Mount Santubong – Checked!

Posted on May 19, 2014 by jipp

So I was in Kuching last last weekend to attend a friend’s wedding. Seeing an opportunity, I decided to take something off my long standing bucketlist by climbing up to Mount Santubong – one of the most famous natural landmarks in Kuching and probably Sarawak as a whole. I knew that the beauty if it when visualized from at a distance has long enticed people to come to it but surprisingly not so many people that I know in Kuching have actually climbed to its peak.

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I was accompanied by 5 young ladies from France who happened to be in Kuching for a holiday. Well, of course, being the only batang in the group, I had my manhood at stake to prove that I really, well, had it. Ngeee! Continue reading →

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That Little Patch of Forest called FRIM

Posted on May 18, 2014 by jipp

FRIM (Forest Research Institute Malaysia) is probably too governmental for many KL folks but seriously when it comes to getting back to nature (I like to use the term ‘return’ because I believe civilization had first originated from nature,no?), nothing can quite beat it.

I mean, most of the forests that you’d see around KL and beyond are merely leftovers of extensive logging activities in the past but the one at FRIM was one of the very lucky few to have been spared from all the merciless mowing machinery driven by human desire for $$$.

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It was not my first time going there. I remember going there when I was a school boy back in those days when Yayasan Sabah was still so filthy rich and had too much money in hand they had to bring its students to just about every corner of the country for luxurious vacations. It was there that I walked on a canopy bridge for the very first time in my life and I was in awe. Continue reading →

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Namaste Kathmandu !

Posted on May 12, 2014 by jipp

Of course, as I had mentioned in my previous post on my trip to Nepal, it all began when I came up with a plan to climb up to the Everest Base Camp – only to be forced to change the plan at the eleventh hour due to some stupid presentation that I had to do at the university. Done with my presentation, I quickly returned home to pack up and hastily dashed over to the airport where my travel buddy Frank was already waiting. Flying on an Air Asia Boeng, it had to be Kathmandu-bound and just in case you didn’t know, Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal (meh).

Visa

One thing you gotta know about traveling to Nepal at least as a Malaysian is the need for a visa. Applying for a visa to Nepal is very easy peasy. You have the choice of doing it here in KL (which I didn’t bother to find out how) or do it once you landed at the Kathmandu Airport. Of course with all the crazy schedule that I had to march through in the past few months or so, I ventured doing the later which turned out to be so hassle-free. Yippies!

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Continue reading →

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Annapurna Base Camp: Finally a Taste of the Himalayas

Posted on May 6, 2014 by jipp

I used to believe that Switzerland and New Zealand are the most beautiful countries in the world, that if there were heavens on earth, they’d be somewhere in these two countries. But of course, that was before I read about the Himalayan regions. Then I knew, I had to go there first and that Switzerland and New Zealand could wait 🙂

The Change of Plan

My trip to Nepal was actually part of my mission to climb up to the base camp of Mount Everest. Doing the trail to Everest Base Camp(EBC) was the original plan and I had put in a lot of efforts in trying to get myself prepared for the climb – or rather the trek – financially and physically for many many months in advance.

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 Just when I thought I was so ready to go, and that I was very much on my way to fulfilling one of my biggest dreams in life, I received the devastating news regarding an event that I had to attend – an event in which I was required to do a very important presentation on the very day when I was supposed to be a few days through the climb. Uhuks!

Continue reading →

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Inle Lake and the Floating Villages

Posted on April 26, 2014 by jipp

INLE LAKE – I first read about it on an in-flight magazine and my curiosity had prompted me to put it on my list of “Places I Must See before I Die”. Instead of the popular choice of going on a tour in a group, I decided to book through the hotel a tour where I could have the boat all to myself. I know, it sounds quite kiasu but USD18 sounded quite reasonable to me since I got to decide where to go and not to go and most importantly I was free to do all the camwhoring in the world. LOL!

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The boatman had Etthu for a name (“8-2, eight two – easy to remember” he told me with a grin) and he spoke quite a bit of English although limited. His introductory question had both startled and amused me at the same time. He asked if I was married or not and later how many girlfriends I had after he was convinced that I was not (married).

When I returned the question to him, he broke into a wide smile and said “Myanmar girls no beautiful. Japanese girls beautiful. I want Japanese girlfriend”. I managed to stiffen my neck and avoid giving it a nod. Damn. LOL! Continue reading →

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