Total bliss

DH says there are 2 types of holiday.

The first type is where you go to a place and ‘see’ it. So if you are going to Egypt, then of course you have to see the pyramids or if you are in Paris, then you must visit the Eiffel Tower or if you visit Beijing, then the Great Wall of China should be on the must see list.

Most Singaporeans are very likely to have this type of holiday. I guess with our fast pace living, and the government constantly drumming into us that we must be productive and learn as long as we live…we all feel the need to tick off those ‘must see/ must do’ places/things when we go on holiday. No doubt, our ‘kiasu’ nature reinforces this urge as well, otherwise we would feel that we haven’t spend the money well.

There is a second type of holiday when you do absolutely nothing. And I mean really nothing…except maybe read or listen to you music on your ipod.

Many people can do this for a day or two but most would think you’re mad if you ‘do’ this continously for 4 to 5 days.

Indeed, if you are on this type of holiday for the first time, it can be rather hard on your system. You may actually have to fight the urge to go into town, visit that famous restaurant, check out that theme park etc.

But believe me, once you have conquered that and tell yourself that chilling out is just as rewarding and refreshing….you will be surprised how quickly time passes.

Eat…sleep…read…eat…chat….sleep….

We don’t have to behave like a frenzied rat when we are on holiday.

I’ll have a beer please

I Came, I Saw, I (almost) Conquered- part 3

Sorry for not posting the last few days. Long weekends maketh a person lazy. hehe! Hope eveyrone had a wonderful time recharging the last couple of days.

I Came, I Saw, I (almost) Conquered- part 2

I Came, I Saw, I (almost) Conquered- part 1

The beautiful sunrise which I missed…..
Without me to slow down the pace, hubby amazed the guide and overtook about 70% of the other climbers to reach the summit before surmise. He took pictures of dawn breaking over the mountain for me…..

Descending from the summit. Don’t you think it looks very ‘futuristic’ and ‘moon-like’?
We started climbing down after 7am. In daylight, I could see properly how the top of the mountain looks like and what I was doing at 3am in the morning. Laban Rata seemed so, very, very far away.

The thought of a warm breakfast was very, very appealing though. With the help of the guide, we were back to Laban Rata by 9am. The hall was already humming with activites and climbers having a toast with each other. I was still feeling every sore with myself for not pushing myself during the final stretch to reach the summit though hubby kept comforting me.

Anyway, there was no time for self pity because we were setting off an hour later for the descent- which meant at least another 6 hours of walking.

 

 

The climb down was rather uneventful except for the fact that hubby was amazed at the way I just kept going, almost non-stop. I told that if I stopped any longer than necessary, I’ll never make it down. My jelly legs were really very wobbly by then and every muscle was hurting, some in places that I didn’t even know I had muscles in.

But we saw some beautiful flowers along the way, including the second largest pitcher plant.

We finally reached Kinabalu Park’s HQ by 4pm where we would be staying for another night. I was wincing with pain with every step I took and “walking” like a crab as someone said. Early night that night…..

The next day, we checked out and went to Poring HotSprings, which is also within Kinabalu Park. This place supposedly has hot sulphur springs that’s good for soaking aching legs, and surprise, surprise more walks… hahaha!

We only went to the nearest waterfall, which is a very small one and because of the lack of rain, the waterfall was more like a waterwhimper. Lots of butterflies though.

The canopy walkway was supposed to be the highest in Malaysia but with my wobbly legs, I thought it best not to do it lest I fall off the walkway with my crab walk. Hahaha!

 

 

NO MORE long walks!!!

We booked a private room with jacuzzi. The facilities in it were a little err.. lacking. The toilet door was falling off. There was no toilet paper. The floor was a little flooded. There were cobwebs in the ceiling. I shan’t go on. BUT, the place was spacious and for RM$20, I supposed we can’t complain much.

A last view of KK
We were back by 5pm in KK to spend our last night there.

The next day, we were at a lost as to what to do. Our flight wasn’t till 9pm at night and there REALLY isn’t anything to do in KK itself. Then we spotted these brochures about island hopping. A day on the beach sounds good t0 us.

