Quotes

As you get older, don't slow down. Speed up. There's less time left.
by MALCOLM S. FORBES

I'm 101 years old and at my age, honey, I can say what I want!
by BESSIE DELANY

Hips Don't Lie

YES, YES - My favorite singer Shakira - the sexy Colombian celeb is going to sing her No 1 hit "Hips Don't Lie" 10 minutes before the opening game of World Cup 2006 between host Germany vs Costa Rica. I hope her hit will inspire all the teams to compete fiercely and fairly with the Brazilians incorporating their samba dance, the Africans with the tribal dance, the English - Oh they dont dance, they just sing and blah, blah, blah!!! This is a great way to get the "Cup Of Life" started. And I hope it is as good as the video.

Check this out:
Hips don't lie video clip
Enjoy yourself, and practise at your own risk

FFK

LIFEMOU

Dont FFK anymore,
do whatever you suppose to do on a Saturday nite,
and not on a Friday nite.

This is a warning going out to you.
Your young Tow Tai is not too happy last Saturday
when the SIFU is not around.

Ahahahah!!!!!!

B-Zee Weekend

26 May 2006
Last weekend started on the Friday itself, having a gathering at Eugene's house. The host was very hospitable offering good food, good wine, nice environment, etc, etc which is just perfect for a group gathering. The session dont end until 12 midnite when we call it a night so as not to create inconvienence to the host and his neighbourhood.

27 May 2006
Woke up at 5.45am to be ready for a 2oKm run. I was very skeptical on whether my running buddy LIFEMOU will turn up or not. Eugene and YiXi will be there to join us for the run too. Arrived Bukit Aman carpark, Lake Gardens slightly late at about 6.40am. Got a call from Eugene that he will be about 10mins late. At that moment, I still dont see any sign of my running buddy and I am pretty sure he wont them up. FFK on us!!!!! Eugene and XiYi arrived and we do some warm up and started slowly at almost 7.00am. Eugene cycled with us since he is on medication and was advised by the doctor not to run for the time being. Finished the run in slightly over 2 hours and get home.

In the afternoon went to Endah Parade in Sri Petatling for foot relexology together with wiffy. It was definitely good after a long run and very relaxing. Although it is quite painful at certain nerve points but overall I felt good after the session. Went to do some shopping on a sofa set (replacement of the current one) which I have always been delaying. Found one set which is a 3+2 that the whole family are happy with in terms of comfort and space to accomodate it. Paid the deposit and the set will be deliver by this coming weekend. Everyone is happy now, looking forward to a new sofa set at home and we adjourned for dinner.

28 May 2006
Have to wake up early to get my two kids to attend their Youth and Children Day celebration at their Buddist Sunday school . The session starts from 7.00am till 2.00pm with lots of activities where they start of with a chanting session, follow by performance by the youth and children, some musical performance by an outsider, games and sing-along session.

Back home and send my two cars for washing after two weeks with dirt all over them. Both of them look much more beautiful after the wash and clean-up. The next thing was gardening (the family was involved) since the garden are in a mess with lots of unwanted weeds. Trimming of plants, changing of soil and adding fertilizers are part of the gardening routine. Wanted to go for a brisk walk around the neighbourhood with the family but is already too late. An excuse to get them do more exercise since next week, all of us will be on a vacation trip to Siem Reap where there are lots of walking to be done. Anyway my wiffy and the 2 kids are quite fit, not to worry about them. Ended up the two kids went cycling and we had an unexpected guest that turn up at our home. Entertained them till they left.

Then is dinner time and Monaco F1 screening on the tube. Alonso is the champ again pitting the McClaren Mercedes and also the Ferraris (anyway they are no where to be seen during the race) No blogging and powering up the computer since I am dead tired. Get onto bed and sleep thru out the nite.

Cheers.

Extraordinary philanthropic effort

Thank you very much to Miss Tan Lay Yang (Tai Kar Jie in my company) for signing a cheque on the spot for a donation of RM1000.00 to MAKNA to support our charity climb. No question asked when it comes to doing charity and giving back, I salute you with my utmost appreciation for your support.

More report on this.

