Gili Trawangan Holidaying

After descending from Mount Rinjani on 21 May 2015, our team was swiftly transferred to Gili Trawangan Island. Our trekking agent, Encik Sunny, specially arranged a speedboat and accompanied us. Propelled by a high-powered Yamaha engine, the journey took just 15 minutes, compared to the 45-minute public boat ride that I took in the earlier trip. 

Approaching the beach at 3:00 p.m., I saw mat salleh tourists (men and women) leisurely sunbathing on the shore. The speedboat slowed down, and suddenly, the assistant jumped ashore to secure the anchor while we hurriedly leaped out into the shallow water. Carrying our suitcases and walking past the sunbathers — who stared at us in absolute bewilderment — we looked exactly like illegal immigrants from Mainland China in one of those old Hong Kong movies! 😀

At Gili Island, the Team spent the following few days relaxing, snookering, sight-seeing, and enjoying the good food. At times, we sit at the beach admiring the mountains opposite - Mount Rinjani - and wonder how we could climb so high to the peak.

Do CLICK HERE to view 48 photos courtesy of yours truly (KC Leong).

Do click here to return to Part 1 - Mount Rinjani hiking.

 At Gili Trawangan Island ... KC Leong, Tan Han Cie, Lee Wai Yin, Ann Chua, Yuen Yit, Samantha Liong, Wenny Meelin, ChongYF, George Siew, LimWH.

Team members not in photo: Josephine, Lana, LimTH.

 Sun-bathing and swimming activities

 Having lunch with local food

 Bicycles and horse-carts ... there is no motorized vehicle on this island

 Other water activities

 Relaxing and having a drink by the beach

A final group photo at the chalets (at Gili Trawangan) before the team returned to Lombok on 23 May 2015.

Posted by KC Leong

Mount Rinjani Trekking

After almost one year of planning and training, and with a total of 12 trekkers having shown interest but not able to make it; finally, the 13-member team continued with the Mount Rinjani trekking as planned from 17-23 May 2015.

This is quite a tough mountain to climb, especially the final 300 meters ascent where it is steep and cover with loose volcanic sand and stones. A trekker has to deliver extra strength to prevent him/her from sliding down that could easily sap the energy away. On the day of going up the summit, we trekked for almost 12 hours (not counting lunch time).

Do CLICK HERE for 193 photos courtesy of yours truly (KC Leong). 

Do click here for Part 2 - transfer to Gili Trawangan Island for relaxing at the beach. 

Journey of a thousand steps begin here at Sembalun Lawang trailhead … group photo with Mount Rinjani as background. Team members:

(back, left): ChongYF, Tan Han Cie, LimTH, Lee Wai Yin, Lim WH, George Siew, KC Leong

(front): Samantha Liong, Wenny Meelin, Ann Chua, Yuen Yit, Lana, Josephine. 

There were many other challenging situations: ascending the steep mountain slope from the lake to the crater rim where a mistake could cause a fatal fall off the cliff; descending the sandy steep slope where one can easily slip and fall.

The view of the mountain and the lakeside area was fantastic. One good thing about this trekking is that there is the hot springs where one can dip into the water and wash up after a few days without bath.

 Relaxing while porters cook our lunch … do refer to photo album showing other photos for the VIP and 5-star service

Treated like VIPs in the mountains, the team was very pleased with the excellent service of the mountain guides and porters for making the journey a pleasant one. They even asked you: "Sir, would you like to have a Coca-Cola, Sprite (pronounce as Spriiiiit), or Pocari Sweat (equivalent to 100Plus).” Other than using very good tents and sleeping bags, the trekking agent, Encik Sunny of Lombok Trekking Travel Service, even set up two toilet tents at every campsite just in case there was “traffic jam” situation in the mountains.

Planting a tree to help conserve the environment by the trekking agent ... Yuen Yit, Lana and Nasir, the Mountain Guide.

