Datuk!

And that completes my fourth Datuk. In retrospect, each Datuk provides me with different experiences, yet I'm climbing the very same mountain... To think that the first time I scaled it, I was super enthusiastic and loving the entire mountain, the tough trek up, the lovely view up above, the ability to have a sea of stars right above you.

This time round, it was doused by the rain. And it was kinda cloudy. The trek itself, seemed more tough compared to before, probably due to the deterioration of the terrain. I'm not so surprised with the terrain change, for the mountain is not really under the care of any park rangers, and the mountain is a regular backyard climbing spot for the residents in the area.

Perhaps the trek up was such that I decided there was little use of my camera. In fact, I did not take much photos! Drained from the diving trip, perhaps? Guanyu (John) was also on the same trip with me, together with Weichuan, Aeron (my stong trekking buddy!), the Chem Engine ppl (Weili, Huiyan, Qiurong, Bingxing), alumni (Wai Kei), Geraldine and Jason. Quite a fun bunch, I must say, but it's a waste that the 4 girls pulled out the last minute. Probably due to the 2 reports of people dying from falling branches (or trees).

Whilst I wait for the rest of the photos to come...here are some which I have obtained thus far!

The real-life Puss In Boots!


At the foot of Datuk


The new bridge!


The dam was where we used to walk to get to the other side...now there's a sluice gate. Wow...


A GIANT millipede. Big isn't it? Nearly squashed on it.


Me, Bingxing, Weichuan, Guanyu


At the campsite! There wasn't anyone, so it was just us and us!!!


Setting up the tents


The sunset


The cooks and the satay chicken


Up on the rock!


Me & Aeron

Must really thank BX and QR for going down to get the water with me...really difficult to handle 10+ bottles of water and still make it up in time before last light. Due to the rugged terrain, the movement was slow. Luckily, we 3 made it up just in time and had help from those who had set up the tents already.

A pity that it drizzled. Spoilt most of the fun, and with it there was dense cloud cover, so seeing stars at night was almost impossible. Tired, I washed up the stuff, and drifted off to sleep.

The second day down was kind of eventful. In the morning some of us decided to go up to the summit again to have a view of the surroundings, but it was super hot up there. Where was the cloud cover when we needed it? After taking some pictures, we made our way down and got ready to leave.

Being the last man, I was with Aeron and we cleared the area of any remaining litter before heading down to meet the rest. Caught up with some of them, and it was then that Sayanee fell and injured her ankle. It was barely 30 minutes down the hill, and her ankle was injured. In the end, Aeron volunteered to guide her along in front, whilst Guanyu and Weichuan were guiding her from the back. I took her bag, and we moved slowly along the path.

As we walked down, it got slower as the pain started settling in, and it was evident that we would not all make it down on time. So I asked Guanyu and Weichuan to go forward to meet the rest of the group, while the 3 of us slowly made our way down. Luckily for us, we managed to reach the foot of the mountain by 1pm. Phew. I was super relieved on reaching the foot, and the shower which greeted me was heavenly.

And definitely, a meal at Pizza Hut, and then at Secret Recipe, after a long and exhausting trek, sure does wonders to the mind, body and soul.

I doubt I'm going up Datuk again, considering that the trail is getting worse, and more leeches are abound. Siewhua had a total of 9 leeches la! Gosh. I think it's like a mini-Nuang already. Guess the changes in weather had brought about the change in environment there too.

Current Mood: Tired