Pacesetters NB 15KM race

21 May 2006

Did not expect too much of myself in this race. Was just focusing in finishing within the 1:50 qualifying time for the Mens Veteran category. The race started without much of an attention since I was still talking to Ben, Jamie and Karen. Anyway nothing to complain, since this is more like a fun run, I put no pressure on myself to do well. Off we go and the road leading towards Bank Negara was filled with runners. Paced myself very patiently following the crowd, so as to the get the rhythm. Was at one time behind Ben, but all of a sudden this guy disappear (must be trying to do a PR - actually he was trying to do 1.15 according to his blog). There goes my pacer again......

With the crowd in front, one have to swing left and then right to overtake the slower runners. Soon we were climbing up the hills leading towards the Kenny Hills area. Was still running at a comfortable pace and I bumped into Eugene Lee. Greeted him and move on slowly. As we came downhill and running towards the Selangor Properties Condo area, the big crowd are now starting to disperse into small groups of runners. Ran pass a guy who was blasting his ears with music via his iPOD. Even I can hear the music when I ran pass him.

As we turn left into the junction that leads to the Double Hill route, I told myself this is where the race starts. True enuf I was overtaking quite a number of runners at this stage until the road leads us out to Jalan Maharajalela and made the left turn along the road towards Jabatan Perhutanan. Here I bumped into another friend of mine, Lawrence Tang. Greeted him and move on and reaches the junction where JKR building is, where we need to do a loop before reaching the finishing line at Padang Merbok.
















Now I am feeling the strain on the muscle of both legs as I climb the hill again. I was looking for a pacer now and saw Uncle Hooi. He was running in a very steady pace and I decided to pace with him all the way until we reaches the 10Km mark. Look at my watch and it was 59min. Not too bad a time and we continue to take on the hills. At this moment he was running slightly ahead of me and I did not really push myself to catch up, I am trying to reserve some energy for my last 1-2km push. Somewhere further up I saw William Wong running on his own, probably started very early in the morning just to catch up with the rest of the group. Greeted him and move on.

Just as I was passing the Distance Marker "4KM to go", Carboman passes me. We greeted each other, he went off like Flash Gordon, and after a while I lost sight of him. As I hit the junction that leads into Jalan Maharajalela, 2 lady runners went pass me. And I believe they were competing among each other and I decided to pace them following closely behind. Both of them were concentrating on their pace and do not realise I was behind them until we were on the uphill in front of Ministry of Agriculture building. I overtook both of them right in front of Jabatan Perhutanan before turning right into the road that leads to Tugu Negara. This put them into some pressure and was also a good pace for me to push harder towards the finishing. I overtook Uncle Hooi here and I take a look at my watch and it shows 1:20, I shud be able to cross the finishing line under 1:30.

We were running together at a pretty fast pace and at Tugu Negara, the olman engine was panting for oxygen and eventually both the ladies push ahead of me. I was following them all the way behind, cut into Jalan Parlimen and then turn left into the road leading towards the Padang Merbok carpark until we crossed the finishing line. Greeted and congratulated both of them (with handshakes) for being a good pacer and pushing each other all the way. Need to watch out for both of them in the next race.



















My watch showed 1:27:38 after I crossed the finishing line. Not too bad a time under my current form and conditon. Mingled around, have fruits and cereal for breakfast. Met Ben, Jamie, Cheong and Newton. Later I bumped into Karen and her dad, and eventually saw Eugene and YiXi. They did well too doing 1:40 something and 1:30 something respectively as a first timer. Watch out for them in future races, they will give us a run for the money.















My next official race will be the Penang Bridge International Marathon aka LAKSA Marathon on 30 July 2006. This will be a big test for me. I cannot even imagine the outcome, just train and enjoy the race. Thats my strategy and I will be happy if I can do a sub-5.

Leonardo Da Vinci

The Da Vinci Code......can you solve it??

Being Charitable

If you still remembered about 5 months ago, I have launched this charity campaign together with my running buddy LIFEMOU to secure sponsorships/donations for the climb. Our mission were to secure the funds and climb Mt Kinabalu (at our own expenses) and making it to the summit. All proceeds will be given to MAKNA. Both of us went to visit MAKNA and have them issue us a letter of authority to collect sponsorships and donations on behalf of them for this campaign.

