JT and I picked up Sun Zheng (SZ) and then jettisoned to the bottom of Penang Hill. Lush botanical gardens wrapped the base of the hill. Some people were practicing their Tai Chi in the garden -- righteous! Others were around as well enjoying the morning coolness; at the hill though, we were nearly alone. A paved access road was chosen instead of the real jungle dirt trail because of recent rain; at first I was dissappointed. Soon the utter steepness of the trail overcame this initial dissappointment. It was like climbing up to Camp Muir again at Mt. Rainier -- an unrelenting slope that punches you in the chest! That is what I'm talking about! We put in a solid 30 minute effort at this 25% gradient (aka -- STEEP) and made it to a resting spot. To my dismay, my mates informed me that we were merely one-quarter there ... Blasted! I thought we would have been half way! I was already sweating up a storm, but I dug down deep and re-ignited my inner inferno. There was a pull-up bar, so I did some one-handed finger pull-ups! Haha, just kidding, but I did pump out a few chin-ups to really stoke the flames. Some small native monkeys watched in amazement!
JT, SZ, and I were ready to roll again after our short break and continued the climb. The unrelenting slope succummed to our pounding and actually lessened a bit. We made it to a nice vista of Penang city peeking through the heavy forest. I snapped a photo of my fearless Penangite guides. They are undercover 3rd degree samauri warriors, just waiting for the right time to strike with a spinning Bayan Roundhouse Kick. I don't even want to know how many ways they could take a man's life.
Notice the glistening sweat!
With my inner inferno blazing and the steady resolve of my samauri escorts we made remarkable progress. In the midst of this journey, the week's meals of Indian, Chinese, and Malay food started bubbling my my stomach; I needed a bathroom and SOON. As we approached the 2/3rds resting point I had my eyes set on a small building that must house bathrooms! Relief would be mine! Alas, when I reached the structure there were locks guarding my sanctuary. I declined to ask JT to samauri chop the locks apart; I had decided that my mind could overcome the increasing rumblings in my tummy. We set off again, on another crazy steep slope. My mind was soley focused on the intestinal pressure -- I would definitely explode before reaching the top. I thought that perhaps peeing would provide some temporary relief ... I pulled off into the jungle and gave it a shot. Uh-oh, no pee! No turning back now, I ventured a few more steps into the jungle, out of the view of my alert guides. I felt immense satisfaction and victoriously cleaned up with some nearby leaves. My samauri trained guides did not detect my activities under the ruse of taking a whiz.
Feeling amazingly better the rest of the hike breezed by and soon we were atop Penang Hill. We saw an Indian Buddist temple, Mosque and enjoyed some cold beverages. I chugged some super tasty watermelon juice and then tried a Malaysian drink - freshly squeezed nutmeg. Nutmeg grows on trees; the fruit can be used to make a juice that is somewhat sour and bitter while still being refreshing. The seeds are used to make the spice. Nature is so smart; I learned more about nature's secrets at a later visit to the Tropical Spice Farm ... Glug, glug I finished the nutmeg drink along with some hot chick peas served in a paper ice-cream cone ... Cheers!
We took a vintage tram down the hill; not surprisingly I was the only caucasian. Usually I don't notice that anymore, but I happened to notice on the very crowded tram. The tram went straight down the steep gradient, never turning; interesting design! It was a nice hike and a fun adventure; Saturday was off to a great start!
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