 

And we did not regret it. The water was crystal clear and you can do snorkelling, with lots of fishes to look at. We were told it was even better in the morning. Still, with 3 islands to choose from, there was plenty of space for everyone…. If anyone of you are thinking of going, I would strongly advise to spend the whole day here and either just hop from island to island or laze on one island.

The last boat back to the mainland was at 5pm, with another 2 hours to go, we decided to chill out and a have a drink at the 5 star resort hotel- Nexus Sutera Harbour..

 

 

Ahhh… it was a perfect end to a wonderful, memorable, if aching holiday.. Now, if only there was a hunky, young masseur around.

Would we go back to Sabah again? Yes, for the wild life and nature and diving (hubby’s interest). To climb Mt Kinabalu again- probably not…

My only regret, as I’ve said, was not reaching the summit. I wanted to blame this on my age but there were many others, who were obviously older than me, who made it that I can’t use this excuse.

So I think I’ll blame it on my physical disadvantage- my short legs!

Hahaha!!

Hubby looking longingly at the mountain. One more time?

 

Me looking very much like a ‘pau’ and totally unglam whereas hubby was ultra cool. Sigh.. it’s so unfair.

I Came, I Saw, I (almost) Conquered- part 2

I Came, I Saw, I (almost) Conquered- part 1

 

 

 

This photo was taken about halfway through our climb. You can see that there’s less vegetation because of the altitude.

We started to climb at about 9.30am and it nearly killed me within the first kilometre! The steps were as high as my knees! Added to that, my backpack must have weighed at least 7 kg! And because I thought it would be cold (it will get colder higher up in the mountain), I wore my thermal underwear, only to find myself sweating away profusely as I huffed and puffed my way up. Some parts were relatively easy (by this, I mean the ground was fairly flat) and other parts were tougher (when I couldn’t find any cracks to put my feet or the steps were really high). During these tough moments, I would tell hubby in my grumpiest voice: “I’m not doing any more mountain climbing!”

But despite my ranting and ravings, the scenery was really, really beautiful, especially when you looked down and beyond and all you see are trees and flowers, and all you hear are the birds and the crickets. I only wished I was fitter and could have enjoyed all these more.

We could see all the other mountains nearby. It was truely a beautiful sight.

I must have irritated the guide no end with my most frequently asked question: “How far more to go?”

Along the way, we met groups who were either going up or coming down. Besides the Caucasians, the Asians were mainly from Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and of course Malaysia. Basically people from countries where mountain/ hill climbing is the norm. Strangely though, there were no handsome young hunks!!! Where were they? I thought I would be able to meet some handsome young men but all those I met were rather elderly, unless you are interested in young teenagers. (Whoops! hubby is going to kill me for this! hehe!)

Laban Rata…one of the only two accomodation at the top. Not your usual resort…

I was never happier when I finally saw Laban Rata, our stop for the night, and if I have the energy, I would have done a little dance. As it was, I could just about drag myself into the hall. By now, it was cold as Laban Rata was 3,353m high. It was about 4.30pm and we’ve been walking for the last 7 hours. Really all I want to do was to have a cup of tea and a shower.

 

 

 

Well, the tea is not a problem but the shower…. was a slight problem

Because of the dry season, they had run out of water, so they had to pump more water up from down below. So no water till about 7pm and no hot water either. Also, only two bathrooms will be opened, to be shared amongst all the 100 or so guests, both male and female… But the weather was so cold and the water even colder that nobody took their time in the shower. For me, I was out within 10 mins. Ok, I was probably not very clean, but then neither were all the other 90+ people. Nobody is going to bother.

To compensate for the lack of water heater, they had the room heated up and boy, it was really heated up. It was like going from the freezer (after the shower) to the boiling pot (the room). Oh, forgot to say that that they are all dorms (except for 2 VIP rooms which have already been booked). It was 6 people to a room. I’ve not slept in a dorm for a long, long time. Luckily for us, there was only one other person in our room, which we called the jolly green man, as he was a very big size guy wearing a green t-shirt. Whilst both of us were having a migraine coping with the heat, he had covered himself up completely with a blanket and gone off to bed by 7.30pm. Amazing!

