My Three Virgins & Me

How often do you get to spend time with 3 virgins all at the same time? Well I was the lucky man here. I have been to Tahan only once before but this is a virgin journey for my 3 friends, Smeagol, Calorieman & My 25%.

Smeagol and Calorieman have been eagerly awaiting this adventure for awhile back but My 25% didn't even have this in her calender and neither was she aware that she will be going for this her maiden trip. She only decided after Calorieman asked if she would like to go? She called me and asked if she will be able to climb the mountain and if it was tough? I said i will support her all the way.

Next thing i knew...she was on the team!

Lock & Loaded

After all the checking and re-packing of our backpacks, we loaded them all up into one of the 4-wheeled drives and said our goodbyes to civilisation. This time we were 13 strong and we had 2 guides to lead us up the tallest mountain in Semenanjung Malaysia...Gunung Tahan.

Food Check

Time to empty the backpacks and declare our meals. Time to calculate and take stock of all the not so environmentally friendly wrappers, can food, bottles, batteries, clothings etc. We were declaring all that we were bringing up the mountain. If were short of even one piece of choc wrapper when we come down the mountain, we will be fined. Below...Calorieman is counting his calory specific menu and my rations all down and out for the count.

Checkin' The Tracks

Calorieman is checkin' the tracks for safety. Must be an occupational hazard after all he is a pilot. He just has to have the tracks in immaculate order before we do our trekking...and the wife looks on at her husband being his nerdy best. I guess i forgot to tell him that the track to Gunung Tahan lies in yonder forest...a 130million year old rainforest and not on KTM's 50 year old track.

We are Invincible!

The pose says it all. Macho macho man...and woman. We are all set and ready to conquer the moutain. We came, we saw and we will conquer...right? This pose is dedicated to LP128! Joseph you are immortalised!!!

OMG!!!

Suddenly it dawned on her...that she is on 10 hour journey by rail to Merapoh, the northern entrance to Gunung Tahan....which some say is one of the toughest mountain trails to trek in Semenanjung Malaysia where there are no shopping malls, no manicurist, no pedicurist, no flushing toilets, no shower rooms or bath tubs, no powder rooms and no wi-fi.

OMG!!!

Virgins Rarin to Go!!!

Our midnite train stopped at Merapoh and my 3 Virgins were all excited and rarin to go. Perhaps it was the fresh morning air of the kampung, perhaps the long journey (almost 10 hours) on our KTM Senandung Malam or perhaps it was the months of anticipation and little preparation apart from CaloryMan's shopping spree for food which was purchased with scientific and mathematical accuracy right down to the daily caloric intake. My 25% was busy shopping for the right shoe which she finally found with that perfect pink lining. Smeagol & I were just busy with other stuff and left our shopping right down to the very last day.

We were all excited and anxious with taking the first step into the million year old rainforest.

New Faces of Tahan

This years trip to Tahan is special cos not only is it che mat's final trip but this year my 25% will be trekking this mountain with me along with CaloryMan her husband & Smeagol...just cos. We will throughout the trip come up with more name calling. All 3 of them are virgins to Tahan with no more than 10 hours of training between them and even myself. What we lacked in physical training we make up for with enthusiasm, a little apprehension and high spirits.

Well call it Solid Belief if you will. We all knew it was something we all had to do and belief that we should DO it!

An Old Friend

Everything starts with a conversation. It all began with a call to che mat which ended up with a chat over kopi tarek and roti bakar. We reminisced about our Gunung Tahan trip a couple of years back.

Since then che mat has gone thru a couple of operations and besieged by high blood pressure while I went out of a relationship and into a new one amidst a couple of knee probs and a tumultous working environment. We finally ended up discussing about one last fling for che mat before he retires off trekking...especially his beloved Gunung Tahan. The man is after all half a century old and with his ailments he has decided to call it quits but for one last assault on Gunung Tahan.

We ended our kopitiam chit chat planning our assault on the gruelling Gunung Tahan.