Wednesday, May 02, 2007

kl tower

Went to KL tower yesterday. It was morning, at about half past eight. I was driving around town without much to do, so i decided to see what the view is like in the tower. I've never been there before and I think this is also true for most KL-ites. We dismiss local atractions and pines to be someplace far away like the eiffel tower or pisa. I bet those parisien would rather die than be seen gawking on the eiffel.
So anyway, i drove up the bukit nenas (is it bukit nenas?) to the base of the tower. There's not much people just yet, it still is very early for visitors to start flocking the area (at least i thought so). Walked up into the base building and notices that people are moving about preparing for the day. The cleaners attending to the tower maintenence, the guards moping around looking bored or having conversation about football.
I looked about for the ticket counter or anything that resembles a starting point for me to get passes to get up the tower. Of course there aren't any since everybody was busy minding their early morning tasks and rituals. After looking around, i found the lifts, and proceeded to embark on it. It took me straight to the observation deck without a problem.
The view was nice. It was a bit overcast but the sun manages to shine through. Mists could be seen filling the valleys of far away hills. I wish the deck is open air, then I could take in the morning air and feel the breeze (bad idea though).
I managed to take a few snaps of KLCC before i decided to take a walk around the deck and soak up the rest of KL scene. This was when i stumbled upon the security. I ignored him at first. And continued to snap more pictures. Then i heard him address me. 'mister, your not supposed to be here. It's 8:30 am, we're not accepting visitors until after 9am. How did you get up here?' says the security guard. My reply was 'Uhh... i took the lift?'.
He excorted me down and said that i could come back up at 9am, after purchasing the Rm20 ticket. I nodded and offered some weak excuses and went off away. I didn't get back up. Maybe some other time.
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re-visited bukit tabor this morning


It was a long walk. I felt sick along the way. It feels like i'm going to puke after ten steps or so. That was why i had to stop every few minutes climb. Everytime i stopped, i would think to myself that i'll have to turn back. And everytime i've caught my breath, i'll push forward for a few minutes more. Then it's that same thought again. Maybe i felt sick because i didn't have proper breakfast. But even being rather sick, i did managed to reach the point where i last climbed the hill.
It took me two hours. I think i did it in about an hour the last time. But it was with a group of mountaineers. Fit young lads and lasses. It'd make me look bad if i can't catch up. This time around, i went off alone. Primarily to test my memory of the hill path. It was real easy. The path is well travelled. You can't miss it. There might be a point or two where you might get confused on which way to go, but if you're carefull enough, you'll find the way.
Along the way, i stumbled upon other trekkers. They're mostly chinese guys and girls. Some with buddies, most with their family. They have a culture of enjoying trekking. I've seen old grand dads and grand moms walk up steep paths. They train their body well. The last group i met are students from UIA. They say that they've look upon the tabor peaks for so long that they have this urge to conquer it. To travel up and look at their university from a different angle. Energetic bunch and polite too.
It was already about 10 o'clock when i reached my goal. It was already hot. No cool winds blew at that time. All mists and dews are already burned off by the sunlight. I sat, and looked and pondered. I tooked a snap or two of the dam lake below. It was scenic, but nothing to shout about. No matter, i was there pathfinding, not really to get good captures. After about a few minutes, i started my trek back down.
It was rather uneventfull. A boring walk down hill. My legs are already tired. Its harder to stop, and my steps felt less sure. But i manage without incident. Well, maybe just one, i slipped on pebbles and soft ground and landed squarely on my buttocks. That was on the path a neared to the base.
It took me an hour to walk down. It was a slow walk. I did a lot more thinking than walking. Looking for a safe place to put my foot down. Checking for good things to grab hold. I reached the base at about 11 o'clock.
The first time i climbed up, it was to catch the sun rise. But we were not lucky. The weather was quite overcast. All we get to see was pockets of lights trying its best to penetrate dark rain clouds. Maybe i'll go there again, before dawn. And hopefully catch a good sun rise.
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