Now that I’ve done all the complaining, hehe, I can quite safely say that the view up there at Laban Rata is beyond description. Just look at the photo.

Side note 2: we had bought some beer back during our night stay at Kinabalu Park but could not finish them, so we lugged two cans of Tiger (or rather hubby did) up to the mountain and we were determined not to bring them down with us. We must have looked like two alcoholics to the other guests, who were basically having a cup of very safe tea or coffee.

We had our beer after our shower and were in bed by 9pm. We were supposed to set off for the summit at 2.30am, so that means we will have to be up by 1.30am, with about 4 and 1/2 hours of sleep. But it was so hot and stuffy in the room that both of us couldn’t really sleep and were up by 1am and went down to the hall for a breath of fresh air. Actually by then, quite a lot of people were already up and about. Considering that there were about 100 of us, sharing 2 bathrooms and 4 toilets, all of us were determined to beat the queue.

By 2.30am, we were all wrapped up in our winter wear and armed with our camera, binoculars, water and a torchlight, we met our guide and set off, together with almost everyone. It would be another 1km to the last control station and from there, 1.7km to the summit. To catch the sunrise, we have to be there by 6am.

It was the hardest part of the whole journey.

Not only was I tired with the 7 hours of hard trekking the day before, I was doing the toughest 1km trek in near pitch darkness. A few gave up along the way. At one part, there was nothing to hold on to except the rope. It was pretty scary when all you have is this little torchlight and you are trying to see where to put your next step, knowing full well that if you missed your step, you would be rolling down the mountain. Ok, before I frighten off everyone, it’s actually not so bad when it’s daylight but when you are tired, hungry and it’s dark… every fear is magnified 100 times.

Me hanging on for my dear life… and I’m not joking…

By 5am, I had reached the last control check point- Sayat Sayat Hut. This was at 3,668.1m and I have been climbing for more than 2 hours. I just couldn’t go on anymore. It will probably be one of my few regrets in life…but I told hubby to carry on without me. I’ll wait for him at the hut, where there were 3 other girls huddling together.

The hut was really very rundown and it had a musty smell about it. It was also cold but I was too dead tired to care anymore. I fell asleep only to wake up an hour later to find my fingers frozen cold (despite wearing thick gloves). I am definitely not suited to the cold climate!

I could see sunrays shining through the windows. Hurray!!!! Dawn at last! I wonder where hubby was and if he made it to the summit in time….

I Came, I Saw, I (almost) Conquered- part 1

I posted this sometime last year, shortly after my ‘walking’ experience. Whilst going through my emails, I came upon this and decided to post it here, to relive that trip. To those who have read it before, err… maybe you want to read my kimchi blog instead. hehe! ^^

Written on 1st March 2005
Tim and I had a very eventful holiday week (well, it was more eventful for me than for him).

Our interests are quite similar. We both love nature and animals and don’t mind going for walks. However, his definition of walk sometimes goes a little further than mine. So when he suggested climbing Mt Kota Kinabalu (which basically, is the highest mountain in SEAsia), I was a little apprehensive. But he assured me, I quote: “No problem, you can do it. Everyone says it’s easy!” I have reminded him of this assurance that conned me into going, with every aching opportunity.

We decided to try out one of those budget airline for this trip. We took Air Asia, which was basically ok except for the troublesome fact that you HAVE to travel to Senai airport. We also did not know that it was free seating till we got on the plane and realised that most of the good seats were taken. No wonder everyone was queuing up at the gate earlier! Jetstar and Value Air definitely better but unfortunately, they don’t fly to Sabah.

 

 

Mt Kinabalu is in Sabah and part of East Malaysia. Compared to Sarawak, Sabah seems less laid back, We covered the national museum and the Bird Sanctuary within one afternoon (frankly speaking, Singapore’s Sungei Buloh is much better in terms of birds viewing). The museum is adequate and we spent a very pleasant lunch hour in the park just behind the museum, where they had put up lots of traditional houses. It was a very nice surrounding, except for the Chinese pop music that the guard was blaring away on his radio.

