A Rope Between Me and Death
I’m terrified of heights and I definitely do not ride roller coasters for larks like my dear sis so someone please do tell me why was I hanging on a rope for dear life down a cave wall last weekend?!
There comes a point in everyone’s life when they get tired of the humdrum-ness of everyday life and just have to spice it up someway or another. Well, my moment came last weekend when me who screams at the sight of a caterpillar and nearly cried while rock-climbing in Club Med ventured into the great, big scary outdoors! It was an adrenaline charged day of caving, flying fox (no, it’s not a bat!) and white water rafting with Nomad Adventure up in the hills of Gopeng, Perak. I’m so “outdoors inclined” that I didn’t even have a pair of sandals for the event and had to run out to buy a pair of Teva sandals the night before! 
First stop was Gua Kandu, a cave which hid the Japanese equipment during World War II and the communists after that. It was a muddy trek to the cave mouth opening and my feet sinking into mud was my first taste of what outdoors meant! From the mouth of the cave, it was onwards into the pitch-black darkness where these two fluffy sisters were the only ones without flashlights! Clever eh?! So we were at the mercy of the light from others who were, luckily, really nice with sharing their lights.
It was a little sad and freaky to hear about how the communists lived in the darkness of the cave for 5 years during the Insurgence with only a candle each a month. At one point, the guide made us all squat down and switch off all our lights for a full minute just to experience what life must have been for them then. It was the longest minute of my life. The silence and darkness was really heavy and oppressing with only the drip of water against the limestone breaking the silence. It was so dark that I couldn’t even see my hand in front of my face. How did they live? I don’t know. I’m not sure if I could have survived such an ordeal. Then again, I guess necessity makes tougher people out of all of us.
So yes, it was necessity that made me scramble up a slope of the cave with nothing but a rope to get to the upper sections of the cave. It was necessity that made me go down a slope BACKWARDS while clinging on to a rope and trying to find footholds. Of course, that was not done without some whimpering first and the guide having to talk me down like how you’d coax a small kitten down a tree! All I could keep telling myself was to not let go of the rope, no matter what happens!
The highlight of our caving adventure was the flying fox which isn’t a fruit bat but essentially this:
It’s cables strung up between the main chamber of the cave where they harness you up and you swing all the way across to the other side! Remember Batman and Spiderman when they shoot out their little devices to help them swing? Something like that but with, of course, a lot more safety equipment and a lot less style!
You have to wear this little harness around your thighs then make your way to the guides standing on the ledge. For me, making my way to them was one of the hardest parts as you have to inch your way across a rock face which I was, as usual, terrified of falling down below! Once you get there, they’ll attach the safety ropes and cable carabiners to your harness and then comes the hard part again. You have to walk backwards, literally off the ledge! Once you’re off, you have to kick yourself and off you gooooooooo!!! Flying through space with nothing under you! It’s a pretty exhilarating experience!
I brought home lots of little souvenirs in the form of scratches and bruises while my unfit legs ached for 2 whole days with all that climbing! My colleagues were probably wondering why I was walking so funny all of yesterday!
Would I do it again? Well, when I was scrambling down rocks with ropes and the worst-case scenarios running through my mind, I thought there’s no way I’ll be doing this again. Now that I’m back on terra firma and seated in the comfort of my chair, I think maybe…although I’ll definitely need to be fitter before embarking on something like that again!
P/S Go read Paris’ blog for our White Water Rafting Adventure and my reviews blog for a review on Nomad if you’re getting bitten by the adrenaline bug! 
I Can’t Help It…
Anyone remember this from It’s a Bug’s Life?
[two mosquitoes fly near a bug zapper; one flies towards it, as if in a trance]
Mosquito #1: Larry, no! Don’t look at the light!
Mosquito #2: [entranced] I-can’t-help-it. It’s-so-beautiful.
[Larry gets zapped, falls]
Mosquito #2: Woo hoo!
I used to wonder if I would do sponsored posts on PE.com when the time comes. Doing them on Blogspot blogs was a no-brainer decision but doing them on a dotcom of my own seemed a much harder decision to make. But after a while, like the mosquitoes above, the lure of getting get paid for blogging is just a little too strong and I can’t help it! Plus it helps me pay for my domain so this is my first foray over to the Dark Side! I solemnly promise not to overdose my blog with them as every little rat chef can tell you - any dish with too much pepper is a failure!
In a way, I’m glad that my first step towards blog advertising on PE.com was with Smorty. They’re really good in providing advertisements for bloggers to get paid for blogging and pay fast too. Their opportunities have recently increased, which is great for us who advertise on our blogs, but of late I’ve noticed that they too have started segmenting their opportunities by geographical location. Hopefully this still continues to provide opportunities for bloggers like us outside the US who still wish to blog for money with Smorty. Otherwise it’ll be a sorry day if we’re penalised simply for not being in the US!
