BORNEO (14/14): The Awards Ceremony & Making The Best Of Things In Kuala Lumpur
I've been back from Malaysia now for seven weeks and this diary still hasn't been updated. I am now going to document the happenings on the day of Monday, April 3rd. This was the second day of scuba diving. I wasn't really looking forward to making the trip to the diving island. The reasons were twofold; by now, I was close to exhaustion. Secondly, we hadn't been rewarded with much of a view the day before. Despite this, I got up for the usual breakfast, chatter and registration. From there, I boarded the 'speed ferry' from the Sutera Harbour jetty.
Before long, the party was clad in scuba gear, keen to hit the water. This time, very few people experienced problems adjusting to the flow of air and descended into the waters below. Once again, we passed sea urchins and starfish. We were, however, treated to brighter waters affording us better views. I remember thinking, whilst under water, that I would love to stay here forever. The sensation of floating and the nonexistence of verbal communication was uplifting. The coolness of the water was welcoming and, deeper and deeper, the water bought more and more relief to my sun burnt body. By the time we resurfaced, it was time for lunch. The barbecue was pleasing and news of an early return to the hotel spread like wildfire. Lacking in enthusiasm, over half of the group opted to return to the hotel. Upon my return just after 14.00, I headed for my hotel room and began the task of packing. Tonight was our last night and a gala dinner had been planned to celebrate the success of the event. I wanted to get straight beforehand so that the transition to my single room in the morning went smoothly.
When I think back, it amazes me how quick that afternoon went. It just goes to show how disorganised one gets when living out a suitcase and staying in different locations from day to day. After much sorting through the mass of dirty washing, the accumulation of souvenirs and junk, I managed to fit everything into my case. I showered, had a shave and got dressed for the gala dinner. Shortly before 19.00, I headed down to reception where signs clearly directed the way to the gala room. It was all very well done; the room had been decorated in traditional silk-like batik; the material hung from the ceilings and covered the chairs and the nine round tables which adorned the room. All seats were reserved for individuals and it was a matter of finding where your name was!
Shortly before dinner, there was a welcome by Hugh and Jo, the representatives of Children Today and Henshaw's Society for the Blind. They wanted to say thank you to everyone who took part and were thankful, also, that everyone had survived. Hugh went on to say that each of us should return to the UK, make the event sound as difficult as possible and continue in our quest to raise money for good causes. The speech was brief, interesting and in true Hugh-fashion, filled with humour.
Dinner commenced and, once again, we were faced with a plethora of dishes. I must admit that I weren't very hungry; days later, it would emerge that this was just the beginning of a food poisoning case. I ate soup with a couple of bread rolls, a bit of lasagne and a slice of cake. Never would anything turn me off cake! After all, I am an Englishman: nothing like tea and cake. Sound like Worzel Gummidge, don't I? 'Oh, I woud love a cup of tea and a slice of cake!'. It's amazing what you remember from your childhood, isn't it? It's been at least ten years since I've seen an episode of Worzel Gummidge and it represents the era of good, decent and clean TV. Worzel and his many heads, his reluctant sidekick Aunt Sally and his scheming! Great stuff! Anyway....
After dinner was in the stomach, the presentation began. There were awards for best participant which went to Rob from the Isle of Wight who braved the heat of the day to finish first in the cycling event. The second award was for the funniest moment. This went to Emma of Leighton Buzzard who asked, when ascending the mountain in darkness: "What time do we turn our head torches off?!!" This had the room in tears and I suppose you just had to be there. The third award went to Darren who broke his leg during the cycling event. Much to his dismay I'm sure, Troy-boy remained award-less.
Then, the basic award went to everyone; a certificate to all those who completed the climbing of Mount Kinabalu and the white water rafting. I asked Pauline from Yorkshire to tell me when my name was called. One by one, the names were being called and the apprehension was disabling. One by one, each of the participants went up to the stage and collected their certificates accompanied by the scattered applause of the friends they had made during the course of the event. Suddenly, the room was engulfed by loud clapping and cheering. I felt a tap on my shoulder and Pauline told me my name had been called. Everyone was looking at me. Was this applause, by far the loudest, in aid of me?? I felt embarrassed, but threw myself out of my chair and towards the stage. As I passed the tables on the way to the stage, a couple of people tapped me on the back to show their support.
