Another stop???

Wednesday 20 October 2010

GAS ( Great Adventure Sabah) Day 2




Let the topography stories begin.....


0730 Depart from Hotel to Tamparuli Police station .Breakfast was ok.
0800 ++ Arrived & Prepared the bike. Alhamdullilah . Storage was intact.
         Pictures with Tamparulli head Police officer, A little stretching session & doa.. & then  shooted off.
The U tube movie: Bikes out of store...

The day was getting longer & longer...............longer.... longer.................longer..

First 3 km was a breather... almost flat ... but once we past through 1 roundabout.... the torturing part began... climbing all the way to Kg Kelawat for almost 20Km++.. Very little & short downhill.


Our speed were slowed by the topography. Mine was fluctuated around 5-10km/h.
The mind game was on. Oh my god Allah,,,, what have i put myself into....the view was nice but hardly can enjoy since i was concentrated to pedal constantly to keep my heart beat at  a normal & constant rate. Due to that i was aiming to only stopped at the peak. At least the nearest peak.

Ranau 63KM ( mark on the stone by the road). No sign for Nabalu or Kinabalu Park .Sigh... we kept goin & movin....

Ranau 62KM argh,,,

Ranau 61KM  hmmmm already almost 20 min...

Anjing kaco....



Ranau 58KM
Ranau 50Km
anjing kasi acan... hmmm hampeh...

Ranau 43KM.... huwaaaaa... no peak yet... oh god

Found this weird lookin stall.. " writen Sinalau Bakas" I Asked the stall keeper, ini puncak ka?? ( i saw the road was going down up front).. the stall keeper said ya. ya, .. & then i decided to stop.

hmmm what was this" Sinalau Bakas" Then the stall keeper told me. heheheh babi hutan salai... hmmm nice...
But already decided to stop there.. i just kept my distance hehehe... & it was very nice of the Sabahan to write " Tak halal" simply had a chat with me & informed me to stay away from the smoke . Asap salai daging babi.. That what I called mutual respect.

Got to know them & interviewed them a bit .Later our support car arrived & soon the rest of the team stopped at the same location.

U tube movie1


U tube movie 2

U tube movie 3

After refueling , we started the journey again. Hei.. quite long downhil & hmmmm... climbed again. We were stopped by this white Anjing gila by the road. Actually anjing anjing ini memang suko ngacau kami.. hampir all the house we passed had anjing. Muslim or non muslim... .. i guess they keep the anjing to guard their house... Several anjing will attack you .. run from far away & barked very loud near you.for my case.. i kept calm & recited Bismillah & ... alhamdullilah ... the dogs pulled away. It i was panickin g & start to pedal faster, i guess they will chased.

We stopped again at this nice location of the Kinabalu peak & the magnificent valley underneath it.



Then... something came out..a girdle.... what on earth... 1 of GAses used girdle??har har har.. macam macam ... maybe it help in someway,, i dont know.. but it look a bit kinky... bad boy... hahahhahahahaha


Journey continued for another painful climbing.. Nabalu was not that far anymore...Suddenly a van passed by & i heard voices of screaming team.... it was AYTR team. We were already near a row of shops selling art craft & stuff....

Another climb.... we were getting there ....
Yeah.. Nabalu finally was conquered by us... By 1400, we arrived the town & parked behind the town main building over the Mount kinabalu mountain view.. phewww.......






We had our lunch there & several chatting & picture taking session with GASes & AYTR.

Not so bad news came out. by this time, 4 GASes already gave up.( 1 was way earlier )

The journey restarted.







Utube video near almost Pekan Nabalu
Another utube at nabalu
The legs were getting soared & expanded. The geared was no longer maintain .In fact in regular basis, the lightest gear was chosen.I need to keep goin & not to stop in the middle of climbing. Stop at the peak. That was my motivation. So after a while, we stopped again at the beginning of a short downhill.Another session of pictures taking of some really amazing views.. Subhanallah.. We saw the cloud was moving very fast around Mount Kinabalu....Another time we were passed by AYTR van. They stopped earlier on for their lunch.

