Bali 2 (27 Feb - 4 Mar 2007) Part 1 - Treacherous Trek

I'd better write something here before i forget or procrasinate, since so many ppl wanna read all abt it.

The trip started uneventfully enough... the usual rush for the plane and boring flight, a long, long ride from denpasar airport to candi dasa. The first interesting event came when our accomodations there, although looked really nice, had no AC. and I specifically asked for AC so that all of us could hv a good rest. but i guess the place looked so nice and the dutch lady who ran the place was so nice and it was so late we couldn't say no. Dinner was 10pm that day... a sign of how rubbery time could be in bali.

i think that nite was the 1st time i slept under a mosquito net... which was quite effective. but still didn't sleep that well... kept waking up, maybe coz not used to sharing a bed with a guy.. hahah. next morning breakfast was very nice, but not filling. after packing, Mudi, the guide who picked us up from airport, came; we were off.

We stopped along the way for money changing, food buying, and lunch... and somehow the time we wanted to save by getting Mudi to come earlier was squandered away - not anyone's fault of coz, all due to the fact we were in bali.

When we reached the start of the trek at 3pm, it was raining slightly. bad. When we got to the shrine of the mountain, i had to take out my jacket coz the rain was getting heavier. BAD. and as the journey started the rain got worse. VERY BAD. so far the trek itself wasn't difficult, maybe that's why i don't remember much of it, or maybe I'm too traumatised by the whole event.

In this part of the trek 2 incidents stand out. 1st one was when we stopped rite beside a black flowing pool created by a waterfall of rain. apparently lava rock on the volcano doesn't really absorb water, so most of the heavy downfall just roars off the slopes in massive flows. and we had to cross one of these seasonal rivers, thus had to stop and wait for the waters to subside.

2nd one was the actual crossing. it was damn slippery, and i was helping yb, with qz in front. all of a sudden qz slipped heavily and started sliding down the boulder - and my immediate thot was i cldn't help him at all, shd he slip all the way down to the sea. hengz he managed to stop himself and get back up, minus a few bits of fingers.

It got dark and I wasn't expecting us to trek until so late, so i had to borrow a torch from Mudi (mine was packed away safe and dry) we finally reached the campsite at 9pm, 3 hrs late, and tired out. as the rest fussed over qz's fingers and chel's open shoe, i plonked myself on my field chair and asked myself why was i still such an idiot to sign up for this. but more was to come.

we helped set up the tents, and it wasn't until 11pm that we were finally dry and relatively clean n warm in one of the tents. but still, we hadn't eaten anything since 2pm and were sitting there hungry while Mudi and the 2 porters messed about with their complex tent. we kinda had to remind them that we were hungry, but once the food was handed out, it came quickly. cold rice, cold weird satay, cold veges, etc nv tasted so good before. They thot of bringing coke as well, which was a nice touch.

giving an excuse that it was cold, the girls wanted to bunk in with the guys. of coz. but 3 guys 3 girls can't lie flat in a 4-man tent - most of us probably didn't sleep much. thankfully qz lead the girls out and i could nap (not sleep) for an hour.

we set off at 3am and for the first part i lagged behind in the darkness - i did some training on my stamina but not specifically thigh muscles. somehow it consistently felt like there wld be at least 10 ppl waiting for me at each ridge, not 7 - my 5 frens, Mudi and Nengah. but it was too dark anyway, so i shrugged it off. along the way at 4+am, we asked Mudi if we could reach the summit for the sunrise, and he replied yes. an hour later, he replied no to the same.

After subjecting our shins to spiky grass, we caught the sunrise on a slope, surrounded by thin wiry bushes bent on impeding our journey up. beyond that were bare slopes of loose rock - there i buay tahan and had to take a nap in the sun. but after that power nap i got refreshed, and hardly stopped for long until i reached the summit.

Even so, it wasn't as straight forward. the end of the slope we saw was always never the summit. we just kept seeing yet another slope up ahead, until we had to go round one of them - then i finally saw the volcano crater and the north-eastern slopes of the same bare rocks. we were damn close. diwei and chelsea reached before me, and were seated near a col at the crater - but i decided i wld go to the top, not settle for a col. So i slowly ascended until a huge rock, and refused to budge. thus everyone relocated to my spot.

