Sunday, November 23, 2008

mount kinabalu challenge: departure day

opps... i realized that i forgot to explain why we need to cut our toe nails really short, as mentioned in my post on day 1.

well you see, during the descent, because we're going downhill the whole time, the front of our toes will always be hitting the inside of our shoes, for more than 6 hours straight! so if it's our toe nails that are hitting the inside of the shoes, we may run the risk of injuring our toe nails, especially on the big toes. i've heard of many cases where climbers come back with dead toe nails, meaning they turned black and then eventually fall right off! and the time it takes for the new nail to grow back is torturous, not to mention we can't wear covered shoes the whole time! that's y it's important to cut our toe nails real short, so that only the front of our toes hit the inside of the shoes, and not the nails.

but of course, it's best to wear those strapped-on sandals for hiking when descending lar. actually i brought along a pair, but as it was raining heavily and i don't think my sandals are the kind that are made to be worn wet, i decided against wearing them. and besides, since my sports shoes were already wet from the ascent, no point wetting another pair, right?

ok, let's continue with our story. i promise this will be the last installment on the mount kinabalu trip! hehe... i know it's getting a bit stale. just bear with me lar... :P


8am
woke up with an aching body! at first, i've decided not to follow HL to the market, but to sleep in and get more rest. if possible, i do not want to move any part of my body even for an inch! but in the end, i thought it'll be stupid not to explore the city, after coming so far. i won't know when will i have the chance to go back there again, right? so i had to peeled myself from the comforts of the bed lor!

turned out, everyone (except for kc, whose flight was at 1pm) was game for the walk to the filipino market, abt 2km from our apartment. we must've looked like a troop of OKU (org kurang upaya), walking like penguins around town! haha... we were laughing at ourselves along the way!

slow and laborious walk to the filipino market...


10.10am
arrived at the filipino market and walked around. nothing much to buy there, and the prices were not exactly cheap.

10.40am
HL wanted to go over to the wet market to buy fresh seafood to be brought home to kl. so our group splitted into 2. one group went to the wet market, while those of us who didn't want to buy seafood went to walk around the shopping complexes at the area.

11.00am
after walking around aimlessly and looking at whatever that caught our fancy, we got a call from R and wife, saying that they are at Warisan Square, having lunch. so we trudged over there to join them before heading back to the apartment to pack-up and get ready to go to the airport.

1.00pm
we were coached to the airport, abt 15 minutes away. as our flights were at 4.30pm (HL, RC, boss, A and i) and 5.00pm (SP and bf, and R and wife), we had much time to kill. so what else? continue shopping lar! :P

3.00pm
got bored with the shops at the airport. so we went over to a foot reflexology shop and looked at their various services. R and wife were contemplating on getting a foot massage... but in the end thought better of it, lest the therapists injure their already injured legs! so we just hung around at the seats outside the shop, talking and laughing.

4.00pm
took off from kk! but unfortunately, our plane had to transit at labuan... so 30 min after taking off, we had to land again and everyone was told to disembark from the plane. man, is was so painful getting up and walking out of that plane! the transit was for 50 minutes. quite long, right? but by the time we got off the plane and walked down to waiting area, it's time to board again! so can imagine how slowly we walked! :D

7.40pm
arrived at KLIA and took the KLIA transit back. it's cheaper, but oh how i regretted it! should've taken the limo home... coz when i reached the bandar tasik selatan station, i realized (only too late) that the stations did not have escalators nor lifts! i had to WALK up and down the stairs myself! urgh!!! i think everyone at the station must've been looking at this girl with the big red backpack, walking down the stairs like some weirdo! :P

read also:
1) mount kinabalu challenge: day 3
2) mount kinabalu challenge: day 2
3) mount kinabalu challenge: day 1
4) bestest friend in the world!
5) mount kinabalu challenge: failed
6) updates and such...
7) mount kinabalu challenge