The campsites:

Night#1 – camping at the crater rim; though the view for sunset was excellent, it was very windy and extremely cold

Night#2 – camping at the lakeside area; though not windy, it was damp and cold

Night#3 – camping in the wilderness during the descent. It was a nice and cosy feeling of camping out of nowhere. With a lower altitude, it was calm and quite cold too.

 Feeling excited … arriving at the base camp located at the crater rim

The icing on the cake was that upon completion of the 4D3N trekking, we were quickly transferred to Gili Trawangan Island via speed boat that was pre-arranged by the trekking agent. It was a stark contrast at Gili Island where the team spent the following 3D2N in relaxing, chatting, snookering, enjoying ourselves with good food, etc.

In appreciating the excellent service of the mountain guides and porters, the 13-member team rewarded handsomely the good effort of the 17 support crew with tips of more than 5 juta Rupiah!

Note on local training requirement: in order to climb Mount Rinjani, you must be able to go up to the peak of Gunung Nuang (1500m) at Ulu Langat during your training; preferably, train on two different occasions.

Camping at the crater rim of Mount Rinjani … it is very windy and extremely cold here 

 3:00 a.m. at the base camp … the team in full gear is ready for scaling to the summit of Mount Rinjani

 Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! We make it to the peak of Mount Rinjani (this photo showing part of the team)

 Camping by the lakeside area of Mount Rinjani … dense moisture in the air (in the evening); exposed clothing within 30 minutes would be damp and moist.

Playing water and diving activity in the hot springs ... Lana, Said, TanHC, Josephine, Lee Wai Yin and Nasir

 10:00 a.m. at the lakeside area … the team is ready to continue the journey to climb up to the crater rim (at Senaru side).

 At the crater rim (Senaru side)

 Camping in the wilderness … camping out of nowhere for the third and final night of camping; this area is not too windy and not extremely cold

 A cosy and nice feeling of close to one another

 With beautiful sunset … 

Tips awarding ceremony to the mountain guides and porters ... Wow! 5 juta (millions)  Rupiah generously contributed by the 13-member team in appreciating the good effort put in by the guides and porters. Bravo!

Posted by KC Leong

Team Leader

Mount Rinjani Trekking (17-25 May 2015)

Guerrilla Princess and Edelweiss (Mt Rinjani Part 5)

Photos and Written by Jayne Aw

Edelweiss

Whenever I go trekking, I will ask this same question over and over again; “what on earth am I doing here?”

Dressing up like a guerrilla princess, covering from head to toes and shying away from the blazing hot sun; life must be pretty boring in the workaday humdrum world that led me into this escape to a remote island called Lombok in Indonesia.

Do CLICK HERE for Part 4 (summiting the peak).

The sight of edelweiss dotting the grassland reminded me of the “Sound of Music”, where Captain von Trapp and his family were fleeing over the mountains for freedom. So what motivation did I give myself for scaling up to the Crater Rim I (2,641m) from the Senaru Trek Centre (601m) on Day 1?

Having walked for almost 5 hours through the shady tropical forest to shrubby foliage and then to the open grassland, the last climb to Crater Rim I was vertiginous. Macho, our mountain guide, kept a wide smile and told me to go slow as it’s still early. I gave way to a porter behind me, but Macho signaled me to proceed as this poor porter was having his first taste of climbing Rinjani with over 30kg load. Macho pointed at his eyes, and signaled tears. Ya, mine was flowing down to the stomach.

Top of the Clouds

Counting my steps to the repeated tune of “Do, a deer, a female deer………..” I finally reached the crater top. After a labored climb, one was rewarded with a panoramic view of the crater rim surrounding the Lake Segara Anak that shimmered with turquoise hue.

Once standing above 5,000m, Rinjani was brought to its present state (3,726m) after few volcanic eruptions. A new peak, Gunung Barujari (2,363m), emerged from the lake creating a volcano within a volcano. The last eruption was in 2009; and today one can still see smoke emitting from Barujari. 

