i'm home.

the trail was more difficult than i expected? alotta kiddies were going so i thought it would be fairly easy. BUT i forgot that the kiddies are mad fit, lightweight, and over-enthusiastic. they all mount everest also can lah. (figuratively)

the climb was definitely much more difficult than lombong. alot more harsh uphill trekking and less rock climbing. the uphill stair-like trail just seemed neverending, and towards the summit it got so tough and it started raining while we were trying to climb up boulders. apparently by that stage some people were half crazy and making all sorts of strange noises while trying to push themselves up, haha (p. sng p. sng!) i was slow but i was in the first group (all the kan cheong kids lah) to arrive at the summit very much ahead of time. was always one of the stragglers of the first group. the boys were very nice and helpful and... sturdy. they would sometimes wait while i was busy panting, or turn back and make sure i was still alive. marc was the best cos he always offered an actual helping hand. dunno why everybody else so scared to lend hand. as if i would rip it off or something.

sher and my "to-be-shared" bag was carried by sher most of the way cos i got so winded whenever i carried it. so while climbing i told her i'd make her a thank you card the size of the bag, hah.

the view at the summit was great. at first the clouds covered everything, but they slowly parted just for us. it was really the toppest top so there wasn't much room, but enough to take loads of pics, which are all over with everybody cos we all brought cams. i think i look really bad in them though. was very muddy and grosse from the rainy boulder climb just before. pulled all my hair back into a bun and wore a hairband, which gave me two even abrasions behind my ears. nice.

when we weren't at mt. ophir we were at the resort, namely on thursday evening and saturday afternoon. it was alright.. three star? i dunno. my roommates were nice. there was a waterfall, like three waterfalls a little trek up from the resort and some of us were crazy enough to trek SOMEMORE after coming down the mountain and returning to the resort today, just to enjoy it. it's like the fraser's hill waterfall times three, and alot cleaner with alot of space to play. just as cold, very shiok. don't regret the extra exercise but was in pain going up and down.

along the way on the climb i was seriously breathless, muscles were straining to the max, was thinking to myself "why in the world did i pay to do this why in the world did i pay to do this... where's the stupid rest point... where's the freaking summit where's the freaking summit" x 1000. but i had no intention of quitting, simply because it would be impractical (have to waste energy going DOWN without having seen the top?) and super waste money lah! so in fact instead of thinking of quitting i was thinking what should be done if i died along the way. told sher to bury me in some convenient spot so i don't burden someone else with carrying my remains down. the kind of talk older people snap at. choy choy!

we could get up and down in two days cos we didn't start from the very base like everyone else. a bus took us to slightly above the base where's the official information huts with maps and stuff and we started climbing there. and we were so ahead of schedule thanks to those kan cheong fit kids lah. practically zooming up.

at our camp site there were NEW TOILETS, life savers! we camped near a reservoir two hours down from the summit, really pretty. gabe and sher and i boiled alot of water for the cup noodles. we were the 'older teens' so all the other kids were driven away from the fire and we decided to do the boiling. just before lights out there was some issue with my sleeping place cos i wanted to sleep outside where it's much cooler and more comfortable but wasn't allowed to cos there were guys sleeping outside. anyways i didn't wanna make an issue out of it so i just moved back into the tent. it's called respecting authority. spoonful of swallowing my own rights and views because it would simply make things ugly unnecessarily. i was moved to a tent with more space after reshuffling some people (seems like all my fault.) and i tried my best to relax and catch some sleep. i can usually sleep anywhere on any surface (it's a talent) but i cannot sleep in humid heat or with people snoring their lungs out, both of which were present at that time. thank God i still managed to wake up on time and felt alright. haha, when i unzipped the tent and stood up, the ache in the thighs kicked in full force and i hung on to a pole in front of my tent and held it to my face for a good 10 seconds in the blue early morning light saying "uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." freaking people out.

summary of events:
THURSDAY
admiralty MRT dinner with jay, leave.
kena stuck at m'sia imm cos my photo was too outdated. kena brought into "the room".
reach the resort around 1. supper pack bathe and sleep.

FRIDAY
wake up ridiculously early. breakfast, devotion, bus, climb.
checkpoints 1,2,3,4,5, small stream which i drank from. the guide said it was totally drinkable but the parents who were there forbade their kids from drinking it so it was a bit weird me drinking it in front of them. but i had to choose between diarrhea and parasites or dying from thirst since i was out of water so i chose diarrhea and parasites, which i didn't get also fyi. actually parasites i dunno i have or not...
summit. photos. happy like mad.
climb down to camp. sad like mad.
reach camp, chiong for shower. pitch tent cook play cards icebreakers sharing (everyone had to share something. every single person.) zee.

SATURDAY
wake up ridiculously early. breakfast devotion pack climb down using the rough road for four-wheelers.
reach base, hop on bus.
reach resort, change, trek to waterfalls. (siao right? pay money already mah must do everything.)
queue to bathe, bathe, lunch, LOL session, photo taking.
hop on coach and head home.
drop off at marsling mrt and catch ride from the ongs. (thanks!)

i've managed to not break a single nail (hoho!) AND i've manages to keep my white shiny legs scar free. the graze on my knee doesn't count since it's.. on my knee. sadly i have a truckload of blisters.

more when i have the energy. goodnight for now. wow, boom bam baby what a long post!