Facebook album from Man the PEople's bank. ( kami semua camera tak baguih hehe)

Finally climbing until Bundu Tuhan & Kinabalu Park entrance. I was trying to take picture with my Iphone & suddenly it dropped on the road . Luckily only the outer cover of my external battery crack. But still can be used.. har har.. berderau darah aku jugak...

Arrived & bundu tuhan & continued for amother 3km to Kinabalu Park entrance.
by 1615++ we arrived at Kinabalu Park  entrance. It was our target for today. Actually earlier on, we target to stop at Kundasang. Meaning another 7 km downhill from Kinabalu park. But we had decided to park our bike at Puncak Borneo Motel at Bundu tuhan to make our life easier later once we get down from Mount Kinabalu through Timpohon Gate.
Alhamdullilah..

utube kat kinabalu park entrance. final destination for biking

Several call were made & we had to go back to bundu tuhan.Our support van had a puncture.( Tandop's fault)..A nice Sabahan lent us his hardware for tire changing due to we had not enough parts for the fixing.. after everything settle , we discovered that the parts was stored at a special location. heheeh memang tak pernah guna van punya kaki....

Alhamdullilah.. Problem fixed & we were not losing as much time as we feared we would.


bidio utube acara tuko taya


Went to Puncak borneo to park the bike. Had to rent a room for storage after all negotiation failed to get free store. hehehe Met Their friendly workers.. ( waiters, Sania, Sanjana & Anzlena) huhuhu

We performed our jamak & QASAR prayer there & headed down to Kundasang where the 3 chickens were waiting for us.
Bought new tire & yes, problem fixed.

Bidio of Puncak BOrneo





Headed up to Mersilau Eco Resort for our staying that night.
It was a steep climb to the resort. Earlier we were thinking of biking to the resort. It will take us maybe 2 hours to reach with that kind of hill.. Alhamdullilah we decided not too.

Reached the resort by 1845, registered & were treated with free DIY hot drinks... Then to our dormitory.

We found out that to go to our dormitory, we need to climb a very steep ascend.  We decided to go & take our dinner first .

It was the best dinner . Buffet style catered by Sutera Harbour  team.. hmmm So the food was very nice. & The waitress too. ahahahaha



Later AYTR team joined us for dinner but we were to tired to stay longer & infact we were already full with foods. heheh

Later that night, after we all settled down in our dorm & getting ready for the next day climbing to laban rata, i went down to meet AYTR group by the cafe & joined them at their dormitory for socializing AYTR style...

of course when AYTR got together,, many stupid things came out. not to forget the weird photo session.

In the dorm we had a chat & teka teki session. Azrul favourite ikan kepala dua riddle.
We were also served with Biji Nangka Rebus by uncle Din.. hmm yummy,,, but mampuile.. aku kentut malam ni.. hehehe . First time tril for JEtt lin & of course something funny came out..

" kenapa lidah saya ada rasa macam ada satu layer" ( with her funny voice) everybody was laughing their head off.

& Nik M with her intelligence riddle.
How to determine the odd in term of weightfor  ball of 8 using weighing unit ( timbang/neraca tuas /yang sewaktu dgnnya) in 2 steps...

 hahaah  done deal
Then Sarah played her table jokes & games,
1.listen carefully
2.Coin arrangement
3.Black magic

Jettlin got the pattern first. all the time.

but for black magic... there were several fluke attempt  by Uncle  Din & the clan...
har  har har... they thought they got it.. in someway they thought it was through.. but it went the other way around.. & it was so funny to see their expression ... but in the end... it was wrong...

 argh.. we had a good laugh that night..
by 0000, we called it off & had some rest for tomorrow big day.

