Padang Expedition: Joys, Laughters and Lots and lots of aching Muscles (^^)

The final exam atmosphere was inevitably toxic to my soul like the other finals that I had before.. With an exciting thing coming ahead; the Padang Expedition, I just can't get my mental to focus on the letters in front of my eyes.. Too often would I drift to my own world; seeing myself walking in a dense jungle towards the peak of Mount Marapi...

Finally, it was already 20th April without me even realizing it.. I stride with joy towards the bus that night, oblivious of the weight of my new hiking bag... (When I weigh my bag at the airport, it was 9.7 kg) I sat alone.. I silently embed my goal..

"I'll get to the top no matter what!!!"

yeah!! pure determination hehe

We departed from LCCT with the Airasia Airbus approximately at 7.50 am... The flight bound to Padang only took 1 hour so we arrived earlier than scheduled.. After about an hour, the bus from Universiti Andalas (Unand) turned up and we were greeted warmly by Hanafi :-)



In Unand, the welcoming ceremony was so unexpected. We were greeted by the students as well as the staffs.. The opening ceremony of the expedition was officiated by the 'direktur' of the Politeknik campus and that have made us felt very honoured... The rest of the day was spent with sight seeing around the politeknik's grounds.. I've always love to see the Indonesian students' campus life.. I love to see them sit together at alleys or stairs while having a good chat and laughters.. So0o0o0 hurm.. HAPPENING \(^^)/


That night we had cultural night.. I was awed by the performance by this girl from Unand.. I was not only captivated by her mellow voice but also her beauty.. Gosh.. What a true asia looking girl she was... Seriously she got me stunned hehe I sang a song three times.. A same song that is; for three times.. Because the mic was having trouble.. Could it be due to my horific voice..?? But seriously the third time.. My voice box was already dried and I just sang anyway... hahaha

The next morning, we prepared ourselves for the trip to Mount Marapi.. We had this breakfast that looks like lontong but I saw in a tourism brochure that the name is like "ketupek gulei..." owh I don't remember...

We travelled by bus to the starting point of our climb.. The scenery throughout the journey was
tremendous.. There was a waterfall on the way.. You can also see the still-used railroad that was built by the Dutch more than a hundred years ago... The road was winding and the bus driver was rather reckless in his driving.. Occasionally there were squeals from the climbers because he made the ride so0o0o0 thrilling.. Makes you want to jump out of the bus... Hehe O yeah! There was this man who sells begedil for 1000 rupiah... He rode the bus with us on the way.. And when he finish selling his begedil to us, he jumped off the bus while it was still moving and believe me we were amidst a quite sharp bend that time.. He can be a STUNT MAN!!!!!







The route to the starting point was so narrow but the bus went up anyway.. Cayalah abang bus driver!!! There, we unloaded our stuffs and the Unand students divided us into small groups.. We were told earlier that Marapi is quite dangerous so safety precautions are imperative and should be bear in mind at all times.. I was in group 1 with Don, Hassan, Syafiq, Rima, Elyn and Aida.. So we were the first group to set off..









We have to carry along our heavy bags up to the first base camp.. The hike there took lessthan an hour... But seriously.. With a 10 kg burden on your shoulder, even a few minutes can be dreadful hehe I was happy to have reached the first base camp without any pain at my left knee.. There we repack our stuff and only bring the necessaties and the essentials to the second base camp..

The journey up to the second base camp was even more challenging.. Well, our team are not used to climb with heavy bags, so our pace was quite slow. We also have to hike during the night.. The climate starts to get chilly when the sun starts to set. We stopped for a while when we heard the adzan from afar.. The route was steep all the way.. We keep on climbing vertically and met with only few flat grounds.. We hiked for about 6 hours before reaching the second base camp...

At the secomd base camp, the temperature was even more cruel.. I quickly dig for an extra track suit and my denim jacket and also a pair of socks from my bag to further insulate me from the freezing temperature.. I was so shocked to see one Mapala boy not wearing shirt there. Hebat!!!! He was skinny and not in cold.. Hebat!!!!



