There and back again
The second trip, we were more adventurous. Having made it to Orchid Valley, it was time to stretch our limits further, so the next destination was obviously Gunung Pulai, the famous waterfall for UTM students wanting some time away from civilization. This time it was just between me and Ngiam. Armed with better bikes, we made it there (a rough 20km) in an hour, an improvement. Our fish loving and nature enthusiast Ngiam was set on exploring a new path to the top of the hill and me being quite adventurous, decided to follow him on his quest upwards to find the water source. Following a small stream, we hiked in unchartered area of the dense forest, pausing often to push some vegetations or thorny plants (which seemed to form a strong affinity to Ngiam, perhaps because of the type of fabric he was wearing).
This went on for almost two hours, and still the water source was not to be found. It was becoming a nightmare. Before our eyes the hill seemed an eternity upwards, blocked with a maze of greenery sprouting in all shapes and sizes. Behind was another eternity jungle of green life and I could not even see whence we came from. Worst of all, the small stream seemed to have evaporated into thin air, probably dried and shriveled up during the last dry season. I began to remember my lessons from the National Park (Taman Negara), trying to alert my pseudo animal instincts to any signs of water source and also surrounding menace.
At that instance, we both agreed that since we had endured that much of torturing, the only way was to finish it off by continuing the journey UP!
(To people who are reading this and are interested in small and sharp details, you might have noticed I have failed to include our bikes till now. Well, they are tied to some trees at the bottom of the hill, and no, of course we are not crazy enough to carry them with us.)
It was a glorious feeling when we spotted the top after three hours of endless hiking (with stops in between). Since this is not a fiction, I could not tell you happily that we found the water source, because the top was as dried as those dates served during Chinese New Year or Muslim break fast dinners. I was exhausted, thirsty and sweating like a pig. Water supply was really low. It was lunch hour and the only edibles we had was a big packet of Mamee.
It is funny that at odd moments in life, small things become such cravings to you. Like the time I yearned for sambal (spicy prawn paste) during the three months in Beijing and the time I wanted so much to eat a McD cheeseburger in the middle of the night. During the whole hike in Gunung Pulai, I had one yearning, and that was to drink cold icy sweet orange juice!
After rest, we made our way down and I was personally worried about getting lost. The highlight of the whole trip was when Ngiam suddenly alerted and stopped me. To my delight and horror, a slithery bright green snake was basking in the sun atop a seven foot tree, which was approximately four meters away from us. I was immediately awakened to the fact that we did not belong here at all. The menace was us. It was the same feeling I had that during the “Burung Hantu” night walk. Even the mosquitoes belonged there more than us.
Getting back to civilization was a real relief. We had our needed meal at almost four. I immediately ordered something cold to drink. The instant the smooth cold feeling gushed into my throat; I felt I was in heaven. That sensation had since climbed my chart of “most euphoric moments in life”. You see, little things like this are what makes life worth experiencing and living J
The misadventure of our second cycling trip ended with the curtains of sunset rays falling on our sweaty backs.
This went on for almost two hours, and still the water source was not to be found. It was becoming a nightmare. Before our eyes the hill seemed an eternity upwards, blocked with a maze of greenery sprouting in all shapes and sizes. Behind was another eternity jungle of green life and I could not even see whence we came from. Worst of all, the small stream seemed to have evaporated into thin air, probably dried and shriveled up during the last dry season. I began to remember my lessons from the National Park (Taman Negara), trying to alert my pseudo animal instincts to any signs of water source and also surrounding menace.
At that instance, we both agreed that since we had endured that much of torturing, the only way was to finish it off by continuing the journey UP!
(To people who are reading this and are interested in small and sharp details, you might have noticed I have failed to include our bikes till now. Well, they are tied to some trees at the bottom of the hill, and no, of course we are not crazy enough to carry them with us.)
It was a glorious feeling when we spotted the top after three hours of endless hiking (with stops in between). Since this is not a fiction, I could not tell you happily that we found the water source, because the top was as dried as those dates served during Chinese New Year or Muslim break fast dinners. I was exhausted, thirsty and sweating like a pig. Water supply was really low. It was lunch hour and the only edibles we had was a big packet of Mamee.
It is funny that at odd moments in life, small things become such cravings to you. Like the time I yearned for sambal (spicy prawn paste) during the three months in Beijing and the time I wanted so much to eat a McD cheeseburger in the middle of the night. During the whole hike in Gunung Pulai, I had one yearning, and that was to drink cold icy sweet orange juice!
After rest, we made our way down and I was personally worried about getting lost. The highlight of the whole trip was when Ngiam suddenly alerted and stopped me. To my delight and horror, a slithery bright green snake was basking in the sun atop a seven foot tree, which was approximately four meters away from us. I was immediately awakened to the fact that we did not belong here at all. The menace was us. It was the same feeling I had that during the “Burung Hantu” night walk. Even the mosquitoes belonged there more than us.
Getting back to civilization was a real relief. We had our needed meal at almost four. I immediately ordered something cold to drink. The instant the smooth cold feeling gushed into my throat; I felt I was in heaven. That sensation had since climbed my chart of “most euphoric moments in life”. You see, little things like this are what makes life worth experiencing and living J
The misadventure of our second cycling trip ended with the curtains of sunset rays falling on our sweaty backs.
posted by Hui Woon+~*'*'*~+.._.. @ 1:06 AM
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