KK is pretty boring but beyond KK, there’s lots to do, particularly if you’re into nature, adventure or sports. However, the view from our hotel was quite something. And it was a little more happenning along the waterfront..if you are into cafes, food and drinking. View from Hyatt Hotel.

 

 

Anyway, after spending 2 rather uneventful nights in KK, we were off to the exciting part of our holiday on Sunday morning. Along the way, we had our first view of Mt Kinabalu. I must say it looks magnificent and rather scarily high.

Mount Kota Kinabalu
We checked into the Kinabalu Park HQ. Kinabalu Park, with Mt Kinabalu within it, is Malaysia’s 1st world heritage site. There are beautiful lodgings at the Park’s HQ and most climbers will stay for at least a night here before starting off for the climb the next day. The room is spacious, roomy though a little basic. But the views more than made up for it.

 

Hill Lodge- one of the accommodation at the Park
 

 

 

The park has hundreds of wild orchids, including the world’s smallest orchid, as well as numerous pitcher plants and the famous, rare Rafflesia. It has beautiful and vast biodiversity, ranging from the lowland rainforest to the bare granite. The temperature ranges from the normal tropical 30’s deg C to the freezing cold of below 0 deg C. There are also many trails that you can wonder on your own (in case you are not crazy enough to attempt the mountain) and we tried out one on our own in the afternoon. Although on hindsight, I should have just stayed put inside our lodgings and enjoy the view as I would be walking ALOT the following 2 days.

The view of the mountain right outside our front door was a sight to behold! At night, the sky was brilliantly clear and you could see all the stars as well as the beautiful moon. Definitely cannot get that kind of view in Singapore. Sigh….

View of the mountain from outside our room

The next morning we were off at about 8.30am. The summit trail starts at the Timpohon Gate, which is 1,829m high. Our guide must have thought I was very fit because he began to walk at a rather fast pace (well, fast for me anyway. Considering that for every step he took, I have to take two steps!)

Oh, before I continue, just a few things to point out.

A) We have to get a guide as well as a permit.

B) We have to carry our own luggage on the 6km trek up the mountain to our next lodging for the night before the final summit. That means no unnecessary stuff like toner, cleanser, cosmetic etc…. But you have to carry the necessary things like warm clothes (temp is below zero on the summit), raincoat (it can rain within minutes), and lots of water! Bottled water costs about 5 times as much up there because they are carried all the way up by the locals who are paid about RM$3 per kilo for food. Some of these porters wear only slippers and they cover 12 km within an afternoon- up and down to Laban Rata, the lodging in the mountain!

C) If you really, really do not want to carry your own barangs- barangs, you can hire a porter to do it for you. Cost RM$7 per kilo. But then why attempt to climb the mountain if you are going to pay someone to carry your things?

Side note: One of the list of things to bring was toilet paper and dear hubby brought along a big, fat, brand, new roll, thinking that we would need it throughout the whole 4 days. Turned out we only need it at Laban Rata. So this very special roll of toilet paper has been to Mt Kinabalu and back. hahaha!

 

 

 

These porter are amazing. They walk up the mountain in shorts and slippers, carrying heavy stuff like water and food for Laban Rata, the only accomodation up in the mountain. Whilst we take about 7 to 8 hours to do this trail, dressed in protective gear, often armed with a walking stick and with many rest stops, these porters take only about slightly more than an hour to do so. Incredible!

*Only love can break a heart, but a shoe sale can come close*

*Only love can break a heart, but a shoe sale can come close*
This is the title of a comic by Cathy Guisewite, who writes a series of comics on this 30+ single woman. Quite funny, some of them and rather reflective at times too.