Sleeping tents were set up facing the lake. Temperature at 2,641m was biting cold with howling wind. I put on my down jacket and walked to the hill at the western side to watch sunset. Rolling clouds enveloped the hill slopes beneath the campsite and one got the feeling of elevation above the clouds. As sun was setting, more clouds rolled in and formed a roaring sea of clouds, an awesome view to behold. Dinner was served later by the campsite and soon everyone retired to rest for next day’s climb.  
  

Anglers’ Paradise

Day 2’s trek started with a precarious descent of 600m through rocky trail to Lake Segara Anak. The seasoned porters were breezing through the steep rocky steps in their flip-flops with 30-40 kg load. But for me, it was a baby-step descent, holding on to every rock or branch that came within my reach.

Many people made a tedious hike to fish at Lake Segara Anak, which is regarded sacred by the locals.  Most would find their own ideal spots and wait patiently for the fish; some would proudly show off their catches. 

姜太公钓鱼， 愿者上钓。。。。。Waiting patiently for the unfortunate fish

We stopped by the lake to have lunch. About a 10-minute walk away is the hot spring and waterfall where one could have a dip to refresh and rejuvenate the tired muscles. However the sight of rubbish littering around the place put me off.

We continued our journey after lunch into open grassland and had another torturous round of vertiginous climb to Crater Rim II at Sembalun (2,639m). Everyone retired early after dinner to have a good rest for the summit climb.

Rinjani Summit

We were supposed to begin our ascent to the summit at 2am but Macho had overslept. By the time we had our noodle, it was already 3am. Sky was still dark with poor visibility on the path. Fortunately I had Dolla (the sweeper) behind to guide me to “Kiri, kanan; kanan, kiri……..”

The ascent to the summit was a strenuous one over the crater rim composed mainly of loose sand and gravels. For every two steps I advanced, I would slide a step backward. Macho had reminded us not to walk while taking photograph, and conversely not to take photograph while walking; for one needs to traverse cautiously along the narrow path, as a slip on either side of the rim would be fatal.

Beautiful dawn at Rinjani…………I was just half-way through to the summit.

Feeling elated at the Rinjani summit after a strenuous climb - Jayne Aw 

The pull of gravity coupled with the loose sand made the descent a more palatable one as each step would bring you down with two further steps. In less than half the time of ascent, we already reached the camp site. After a couple of hours rest and lunch, we continued with our journey to the next camp site at Pada Balong (1,800m) where we would spend another night.



Starry Starry Night

After dinner at Pada Balong camp site, Jean and Sylvia snuggled inside their tent for a rest; while Bernard was doing the wayang kulit show in his tent; and Choo was blasting out some of the oldies from his hand phone to keep us entertained.
  

Spellbinding golden hue of colours from the sunset at Pada Balong camp site

Despite a lower altitude, temperature at Pada Balong was as cold as that at the crater rim. But that didn’t stop us from gathering outside our sleeping tents to gaze at the sky that was filled with bright stars. I was looking for 牛郎织女星 but had no clue, as the immensity of the universe is difficult to grasp.

Sunrise, Sunset at Gili Island

The last day of trekking was a gentle 3 hour trek through open grassland to Sembalun village where we were transferred to the jetty to catch a boat to Gili Island.   

Three islands made up of Gili; Gili Trawangan, Gili Meno and Gili Air. Being the biggest of the three, Gili Trawangan is blessed with crystal clear water and fine white sand. Coming from the East Coast of Malaysia, I have seen many nice beaches but Gili is one of the best.

In front of our hotel is a stretch of never-ending fine white sandy beach with clear blue water. One gets a full view of sunrise from here. Walking further to the western side of the island is the sunset vantage point.

朝迎曦日升。。。。。Salutation to sunrise (opposite is Mt Rinjani)

暮送夕阳下。。。。。Farewell to sunset

这情景就能在Gili岛上体会到。。。。。One gets the best of both in Gili Island

The half an hour show of sunset was spectacular and immense. Projected on a humongous stage spanning over miles, the stage lighting changed from glowing bright light to flaming iridescent gold, and gradually paling off to a hue of gray. I was unspeakable, except uttered to myself that it was a perfect show!

