Good morning height seekers!
There must be a missing part. We were late again despite the fact that we were the nearest to the restaurant. We, as in Valerie, Ervie, Adrian, Phui Tin and me. Nonetheless, breakfast was good. Conversations were about yesterday sleep. Chia Li argued that she heard singing tunes while Forcy grumbled, "Got people in toilet but didn't turn on the light woh..".

As soon as the clock ticked 8am, we ditched our table and straight to headquarter. Everybody gear up their thickest jacket, fittest jeans and looked at me - wearing a long sleeve shirt and a short. I was comfortable with my attire although the weather was abit nippy.

First check point - Timpohon
After spending more than an hour at the office, we finally got our green light to proceed. We registered our larger bags at the headquarter for a price of RM1 per bag. We had 3 guides therefore we were broken into 3 smaller groups of 7-7-6. A short briefing was conducted by our guides and our name tag were distributed.

A feeder bus then ferried us to Timpohon gate - our first check point. The time was high and everybody posed under the sign of "SELAMAT MENDAKI". Snaps after snaps of photos (again) only to realized that it was not Timpohon gate! It was just a normal "SELAMAT MENDAKI" sign! By the time we saw the real signature Timponon gate, the fire of photographing no longer burning.

 

Adventure starts!
Time was 9.15am and we officially started our hike to Laban Rata. Kong Wai took the lead. Laughter and singing can be heard. Air was cooling and everybody was like aaaaaahh~~. A happy day.

7 huts along the way averaging 45 minutes per hut. Untreated water tasted as good as bottled water. Some said that it taste better than Evian. I leave this to the taster. You just got to taste it yourself to know. Clean toilet was made available at every shelter hut. A very well maintained trail I would say. Almost at every hut, we were greeted by a bunch of squirrels. We were like kindergarden kids looking at squirrels for the first time. Unafraid of visitors, these fat squirrels steadily grabbed our chocolates away.

"Look! Squirrelss!!!"

"Woooaahhhhh!! Sooo faaaattttt!!!"

"Camera! Camera! Camera!"

 

 

Higher we went
We walk passed the clouds and the peak can be seen vividly. Every corner we took, "Wah! Beautiful scenenary!.... Wah! Another beautiful scenenary... Wah! .. and another!". No matter where we looked, the scenenary was incredible. It was the top-of-the-world feeling.

As we tracked higher, the challenge grew. The steps grew steeper and the temperature went cooler. Our team no longer in one piece as we walked at different pace. Some started to have difficulty in breathing while some was repeatedly questioning about the remaining distance to Laban Rata. My pace got slower as I started to experience altitude sickness. I had headache and I wasn't interested in talking anymore.

"Take your time and walk up one step at a time..."

"Yeah, I know ... cause it's impossible to take 2 steps at a time...."

I finally reached Laban Rata at 3.30pm. The first thing I said was, "Don't talk to me. I can't think". I took a nap without even looking at the astonishing view right in front of me. I fell asleep at the helipad.

Laban Rata
I woke up 10 minutes later and awed at the view. I realized that I was really at Laban Rata! My headache was instantly cured. Magic! Many had reached before me. Overwhelmed, we started taking photographs and yelling happily. My happiness only lasted for a while before the @#)$*%!#$%& headache came back.

I drained down 2 panadols and dived straight to bed worrying about the next day >>