Shoes and bags are 2 weakness of women when it comes to shopping. Imelda Marco had thousands. I know of friends who bought different colours of the same style of shoes(strangely, never bags though). Husband fails to understand the need for the different types of black shoes- the formal, the informal, the semi-formal, the casual, the hip…

What has this got to do with my chick trip? Well bb was asking for more photos. I’m afraid there aren’t many. Don’t think many people would want to see the different shoes in the different shoe shops.

Oh wait, I did take a photo of this very interesting bar @ Starhill. Lots of coloured lights and glass. Will check it out the next time I’m there again.

Day 2
Our military strategy- to have a full breakfast and skip lunch. Shall not bore everyone writing about the food. Surface to say we were well armed. ^^

We took a taxi to this mega shopping mall- One Utama, which was about 30 minutes away from KL city centre.

I can only say that it’s big. You can spend a whole day there. We went from shop to shop (quite a few shoe shops)and didn’t even cover half of the mall. Unfortunately or fortunately (depending on which way you look at it), the shoe shops held no interest for me. I can’t buy shoes off the rack and can only customised them. My friends would know why. hehe!

We only stopped for a break when SK needed her coffee fix and SC craved for her ice cream. Well, we were on an indulgent trip.

Just how much did we shop? Ok, now this is an extreme example:
Espirit was having a sale for some of their items- up to 70% off.
We bought enough to qualify for the VIP card (min of RM$300). The VIP package has several vouchers- one of them is a 30% discount voucher.
We used the voucher and qualify for another VIP card.
We used the 2nd voucher too.

Hubby, if you’re reading this, mine was only a small part of the whole purchases. Really! I not bluffing you!

I think the salesgirls were quite glad to see us leave after a couple of hours in the shop.

Now, I had yet to buy anything back for my family. I know, I know, shame on me, right? So I decided to head down to Parkson (a big supermarket) after dinner to get some tidbits. It was the same for the other 3 girls.

So we walked towards Parkson. Determind to at least buy some stuff back, to sort of justify our trip.

We never made it there. Sigh.

Sales items should never be allowed to be displayed in the middle of the atrium to tempt innocent people like us. It’s a crime.

What did I say about shoes?
SK bought a pair of very nice shoes at 90% off.
She’s not sure if she will wear it but we all agreed it was a good bargain. Need I say more?

After all the eating and shopping, there was only one thing left to do. That night, we had a good chat till 3 in the morning.

Our school life back then, skipping classes to watch movies, the many teachers we had, the various classmates and what became of them. Who went out with whom. Who dumped whom. Who married whom.
We laughed over our crushes and ex-boyfriends.
Some funny, some not so funny, some lasted for a long time, some were short-lived. Some were beautiful and some were heart breaking.

We talked about the crush I had a crush for this guy for the longest time ever and the dramatic break-up of SK. Our marriages now. What might have been. What could have been. What will be.

It was good to catch up.

Day 3
Our coach was leaving at 3pm in the afternoon so there was only time for a quick shopping spree in the morning for the dvds. Shhh……

We were tired on the way back so we didn’t talk much. In fact, l slept pretty much throughout the journey. Good way to catch up with my sleep. Hehehe!

And so there it is, my chick trip.
Nothing eventful. Nothing exceptional. I think the only thing we regretted was the fact that we didn’t managed to go for our spa treatment. Next time I guess.

My 3 beautiful good friends.

有缘千里来相会 – One will meet across the miles if it’s destined to
无缘对面不相识 – One will never meet across the street if not destined to

Life at 17.
Life at 40.
Here’s to life at 60. : )

Why did the chicks cross the border?

I was going to put this off again until a friend told me this morning that she was so inspired by my “Girls just want to have fun’ post that she’s going to attempt to do the same thing… AND she’s going to put on the blame on me to her husband.

Hmmmm……????

Actually, I think a chick trip once in a while is really good for recharging.

So to provide even more inspiration and support to her, here’s an account of my chick trip….

Day 1

As usual, I didn’t pack my bag till the night (or rather the morning) of the trip. I was actually agonising over whether to bring along a soft travel bag or a cabin bag. A soft bag will be easier to carry but a cabin bag will have more space for shopping…… Guess which bag I took in the end?

