Santubong

The mountain located near to the city of Kuching, means about half an hour. It quite nice since the location is beside the sea and we could view the whole city panorama up there. The height as note on the signboard at peak is 810 meter.

So we arrived to the mountain base at 830 am and at 900am Hishamudin as the program's director was started the Santubong Challenge. I myself start my tracking about 930 am.

The first 45 minutes walkiing, the track is gently 30 degree sloping, this sometime made me bored. I travelled with five other fellow whose age are thirty something, well you know the stamina and fitness is something much problem. So, at this early stage of tracking two of us think to retreat, one man and one girl, and the girl firstly to concede defeat followed by my other fellow at the first checkpoint.

After one hour tracking, we finally get into the real challenge since the track becomes more and more vertical. Until we arrived to the route where we have to use a rope ladder (the one we always see on a movies when someone climb onto a helicopter) with the height varied from three to ten meter. I think the highest one is about ten meter and this sometimes made me dizzy when looking down. This kind of almost vertical route is continously until we reach the peak.

I reach the peak at 1210pm when some other climbers from our group were already there. No more students who took a challenge were there, they've already went down. The view is very marvelous where I can see the South China Sea in the front view and Kuching at my left side. Down below I also could see the Rajang River, the longest river in Malaysia. This mountain is actually the peninsular. This photo I snaped as soon as I was there, still sweating.

For about an hour I'm staying up there, waiting for another girl's group whose about ten minute left behind, as they say, to arrive. But that ten minute became about half an hour before Puan Paridah, Shida and one other girl arrived. There is a small pond with a cloudy water up there. The situation was, when you're at any other places where you can easily find a water, you will never use this water even to wash your hand, because this very pond is sooo contiminated and polluted where you can see a tadpole is swimming inside that brownish water, but in this kind of situation those water is very much valuable.


I boiled some water using a messtin I found from the PKU students who stayed on the peak since last night. Made a 3in 1 nescaffe, also given by the student, then together we have hot nescaffe at the peak of Santubong.

We start to went down into the base at 130pm when all of the girls had had an enough rest, enough photo and recovered from tiredness. We've been the last group to get down, oo..there is one Englishman up there when we start to track down. So, it's me, Pn. Paridah, Shida, Fatah and another Shidah's friend, together we're tracked down. Slowly.

About thirty minutes walked, Shidah who have been followed by fatah, as a sweaper, sat down and cramp, her calf of leg was injured. fatah try to calm her down and spray her calf using pain killer supplied in a first aids kit. When she looked like recovered, I then rushed to Pn. Faridah since she was all by herself and she's so slow, but when I came to her after about 50 meter ran up the hill, I saw one other PKU student was with her, so she should be Okey. Then think about those two fellows up there, I once again rushed to them to see if anything goes right. They're so slow since Shida can't walk easily, it's hurt. Fatah has already communicate with Hishamudin using a walkie talkie, informed him about the situation.

Puan Faridah, Shidah And Fatah

So slowly we walked and most of the time shidah stop walking especially when we're walked down, you know that vertical route. Until at one place when Hishamudin came, about half an hour later, to see what actually happened and guide her down. Fatah then told by Hishamudin to get down first and tell the transport not to wait for us since we have a situation in here. A minutes later, after a few step walking, she's lie down on a ground and her stomach come out with some kind of sound. Pain in her stomach, dizzy in her head, a complete package for a climber who didn't take a meal or whatever food during travel. Gave her "minyak cap kapak" then pinched at her neck to hopely relief the pain. Gave her cloud nine to supplied a bit energy so that she could slowly walk again. And with a few spirit in her, she slowly move to walk down. The sound of storm started once during she ate cloud nine, rain.

After about five minute walked, she's puked. Then after that she's totally reliefed, and could quickly walked. The rain start to pour down, then after five minutes walked after the vommit, there came a heavy rain. Hishamudin lead in front, shidah at the midle and I myself at back.

I brought with me, in my pouch, are my PDA, camera, handphone and all the receipt I safe when I bought a thing for this programme. Try to cover my pouch with my wet hand all the way down, but for sure, I tought there will something in there be damage.

We arrived at the base where Hishamudin parked the car (the same place to start) at 530pm, when nobody was there. Took out my pouch, bag (Pn. Paridah's bag) and place into the rear of the car. Everybody get into the car and everybody want to quickly go home because everybody is totally wet.

On the way home, Hishamudin got a call from someone told him that Kapten from PUO was sick, and has already in Kuching's Hospital. He's cramped when he arrived at the finished line, try to relief by other people during that time, then raining, everybody get into the bus. Once more on the bus, he cramped, then the driver directly brought him to hospital for further check.

Since Hishamudin got that bad news, he drove us to his house which I don't know where, for him to change dress,then he want to look at the Kapten. We were invited to have some hot tea in there. So fresh then. He phoned the bus driver, told him to stop at Petronas near to his house so that we could fetch the bus to the hostel.

Arrived at hostel about 945pm, take a meal, then proceed to hostel, take a shower then slept.

End of the other challenging day.