Indeed this exercise was an eye opener for both of us and we learn many things that we are totally not aware of when comes to organising a charity campaign. It just caught us offguard and it is also just not so simple going out there to ask for sponsorships and donations. Doing it by asking is not an issue, but the biggest challenge is that whether the organisation and the people that you talk to are willing to give or not. That is the challenging part. Moreover both of us felt that you definitely need a solid campaigning infrastruture to give support to ensure things are running smoothly without having to worry about everything.

After this experience, I strongly believe that there are organistions and people who are willing to give and yet there are petty ones who can give you hundred and one reasons why they are not supporting this kind of activities. I just think that majority of Malaysian do not believe in donation especially when they dont getting anything out of it. Thats just my personnal view point based on what I have experienced and I reserved my comments on it. I could be totally wrong.

Coming back to the campaign, and luckily with the help of one of our climb members, a father+son combination have managed to secure some sponsorships/donations from some charitable people and charitable organisations. As like what the American said "WALK THE TALK", both LIFEMOU and myself are also pledging a personal donation towards the fund that is going to MAKNA. Right now the fund stands at around RM3000, nothing to shout about but I believe this small amount will have some meaning and provide some financial assistance to those cancer patients out there that needs the financial support.

Money, Money Money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world

Men=Women; Women=Men

Dont get me wrong. I am not here to promote bi-sexual or trans-sexual relationship, and neither am I a MCP. What I am trying to refer to are the performance of women in any kind of sports, as compare to what men can achieve. At the professional level where the performance of women versus men in the sports arena, the gap is getting narrower - and thats what I believe.


























Just look at what Michelle Wie and Annika Sorenstam are trying to do. Both are actually trying to make their cut into men's professional golf championship where they will give a shot at matching the men. I believe both of them have the quality in terms of skills to do that and give the men a run for the money. The good thing is that such healthy challenges are well supported especially by their sponsors and event organisers.















If you try to divert away from golf, the similar situation is also happening in the international areana of marathon races. Base of the results of the two recent races - London Marathon 2006 and Boston Marathon 2006, the time difference between the men and women champions is less than 20 minutes. Although 20 minutes can be a big gap in terms of the measurement by elite runners but I think over the years, the gap is getting smaller and smaller. Maybe when the standards are so closed, there should not be any separation in men and women categories. If this happen, it will be very exciting to see how both sexes compete together and the results of individual achievements be it men or women.

London Marathon 2006
Men Champion - Felix Limo 2:06:39
Women Champion - Deena Kastor 2:19:36

Boston Marathon 2006
Men Champion - Robert Cheruiyot 2:07:14
Women Champion - Rita Jeptoo 2:23:38

And in the local scene, I do also experience similar trends, where the performance of women in sports are on the upturn, although there is still a significant gap in between the two genders. As we move into the new world, we should give due respect to women engaging in any kind of sports. They can be as good if not better than the men.

Hats off and my salute to all the women out there striving very hard to compete with the men, not only in sport but in anything they do.

Men=Women; Women=Men

The Rain Man

Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy has nothing to do with scuba diving or snorkelling, or protection of endangered species of the ocean. It is a strategy introduced to me by LIFEMOU, my running buddy. Have to give tis fellow full credits for doing so much reading (I wonder where he finds time) and the opposite of me is I dont read enuf (thats the bad side of me) We were on a flight to KK recently and while chatting he mentioned about this book that he read that introduced a very interesting strategy from a business approach.





















The strategy is all about taking advantage of developing uncontested market space that made competition irrelevant. One is to find and develop blue oceans, and the other is to exploit and protect blue oceans. In blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought over. There is ample opportunity for growth that is both profitable and rapid.

We are now working out a plan to adopt the strategy into our business plans for both companies. Let see how it goes. And I may need to borrow the book from him to study the details. Hopefully this will work well and get us to the next level of making more money and high job statisfaction. LIFEMOU can then fulfill his dream of buying that AUDI A4 Turbo fast car to attract more eye candies.

