Gonong Arong

Wow... Yea wow... It has actually been one-and-a-half weeks since I went down to Gonong Arong. And here I am now, finally writing about my experience albeit, one-and-a-half weeks late. I've been busy. I've been busy spending money that is. Well I am sure there is nothing wrong with indulging in the art of money-splurging once in a while. Fingers-crossed, I hereby solemnly swear to God(if there is even one at all) that I shall stop my shopping spree.

Anyway, back to my trekking experience, my friend whos is in ODAC called me at night before the actual day to ask me if I was interested in going down to recce with them. Apparently one of her recce team members couldn't make it. I thought, 'sure, sounds cool!' and that is what started my short trip to Malaysia.

I will have to say that the travelling time on its own is more tiring than the actual trek. Ok, I am exaggerating, but you know, it was a 3 hour trip from the immigration centre in JB to wherever we were trekking back then. So to and fro, that was a total of 6 hours. Hell man, boredom stretches your patience and I am no patient man. To top it up, the bus ride there was in a bus with air conditioning that works like a heater. Yes, we were sweating crazy before we even started the trek.

To cut long story short though, we eventually reached the house of our tour guide, not before getting scammed by some crafty old taxi driver. Yes, to cut the long story short, I wouldn't elaborate on that sly trickster. We met the nice lady who provided us with two young escorts as our guides and we are off on our way!

First thing that I noticed as we began our ascent up the Gonong(I've no idea why they spell it gonong instead of gunung as they do in Indonesia) is the sheer steepness of the slope that we have to climb. You have got to wear something with good traction lest you want to risk hurting yourself there. What is even better though, is that there is only one single walkable route that is at times surrounded by trees and at other times by nothing save for a long jump down to the ground beneath. 'So what ?' you might think but as we reach up above some ten twenty metres, you realise that you are walking on a solitary path and there is no going back, only forward. A wrong step to your right or left will throw you off balance and if you are unfortunate enough, it will be 'sayonara my friend, I'll see you at the bottom of the hill.'

It took us about an hour to reach the peak. We had a good workout, working out quite some amount of sweat but the scenery was in all honesty, worth the trek up. Standing at the peak of Gonong Arong looking down at the beach and nearby islands, that was a breathtaking scene. All along you went up the hill surrounded by endless rows of trees and suddenly there was a clearing and you are able to have a good view around. That experience was fulfiling. it was wonderful. You will feel the satisfaction of having gone so far to immerse yourself in mother nature, to feel her arms close around you in a warm welcoming hug.

And so the time came for the trek down. The thing with everyone is this - when you have tasted sweetness, there is no way you will want to go back and invite that bitter taste to your tongue. Same thing here, the trek down was as treacherous as it was arduous, the main obstacle being the unpredictable terrain as well as the steep slope downwards. You can instantly lose your footing and fall down. Trust me, if accidents happen at all, they will happen more on the trek down rather than up the hill. A few of us fell. Nothing serious though. After another hour, we were all exhausted and the thing that kept us going was the thought of reaching the end point and finally back home. We came out by the beach and it was alright. Quite neat, quite cool.

Phew! And that is it! We finished our trek!

And once again, to cut the long story short, suffice to say that we eventually managed to reach singapore at about an hour or so before midnight, effectively missing the finale of the English Premier League.

Just a short summary of what went on in between though, another money-sucking taxi driver and an uncomfortable 3 hour ride back to customs, a bunch of kiasu people rushing to get back home pushing and squeezing each other in the customs as well as bus and of course, missing the last train home.

For all that it is worth though, I had fun back then. It was a great trek and a good recce.

White.....Black

All was White.

"Huh ?"

The man tried to make sense of it all but to no avail.

"Where am I ?"

All around was white. White is all there ever was and all there ever is. In the middle of it all is a solitary figure suspended in eternal darkness born out of the blanket of 'White'.

"What is going on ?"

He panicked.

He turned. He twisted. He ran. He ran on the spot. He flailed his arms against some unseen assailant but all around him was absolute whiteness, so pure so bright it hurt.

He felt nothing, heard nothing. He does not tire from running but he knew pain. He felt tormented engulfed in a sea of 'White'.

Then he opened his eyes. Then he awoke.

The sight before him was dull but he squinted his eyes and grimaced against its brightness. A cliff lay before him and beyond, the sea melted away into the horizon where the last glimmer of the sun's rays is beginning to fade away. He was standing in a lush meadow by the cliff, surrounded by verdant trees, beautiful flowers and blades of grass.

He saw the blades of grass rustle and the leaves sway as though pulled on by some unseen forces.

"How ?"

Somewhere a voice answered from inside his head.

"The wind."

Instinct tells him he is right but counter-intuitively, he refuses to accept the answer.

"Why ?"

He turned. He twisted. He saw. Leaves are swirling in the air. One lightly glided past his face and another flew straight into a wall that was his shirt. He looked down and saw his shirt swaying in the breeze as well yet he doubted the wind.

"Why ?"

He felt nothing. Strangely, he felt nothing.

He tried to make sense of it all but to no avail.

His attention turns to the rapidly vanishing rays of light at the horizon and he squinted, trying to gather what is going on. The allure of the last rays of the setting sun drew him on. He took a step, two and continued until the edge of the cliff. The sun is setting and all around it was getting dark, quickly.

As the very last vestiges of the sun's rays are swallowed by the impending darknes, the man closed his eyes and took a final step into the Black.

There was silence. All around was pitch black.

He felt nothing, heard nothing.

All around was black. Black is all there ever was and all there ever is. In the middle of it all is a solitary figure floating in the brilliance of the Black. He felt at peace.

"I am going to wake up."

All was Black.