Borneo Challenge: Final Climb on Mount Kinabalu

The lead-up to the summit of Mount Kinabalu was a strenuous one.  

After the high ropes course, we took a 9-mile hike from near the foot of the mountain, up to our first lodging on the mountainside.  That hike came at the heels of a long ride on mountain bike and a very hungry, high ropes effort.  I dug deep and concentrated hard, though, and ended up one of the first finishers on that hike.  It was on paved roads, so the fact that we didn't have to worry about footing eased the strain on our legs.  

I remarked to our Challenge director Brian Wilke that we had done a triathlon and each of the events taxed different set of muscles.

The next day was another long hike, this time up and through the wooded, at times rocky mountain trails.  It was raining hard that morning, so we slogged on in the mud and waters.  I found my energy and rhythm as the hike wore on, and even paced our group at the front several times.  I knew how to position my feet for big steps up rocky footing and to draw on my strong quadriceps.  

Our second lodging, nearer yet to the summit, was quite a crush of people.  I found it difficult to relax and recover.  About 10 of us shared the same room, with bunk beds to sleep on.  After dinner, some of us retired to our room to get settled further and carve a bit of quiet.  I was already dozing off in bed, when Brian gave us a briefing for the final climb to the summit.  I wasn't expecting it, and frankly I was annoyed.  

The noise, the crowd, and the fatigue all conspired to prevent me from sleeping that night.  We only had a few hours, as we had a wake-up call in the middle of the night.  Plus, I forgot to cap my water bottle, and ended up with a bed that was half-wet when I knocked it over.   

Needless to say, I was out of sorts as we embarked on the final climb.  I decided not to invest in a flashlight that attached to the head, as I already had a couple of the regular ones.  But as it turned out that hands-free flashlight was a necessity, because I needed both hands for my walking sticks.  I tried to rely on ambient light, but it wasn't sufficient at all.  That night was pitch dark.  So, with my feeling cold, wet and fatigued from the day the before, I got very nervous and turned back just several yards from the lodging.  

But Brian stopped me, and encouraged me to keep going.  So I kept going, and quickly fell behind everyone else.  My navigation and visibility were hampered for lack of that head flashlight.  Thankfully, the gentleman above became my de facto personal guide.  He was quiet, patient and helpful.  

I managed to find my pace.  It wasn't smooth in the least, but I kept myself moving forward.  Because my personal guide had a head flashlight, I followed him.  Believe me, I was glad for daylight, when it came.  But then it was foggy, it was raining, and wind was whipping horizontally for stretches.  As the terrain got steeper and rockier, it was also slippery.  I lost my footing quite a few times.      

             

I was 1.2 kilometers from the summit, when I decided to stop and head back.  My energy and concentration were waning, and I needed to keep some in reserve for what I knew was a strenuous, technical descent.  Also, I had slowed down to a crawl by that point in the climb, and I was afraid it would take way too long to finish the climb and descend from there.  I didn't want to get caught on that mountain, as daylight turned to evening.

There were two or three others apparently who didn't even get nearly as far as I did, and one of them was more than visibly discouraged.

Me, I felt neither angry nor discouraged from failing to reach the summit.  I had already proven that I was strong, disciplined and athletic.  I had also learned along the way how to do things better the next time.  I reveled in the fact that the majority of my friends hadn't done, and perhaps couldn't do, what I had just done.  So with my strength, knowledge, and confidence in tact, I had no doubt that I could scale Mount Kinabalu on the next go at it.

They say, discretion is the better part of valor.  All things considered, the wise decision was in fact to stop and head back at that 1.2-kilometer point.

Borneo Challenge: High Ropes Course

We rolled out of Sabah Tea Plantation on mountain bikes, and reached our destination by midday.  We hung around, and relaxed, as the organizer gathered up our rented bikes.  We waited for what we thought would be lunch, except that we had another activity to do.

It was a high ropes course, which was well-constructed and well-protected.  In fact, the high ropes courses I've been on were much more challenging than this one.  For example, one part required mid-air traversing, walking sideways on a taut rope and holding on to another taut rope.  This course near Mount Kinabalu simply required a lot of climbing steps, which is normally a nice Sunday outing with your family, for example.

Except that our legs were weary from the mountain biking and moreover we were hungry.  I was not happy with the mistiming of this activity, but I knuckled down and focused on what we were doing.  My mates above seemed to be in a pleasant mood, which was a good thing.

Borneo Challenge: Biking to Mount Kinabalu

After the second night, we headed out of Sabah Tea Plantation for part two of our mountain biking.  We had to navigate more scenic but tough rolling hills, from there to our next destination, closer to the foot of Mount Kinabalu.  At least, though, we rode on the highways, where the paved surface put me exactly in my elements.  

I kept things steady with riding, now having had a full day of learning how my borrowed mountain bike functioned.  I knew how to manage my energy, when to expend it, and what I needed to do to recover.  For this event, and the others, I was proud to be among the first finishers in a group of mostly younger Challengers.