Hope this will put us into the right path for my company's FY07 business roadmap.

Note: Galnexdor - you owe us a marketing analysis on whether this works in the IT industry

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

Mirror Mirror on the Wall
Which is the best running shoes of them all...........



















Lifemou is a NIKE man
He loves to pay more for all his shoes
He call his shoe Ah Swoosh
He call his dog Ah Foo
He call his goldfish Ah Kam

Galnexdor thinks NIKE sux
If NIKE sux
What shoe do you wear then

Carboman is abit rojak
He wears a few brands
He claims to be a shoe evaluator

Myself is a New Balance freak
Bcos NIKE let me down
And I cannot afford ADIDAS

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
Tell me more........
Tell me more........

Shopping spree

Went on a shopping spree for my running attires and shoes since the offer (till 21 May 2006) from New Balance with 40% discount on all items at their boutique stores. Just cannot resist such offers and my temptations grew even higher. And since I have always been on the lookout for a better pair of running shoes and also a pair of All-Terrain shoes, or is it just an excuse. And guess what, these are what I have purchased for myself. Got myself two pieces of dry-fit Tees and two pair of shoes.















New Balance 808 All Terrain






















New Balance 1060


Wiffy is making comments that she still dont understand why I need so many pair of shoes. I told her I am giving her a run for the money in terms of the number of pairs of shoes that we both have. AHAHAH!!!!!

I will make sure I will put them in good use.........

Funky Mama

Happy Mother's Day
























Deepest appreciation to my mum who is the person in my life who have brought me up, gave me pocket money, taught me the meaning of life and most importantly taught me to be charitable and courteous to people especially the needy ones. And today it is Mother’s Day that I would like to send my wishes to you of being someone that had made my life different. There are so many things that you have done for me as a mother that I cannot repay but let me assure you that I will always love you.




















And to my wife, whom we have married for 17 years, you have been a GREAT MUM to me and both the lovely kids that we have. Taking care of them when I am not at home or when I am on business assignments or out of town for races and mountain trekking trips. You have been a wonderful MUM to all of us and there is no better time than today to send our appreciation to you. THANK YOU for all the things that you have showered and given us. No words can substitute what you have done for us. We love you always and you are the greatest MUM of all.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to both of you.

Mt Kinabalu - Day Three "The Final Part"

Day Three – 6 May 2006

2.00am
The noisy tumbling steps on the wooden floor woke me up, and when I look at my watch it is almost 2 o’clock in the morning. I called out the rest to wake up and start our preparation. Run thru the checklist on things that I need to bring ie woolen hat, headlamp, gloves, water, camera and some chocs. (in case I am hungry) Put on the necessary warm clothing and went to the toilet and wash up.

Then we adjourned to the restaurant together with Eugene, Yi Xi, Tan, Yeok, Karen and Ben for breakfast. I only ordered myself a pot of hot lemon tea just to keep myself warm. Too early for me to eat anything. We don’t see William, Wong, Sean and Felix, and most probably they have started the ascend to the summit earlier.

2.45am
Eugene and Yi Xi start to leave slightly earlier then us. Once everyone is ready, we start our journey and in fact we are one of the very last group to leave Laban Rata. Outside the resthouse, the digital thermometer shows 8.8 degree Celsius at the moment. It was a very calm morning, the sky is full of stars and there is no wind blowing. This is the perfect weather for the ascend. Because it was raining last nite, the path is pretty wet and water are flowing down like a stream.

It was uphill all the way, climbing up the wooden stairs and the trail is jammed with lots of climbers. Because of this we are walking in a very slow and relax pace. No heavy breathing and no panting at all. Karen and Tan was falling a bit behind, where Ben, Yeok and myself are together moving very slowly.

3.30am
We reached the rock face boulder where everyone are in a single file clinching to the rope, taking small little steps and moving forward. Soon all the climbers at this stage have to climb up above the boulder to reach the summit plateau. After a while, we reached the Sayat-Sayat checkpoint where we need to register ourselves to prove that we have reach this point prior to the summit. Ben decided to stop at the hut for a while to wait for Karen since she is way behind. Just need to ensure she is feeling OK because at this stage the air is definitely thinner and breathing started to become slightly difficult.