美丽的景色已被我的相机冻结于永恒。。。。。 Voila! A perfect show of Nature……..

Rinjani trek is relatively tough. But with reasonable level of fitness, coupled with a pinch of determination and sense of adventure, plus a dollop of humor, the journey would be a memorable retreat away from the hustle and bustle of city life. As for me, I have just added another feather to my green Arabian hat…….and with a short memory that I have, I am already looking forward to my next trekking trips……..

Mission Accomplished - A group photo at the peak of Mount Rinjani

Please click here to view photos taken by Jayne Aw.

Do click here for all postings on Mount Rinjani. Scroll down the pages; at end of web page, click "Older Posts" for more.

By Jayne Aw

18-24 June 2011

Posted by KC Leong

Mount Rinjani - The Peak (Part 4)

Please click here to view photos to the summit by courtesy of ChooTS ... do click Slideshow/Full Screen and hit F11 key for bigger display.

I woke up a few times before 2:00 a.m. – the agreed wake up time for the final ascent to the summit. The wind was blowing the whole night that caused the tents flapping as though someone was trying to wake me up. Wearing three layers of clothing and tugged in the conform of the sleeping bag to ward off the cold, from far, I could hear the wind howled all night; I was wondering how the group would go up the peak with the strong wind.

A wrong wakeup call delayed the ascending journey. After a simple breakfast of Indo instant mee goreng, the group is ready to start the journey at 3:15 a.m.; by then, the wind has calmed down much.

The loose, black sand/stones underfoot made progress very difficult. For every step forward, one would slide backward about the length of one's shoes. Plodding up the steep slope slowly, for every step, I have to thrust the trekking stick into the gravel to prevent further slipping down.

It took four hours of tough ascent before we reached the peak at 7:15 a.m.

 A magical spectrum of colours from the sunrise at 6:30 a.m. while we were still another 45 minutes to the peak

 A fabulous sight to behold -- the shadow casts from the peak of Mt Rinjani

In better perspective of the steeply slope -- walking on a ridge that is fatal if one slips and falls on either side. It requires good balancing ability and also not fearful of height to be able to come thus far!

Choo TS - on top of the world feeling

 Mission Accomplished - At the peak of Mount Rinjani ... Chiew Hong, ChooTS, PK Chan, Rocky, KC Leong, Sharon Tan, Jean Soh, WongKC, Sylvia Chong

In full mask -- Yours truly (KC) and Chiew Hong

While going up, not only that I worried about the steep slope, overcoming coldness, the cross wind and the sliding backwards movement due to the loose sand/stones, I was also thinking hard how to descend the mountain later.

With a technique told by Chiew Hong (heel land first with shoes at 20 degrees incline), it was a pleasant surprise that descending the mountain was easy and with enormous fun. Each time my foot sank safely into the gravel, I could launch the next step without having to halt completely (anyway, it was not necessary). With the downward momentum, much less energy was needed and at the same time, covering a bigger stride. One catch – a lot of dusk was kicked up in the process; besides, sand and stones would get into the shoes where gaiter would provide the necessary protection.

Surprisingly, the descent only took two hours to return to camp site - half the ascending time!!

 Walking on the ridge with the narrowest width stands at about 5 feet wide

  Up Close - Mount Rinjani was last erupted three times on 22 May 2010 ... PK Chan, ChooTS, Rocky and KC Leong

 Yours truly (KC) ... the first camp site (Day-1 trekking) was at the peak of the opposite end of the crater rim

 Perfect shot by ChooTS (refer to the enalarged display in the photo album ... can you see the moon and a lone trekker there?)

The trail to the summit from far ... it really looks scary with the steep slope

Do CLICK HERE for Part 3.

Posted by KC Leong