As I approached the stage, from right to left, stood Charlie (the organiser), Jo (of Henshaws) and Emma (of Children Today). As I strode up the three steps towards Charlie, I raised my hand to indicate that the bandage had now been removed, that my burns were well on the mend! His face lit up, obviously pleased that one of the near fatalities of the trip had survived. I shook his hand, then threw both arms round the guy. More than once, I had panicked on this trip. More than once, it had been Charlie who had helped me out. As we parted, we both had big smiles on our faces. I thanked him in his own language: "Terima Khasi," I said. In a broad, deep accent he replied: "No problem, man!" I moved over to Jo and Emma, kissed them both and told them they had done a wonderful job. For the evening, the girls donned waitress outfits and they looked real good, I must admit. Quite fancied both of them myself, but couldn't decide on which to pursue!
My whole presence on the stage must have lasted less than a minute, but it was filled with emotion and thanks. It was filled with the encouragement of the applause I received. When I returned to the table, Pauline told me she couldn't believe the reception I got when my name was called. While I'm a modest person who can't stand people who buzz with the 'know-it-all' confidence, I explained to Pauline that it must have been because I had put myself about a bit. Over the duration of the challenge, I had introduced myself to so many people and while struggling to communicate, managed to meet many people, some of whom will always remain friends. The presentation continued and the sparse applause had returned. I could see what Pauline was saying now. I think it will always be in my nature to be the reserved man, the one lacking in confidence. Having said that, I would rather have not enough confidence than too much confidence.
The presentation ended just before 22:00 and I left to return to my room. Despite the buzz I got from receiving my award the way I did, I was feeling lousy. For the last three days, everything I'd eaten had gone right through me. My trousers felt looser and it was apparent that I was losing weight. I had a quick shower and packed the rest of my stuff into the case I had packed earlier in the day. By 23:00, I was sitting in bed with a cup of Tenom coffee watching some foreign gibberish on TV! Once again, rain was running down the large window overlooking the harbour.
I've documented everything now except my last day in Kuala Lumpur. This text is now going to take you to April 9th, my last day in Kuala Lumpur. I spent the whole of April 8th in my hotel room, ravaged by tiredness and the symptoms of food poisoning. I woke up just before 08:00 and recall my stomach being sensitive to touch. Every step towards the bathroom was a chore, but I managed to ease into a relaxing hot bath which helped somewhat to ease the aches that now plagued my body. I got dressed, filled up my ruck sack and headed down to the breakfast bar. For the sake of keeping up my energy, I downed some fruit and cake, washing it down with plenty of water. After breakfast, I reviewed some of the tourist material, trying to decide what to visit in the little time I had left. This was going to be no ordinary Sunday; I was in Kuala Lumpur, 8,000 miles away from home on my own. I was besat by food poisoning with barely any energy and I so wanted to enjoy myself.
I stood up and headed towards reception to see if there were any replies to the faxes I had sent home the night before. There were none; as I turned to leave the hotel, John Eyton of SMAS (Malaysia Airlines Services) walked in! I couldn't believe it. John, originally from Scotland, had been present during the whole of the Borneo Challenge, an English-speaking member of the organising team in the event of any emergencies. He had dropped by to see if I had arrived in Kuala Lumpur safely and in good health. I told him I had arrived with no problems, but not in the best of health. There and then, I nearly let loose and cried. I felt like I had been betrayed by some higher force, perhaps even fate itself. All I asked for was two days in Kuala Lumpur to relax and explore. I couldn't relax because I felt like I was going to keel over and I couldn't explore because I didn't have the energy. I told John how I was feeling and he took charge by taking me to a doctors. He said his nephew (his wife is Malaysian) was a doctor who worked in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) building. We left the hotel, crossed the busy six-lane road and headed towards the KLCC which occupied the first five floors of the Petronas Towers, the tallest building in the world; it stands at 459.2 metres and has 88 floors with a design inspired by the Star of Islam.
