hi!

bercuti!

jumpa lah bila aku balik cuti nanti ye :)

p/s: malam ni test. makjemah mestilah  guna teknik imbas sahaja

p/s:  ada lagi 14 hari untuk submit dissertation. progress is 80%

hari ini 1 Rejab. maknanya lagi 2 bulan (kalendar islam) ramadhan bakal muncul kembali. time flies like a jet plane, no? well it sure felt like i was in time travel because it is almost half way tru 2012! celebrating and wishing people 'happy new year' seemed only a few days ago. now, we are already approaching ramadhan! 

with june about to settle in, i am having very very very VERY cold feet. june marks the most hectic month for me, this year. with a dissertation (mini thesis) to be completed before the 11th, i got my hands full of other stuffs too (running a 10km marathon is one of them!). i am halfway done with my dissertation (currently struggling with chapter 4) and my student work will not end after the submission. i still have a few more assignments (which i am totally don't have any clue when to submit) and 1 final paper to sit! i hope everything (especially my research goes well) and i will be able to graduate on time with the rest of my classmates. expectation for this semester is pretty high, judging from my previous CGPA, 4.00 is the only number i should be reading on my result slip. no more below than 3.92!

i am still not clear of my path after graduating. even with the scholarship and a somewhat 'secure' that i am going to be one of uitm's lecturer, i still feel unsure of it. i know it is not going to be as easy as it seems ; get scholar-graduate-tadaaa you're a lecturer! kind of thing. in between graduation and becoming a lecturer, i am sure there opt to be something i have to go tru before planning on what type of sofa i should get for my room office. and will i be able to be a good lecturer? will be able to teach with only 2 years of experience in the communication field? these are the things which occupy my thought every now and then. 

on the same plate, i still have an empty spot in the 'love life' section. parents and friends and even little cousins have bee asking 'when is the big day?". how can there be a big day when there is absolutely no future groom! thinking about it, i don't think i will be knocking the wedding bells anytime soon. judging on how socially awkward i am in front of guys i like and by other guys' definition of me as 'too garang'; i think i might go on a euro backpack trip first before settling down (perhaps i'll find mr.ema during the trip :p). i am in no rush to get married but once in a while it breaks my tiny heart to think that, will my parents be there to see me in my wedding dress on my wedding day? will they be there smiling ear to ear celebrating their only daughter's big day? will they be there, all excited planning the venue? i am in no rush, but how long will ALLAH lend me my parents so that they will be there for my wedding day? for the birth of my child? thinking about it made me want to marry the next guy i bump into! (don't worry i wont be doing it, literally. just a figure of speech). 

O ALLAH, please grant my parents wish to see their daughter become someone's else responsibility :)

time flies fast. and when it flies by, you'll never catch it back. you will have to set your pace and fly together with it. i am already hitting 25 years old. i sometimes stand in front of the mirror and ask myself "does the 17 years old me want to look/ be like this when i am 25?".

i can't turn back time nor i can make it go any slower. but im sure i can cherish every second of it :)

DO revise back what u need at the last check point. masa kat pondok terakhir sblm simpang ke laban rata, porter akan tanya kau for the last time kalau ada apa2 yang ko nak ambil dalam beg yang dia carry. masa ni fikir bebaik bang sbb lps tu porter mmg akan bukak pace the flash die mmg tak jumpa dah smp lah kat laban rata. masa ni blh la nk amek glove dan mafla sbb it will get very cold on the last 2km to laban rata. masa aku mmg sejuk gaban sbb aku smp agak lewat. 6.30pm br smp laban rata. dah gelap and angin sgt2 kuat. menyesal mak jemah tak ambil glove!

bila tiba di laban rata:

DO eat. sampai mesti makan. aku makan macam orang kebulur sbb mmg lapar plus kesejukan. tp jangan smp kenyang terlampau kang muntah pulak. 

kalau korang kental korang mandi. kalau spesis tak berapa nak kental mcm aku ni...mmg aku tak pandang pun shower. bukan ape, sejuknya mcm duduk dlam freezer. bayangkan snickers dlm beg blh keras mcm batu! tp yakinlah, kalau kau tak mandi, kau mmg buat keputusan yang betul sbb mmg tak ramai y mandi.

DO wear what you're going to wear for the hike to sleep. apa yang kau nak pakai mendaki ke puncak, itulah yang kau pakai buat tidur. sbb tu tak payah ssh2 bwk baju tidur. bear in mind, masa ni mmg sejuk luar biasa jadi mmg akan pakai berlapis lapis. apa yang aku pakai?

- longjohn 

-seluar trek

- long sleeve shirt

-short sleeve shirt

-sweater

-2 lapis stokin

itu pun masih menggigil lagi!