Continue our ascend on the plateau towards the summit. We have to reach the summit by 5.30am to catch the sunrise and therefore have to cover the distance of 1.5km in the next 2 hours. Because of the thin air and breathing is becoming difficult, our movements are also slower. Every 10 to 20 steps, I need to stop and take a breather. Yeok and myself exchange short conversation as we move slowly. In the darkness and with only the light from the headlamp, I could actually see the outline of Donkey Ears and later the South Peak. Yeok move ahead faster than the normal pace that she was walking. I know she is trying to make it to the summit and catch the sunrise. And I continue to move at my own pace alone, enjoying the cool breeze of the nite and admiring the darkness of the plateau.

5.30am
I saw glimpse of the reddish, yellowish and golden beams of the sun rising thru the horizon of the sky. And I know we will definitely had a good view in a matter of minutes. I took position to a good location where I will have the perfect view of this wonderful and colorful sunrise that is going to happen anytime from now. I heard people shouting “IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL”, the ARHHHS and the WOOOOOWS, people clapping in excitement. The sound of camera shutters clicking away as everyone around the vicinity were busy taking the pictures of sunrise at the summit of Mt Kinabalu.

In about 30mins, the sun is total up with golden beams shining across the plateau and onto St. John’s peak and Low’s peak. After the photo taking session, it is time for me to get on to the path that leads up to Low’s Peak – highest peak in South East Asia at 4,095.2m. Although it is not too far away, probably about 100m-150m upwards, the climb is very steep and it is a rocky path where one practically have to climb up with both your hands and legs to support the body.

6.30am
Once up there I saw William, Wong and Felix already there waiting for us. We took pictures around the area and at this moment William is going to strip off his shirt to pose half naked at Low’s Peak. This was a challenge brought up to him by Eugene before the climb. WILLIAM - THE KING OF THE MOUNTAIN.

Sean was up with us by then. Took some pictures as a remembrance and a proof that I made it to the summit. Then its time to get down from the summit as it is getting crowded where the slower pace climber are starting to infest the small little area at the summit.

7.30am
As we came back down to the plateau, we met Eugene and Yi Xi coming up. Yi Xi looks better now, although I think he feels bad and still having that altitude sickness.

Soon we saw Ben guiding Karen up. She looks really stoned, pale face, eyes half open and does not really respond to any form of conversation and encouragement. I think she heard what we told her but just too tired to respond. She is in a state of giving up but I believe with the guidance and encouragement of Ben, she will definitely make it up there.

9.30am
We continue our descend from the summit back to Laban Rata and most of us are either alone or in pairs, pacing ourselves to avoid any injury because coming down is a lot more strenuous. Reached the resthouse, and met Wong. Quickily get onto the hot shower and change to dry clothing. We have to continue our descend to KK Parks at around 11am to 11.30am, while waiting for the rest to be back. Eugene, Yi Xi, Felix, Yeok, William, Sean – one after another they started to come in, and finally we have Ben and Karen (looking totally exhausted) came in together. Everyone gave her a round of applause for making it to the summit under such condition. By 11.30am everyone started the next stage of descend to KK parks.

4.00pm
By this time everyone is already down at KK Park and ready to move on to our next destination – staying overnite at Poring HotSpring. It was a 100% achievement for the 11 of us where everyone made it to the summit (Low’s Peak). Great job to everyone and we have made it together as a team with encouragement and advise coming from all. It was good teamwork and I believe everyone enjoy the utmost of the climb, and hopefully something they remembered and subject to talk about in their personal life. And for those whom I met for the first time, it will be a start of a new friendship. Till then and the mountain never fail to humble me (as what Ben said), but also made me a stronger and more forgiving person for the 5th time in my life.

Mt Kinabalu - Day Two

Day Two – 5 May 2006

5.30am
Woke up and manage to catch the sunrise at a corner. Not a very good view but at least the sunrise in case I don’t get to see one at the summit. And hopefully I can reach the summit. Praying for a good weather for our ascend this morning and the rest of the day.