TipS;
1. Hei.for mount Kinabalu climbers, register & stay at Mersilau Eco resort. Very cheap & nice dinner & breakfast.. RM 55 for climbere. The dorm is also ok.
2. Whoerever plan to go to kinabalu park for a drive, do tapau your lunch earlier on to secure halal food & good food. It is very hard to get halal food up there.
3. For bikers.. if you plan to bike & ride from tamparulli to Kinabalu park, please wear long sleeve or the tutup aurat punya kain or lotion if you dont want to get a sunburn on your hand skin... like me.. i hate those longs sleeve & lotion but i had to suffer the consequences.... We were moving very slow & the sunlight had longer time to burn my skin heheehhee

4. for bikers .. go slow & steady & do not stop. once you stop, you will stop more & get really tired.
5. Powerbar , bar & gel or any energy food are a must for bikers to continue having supply of energy to complete the route.
6. DOnt bike.. ride on the van instead.
7. You need good camera. view of mount kinabalu from this route is amazing . Watch out  for cloud... The cloud will reveal the peak anytime they like & very little time.MOst of the time , it is covered by the cloud.
8.IF you thinking of riding.. train... get enough training & set & train your mental also... you will need them...

Adios

Everytrail link ( once found, please download the google earth file & view from there.. it is nicer with attached pictures ,movies & location

Tuesday 19 October 2010

GAS ( Great Adventure Sabah) Day 1 Part II

Continue..

Assalammualaikum...
macamana nak start huh? aku tinggai tang mana write up tu?
hantam sajalah..
habis parking bike at Tamparuli Police station, we were heading back to KK.
We stopped at this MJ restoran for some lunch. Had to do U turn just for the place. No plan.

Wan had nasi ayam. Testi= tak sedap
The rest had nasi goreng isi ikan. Testi = OK
I had Nasi goreng lalap. Testi= dapat paling lambat.Tanya waitress tu.. What is LALAP? her answers was: "lalap is lalap lah.." ngampeh.. Then tak direkomen .. at least kedai ni.

Drinks, most of us dranks the PowerBar Recovery mixture. We ordered a tumbler full of ice & another tumbler with only water. Then we dug in & made our own recipe.Hmm.. kind of nice. ( SPonsored mah.. mahai barang tu hehehe)

In the car, those guys were talkin about the female Kungfu Master..Jett Lin.....
im now lookin for the conversation we had in the car... hmm... where are though??????????
Time has not yet arrive.... if you know what i mean.... hehehe guys will always be guys....


Back to KK & went straight to Tang Dynasty.
Room were reserved & I was given the opportunity to be with MR GA Tommy page.

Dengaq lagu sart from him...

hmmm.. metro metro... har har har

By 1400 hundred, my AYTR geng called me up.. Of course my wife was the one... went down with them for lunch & met the rest of the AYTR who were registered for this program.. hmm. my GASes will drop thei jaw. soon...hehehe

After short lunch & catchin up with those old buddies, ( most of them i knew & had the opportunity to become their Facis on their PKTR days..)

What should we do? Mr TEngkurak popped out the question... Hei Gaya Island. let go to Gayana Resort. After several phone calls.. we then decided to go to the place. It costed us RM 60 each for both way. ( boat transfer only & a visit to their marine preservation center.)

Hmmmm but it was worth it.. nice resort,
got to see funny stuff,
-Rock n roll fish,
-met mr Kiki, Mr Carpet ,Patrick& bla bla.
-able to meet & petting patrick & the geng... h,, what a day & hei.. not bad...
-lovely plae for honeymoon but of course mr XXXXX... expensive...
-i had a recovery swimming. it was goood one after warm up ride..



Then back to the hotel for dinner.

0830 all gathered in the small hall
10 GASes + 13 AYTR

GASes already realized.... jeng jeng jeng & dah tak duduk senyap hehehe


We had nice dinner ,
Roasted lamb ,Salmon curry & those regular stuff in the served dinner.

Then we had a little ice breaking session with AYTR. Everybody must introduced themselves briefly. Then, it started with all the jokes & laugh & any sort hahahah.
It was so much fun n the relationship web started from there.




BY 2300 most of us had gone to their respective room & cool off. I got another surprise. Extra room gave by the CM. Which mean, i got to stay with my wife for a night . HAr har HaR....