Having said that, if you’re a blogger interested in earning some money through blog advertising, do remember to take a look at Smorty. They still do have some great assignments up for grabs!
I Made It!
I survived my crazy weekend!
Yes, lil ol’ exerciseless and unfit me survived caving (*gasp*), flying fox (*double gasp*), white water rafting (*tripe gasp*) and the ultimate of it all…a 5km run! Of which, yes, I RAN and lived to tell the tale, aching legs and all!
Details coming up really soon!
*sings “I’m a Survivor”*
Pinkelicious Pops #4
Welcome to the 4th installment of Pinkelicious Pops where you get the fluffiest and pinkest news on this side of town! In light of all my recent travels, here’s a travel inspired Pinkelicious Pops entry!
*****
When I was en-route to Beijing 2 weeks ago, I was seated next to this dear little old lady who was traveling by herself to Canada with a transit in Beijing. She spoke no English while I speak neither Cantonese nor Mandarin, save for a tiny smattering of both in an atrocious accent! She asked for my help in filling out the landing card and after that we fell into an easy conversation.
How did we converse? I honestly don’t know! She spoke a smattering of Mandarin and so did I but through that little smattering, I found that she had 2 daughters in Canada she was going to visit, had a son who often had work in Beijing too and she was shocked to hear that I was going back the very next day! All went well until they served food and after she had finished eating, she held up the pepper and salt sachets to ask me what they were. And at that very moment, I couldn’t for my life find the Mandarin words for those condiments! I couldn’t even remember if my long-suffering tuition teacher had taught me those words! In the end, I had to tell her I didn’t know and she very good-naturedly laughed it off but kept it nonetheless, probably to ask her daughters what it was when she arrives! Funny thing was that when I came back to KL, I asked my siblings and none of us could find the word either! My Chinese fore-fathers would be so ashamed of me! *runs away and hides in embarrassment*
Pinkelle says - If anyone knows the Mandarin word for salt and pepper, please enlighten me!
*****
We had a short stopover in Seoul on our way into Kazakhstan. It was pouring and my colleague didn’t want to go into the city 
So we booked an airport hotel room and waited for our connecting flight. I had noticed a little shop in the hotel when we came in so decided to pay it a visit.
I was choosing some fridge magnets and trying to get the Korean man to give me a better price when he asked where I came from. When he found out I was from Malaysia, he launched into fluent Mandarin while I stared at him, gaping. It turned out that he was Korean but had studied in Taiwan for many years so naturally his Mandarin was better than my drastic one!
So again, my flailing Mandarin was put to the test as he happily chatted away to me. After some tough bargaining, both in English and Mandarin, he finally agreed to give me US$1 off the magnets I was buying. “Huge” discount huh?!
When I went to pay him, he did something really shocking. He held me by the shoulders and shook me quite hard while telling me in Mandarin to be sure that I didn’t bargain if I went out to the street shops in Seoul because no one bargains in Seoul! What a strange way of telling a customer though!
Pinkelle says - Has anyone been to Seoul who can verify what he said about no bargaining?!
*****
Finally, I shall unashamedly declare my love for Singapore Airlines here!
We usually have to fly the national carrier due to company policies. The last time I flew to London, I fell asleep when dinner was being served. So when I woke up hungry and asked the stewardess for some snacks, she had none to offer. All she could give me was my uneaten dinner which she admitted wouldn’t be very fresh anymore. This was in stark contrast to Singapore Airlines which I flew on a similar route a few years back. Any of my requests for snacks was met with an array of fruits, sandwiches, biscuits or dried fruit for me to pick as many as I wanted.
Due to some itinerary changes last week, I was thrilled to end up on Singapore Airlines on my way back from Beijing last weekend! Movies and games on demand galore! Best of all, when I found out that the afternoon snack they were serving was cold sandwiches, I asked if I could have a hot snack instead. The steward was most apologetic that his sandwiches were cold but with a great beam, he offered me instant noodles instead! Ah…that was manna from heaven to a weary traveler who had been away from home and instant noodles for weeks! The instant noodles appeared, piping hot with a pair of chopsticks. It was top-quality Nissin cup noodles with lots of little condiments! Delicious!
I’m now sold to Singapore Airlines (for Nissin noodles! :P) despite what Skytrax says about Malaysia Airlines having the best cabin crew. Perhaps the great service Malaysia Airlines provides is for business and first class but in economy where minions like me sit, a little extra touch goes a long way!
Pinkelle says - I’m not very good, am I, especially with 31 August around the corner Shh….
*****
And this once again ends this edition of Pinkelicious Pops! I think I’m going to seriously consider taking Mandarin classes so if anyone knows of anywhere I can get good tutors who do not speak with a Beijing accent, it’s mightily appreciated!
Have a very happy week and weekend everyone! Till next time….
*Pinkelle floats off her soapbox with her pink parasol*