Husband was rolling his eyes and shaking his head as I rush around like a headless chicken trying to do everything at the same time…But he didn’t say a word….he was too used to my behaviour the night before a holiday.

We had booked one of those coach package- 1st class coach, with 2 nights stay at a 5 star hotel. Pretty good deal at under $200.

The coach was going to leave early- 7.30am to be precise. It was way too early! So I did what any sensible women would do… I batted my eyelids and smiled very sweetly at husband. He drove me and NT there.

The first class coach
This was the first time I was taking the 1st class coach. I must say I am impressed.

16 seaters, with individual TV screen, videos and games on demand and games and food and drinks provided. Even the driver and the ‘cabin steward’ wear a suit. But the most important feature of all, of which the transport company has been agrressively promoting as their unique feature:

THE VIBRATING……………… CHAIR!

Now what were you thinking of? Tsk! Tsk! It’s actually a massage chair.

Press button 1- it massages your legs
Press button 2- it massages your back
Press button 3- it does your back and legs (I think)
Press button 4- err… can’t remember where it massages but some parts of the seat vibrates

After about 10 minutes of all the massaging, I stopped. As one of my friend said later: “It’s giving me a headache.” Alright, it’s really not that bad and I’m sure many people do use it but it’s not a winning formula for me.

Now videos on demand. That’s something to shout about. I managed to watch “Double Agent” (Korean) and almost all of Quill (Japanese). Why almost? Well, there was about 10 minutes left of the movie when we reached our destination. It was the same with SK too. It was quite funny, as both of us actually didn’t want to get off the bus… we were frantically trying to fast forward the movie…

Me in my first class seat
The trip went smoothly, with a short ‘toilet stop’ and we reached KL’s Pasarakyat Bus Terminal at about 12.15pm. Not bad really.

After putting our bags in the room, we activated our plan- lunch and shopping.

Bukit Bintang is within what is called the Golden Triangle, the eaquivalent of Orchard Road. We had lunch at Starhill, a new shopping mall sandwiched between JW Marriot and Ritz Carlton. Lots of high end stores within this mall. Very well and tastefully designed… So well and impressed were we that we took photos inside the toilet! SShhhhhh……!

I don’t know about the other F&B outlets but the dim sum from Chinese restaurant in the basement was fantastic….. Yummy! Thumbs up and highly recommended. I think it was called Luk Yu.

And then it was just shopping and more shopping.

We had no particular plans. We just wandered into shops that took our fancy…. normally shops with sale signs attract us. I think that’s the best part about going on a holiday with girlfriends.

You don’t feel guilty about shopping for hours on end.
You try anything that interests you.
You try things that don’t interest you at the urging of your girlfriends.

And then you sit down for a drink to recuperate…. and then you shop some more. Husbands and boyfriends wouldn’t and couldn’t last through such a schedule.

By about 9pm, we were tired, hungry, carrying lots of bags. Very hungry.

So we headed down to Jalan Alor- hawker food at its best. If you are looking for a clean environment, then forget about this place. The hawkers set up their stalls on the pavement next to a road. In front of blocks of very old, blackish flats. I don’t know how these residents sleep through the noise and smell but it sure provide for great people watching. Indeed, we spotted quite a few of them sitting in their balcony and looking at the crowd. The stalls stretched the length of the road, which basically means you’re spoilt for choice. We had some hard decisions to make.

And then we caught the people at the other tables staring at us.

I’m embarrassed to say that our table was groaning with food. I’m even more embarrassed to say that the 4 of us actually finished all the food.

Oh well, what’s a holiday if you can’t binge. I’ll regret it when I come back to Singapore of course. But at that moment, my philosophy was: “Who cares?”

Here’s a good site to go to on infor about Jalan Alor- ttp://www.malaysiasite.nl/jalanaloreng.htm

All these activities, well, they’re not really the most exciting, are it? But we weren’t looking for excitment. We just wanted a break from having to cook, wash, look after children, husband and work.

Why did the chicks cross the border?
To have a break away from the coop.