TIps:
1. Yeah , please go to Tamparulli. Nothing special but the scene of the bridge was interesting. It ll get more interesting if locals walk by . We were there at 1200++ & most locals just came back from church nearby  & had to cross the river to the main side of the town. So, we met them at the bridge & yes... There were many interesting people .. hehhe
 2. Mengkabong , Firsherman village
Another interesting place with unic view.
a village near a muara. houses with sort of swarm surrounding. ( 1 part) . The other part, floating house by the water , & also like government house / Sabah state project house nearby. But, nothing much to see & we could not get to the floating one as it need boat transfer  & stuff.
3.Jesselton point water front/jetty
 We were there around 4 o clock & yes the place was crowded with people of all sort & races. Rasa macam kat Europe masa summer. human traffic with holiday mood. ( beach style) the sunlight was just nice to trigger my mind of the places. Many shops around for foods, souvenir & bla bla. The walk thru to the jetty really will excites you & make you smile.
4. Gayana Resort, Pulau Gaya
Costed us RM 60 but hei.. worth to go & visit their Marine life  center. Small exhibition center there but you will experience many new things. The open aquarium of Starfish kinds, sea cucumber & more.... you can pet them & hold them.Really something out of my mind to be able to hold strange starfish & carpet sea cucumber. Giant sea shell is another thing & the famous rock fish. rock on n camouflage.
5. Travel by taxi.
Have to state clearly to the taxi driver. We ask for Jesselton point. & the taxi took us to Center point.
Clearly & said to him more than once. But dont know what happen...
6. There are shopping complex in the same building with Tang DYnasty hotel. We were having lunch there at level 3 i guess. Several stall served some nice rumpai laut & my wife & like it. It looked like an agar agar. Very nice.

GAS ( Great Adventure Sabah) Day 1

Assalammualaikum.

BY now can you tell who had joined the trip? ( please refer the IC picas)

It was a blend of various age.Not much of a different background overall. But, it took one to understand one really , to understand how's one work. I mean functioning . Ha ha.. so .. that was the challenge...

A group of loonies from PKTR program kids had joined the adventure more a less.
They are now AYTR. hahahahh... Apo ke jadah nya tu?
 I am one of the AYTR members. Since the beginning, I personally invited AYTR to tag along with this GAS trip. Skip the biking part, just join the climbing  sensation. And after several social meeting, & behind the scene planning, it was made real by Allah through TengKu Harith's hardwork & etc.

Ha hA Ha. & it was also a very last minute confirmation from AYTR to join us GASES.
We managed to flow out small amount from sponsors to sponsor out GASES as well as AYTR members.

But what made it special?
From bikers point of view...
1.We planned a simple & budget homestay stay but the first 3/4 nights were awesome.
-Full,partly & out of nowhere sponsored accomodation
-comfy, reasonable price & interesting location . (From joined contact. This proved that partnership is the way to go)
-Unexpected 3/4/5 stars hotel treat by Sabah's CM with personal VIP dinner.( Served dinner for 24 of us. 10 GASES plus 14 AYTR.
- Had great dinner.. 3 days in the row makang Kambing... we need it as to counter the low temperature for Mount Kinabalu session.
- Good company from AYTR( including my wife & stuff.
- & many more.

So let starts the say...
Sing it babeh..



Since AYTR had pump in some facilities, so ,we had to do a little de tour of the original route to Sek Men Sains Sabah for some Kementerian Kesihatan alike program. So, we did an aerobic session with the kids. Earlier on, we were told to lead but once we were there, the kids already had their dancing leaders waiting for us only.

20 mins ride from Seapark Hotel to the school. Guided by GPS, we were just in time.
Warm welcoming gesture by the kids & honestly i did feel really welcome & from there, im counting the days to see what interesting things will come next.. hahaha

A few Ice breaking session & aerobic to Sumazau custom( very interesting), then we had our breakfast there. The hostel atmosphere came back to our mind. Macam ni le makanan asrama.. syahdu nye...10,15,20,30, years back of experiences ( to cater the various ages)

We left the school for the next destination while AYTR had to continue with the kids with some Health Presentation By AYTR Health minister.