DO sleep as early as you can. kumpul tenaga dapatkan rehat yang cukup sbb pkul 2am dah nak mula mendaki. simpan saje niat nk share pengalaman mendaki dari mersilau tu. dh smp bwh nnt cerita lah smp rasa nk muntah. agak2 korang ada hati lagi ke nak jenguk bilik kawan2 sbb nk bercerita? TAK DE DERRR. ko cuma nak lelap je time tu.itu je y paling enak.

DO telan panadol sbelum tido. precaution takut demam esoknya. rugi je dh smp laban rata tak blh naik puncak kang.

DO pack all your bags before you sleep. ini kes takut terlambat turun dari puncak. check out adalah pada pukul 10.30am kalau tak sempat kena byr rm100/hour. mampu? jadi mana2 yang tak perlu tu simpan elok2 dlam beg senang orang keluarkan kalu kita lambat. yang korang bawak ke puncak cumalah air dan sedikit makanan. beg kecik dah memadai. baju semua tinggal simpan elok elok. tongkat tu optional nak bwk ke tak ke puncak. aku tak bwk sbb rs leceh nk panjat tngga dan batu2.tak bwk pn ok bwk pn ok cuma leceh korang nk pegang time naik batu2.

DON'T eat too much before the hike. nnt masa supper mmg korang akan terliur tgk mcm2 hidangan yang disediakan. tip top ala2 hotel dah. tp kawal nafsu sikit. beringat sbb jauh nk daki ni. curam pulak tu naik tangga pulak tu. kalau makan byk nnt semput. ada kebarangkalian utk muntah! Jadi makanlah sekadar alas perut. nasi ke mihun ke lebih elok jgn sentuh.berat!

DO bring extra gloves. pasti mmg pasti glove akan basah dan korang akan extra sejuk bila dah kat summit. angin kencang dgn kabus dan embun lagi. kalau dpt bli glove yng windproof lagi elok so your hands will stay warm. masa mula daki puncak aku pakai glove ice skating kat dlm pakai glove doktor tu. itu pun tgn basah jugak! nasib baik ada spare glove blh tukar bila dah habis part kena pegang tali. ada duit lebih beli lah penutup hidung spy hidung korang tak keras beku mcm aku. hingus meleleh bak juara pn dh tak rasa. kalau tak ada bajet pakai buff je lah kat hidung tp kurang selesa sikit lah.

KUATKAN MENTAL korang. mmg ada masanya akan rasa mcm nk give up duduk je lah atas batu janji dh lepas sayat sayat. puncak dh nmpk dari jauh tapi jalan tak smp sampai jugak. mental memang kena kuat. cabar diri sendiri. penat mmg penat tp kepuasan selepas berjaya tawan puncak tak boleh nak tulis mcm mana. masa nak daki ke laban rata pun mental kena bersedia. jalan tak selalunya landai cuaca pun tak selalunya sedap. tgk signboard lagi 500m tp rasa mcm 5km. semua mainan minda. agak2 korang rasa mcm dh tak sanggup nak teruskan...berhentilah sekejap muhasabah balik diri. kau yang nak daki kau yang keluarkan duit, takkan kau nak berhenti sebab kau penat? penat dan sakit cuma sementara. moment kat atas kekal smp kau mati.

perlahan tak apa janji sampai!

the jetty is only 10-15mins walking distance from our lodging. i don't know how much we paid for the boat ride to the island (it was all in the package) but i guess it was around rm10-20 kot. you can rent the snorkelling equipment before going onto the boat. sepuluh ringgit sahaja untuk goggle dan life jacket :)

it took us 10mins to reach manukan island from the jetty. the boat ride was awesome! there were 3 boats of us all together, racing against each other. we spent around 3 hours in manukan and mamutik; snorkelling. my verdict: manukan's beach is clearer than mamutik but you get to see more corals in mamutik rather than manukan. not much to see in manukan but it is drop dead gorgeous! the water is crystal clear with lots of small fishes swimming by the sea shore.

manukan. see the layers of the sea water? beautiful!

fishes!

we arrived at the mainland by 1pm because we need to check out from the lodge. packed all bags and kept it in the small 'bag room' then off we went to the pasar filipina (again) for last minute shopping!. had lunch at suria sabah (japanese steamboat).

le awal

le awal with le fans

we were at the airport by 7pm. checked all bags in dan biasalah kalau dah pergi becuti beg balik mesti lebih berat dari beg masa datang. all of us had to pay an extra rm10 for our luggages. ok la dari kena bayar sekor2 beg sendiri tak ke tercekik? our flight was at 8.10pm and arrived in LCCT around 11pm. sebelum masing masing balik rumah, there was a little certificate giving ceremony. yay we got 2 certificates each! tgk sijil terkebil kebil sebab macam tak percaya sudah sampai puncak kinabalu dengan jayanya walaupun perlahan :p

the guys. these guys are great guys! and good looking too :) kalau ada yang baca silalah kembangkan hidung korang sebesar mungkin.