The second base camp was not big enough for all of us to sleep there... Finally, we decided to hike another 30 minutes to a larger ground that can accomodate all of us and also means we will be nearer to the top so this could as well ease our climb to the top the next morning...


The 30 minutes hike was worth it.. The camping site was great!!! one is because it was big enough eventhough quite rocky here and there. Second, the place is overlooking Singgalang, a nearby mountain and also there were no trees that block our vision from the starry night sky and the town below us which was full of lights from houses, buildings and roads... It was mesmerizing.. As if there were stars on the ground and the sky above us...




The next morning, we reform the groups.. We started our climb early so that we could enjoy the sunrise at the top.. The route was different from the ones we had endured the previous day.. There were lesser trees as we go up.. And even none when we got closer to the top.. There were only rocks.. There were not still rocks you see. They moved once you step on them and that makes it even more dangerous. There is high possibility to slide down or you might even injure your friend if the rock that you step on fall to those who are below you... Alhamdulillah none of that had occurred :-)

We stopped several times to take pictures... I've never seen such beauty in my whole life.. Well maybe it's because I've never climbed a mountain this tall.. Everything below me was so small.. Felt like having an eagle eye there hehehe


Finally, all of us manage to reach the top.. Here's my POV abut the top.. It was rocky every where and I imagined myself being in Mars hahaha.. There are three craters and only one was active and was emitting smoke when we were there.. The panorama was breathtaking and got me speechless... We ate our breakfats on the top.. My group had roti kaya, sup asam ke masam entah.. and also a very tasty Neslo made by Syafiq :-)





After breakfast we had our photo sessionS... Well we tried a lot of poses.. "Breakaway".. Jumps..Cute pose.. Serious pose.. Adventurous pose.. Lovely pose.. Happy pose.. Name it, we did them all..


We intended to go to the Puncak Merpati, the real peak, but it was way too dangerous so we did not... I got goose bumps when we sat on the ground where there was this very deathly looking ravine below us.. Well, I let my imagination run wild then.. I was thinking..

"Wo!! Kalo jatuh ni, tiada tempat berpegang langsung plus sharp rocks!! urghhh scary.."


We spent 2 memorable hours on top.. Well while sitting above the ravine, our vision was blocked by the thick clouds that surrounded us.. And when the sky was cleared, all of us screamed in excitement because actually the clouds hid the very beautiful scene of this lake.. Lake... alamak...Singkarak kah??? Owh man!!! asyik lupe je nih.. But I'm very sure it was not lake maninjau... I'm very sure it starts from S hehehe Nanti la clarify balik...


So when it was time to descend, I was so0o0o0o0 berat hati.. Hurm.. The temperature was freezing because the wind starts to blow.. I have to veil my face because I can't stand the cold..

Hurm.. Mish you top mount Marapi... It was great to have the experience witnession the small version of our huge world from up there.. How glorious the power of Allah to have the ability to control it all when we human can't even control ourselves at times...

To be continued....

Read More

Shinjuku Incident: My POV

One of my dream definitely came true this semester... I manage to keep myself updated with all the movies in the cinema...

Tonight I just got back from watching one.. Shinjuku Incident.. It gave Shifaa and me a headache because there were so many violent scenes that my mental could not tolerate.. So many blood.. So many people dying.. wuwuwu
It was unbearable...

But I think the movie really portrays what is really happening in this life.. In the movie you will see a big family of Chinese immigrants that was initially happy even living in poverty but then they all changed once they are rich.. They start to involve in drugs, gambling and other bad stuffs and they even kill each other to get more money.. Huhuhu

It was quite sad.. When putting it to reality.. That is how people are.. Once they have money, position, and become famous.. they tend to forget the times when they were in need.. And at times they even forget how it is to be hurt that they don't hesitate to hurt others..huhuhu how sad...

Nauzubillah... We seek refuge from Allah from those kind of things.. May all of us be reminded at all times.. Ameen...

Read More

Bukit Panorama: Sunrise

22nd March...