Then, yes the riding began. about 50 kilos to Mengkabong fisherman village & final destination was Tamparuli. Riders action was on the way. Macam macam ragam.The support car roll played by our one & only Tommy Page was awesome. We stopped for drinks, toilet, pictures,passengers & bla bla. & the day was getting interesting & more interesting as the time goes by & the kilometers built in. At least me, we  were counting views, Sabahan girls..& what on earth these Sabahan transfering on the road. ( Kuda, lumbu, seladang, & y the road was congested & all the wonders?? & the serious one,,,,,, y cantiknya awek awek sabah ni... heheheh

Finally we  stopped at TAmparuli bridge. Again the day was  getting thicker & thicker with new input & sights. Pictures were taken, with various style & models. Local were approached to have small chat & info seeking.The hanging bridge were climbed & abused. Hands were waved to various locals  who started to notice our geng Utara existence. Smiles were changed & withdrew without prejudice.
& it was time to go & then, we managed to get a storage place to park our bike.Tamparulli 's Police station. Y & y? because we were a guess of Sabah CM & our accmodation for that night was in Tang Dinasty Hotel In KK  where surprisingly our dinner was arranged accordingly. No one know this until we get to KK. I mean the VIP dinner. A special guess room for all 24 guess including AYTR. 2 person per room..... Part 2 to be continued....

Everytrail track link

Interview basikal GASes di lokap

Encik DIN dangerous attemp ( donwhill di Tamparuli bridge)

Monday 11 October 2010

GAS ( Great Adventure Sabah) day 0

Assalammualaikum.

Day 0. Packing tak siap lagi.
masa Day -1 baru nak packing after work.
 Geng geng Infineon urged me to bike with them to Bukit Hijau .

So the packing begin at Day-1.
Start packing at 2100
70% done packing at 0400
Major achievement : Had to sew my old army cargo pant .need it for the summit climbing.
I had to reuse whatever I had fro this program to reduce cost as the supply is running low this time around.( after raya)

Then early Day 0:  it was raining & yeah.. i called off my involvement for the Bukit Hijau Ride. But Amin came to my house 1/2 hour later for the ride. hmm.. had no choice but to join them.
The ride started at 0830 from KTC & reached Bukit Hijau by 1045. Reached KTC around 1230.


Mix weather ride & great discovery of the new sedap roti canai stall on the way.




Went for Infineon geng Open house & then final packing the bike.



Grab Kulim's GAS team by 1545 & reached PIA by 1700.
My bike's box  weighted 18 kilos & my baggage was 20 kilos.hahaha

Reached KKIA by 0000 on Day 1.Settled down at Seapark condomotel at Tanjung Aru.
Unpacked & re assembled the bike.
Start to sleep at 0400.

what a day.


Things I reused: ( thought of buying new but with little financial consideration)
1. I almost throw away this Kenda intermediate tires from the bike i trade earlier on.Planned to buy brand new Maxxis crosmark.it end up great to have them on. No cost incurred.
2. Had to search my winter glove I had stored somewhere & end up messing my house to already a mess house . heheeh. Need them for summit climbing.Cheap Kebun glove was in the mind earlier.Again 0 cost.
3.Torn Army cargo pant.( at the secret part). Had to sew to secure the area for summit climbing. The only long pants with me for the trip.It took me 2 hours to do cross stitch (my way le eheheh).Thought of getting new pants but this one work well for those 4 hours session. 0 cost.
4. Used my old almost breakdown sports running shoes ( Asic) for summit climbing.Was reading many reviews to check on the trail & weather condition for the summit. After enough info, decided to sacrifice this shoes there.Yes, after descending from the peak, The shoes was abandoned at Gunting Lagadan shelter.(70% failure ).Yes, reduced my overall weight to travel down.


Things I had to buy:
1. 2nd unit of Iphone external battery. Mophie pack. RM 318. I need this for tracking purposes. extra 2 made coverage possible for the long day activities.
2.Bikers underwear. ( the one with padding). My love towards 3/4 army cargo pants for riding suits with this combination. 2 units costed me RM140. ( One Stop Cycle)
3.Bike rear carrier pouch.RM 50.

to be continued...Day 1
3.