Breakfast was a simple but welcome affair of brown bread w butter n nutella, orange juice and mangosteen. at 9+am, the sun was already high and we were 3 hrs behind schedule. we took shots at a higher point (not sure where's really the peak on a volcano), peeked into the crater from a precarious edge beyond a shallow but ominous crack, then painfully made our slow way down.

we walked and slid and stopped and rested - past the bare loose rocks and prickly shrubs, and entered back into the long grass. still, it wld be a long way to go, and lots of loose soil to tread on. we trudged carefully downward, passing by the huge rocks and lonely trees that silently watched us pass upward earlier in the darkness. then the sun disappeared and clouds came in - and we were in the middle of another huge downpour, possibly heavier than the previous day's.

not counting the proximity of lightning, it WAS kinda of a blessing for me though, coz we were dangerously low on water and i was damn thirsty. i saw yb with an open nalgene and decided to follow suit - i cupped my hand to the sky and sucked on watever precious few drops i managed to catch and keep. periodically we wld pause, to ascertain thunder was some distance away after a flash of lightning, or to solemnly watch the temporary waterfalls as they roared hundred metres away from us. if one rode on those rivers, you could probably reach the sea in 5-10 minutes. your other body parts might take a while longer.

Too many hours later, tired and thirsty, we caught sight of the camp site - with 2 instead of 3 tents. at 1st i thot the remaining port had moved the camp site, and stumbled down unfamiliar slopes; until i saw the same altar near our tent, and realised how different the camp site looked in the dark of night. there was a drop beyond the girls' tent which i nv knew. and the slopes which seemed so steep at night were so gentle in the daylight.

We drank ginseng coffee, coke and watever liquids we could get our hands on, packed, and bid Mudi goodbye - he wld be staying to guide another group while Nengah and the other porter lead us down. I was in good spirits - mainly coz i forgot how far we still were from the foot. I was supposed to help chel look out coz now both her shoes had opened up - but i lost my balance and fell heavily twice, the 2nd giving me a large slice across my shin, which still itches as i type this.

recognising a problem, the others had diwei n i switch backpacks. my bulky PM for his compact one. but as darkness fell my brain started messing up and unable to process inadequate light. that was when i saw the taxi stand. it had a pale blue sloping roof, with blue-painted railings for ppl to lean on. and i knew i was right in the middle of wilderness. so i decided to stop. i badly needed sleep, but there was no time. so i was given to Nengah, the lead porter, to be guided down. I thot probably it'll be another 3 hrs, i was sure i could last that long, as long as i was helped. i didn't know the word for hallucination in bahasa, so i just said i had a headache.

the next few hours were a blur. i remember asking nengah to wait if i saw the space-alien headlamps of my companions too far away, or translating when they needed a rest. i remember sitting there between being awake and being asleep, incorporating their voices with my dreams. i remember knowing that i needed energy and licking spilled glucose powder off a nalgene. i remember seeing gigantic chocolate bars along the path where it was dark. i remember thinking that i wld probably be dead before this trek ended, and my greatest regret wld be nv getting a gf. i remember that slipping, cracking and dying hallucination. but for most of the time i remember just whatever my headlamp showed me - Nengah's boots, the loose soil, and overgrown grass. and my mind flying all over the world, like i was on magic mushrooms.

Then we came to a wide river that we had to cross. I was scared but too woozy to protest as Nengah guided me across the slippery boulders with skillful use of my walking stick, and how i didn't know, sat me on a safe dry surface and told me to wait there, while he got the others. i was in no shape to go anywhere anyway. i gave him my more powerful headlamp and he handed me his dying bulb of a torch, too weak to see beyond the nearest grass.