Borneo Challenge: Borneo Child Aid Society

The funds we raised were earmarked for Borneo Child Aid Society 

One evening at Sabah Tea Plantation, the children performed for us 

The children played music with makeshift instruments

Some children waited their turn to perform 

The Filipino family whom I befriended were teachers and staff at Borneo Child Aid Society 

One lovely girl from that teaching family, with her grandmother 

Torben Venning, director at Borneo Child Aid Society

It was the Francisco family whom I befriended during the evening's performance by Borneo Child Aid Society.  They had to traveled a few hundred kilometers to Sabah Tea Plantation.  I let them know I was Filipino, and curiously they said that because I had lived so long in the US, I now looked American.  Does living in a city mold and shape the way you look?  Apparently so.  Maybe they said that because my complexion is fairly light for a Filipino.

Borneo Challege: Sabah Tea Plantation

Our guide, mountain biking in Sabah Tea Plantation

The Sabah Tea Plantation was definitely gorgeous landscape.  If memory serves me right, that is the majestic Mount Kinabalu in the background.  Climbing to that top of that mountain was on our Challenge itinerary.

Longhouse at Sabah Tea Plantation

We stayed two nights in the "longhouse," which, for Americans, can be likened to a motel elevated on wooden stilts and made out of bamboo.  On one of those nights, I accidentally locked myself out of my room.  I decided to bring in my wet shoes, instead of letting them dry in the corridor.  I thought the door would stay open, but it swung shut.  Our Challenge director and longhouse staff had to climb over the bamboo wall, and open the door from the inside.  

(image credit)

Borneo Challenge: Mountain Biking

The second event of the challenging Borneo Challenge was mountain biking in the scenic rolling hills of the Sabah Tea Plantation in Malaysian Borneo.  That July 2007 the foliage of trees and plants was lush green, and the waters of running brooks were refreshing.  We welcomed having to walk our bikes across these brooks, in the heat and sweat of the day.  

I didn't do any special training on mountain biking, for the sake of time.  Road cycling is my sport, and I was an avid cyclist in Dubai Roadsters.  I don't actually like to mountain bike, and I have never done it.  In fact, my heavy legs, and fast-twitch muscles in them, are better suited for the flats and for sprinting.  Climbing up mountains is literally a grind on the bike and stresses slow-twitch muscles.  

Anyway I simply had to draw on my smarts, strength and instincts to navigate the Plantation terrain:  varying between gravel, soil, grass and rock.  I had to draw on all these to manage the more complex riding.  For example, speeding downhill on that terrain meant I had to make the right decisions, and quickly so, on what "line" to take.  A mistake could've resulted in me wiping out on loose gravel and tumbling head over heels down the hill.  So that riding was serious.  

Brian Wilke, Chairman of Gulf for Good and our resident Challenge director, complimented my technical prowess.  I smiled, and just thanked him, as I was literally just winging it.

Faye Marchant shared a diary report of the Borneo Challenge for Emirates Woman

I also smiled, when I saw that Faye Marchant complimented Marjan and me on our mountain biking, in her post-Challenge article.

Faye Marchant is on the right

Borneo Challenge: Sea Kayaking

The Borneo Challenge - organized by Gulf for Good, a charity organization in Dubai - had four challenging events:  sea kayaking, mountain biking, mountain trekking, and bamboo rafting.  In January 2007, six months before we headed for Malaysia, I began to train.  I didn't have the time to train fully for all of these events, so I had to make strategic choices:

• I was already biking regularly, so it's my strongest event.  It was mostly on the road, and mostly on the flats, but I could easily do mountains.  I planned to do some off-road biking, but dispensed with it, in the service of time.
• There was a scheduled, group training session to up-and-down the stairs at the Dusit Hotel.  That, plus stairs workouts in my apartment building, covered my training for mountain trekking.  
• I participated in another training session for sea kayaking, but that was it.  
• Instead of getting into the details of sea kayaking and bamboo rafting, I worked out on the rowing machine in the gym regularly.  It was convenient and time-efficient.
• I was already strong, but I needed to build stamina.  So I first shifted my weight training in gym to moderate weights and higher repetitions (10 - 12).  In the weeks leading up to the Challenge, I went even lighter weights and even higher repetitions (15 - 20).

First up was sea kayaking in the South China Sea.  It was a grueling start to the Challenge.  Emmanuelle and I partnered, and on three legs we arrived at designated islands last or next to last.  I had strength and stamina, but in the absence of proper technique, I got winded and wasted.  My arms and shoulders tired, and I had to break rhythm often to rest them, even for only a few seconds.  

Emmanuelle and I were not exactly good partners, but we managed to keep it together and work it out.  As we progressed from one leg to another, I worked hard to improve my technique and we saw how we could best work with each other: specifically, her at the front, me at the back.

The fourth and final leg, the longest at about nine meters, was the roughest.  All the others raced ahead of us, and just like that we were alone.  It got overcast quickly, and it rained, heavily at times.  The winds were whipping the South China Sea, so the waters were choppy.  Plus, the rains, mist and fog made the visibility poor.  The thought - oh, shit, we're going to die - must've crossed my mind.  But I must've kept focused and steely, because I hardly remember, six years later, feeling panicked.  