I woke up as early as 3.40 a.m. then rushed to wake Shifaa and Mekwa.. Miscalled fiey who was in a different block. I took a quick shower and randomly selected the attire for that morning and were already clad in them within seconds. I grabbed the car keys and head to the parking lot to start the engine.. I can feel my baggy eyes.. Not sure whether it was still bloodshot or not. At 4.00 a.m. the guys were already waiting at the main gate. So then we start our journey to Bukit Panorama!!!

I was on the wheel (I obviously can't resist the camera hehe). The journey by car was about an hour or so. The clarity of my dark vision is honestly not good but I have to drive because everybody was still sleepy.. I was sleepy too but I thought I could handle it. We turned on the radio and I was hoping to listen to something that I can sing along to make me wide awake. But with Awe as my co-driver, she tuned in to songs that you can't literally sing because it was like yo-yo-yo songs or like yea-yea-yea songs sung by black rappers.. Typically Awe hehe



This is the picture before the climb. Everybody was obviously excited. We had our hood on because it was drizzling. It was quite scary then because just beside us was a house that have a bunch of flowers around a table and there were candles and there was a large picture of a deceased old chinese woman. UuuuUUuuU spooky.....



The climb was rather easy because there were stairs up and having Awe, Shifaa, Anea and Mida around, the climb seem to be much much easier because we were loud with our funny stories and "kenen2". I don't know whether it's the morning weather or what, but I was quite out of breath then hehe My chest was heaving to gasp more air. Or did I laugh too much then?? hehe



We reached the top around 6.30 a.m. Surprisingly the top was full with chinese. From little kids to the elderly. I was quite in awe to see the elder ones manage to climb to the peak. Most of the Malays, when they reach 40, they would usually be in the "dah tak larat" state. Don spread out his sleeping bag for us to perform the morning prayer. Cagan also spread his windbreaker beside it. I did my wudhu by using mineral water but Awe and Shifaa chose to use the morning dew. hehe and then I heard " O my God Shifaa!! Berpasir muke Awe!!" hahaha!! The floor was stony but we just performed our prayer anyway.


So then we enjoyed the early rays of the sun.. When the sky starts to shimmer some trace of light, there were actually so many picturesque scenery aroud us which was previously covered by darkness. It was camera time!!!!
7.15 a.m. that day was the most majestic moment in my life. It was my first time ever to witness the sunrise from the top of a hill. It was my first time ever to really appreciate the beauty of the static entity that shines the earth every day and radiates its energy to all the being here in this prosperous planet. It was the first time ever that I saw how this great creation of Allah emerge to obediently starts its duty. The sun is one bounty bestowed by Allah often least appreciated for its horrendous heat.



The sunrise starts with a brisk colour of crimson in the sky. There were fine lines of light orange too as if they were sketched there... Then came the crescent shape sun that slowly appear until it became a semi-circle and then into a full circle. The process was completed in about two minutes and we were all left in awe. Wallahi that was one of the most amazing thing I ever saw in my life. The process was so clear..

To think about it.. This is the process that simply define time.. It is this particular daily process that forms the past and rises the presence. Tommorrow's sunrise will be the future. Time is going so fast and I think we are in a hurry to leave the best legacy of our existence.. We are in a hurry to be one of the best servant before we leave this beautiful world.

Whatever we go through in life... What's important is what we have become as a person from the experience gained...

After a lifelong charity giving, have we become adequately empathetic that we despise hurting others' feelings?

After years of devotion to Allah, have we also taken care of our relationship with other beings?

After years of witnessing the beauty and the brilliance of Allah's creation, have we sought the way to get nearer to Him?

Sometimes we mistakenly overlooked what we have.. We are so close to the things that can make us a much much better person, but never put them into appreciation, never take the lessons.. Never use it to pattern the grace manner within us.

Nobody is perfect but there is always room to try to be a good servant every day... until you meet with the end of course..

"Demi masa. Sungguh, manusia berada dalam kerugian. kecuali orang-orang yang beriman dan mengerjakan kebajikan serta saling menasihati untuk kebenaran dan saling menasihati uuntuk kesabaran." (al-asr)

I went straight to UIA after that because Fiey, Awe and I have a volley tournament to handle

bye bye sunrise.. Mish UUUUUU

Read More