Happy, happy

A couple of weeks ago, we went up to the mountains for a bit of a cold change. My Mum, her helper, a neighbour and I stayed at the Kinabalu Pine Resort. From the balcony of our cabin, we enjoyed the view of the majestic Mt Kinabalu. It was just so beautiful. If it wasn’t for someone who couldn’t stop talking, I could have napped every afternoon on the balcony.

The highlight on the first day was our visit to PoringHot Springs. I haven’t been there for over 20 years and I was keen to see the Rock Pool. I swam there as a child and had the whole pool to myself during those visits. Things were different this time. The Rock Pool was packed! While my Mum and the neighbour were busy waiting for free spots to soak in the baths, the helper and I went to look for the suspension bridges. It turned out that we have to pay an extra entrance fee to experience the Poring Canopy Walkway. We gave it a go because it has been a long time since I went up there. The hike up to the base of the bridges was exhausting. I was panting like a dog halfway up. LOL. I plonked down on the bench for a rest under the tree house before attempting the bridges suspended 43m above us! An elderly man arrived after us and he was accompanied by a super charged grand-daughter of about 3. She was hopping around like the hike was too easy and she was wearing Hello Kitty Crocs. Later, I spotted the little daredevil riding on her grandpa’s shoulders on the bridges! There were 5 bridges to cross. I didn’t think that I have acrophobia but every time the bridge bounced, I could feel my heart skip a beat. LOL. As soon as I reached the end of one bridge and landed on the platform, I would hug the tree but it didn’t offer me much because I could feel the platform swaying. Yikes! As soon as the traffic was cleared, we tried the next bridge. For safety reasons, only 6 people are allowed to go on the bridge at once. I made sure that there were only the two of us when we hop on. By the 4^th bridge, I felt like I got the hang of things and was starting to feel super confident until I saw the ropes that I have been holding on. They looked more than a bit grubby. Suddenly I was in real need for some kind of gloves, Dettol and hand washing liquid. I tried walking without holding on but with the helper ahead of me, every step she took made the bridge bounce and I had to hold on for dear life. Then we got to the start of the fifth and final bridge, and were told that it is the longest. It looked different too. It seemed to go upwards a little after the halfway mark. I obviously made it because I am still here blogging about my experience. My Mum called us a few times. She was wondering what we were up to. We bluffed that we were climbing the mountain. At one point we asked her if she could get us a taxi because I was too exhausted. I was glad that she didn’t send in a rescue party to carry me out.

During this trip, we saw many places offering Homestays. I think a homestay is like a bed & breakfast. Before this trip, I read in the paper that more and more foreigners are getting hired to work in farms. I was wondering where the natives have gone if they were no longer working the fields. It seemed that the Dusuns (Doo Soons) are beginning to operate Homestays all over the place. They are really all over the place. They offer simple lodging for travelers looking for something different, something more local. We went to check out a few near where we were staying. It was interesting driving into the area. The native children really still play outside like their parents used to. They were running around. They were smiley. I felt like to just give them Chupa Chups for playing. OK, I was a little stunned when some of them greeted us with “Assalamualaikum.” Feeling stunned only because I thought that Dusuns are Catholics. It was all good though. The kids weren’t too shy to say their version of “G’day” to visitors without adults ‘forcing’ them to do so. It was all the more welcoming.

The biggest highlight of this trip was my 2^nd visit to the Kundasang War Memorial. This time I went in with my neighbour. She was pretty clueless about the war and I feel that she didn’t share the same emotions and enthusiasm as I did. When I got up to the Contemplation Garden, I made my way to the end of the pool to read Nelson Short’s poem. As before, I privately told him that I missed Australia too. Then the best thing happened when I turned around to explain the list of names on the wall to my neighbour. I had wanted to show her that more Aussies died than the Brits and that many were biological brothers but something roundish and red caught my attention. There wasn’t just one. They were poppies. People came recently and stuck poppies next to the names of quite a few people. I fought back tears thinking, “Good God, people remember these men.” It feels so good knowing that these men weren’t forgotten. When I was hiking up the hill to get to the bridges the previous day, I was thinking, “At least I have some kind of a track to follow. Those guys probably have to create their own track from Sandakan!”

On my way home I wasn’t daydreaming about implementing a play program for Sabahan Children in Kundasang. I was thinking of buying a piece of land near the war memorial. I too would like to put a couple of cabins on it and operate a bed and breakfast joint. LOL. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a place to hide in on weekends to get away from annoying people? Kundasang’s weather is like Melbourne in Autumn.