Musings





Hong Kong yadda yadda





The Top of the World

And so, I was at the top of the world. Well, in Southeast Asia at least. Mount Kinabalu, the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia, now has my footprints on its very summit. There I was, 4095.2m above sea level, exalting in the triumphant conquest of the mountain, yet freezing in my clothes as I thought little else but climbing back to down relative warmth. The view was indeed quite majestic, but then again, I'm not a stickler for nature. From up there you can see much of Sabah, a wide expanse of land and much of Mount Kinabalu itself, with the other peaks around where we were.

In retrospect, I suppose the process of the climb was torturous enough to make me think that the whole trip wasn't worth it. But then again, the experience and accomplishment of conquering a mountain is difficult to replicate as well. So then I came to the conclusion that I wouldnt return to climb it again, unless the company more than makes up for it. A total of 15 hours or so of climbing from me, and all I could think of was the prospect of a good massage at the end of the day, which I got ^^.

Kota Kinabalu is like a typical Malaysian town, except that it has commercialized somewhat. Western restaurants dot the town, and Burger King soon became something I ate more often than the local fare. To say the truth, there isn't much to do there: shopping is just like Malaysia, the nice things are same price as Singapore, if not more expensive. Next to a nice, clear sea (strangely there's a wierd sewage smell), its also a nice place to just gaze out to the clear waters of the coast. Supposedly there's a nature park where you can head there to snorkel and sunbathe, but I didn't do that la.. We flew about 2 hours via AirAsia, which is quite a good airline in my opinion.

Any budding climbers who want to climb should prepare themselves sufficiently, both physically and also equipment-wise. Prepare for a good 5-8 hours of climbing at least, as well as ensure that you have clothing that can endure zero or even sub-zero temperatures. You'll get all sorts of conditions, including a part where you gotta grab a rope and climb along the side of the mountain with little else to keep you from falling off the side in near total darkness. Don't pack too much, cos you'll have to carry it all up to the mountain huts at Laban Rata, unless you engage one of the porters, monstrous locals that carry heavy loads and just bound up the mountain like it was nothing. Wear boots or trekking shoes for the rocks and possible wet places, and do bring muscle spray. That saved me when I got cramps on both thighs. Nearly died I tell you. Overall, expect to spend about 700 plus SGD (excluding equipment).

The rewards?

The feeling of accomplishment (and certificates)
The view from the top
A good workout for your entire body
The realization that God made everything well

The costs?

Hours of painful climbing
Possible injury (especially coming down)

Worth it?

Perhaps. But as I said, I'm probably not doing it again. But hey, I said the same for the marathon.







Who's the Real Me?

A question that should be asked by people. One that perhaps, cannot be answered. Who am I? Am I who I really am, or who people perceive me to be? Indeed, when George Herbert Mead established the theory of the mind and the self, and interesting perspective to life had been formed.

The self is actually the socialized aspect of a person. I am a male, a student, something that society expects of me, and as such I act in that way. The mind is the space within which my personality can stray from the expected path. I am who I am and what I want myself to be. And yet we cannot just be anyone and anything. We are constrained. Constrained by the expectations of society, social facts that have been present before our very births.

But indeed, who am I? In today's age, persona are increasingly adopted by people. A shy, quiet outward persona. A dark, inward persona that lives within the confines of one's mind. A third, online persona, perhaps extroverted, enthusiastic and deeply involved in many things. But which is the real me?

Can we, through thinking and meditating, ever establish our true self? Or will it instead lead to a rapid divergence from the truth. And are we afraid of our true selves should we find it, after removing layer after layers of masks that we wear each day that we no longer realize that we are wearing them?

To this, there is no conclusion. But I question the criticality of this question. Even if we did know, what would change?





I'm Back + Reflections

I'm back to my blog! Sorry for being away so so so long and its really good to be back blogging. Its funny how blogging has changed people's lives. I think blogging for me has forced me in many ways to step back and view my life from a better perspective, one that better covers more angles than a simple first-person view. In all the criticism leveled at the technological claustrophobia that has probably caught quite a good many youths, I think that it has also opened a good many new doors.

And so Semester 2 has come to and end and I'm going to be in my Third Year. Its daunting. But looking forward and back, I see a great my possible exciting events that could and hopefully would happen. Life has also gotten back into perhaps a more happier phase where more things are going well (not counting my results). If things go well, hopefully in the summers I would have climbed Mt Kinabalu, gone overseas to HK to fence, and hopefully, if I'm diligent enough, learn a bit of Spanish in preparation for an exchange there next year.

Looking back, I've had a great sem. A nice break away from Econs (though I'm a little regretting it now haha), and a couple of enjoyable classes, I think despite the horrors of Finance I've had a good sem with more friends and a little more fun. Accomplishments wise there probably isn't much, but then again, it wasn't in my agenda. Vice-Pres Windsurfing is quite troubling itself haha. Hoefully we'll be able to rebuild that club from scratch! But I'm sure we will, its truly a sport not like any other. So try it guys and girls! And call me out to surf as well!

As a person, I've grown to understand myself a bit more. What makes me tick and what actually can make me angry. Haha. Indeed I think I'm a very personal person. Not gonna elaborate on that though. Do I like how I operate? I think so. And I would probably stay like that for at least the rest of the year.

I'm not sure whats a good blog topic for the rest of the summer, so perhaps I'll turn to either a more philosophical or more research tone. And maybe there will be some knowledge to be gleaned from my blog. Stay tuned!