BATU CAVES! [3]

DAY 3 [28^th Dec, Sat]

0615 – After a miserable six-hour sleep, we dragged our bodies to wash up and trod downstairs for breakfast. Once again, I just had sunny-side-up eggs with a slice of Val’s fruit and nut loaf.

0800 – We set off on the same cab and arrived at Nanyang! No trekking this time, just greetings from a pack of puppies and their mommy. Later on, Kelly named the mommy HUGGIES and this human-friendly puppy, which I played with, CUDDLES =) they were all soooo adorable. I wanted to bring one home.

0900 – ROUTE #1 Whimper 6B? (mother of all bridging routes) on top-rope

Basically, it’s the mother of all bridging routes because there’s absolutely nothing to grab on to, and stepping on the tiniest jutting out rock would be heaven up there… After numerous tries, I’d only made it to the ledge. Looks like I’m not the queen of bridging after all! Hahah, I did the route with the process in mind this time, and yes, I enjoyed myself. Gwen, Van and Jo completed the route later on, and I’m in AWE!

1000 – ROUTE #2 Old Shoes Beware 6C+ on top-rope

I wanted to try this route for fun, because watching Philip flow on it while belaying him urged me to attempt it. Philip had to growl while leading it, something we heard rarely and getting two-thirds to the top was an achievement for me already! This route taught me to trust my feet and finger strength. Composure was key too, in order to stay balanced on that inclined paper-like route.

1130 – ROUTE #3 Handphone Disaster 5C+ on lead!

This was my first on-site lead on natural rock and I certainly had fun! It was like a learning journey on the way up the unconventional route line. There were big run-outs I noticed, and falling would cause serious injury, but I didn’t worry too much about that. Instead I just kept going and appreciated nature up-close.

1300 – Lunch today was Fried Rice! And teh bing (:

1430 – Towards the late afternoon, it started to get cloudy and it drizzled slightly causing us to pack everything and climb routes quickly but clumsily in order to clear the quickdraws. Philip told me to climb fistful of hangers which I did!

1500 – ROUTE #4 Fistful of Hangers 6A on top-rope

I was indeed climbing faster than usual, and that probably clouded my judgement on making certain moves. Through the climb, I could hear Philip telling me to slow down and compose myself. Eventually, I did. The stalactite proved to be an obstacle for me, mainly because I was feeling pumped and wrapping my arms around it didn’t seem like a convincing move. Also, the top-rope pulled me back while I tried to cling on and step up on the stalactite. Thanks to Kelly’s guidance, I finally completed the route (when the rain had stopped =p). And I’d call it a good climb cos I completed it using my own sequence :D

1600 – We packed and left, returning back to the hotel. This time, the girls in our room (731) DID shower before dinner, which was at Kenny Rogers! We had the whole upstairs to ourselves and caused a riot. As usual, the dinner conversation inclined to something dirty, thanks to the horny boys, and girls..? hahaha. I laughed so much that dinner, I’d almost forgotten about my sore throat. A bit of shopping followed afterwards for us to get presents for our gift buddies. I had chosen glow-in-the-dark footsteps for Haris, my gift partner. You’ll find out why later!

2130 – A quick debrief this time about our climb (we apparently all had a better time today. And Philip said of all his natural rock climbing expeditions, today was the most energetic (: cool huh?)

2230 – Since Man U was playing Portsmouth today, us four from Room 731 popped over to the guys’ rooms 716 and 717. Another chance at bonding today, as I cursed the Man U players and the rest complained about the referee who gave 2 penalties and a yellow card within the first half hour. Haha, I went to sleep at half-time (1 all) with Vanessa while Kris and Val stayed till the end. Sadly though, it was a 3-1… to MU.