Emmanuelle and I kept calm and steady.  We heard others saying they were going to hug the shoreline toward the final island, but we decided against that.  Later we found out that those who tried that strategy got caught up in the currents and had to kayak upstream.  Others ended up on the wrong island.  We kept surveying the seascape, and again for awhile we could see nothing beyond a few meters out.  We had no compass, mind you, but instinctively we knew to keep kayaking forward.

After what seemed like hours of exhausting kayaking, we arrived at the island.  We hardly saw anyone around, so we wondered whether (a) the others had gone ahead or (b) we were on the wrong island.  Several minutes passed, before we realized we were among the first finishers.  Right now my memory tells me we came in second or third, but we may have been first.  

No matter, the exhaustion of that day and the testiness between Emmanuelle and me dissipated quickly.  

We were calm and relaxed, ahead of sea kayaking in the South China Sea

Borneo Challenge: Print Media Rock-and-Rolls

Emirates Today (p 24)

Emirates Today (p 25)

7 Days

Khaleej Times 

Emirates Woman

Still a few months ahead of the Borneo Challenge, Gulf for Good had the UAE print media rolling on our behalf.  I was fortunate to be one of the few participants interviewed for an article in Emirates Today.

Borneo Challenge: Arrival in Kota Kinabalu

We arrived in Kota Kinabalu on July 6th 2007, for the Gulf for Good - Borneo Challenge.  This charity organization, based in Dubai, raises money to help selected charities in different parts of the world.  The concept, though, is unique:  It's geared around outdoors challenges, so participants like me must be really fit and athletic.  There is a fair registration fee, but all other expenses are covered by Gulf for Good, in exchange for each of us raising a certain amount of money.  

The Borneo Challenge activities were sea kayaking, mountain biking, mountain trekking, and bamboo rafting.  It was moderate in rating, but the director, Brian Wilke, agreed it was a lot tougher.  It was difficult to train for this Challenge, because of four different activities.  I'll write more in subsequent articles.  

For now, suffice it to say, that we had a very pleasant first evening in Kota Kinabalu.  We had a hefty buffet dinner, and relaxed to a colorful Malaysian dance show.  There were 19 of us, and some enjoyed playing along with the performers.

Bayanihan Dance at the Dubai Global Village

Global Village in the outskirts of Dubai was a festival of cultures and merchandise.  It was February 2007, and I sought to see the Bayanihan - The Philippine National Folk Dance Company - perform.  A Filipina friend had encouraged me to do so.  

You see, I left the Philippines as a young boy, and the schooling I had had wasn't enough to teach me about its history, culture and language.  So my friend thought the Bayanihan would be another lesson of sorts for me.  

There was a mix-up on which stage the troupe was to perform.  I walked around back-and-forth, and no one could give a clear answer.  Another Filipina friend said "There" in Tagalog.  I asked "Where?"  She repeated "There."  Pointing with her chin, which is something typical and endearing of Filipinos.  "Where, there?" I asked again.  "There."  

She was right, the new stage was in the direction she was pointing.  But I had to snake around other stages to get there, and I wasn't sure at first when I reached there, because it said "Pakistan."  It was the right stage.

    

Regaining my Philippine Citizenship

Me, pledging to Consulate General, Noel Servigon, at the Philippine Embassy, in Abu Dhabi (February 2008)

Ahead of my trip to the Philippines in March 2008, I officially regained my Philippine citizenship.

Throughout most of my life in the US, I hardly thought about it.  My family and I arrived in Chicago in 1968, and became US citizens at the earliest possible opportunity in 1973.  I remember, albeit vaguely, studying (acing) the constitution and gaining our citizenship.  

I had my old Philippine passport as a boy, but had no notion whatsoever that it had expired. So when I regained it, I was thrilled.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Dubai

The Philippine Business Council in Dubai afforded members privileges that we appreciated and enjoyed:  for example, invitations to a private luncheon in January 2008 for then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.  In the evening, GMA, as Filipinos affectionately nicknamed her as, spoke to the broader community.  

Then-President George Bush also made a trip to the UAE earlier that month, but there was no way any of us regular citizens could've reached close to him.  He was not at all a popular leader, so not many wanted to get close to him.  

GMA had not only endeared herself better to her country people, but she also spent time among all of us.  So I managed to shake her hand, for example, and on another trip altogether, she patiently let us and several others Filipino organizations take group photos with her.  

In her speech to the community, she said that UAE officials often gave her the same feedback:  Filipinos were mabait (nice and friendly), masipag (hard-working and reliable), and malines (clean).  

Singapore is a Fine City

As I flew into Singapore for my first visit, I remembered what a friend told me:  Singapore is a fine city.  The city was so strict that even spitting gum out resulted in a fine.  Apparently even the most minor of laws were strictly enforced. 

So as I walked around, I was carefully not to do anything wrong.  I don't chew gum anyway, and I don't have a habit of throwing wrappers on the ground.  But in Chicago, sometimes in Dubai, I'd cross the street wherever.  

I made sure not to jaywalk, then, in Singapore.  

Thankfully, I managed to enjoy the handful of hours I had, and to harken back to my days as an aspiring photographer on the streets.  Even with just my Samsung mobile camera (pre-smartphone) on hand.