after breakfast, posing with our tags.yep....there's a few part...so i had a great time in KK..on the 1st nite we arrived, we reached Kinabalu Park at 3am!!its about 2 hours drive from airport and it was foggy as we go higher up the mountain..only had maybe 2-3 hours of sleep...actually can't even sleep well cos it was cold...really cold...and the water in the toilet was freezing cold...but we still need to brush our teeth and wash our face....
at 8am, we're all pumped up and ready to conquer the mountain! we started our journey from Timpohon gate at 10.15am and only reached Laban Rata at 3.15pm...supposed to take 4 hours only but i guess with 16 ppl and mostly physically unfit ppl...tend to take longer lar...
for me personally, the physical challenge wasn't the greatest challenge...it was the mental challenge...during the whole time,was just slowly dragging myself up the path...my mind went into all sorts of thinking...negative and positive....and when i started thinking negatively, i felt drained....like there was no strength left in me but when i began to ask God for help(countless times) and tell myself i can do it....it can be done...if God is for us, who can be against us....and all those things lar....i felt lighter and i felt yes...i can do it...
one thing i learnt was..though the task ahead may seem impossible or difficult or big and fear just gripped your heart when u lift up your head to see wat's in front of u...fear can be overcomed by loloknig in front of you and taking a step forward and and forward and forward and towards the finishing line.
it doesn't matter how long it takes as long as u get there....and i do get fearful bcos i dunno if i will die up there by getting hypothermia(extreme cold condition) or my legs just wont' move cos its cold and bcos the weather was so bad, i worry that i'm not properly dressed for the cold and climb.....and i panicked..
at night at Laban Rata, i couldn't sleep much the night cos of the cold and thoughts that i may not make it.eventually, it was almost 2am and had to wake up and dressed up and go for breakfast b4 we start our climb...
bcos i was having anxiety attacks, and maybe cos of altitude sickness, i started to feel nausea and vomited a few times.....the final time i vomit, i vomited everything left in my stomach and almost immediately i felt much better...though weak, i was determined to get to the peak as long as the weather permits...
and so i climbed the steps using all 4 limbs(usually at this stage, can still hike up with both legs and hands are for stabilising only).
then.......some of the guides were doubtful as to whether i can continue on and told them not to force me to go up but i wouldn't give up or chickened out at that point!then, there was this guide( i dunno his name) came to me and told them, i will walk with her. so he held my hand(was wearing gloves cos its cold) and led me up the mountain...wah...i tell you...syok man....tho he was holding my hand, he wasn't dragging me...i still had to use my own strength to walk up the steps but i felt more secure and stable with him holding my hand....sometimes, i find myself starting to think nonsense and i'll start to breathe fast and my heart will pump fast and i felt a little nauseous...but bcos the hand held me firmly...i reminded myself that i'm in safe hands....so the anxiety left and i continued climbing the mountain....
i would say i had it easy cos while everyone was on all fours to climb and to hold the rope, i was just holding his hands and we bypassed everyone....we were so fast that suddenly, i was in front of the group...
during this time, i was reminded of how...yes...i have to climb this mountain...and its not easy...and other ppl also wan to climb this mountain....and its scary too cos its wet...and its only stones and rocks from Laban Rata to the peak...but with God by my side as depicted by this guide...i felt safe and secure and this person isin't like carrying me...i still have to walk thru this journey on my own....and it really comforts me to know that God is like that and He's with me even during the difficult time and even more so He is holding my hand and walking with me thru this journey...reassuring me....making me feel safe...wow.....it just blew me away....knwoing that we may all walk thru the same road....and storms...with God, its so much easier to go thru it....i felt so loved and privileged...hehe
at Laban Rata, behind is the journey to the peak.so we din't managed to reach the peak due to bad weather...it started to rain when we reached Sayat-sayat....but we still got our cert...3668m. that's the highest we went...
i'm going to try it again next time.....yes!
btw, coming down was more torturous than going up...nevertheless, it was heaps fun...and it took 4 hours only...yeah..by the way,some family...all girls(mother, cousins,aunts?)made it to the peak cos they waited for the rain to stop and when we were leaving Laban Rat, they just got back from the peak...the 4 hours later...i saw 2 of the girls ran down the mountain..and almost caught up with us(the last batch of our 16 ppl coming down from mountain)...i couldn't let that happen!!so i walked faster...haha...they r from overseas..respect the older ladies with them...phew..
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