7.00am
The van arrives to pick everyone up for registration at the park counter. Mohd helped us to sort out all the nitty gritty things and also identified our 2 guides ie Biling and Alvin. Some of us need to weigh our luggage that needs to be carry up to Laban Rata and the two guides double up as porters too. A number of us decided to comply to what Eugene had told us to do last nite ie Carry our stuff up. I weighed my backpack and the scale shows 8kg. Not bad, and I will carry 8kg of extra load together with me up to Laban Rata.

Eugene + Yi Xi + Sean are going up via Timpohon Trail and the rest of us (Tan, Felix, Wong, William, Karen, Yeok, Ben and myself) were convinced that the Mesilau Trail is a more scenic one. We boarded our bus respectively heading towards the different gate to start our ascend.

8.30am
We passed thru Kundasang Village on our way to Mesilau Gate. Everyone was ready to go after registering themselves at the Mesilau counter. All of us took off slowly, enjoying the view and I was the sweeper of the group to ensure all especially the first timer are feeling comfortable and OK with the terrain.

10.00am
As we pushed further into the jungle, the group started to disperse themselves and most were either trekking in pairs or alone, but not a far distance away. Just in case we need to call for help, the people in between can response immediately. Biling the guide, was together with both the ladies that were behind. Yeok was busy taking photos along the way. Karen was struggling a bit but she seems to be fine, only walking slower.

1.00pm
I reached one pondok where it sits in the open air. No more jungle and forest at this location. The path that the pondok is located, actually joins the mountain range that we just conquered to another one. There I saw Ben and Wong taking their rest and munching come food for lunch. Ben was busy distributing oranges to us. What a refreshing moments eating oranges a couple of thousand feet above sea-level. Wong took off after that and William is no way to be seen. This boy is very strong and fit this year.

Ben and myself decided to wait for the rest. Felix turned up not too long after our stop, followed by Yeok, then Tan and Karen. By this time, Karen looks sick, complains about feeling nausea and wants to vomit. She is definitely getting the altitude sickness, as we ascend higher and the air gets thinner.

After that, Ben and myself move on leaving behind the rest with Biling accompanying them. We passed thru the famous path, The Indiana Jones Crossing (named by Ben) which join the mountain range to the summit trail range. Stop by to take some photos and move on.

2.30pm
Reached the 5.5km point of Mesilau (end of the trail) that joins the 4km point of Timpohon Trail at Layang Layang. We decided to wait for Yeok at the cross junction since she is not too far from us. Rested for a while and move on. This is where the Golden Trail begins and it is consider the toughest at this point. By now most people's energy are very low, legs wobbling and probably getting the altitude sickness. But this is the place where the most beautiful pictures can be taken. My favourite tree is just around the corner and so is Ben’s favourite path.

4.30pm
I reached Waras Hut and I knew its just one more corner before I hit the Laban Rata resthouse. Once I reached the restaurant I saw Wong, William and Felix watching the live telecast of the Thomas Cup semi-final match between Malaysia-Denmark. Eugene and Yi Xi was there too munching some food. Give a high five to everyone for making it to Laban Rata, I quickily got into the room assigned to me, got into my bunk bed, have my hot shower and changed to dry clothing. I put on my sweater and long pants and decided to take a nap. Just make sure I don’t catch a cold and have enuf rest. At that time I was feeling a bit chill. Ate some bread and take two Panadol Soluable and goto sleep. Yi Xi was feeling really bad by looking at his face. He was hit by the altitude sickness. Eugene was helping him up and getting him to eat something, take the Panadol and go to sleep.

6.00pm
Woke up and feeling well rested, the chill is gone. Its dinner time, since I didn’t eat anything except for a small piece of bread before my nap. Ordered my fired meehoon that cost RM11.50 and a pot of hot lemon tea that cost RM3.50 Was with Eugene and Yi Xi for awhile when they decide to get more rest especially Yi Xi. Joined by Ben and Karen. She look stoned and very tired. Not a very good sign for her. After finishing my fried meehoon, I still felt hungry and decided to order a plate of fried rice. I ate half of it and the balance I passed it down to William which have the world of appetite to wallop anything given to him.