the ladies :) i miss them!

we started our journey around 8.45 am. mersilau trail is the easy way up but it is 2km longer than timpohon trail. bak kata orang gunung ni kira pendakian santai. the mersilau trail is considered santai because you don't have to 'pacak' all the time. kadang kadang jalan rata then naik tangga sikit then daki sikit sikit. but the scenery is AMAZING! memang cantik! we were going 'ooh' 'wow' 'cantiknya' all the way up. jalan sikit stop snap gambar. 

the 1st 6km was okay for me. tiring but ok i can still focus and keep my mind sane. both my bags were carried by the porter which cost rm9 per kg (up and down). we stopped at layang layang hut for a short lunch/solat break. the wind was blowing so hard! masa kat layang layang dah mula rasa extra sejuk sbb dah nk hampir ke puncak. 

the last 2km was hell. no lie la i almost lost my mind and went crazy. it was getting very cold (and i did not have my windbreaker or gloves with me) and almost dark. jalan macam dah jauh tapi tengok2 baru 100m. the rocky trail and stairs added more tense. angin dan mula kencang time tu peha pun dah mula bagi tanda2 lenguh sebab panjat batu dan tangga2 batu. the most horror part was the last 500m! yes lagi 500m nak sampai to laban rata rasa hampir gila. kenapa?

- sebab mendaki batu batu which clearly hurt my legs so bad

- it is like a never ending hike. you hike and hike and hike but it seemed like there's no end to it

- it was freezing cold! i could not feel my nose and mucus was flowing like waterfall

- i was dead tired

it says on the marker that we have another 500m to go but judging from the trail, it is like more than 1km! when i finally reached laban rata the wind was so strong it almost blew me away! literally! i was shivering with cold and hungry some more. i reached laban rata around 6.30 pm. it was already dark! sampai terus makan mcm tak makan seminggu. the pain did not end there. laban rata was not equipped with room heater and water heater. it was literally a giant human freezer! nak kencing or basuh muka memang fikir seribu kali. air botol letak tepi katil jadi sejuk mcm letak dalam peti. coklat sneakers keras mcm letak dlm freezer! imagine if you were to take a bath. mati kejung kot!. bibir memang dah biru lah sebab sejuk sangat. luckily we didn't sweat along the way up so bath was not an option. i washed my face and changed. tidur pakai 4 lapis baju 2 lapis seluar and 2 lapis stokin plus the comforter but still; mengigil kesejukan. we have to sleep early since we have to wake up as early as 1am to get ready to hike to the peak!

simpang antara timpohon and mersilau trail. the start of the last 2km.

i don't know la how many hours exactly it took to actually reach our destination. around 4 - 5 hours kot? bila dah smp then only i know that we were heading to kudat. what's in kudat you may ask? the tip of Borneo! we were literally at the tip of borneo. kalau tak tahu kat mana tip of borneo blh tgk peta yang macam telinga arnab tu. itu lah tip of borneo :)

only 1 word to describe this place : BEAUTIFUL!

the scenery was breath taking i tell you! jaw dropping! we spent around 1 hour there enjoying the amazing scenery and snapping photos. and tapau-ed some lunch. oh dan merasa lah jugak makan goreng pisang 'cardboard'.  

then back onto the bus (and sleep some more) until we reached kota belud. a short pit stop to makan and solat. i opt to go solat since i was not hungry. the local mosque is like a giant maze! we were going around the mosque looking for the ladies room. we had to hurry because it is only a short stop plus it was going to rain. 

after i dont know how many hours, we finally reached kundasang. to be exact ; the kinabalu park. 12 hours of bus ride! kematu vontot mak noks! we got off the bus and was greeted with chills and winds. it was so cold! we were not dressed for this kind of weather. the timpohon team stayed in kinabalu park while the rest of us (mersilau team) got into the van to the mersilau inn (kot nama dia). mersilau is 2km away from timpohon.by this time, all of us were starving. the cold weather did not help....at all!

upon arrival, we went straight to the cafe and gobble down the food. the food was great (or we were just too hungry that everything tasted so good). makan makan borak gelak then abg sam (le organizer) hand us our hiking tag. i was lucky number 13 :)

our 'awal ashaari'.

kali ni memang murah rezeki sebab abg sam cakap pihak mersilau bagi upgrade bilik best. dulu 1 bilik 6 orang but we got i bilik 2 orang. i chalet ade 3 rooms so 6 person per chalet. the room is awesome mmg cantik! i wish we could have stayed longer there. silap pulak sampai2 dah malam. i shared room with faten and jaja got a room for herself sbb perempuan semua ada 11 orang. konon sblm smp plan nk tido awal but we were too excited with the room siap duduk ramai2 tgk Rango. tapi tapi tapi no phone line! mmg semua tak dapat line. nmpk la muka sorang2 gelisah sbb phone tak berguna.