I could see headlamps coming my way down the far away slope, disappearing, then appearing again much nearer, on the rocks. i knew they were my companions, but still felt compelled to ask repeatedly who they were. qz tried to ask them how long more to the vehicle, and with my muddle brain i tried to ask in bahasa, the 2 porters laughed and said something we didn't understand - maybe my question was translated wrongly. qz remarked they could sell us off and we wldn't know, while my thots turned more sinister: they could easily push us off the boulders into the river below and murder us all. such was my lunacy from lack of sleep.

my brain as such, i didn't realise my entire right leg was going numb - and pins & needles seared the whole length from butt to toe, and somehow the pain forced me awake. once Nengah guided me across the terrifying slippery boulders, i was back to normal again. probably adrenaline did it for me.

I told Nengah and the rest i was feeling better, no more "headache". from there, Nengah and I sped down slopes, him moving confidently and me just rite behind, following his every step. I decided i would stay with Nengah on account of his dying torch. for that hour or so we would fly down 1st, then sit and wait for the others and chat in my limited bahasa.

He told me that the river we were walking next to was very long and 20m deep, and that recently 2 locals, out cutting grass, were swept away by a flash flood. he told me he was 30 yrs old, his wife 24, and he had 2 young boys. he also tired to tell me a few others things, but i cldn't understand. he asked if 6 of us were family, and was curious about Singapore and Malaysia. i tried to tell him as much as i could.

This continued as my now-awake brain could feel my now-rumbling rectum and after a stretch of dense jungle, i knew my next release would be more than just a fart. it wasn't allowed to crap on the holy volcano, but i knew if i didn't my frens wld kill me on the way back in the vehicle. so i insisted to Nengah that i wld crap, and he reluctantly pointed out to me a spot left of a small stony stream. I could hardly wait for everyone to pass before i let loose the kind after u drink stale milk with overnight curry. and everyone could clearly hear my relief. it must have been contagious coz soon after yb started puking. besides that, i was glad i showed the blardy volcano wat i thot of it.

i apologised to the porter waiting for me, and hurriedly tried to catch up, and in my haste slipped heavily on the wet stone. thankfully i manage to land on my side instead of my head - guess the volcano got my message. was afraid that Nengah wld be pissed at me crapping, but he simply asked if i was feeling better. After that we didn't manage to talk much as he was busy leading huiping.

the remaining way was still long, but it was now gentle and the path was clear. my brain started to shut down again, and soon i was falling asleep walking and talking nonsense in an attempt to stay awake. i wld really fall asleep on my feet and slip on loose rocks, jolted awake for that second. i dunno how long i stumbled that way until we encountered an old lady standing by the path. then we came upon some man-made structure - we made it.

we sat among the mosquitos and flies for a while, then Mudi's younger brother, (aka Mudik) came and told us some shady story abt the vehicle being 30mins away and we wld have to walk 45 mins out. my tired mind had enuff of this rubber time and i got really pissed, wanted to get going out of the dark never endindg jungle, away from the irritating flies and mosquitoes. but not before huiping reminded me abt a tip for Nengah and in her tiredness she expertly slipped him Rp15,000 - a miserly sum on hindsight, but he was extremely grateful.

In my pissed state i tried to get everyone going, then remembered we hadn't eaten for almost a day, except for the emergency food. so i stormed back to look for the food that Mudik brought. i must have been a confusing sight, but believe me, at that time i was pretty confused, and pissed, myself.

we headed out and walked along a dirt road as more and more daylight came through - then in my stupor i realised huiping was missing. i thot i'd better make sure she was ok so headed back half asleep still. i remember standing on a slightly sloping stretch all alone, then suddenly opening my eyes and seeing huiping with nengah right in front of me, and turning around in a shock to see an elderly man with a load - i was blocking his way, and i wondered if i was in a dream.

we walked until the 2nd porter came on a motorbike to pick us up. i was last to get on and Nengah waited with me, gently reminding me not to sleep and to keep awake i decided to take our picture. then it was my turn on the bike. Nengah handed me the 6 walking sticks to carry while he rode another bike, and holding on to the 2nd porter i remember telling myself i wanted to enjoy this ride out.

my eyes opened to the sound of ppl calling me, telling me to get off. i saw my frens sitting under a roof, and fell asleep again. Mudik had to take away the walking sticks and help me off the bike. i stumbled into an open door of a jeep and fell asleep again. So ends one of the more terrible and terrifying treks of my life.