, part of the package), we were off to the summit on a dark, moonlit trail that only got steeper. I had my torchlight with me, but I didn't really have to use it since the light from the moon and stars was more than sufficient. Anyway, I once again began walking up at a quicker pace (I guess I'm just a fast walker by nature), leaving the guide and Kwong Hann behind. Some of the rope sections could prove to be a little challenging, but I'd say as long as you keep your head up (eyes on the rope, NEVER LOOK BACK) and never let go of the rope, you'll do just fine.

To be frank, the trail to the summit was much less of a challenge than what I expected it to be. I only made two short stops on the granite phase to munch on some frozen Snickers that I carried along. Getting my teeth to sink into the snack bar though was incredibly difficult! Nonetheless, I reached the peak with a few foreigners and waited for Kwong Hann and Andrew, as I sank my teeth into another Snicker trying to build some heat. The temperature wasn't all that cold, but the chilly winds that constantly hit my ears were really killing me softly, very reminiscent of those bitter Chicago breezes during winter. What's more - I spent almost an hour sitting at the peak waiting for the rest of the trio to turn up. The two of them timed their ascent quite well though as they arrived just in time to catch the sunrise.

The swelling glow of sunlight warming the cold granite formations is really a spectacular sight. I'd even go so far to say that the sight alone makes the entire climb worth the effort. After a few photos at the peak (so I can legitimately brag about reaching the highest point in South East Asia for the rest of my life wtf), we began our descent, with much help from the climbing stick and the trusty Adidas Kampung. The shoes' grip on the slippery granite trail is really incredible. Not once did I lose my footing in my entire journey up, nor down the mountain. The fact that the shoes came at such a low price only goes to prove that pivotal lesson in life that the best things don't necessarily have to be the most expensive.

After a short stop at Laban Rata to grab our stuff and check out, we were headed back to the bottom with a sense of accomplishment (and for Kwong Hann a sense of pain in the form of blisters that troubled him all the way down). Upon recognizing Kwong Hann's pains, our wonderful guide Andrew actually helped Kwong Hann carry all of his stuff all the way down. If this wasn't enough, it began to rain heavily halfway down, upon which he gave Kwong Hann his raincoat and used his climbing stick cum umbrella instead. Along the way he even offered to take my slightly off trail to catch a bunch of pitcher plants growing in the wild.

Upon reaching the foothills our legs and feet were way beyond tired, so much so even walking on the flat roads around the park headquarters proved difficult. After running on adrenaline for over a day, the effects of the long and arduous climb finally began to tell. We spent quite some time at the restaurant next to the headquarters where we were provided with one final buffet lunch as we waited for the rainy clouds to pass. One thing that we did know thanks to our prior research was that the climbing pass also entitles us to a free entry on the same day to Poring Hot Springs. Ahhhh... exactly what we needed at that point, as the rest of the body began to ache as well.

After soaking our legs in the spring water for a little over an hour, we checked into our nearby accommodation for the night - Ernah Lodge. The lodge was the cheapest of our accommodations, and accordingly the most disappointing in terms of basic amenities. There wasn't much of a choice though at that point, as we uneasily slept through constant sounds of rats scratching the roofs above us.

Such was the Kinabalu adventure - but the story doesn't end there, in fact, it stretched further eastward..

*To be continued*

Sabah Trip - Part One

A month later, here I sit recollecting my wonderful experiences during my trip to Sabah with Kwong Hann. What was conceived upon knowledge of cheap air tickets to Kota Kinabalu ended as an experience worth infinitely more..

We arrived at Kota Kinabalu late in the evening and checked in at the Borneo Backpackers Lodge, a relatively cheap hostel for backpackers like us. The place is neat, and the people at the desk are very helpful. Now we had already drafted out a rough plan of what our itinerary for the trip would be, and our first stop was a restaurant in Taman Foh Sang for Seafood Porridge.

The next morning the car we had rented arrived at the hostel, and I figure this is when the trip really kicked into gear. After a short stop for breakfast and grabbing my Adidas Kampung at KK Central Market (more on these shoes later), we began our drive up north to Usukan Cove for snorkeling. Expectedly, it was a bumpy ride with potholes and landslide areas. Now I'm not much of a swimmer, and the thought of jumping into the open sea with no protection messed with my mind for quite some time; up till the point the people at Usukan Cove Resort told us it's COMPULSORY to wear life-jackets while snorkeling. *Relief*

After a few hours in sea sprawling around the surface belly-down, we drove away from the cove and headed further north - all the way to Borneo's northern-most point at Tanjung Mengayau! Thanks to the GPS, the final section of road to the tip was a gravel track of incessant bumps.

It was drizzling for most of the afternoon, even as we arrived at the Tip of Borneo against the dying sunlight. Nevertheless, we got our cameras out and worked with whatever light remained on that cloudy day.

After that came the long, long drive all the way down to KK; we had to jet down the way for fear the restaurant would close, but at the same time the wet, bumpy roads coupled with the lack of streetlights raised a serious safety concern. Thankfully we made it to the restaurant just in time and feasted through the night (note we didn't take lunch for the day.. lol). I can simply say - this was the BEST seafood I had in recent memory, and perhaps even my entire life. The prawns, fish and crabs had freshness oozing out from every bite.

With our stomachs pushed to the limit, we slowly made our way back to the hostel for some much-needed sleep - what's more, the climb up Mt. Kinabalu was lined up the very next morning! Good fun.

*To be continued*

Trippin' Back To Victorian Times

In truth, there is usually a unique combination of factors that shapes each an every individual. This is no different for me, though I will still contend that a major influence on who I am today originates from my teenage days in Victoria Institution. I've been back from the US for over a year now, but it was not until last Saturday that I finally paid my alma mater a visit with the VI Scouts' Campfire as an excuse.

I was surprised by the noticeable changes in the school, but at the same time also by the lack of them. I did hear some time back that the scout den caught fire and burned to the ground, but it was only when I visited that I saw the new Bengkel KH that had been built over the ground. As for the scouts - well like most other extra-curricular bodies in the VI today, they've been pushed to the brink with limited allocation of the school's resources; they now share a small room that used to be the Red Crescent Society's sick bay once. It was certainly saddening to listen to the current students' accounts on the state of matters in VI today.

Regardless, I was there to witness the Campfire - a traditionally annual event that has thankfully survived all this madness. It began with the usual lighting of the campfire by the Guest of Honour, and interestingly enough it was a familiar old face who did the honours - Mr. Othman a.k.a Semang.

The performances were very typical (frankly, hasn't changed since my days.. haha) - the sketch was cheesy, the dances were cool and the Rescue Act was as thrilling as ever. What was disappointing though was the turnout, which was poor to say the least. Perhaps part of the reason was Malaysia's football match against Liverpool going on at the same time in Bukit Jalil. Despite the poor crowd, I still managed to bump into some old faces like Miss Shanti, Miss Nirmal and surprisingly two of my APD seniors - Darren Lo and Low Jun Fay. We spent the night catching up on old times, and it was nice to learn that the two of them are doing well, yet they've managed to keep their characters pure and unchanged. Staying true to the old times, we headed for supper after the campfire before calling it a night.

If all that wasn't enough, I bumped into Sui-Jon on my way to lunch on Monday. The best part.. he tells me he's just started working in the SAME building as me. Now what were the odds? Anyway.. as one would easily predict, it was a few more trips down memory lane over a couple of lunch sessions that followed over the week. Frankly it seems we could organize a pretty big Victorian meetup sometime soon, with Naqiuddin working in the same department as me and a few others from our batch working around the area. We are after all in the middle of KL, aren't we?