Bismillah...
I remember I have written somewhere in this blog that I will only write positive things. So, I will start writing about what I have been up to since my return last October. I will try my best not to vent my eternal frustration with my new role at work haha Here goes!
One of the things that I miss the most while in the UK was going for outdoor adventure in rugged places. Therefore, I just can't resist joining this one although I had to report for duty at the east coast on the 26th October.
Long Pasia is a small village in the rural area in south of Sabah. It can only be accessed via an untarred oil palm plantation road, making it not easily accessible. It rained the day before we arrived. Most parts of the road has dried, but there were still parts with puddles in addition to the bumps and potholes. I found it funny that you have to continuously turn the steering wheel left and right while driving to make sure the car moves in a straight line. If you don't, the car will swerve to the side of the road.
It took us more than 5 hours to reach Long Pasia from Sipitang. One of the tire blew out midway and I was amazed that the uncle only took 15 minutes to change the huge tire! I had a torn tire about a month ago because I hit a sharp kerb, and it took me half a day to settle the issue!
We arrived when the sun was setting. That night we stayed in a beautiful wooden homestay strategically set on a hill, giving us a bird's eye view of the village. We were introduced to our guide, Lait, and the porters, had a short briefing and then packed our stuffs for the hike. We went to bed early for an early start the next morning.
On the first day, we hiked about 11km to the Maga Fall. It's not tall but still a huge, powerful waterfall with tea-coloured water. I found it unique, because the bank lining the stream is a large area of sloping rock surface. We rest there for a while, soaking in all of nature's beauty that was surrounding us. We had our lunch further upstream, where there was a fire place for boiling water.
Again, that day we reached the campsite near sunset. There were two wooden sheds and our group was given the bigger one of the two. There was a small river running just below the cliff where the campsite was set. It was our source of clean water and our bathing spot. It was such a perfect place for a refreshing bath after the long hike. At that time I was still adjusting to the humidity. Since I hadn't sweat so much for a year, I was feeling rather uncomfortable.
On the second day, we hiked about 13km towards the Mount Sinupung base camp. On the way, we had a stunning panoramic view of the Rekong waterfall from the top of a hill. On this leg of the trip, we were already a few hundred meters above sea level. So, the forest landscape was different from the one we encountered on day one. The plants were smaller and there were mossy areas too. We also encountered some plants that are believed to be exclusive to the area.
Mount Sinupung base camp has only one wooden shed without walls and we were sharing it with another smaller group of 5 people. Since we only had one day left, we decided to indulge ourselves in a feast that night. We finished off all the food that we have brought with us except for those that were set aside for breakfast and lunch on the last day.
On the last day, we started our hike around 5.30 am to catch the sunrise on top of Mount Sinupung peak. We arrived just in time when the sun just began to rise above the horizon, casting its warm glow over the blanket of clouds. It was so breathtaking that I felt like nature was welcoming me home and infusing in me the fortitude and strength as I was about to embark on a new journey (unwillingly lol). Some of us continued to hike to Sinupung lake which was another 30 minutes hike from the peak. The extra hike, to me, was worth it as the lake itself was a stunning sight. The stillness of the lake water created a pristine mirror-like reflection of the surrounding scenery.