8.30pm
Lights off for all and for those who are getting to the summit, we need to wake up at around 2.00am the next morning to start our ascend at 2.30am. As I adjourned back to the room, the lights are off. I believe everyone are asleep, I hope so. How can everyone sleep so earlier, I talked to myself. In darkness, I slowly walk towards my bunk bed trying not to make any noise.

Covered myself with the blanket I tried to sleep but was disturbed by the continuous flashes of lightning outside since I slept near the window. No, please don’t rain. Heard the roar of the thunder too. In no time, it started to pour and it is raining heavily too. Oh my god, we will be on a wet track tomorrow. I still cant sleep and turning around on my bunk bed. Eventually without realizing I dozed off.

Mt Kinabalu - Day One

Day One - 4 May 2006

8.30am
Started the day early and left for LCCT-KLIA at about 8.30am. Just wanted to be early since I need to be there to meet up everyone and they are some of them that I don’t even know. This will be the first time I am meeting people like Eugene Lee and son Yi Xi (Raman’s friend), Karen (Ben’s friend), Wong Teck Min (William’s friend) and Felix Tan (Tan’s friend). Yeok had gone to KK earlier for a backpacking trip and will meet us somewhere in KK town when we arrived.

9.30am
Reached LCCT-KLIA, and tried looking for a place for breakfast since our flight is only at 11.10am. Still have lots of time. After walking around, the only place to eat is either McDonald fast food or a Chinese restaurant called Asian Cuisine. Opted for McDonald breakfast but it wasn’t cheap. Cost the same as what we are charged for a breakfast meal at KLIA terminal. Low Cost Carrier Terminal, High Cost Meal – something is not right here.

After breakfast, SMS to those whom I know about where my location was while waiting for them. Karen came in first, followed by Ben, then Sean, Eugene and son Yi Xi, Tan and Felix and finally William and Wong (which have already check-in). All of us hurried to the check-in counter and get ourselves and luggage check-in.

1.30pm
Touched down at T2 KK airport and was greeted by Cecilia, Veronica and Mohd (The Borneo Wildlife Adventure team that I engaged for this climb). Everyone introduced to each other and its time for us to go for lunch. I suggested the Kadazan Chinese restaurant that serves fish ball and fish paste noddles. But before we head to the place, needed to pick up Yeok which stays at the Borneo BackPackers in Lorong Dewan. Luckily the location is very near to the place for lunch.

After lunch, stop at Tong Hing store for everyone to shop for some groceries before heading towards the mountain where KK Parks is which we will put up a nite. Everyone seems to buy a fair bit a stuff (maybe its peer pressure)

And we have our 2 hours van ride up to the parks.

6.00pm
Reached KK Parks and Mohd help to get everyone registered and we head towards the two unit of lodges that were booked for us. We have ample rooms for all and I got everyone to take a look at the place and make a decision which unit do they want to stay in. Some of them are so fascinated by the scenery and the environment at the parks that they disappear for a while wandering around before coming back. Once settled down, we decided to adjourn to dinner at 8.00pm. Before that, met with a big group of Japanese which was having the College Alumni Gathering. They are also together going up to the summit tomorrow. The youngest climber is 60 years old while the oldest one in the team is 66 years old. This group of Japs will put lots of people to shame.

11.00pm
After the dinner and a chit-chat session to get to know everyone better, Eugene suggested that we should carry our things up to Laban Rata. No porter required. After the session, we decided to call it a nite and I adjourned to my room and try to catch up with some sleep. Need to wake up at 6.00am tomorrow to start our ascend earlier. Was sound asleep and don’t know what happen until 5.30am the next morning.

To be continued........

More Stories at: LIFEMOU and GALNEXDOR

Chippendales of Mt Kinabalu

THE CHIPPENDALES OF MOUNT KINABALU

Performing At

Venue: The Summit Plateau
Time: 0630-0730
Date: Only in May every year
Price: USD1500 per pax
Contact: SeeCube at +6019-328XXXX

My Favourite Tree @ Mt Kinabalu

The tree that I am leaning on is my favourite tree along the Golden Trail towards Laban Rata.