By entering KLCC, I was inside the worlds tallest building! The first five floors were packed full of retail outlets including Marks & Spencer's and a Barclays Bank. The presence of these stores did little to alleviate my missing home. We got the elevator to the fifth floor and headed for the Surgery. Upon arrival, I was instructed by the receptionist to fill in a form and was seen within minutes. The doctor diagnosed a throat infection, an ear infection, food poisoning and exhaustion. When John explained the Challenge I had participated in during the previous week, the doctor chuckled and said he was surprised I was still alive! He prescribed six different medicines, all of which were designed to tackle each of my symptoms separately. I took the recommended dosage of each and washed them down with water bought from the supermarket. By this time, noticing the discomfort I was in, I could sense that John felt sorry for me. After all, it was Sunday and he seemed to have nothing better to do than accompany me to the doctors. I mentioned it to him and he said that one of the reasons why he liked Malaysia is because "the people are better disciplined and care more about what they do". I interpreted this to mean that he saw it as his duty to make sure I was well looked after.
I really wanted to go to the Kuala Lumpur tower to get an aerial view of the city, but time would prove that it wasn't meant to be. After thanking John and after a brief walk around the KLCC gardens, I returned to the hotel. It was nearing midday and I had arranged for a taxi to take me to the airport at 20:30. It was unfortunate that I spent the rest of my last day in my hotel room. Not long after having returned to the hotel, I was riddled with vomiting. I wasn't surprised considering the cocktail of medication I had been prescribed. I would think a menu of six different medications would be reserved for the terminally ill, not one suffering from the likes of ear and throat infections! At that time, I threw my medication away and slept.
I slept until about 18:00 then set about preparing my luggage for the journey home. I entered the reception are about 19:00 and arranged for an hour of web surfing. I hit the BBC website to read the latest news like I had done the afternoon I arrived in Tenom. It emerged that it had started snowing in some regions of Britain. I had got talking to the manager of the hotel and told him about the weather. He imagined that the temperatures must have been well below freezing for it to be snowing. I learnt that he had never visited Britain and very much wanted to do so. I gave him a taster of what to expect in Britain by hitting the This Is London (www.thisislondon.com) and the Royal Family (www.royal.gov.uk) web sites. He was hooked. Before my hour was up, I checked my email.By the time I had finished my Internet session, the manager of the hotel and I had been chatting for nearly an hour. My taxi was due in the next fifteen minutes and I decided, there and then, that I would pay the taxi a little extra to give me a quick tour of this vibrant city. After all, it was unlikely that I would return since there were a dozen other places I longed to visit. My taxi arrived and I realised that I had the same driver who drove me from the airport two days before. I asked if he would mind driving around some of the sights before leaving the city and heading towards the airport. 'No problem, me glad!' he responded with more enthusiasm than was required. Gary, the driver, hadn't been to London either and so was more than proud to show off his city to an eager tourist little realising that London had much more to offer the budding visitor. We drove past the Kuala Lumpur tower, through the bustling crowds of China Town, past the old Colonial Railway station and the Sultan's Palace. I looked at my watch and it was gone 21:30. I told Gary and said we should head for the airport, that my flight took off at 23:55. 'No problem, me go fast!', he replied. And fast he went indeed. From my position in the front passenger seat, I put my seat belt on as Gary floored the accelerator and flew down the motor way at a speed of 140 kph (approx. 90 mph). The motorway was empty and every so often he zoomed past the 'crawlers' in the slow lane.
As I was being driven away from the brights light of Kuala Lumpur, I began to yearn for all the things that were at home; my family, my friends, but most of all, the restoration of my sense of security. Despite my lack of hearing - and even having lost my hearing aids during the trip - I still managed to have a good time. As I saw the bright lights of the city dwindle in the side view mirror of the taxi, the way I felt about this trip and the people I had met could have been summed up in a song I had heard recently:
"Everywhere I go, All the places that I've been,
There's a smile on a new horizon, On a land I've never seen
There are people around the world, Different faces, different names,
but there's one true emotion that reminds me we're the same...
Let's talk about love....."
- Celine Dion.
I left Malaysia behind on my return to the United Kingdom with memories I hope to never forget. Indeed, part of me fell in love with Malaysia. If you've bothered to read this far, you'll probably be one of the many people who helped to make the trip possible. If it hadn't been through your own generosity or support, I probably never would have had the opportunity to visit what is perhaps one of the most unspoiled territories in the world. And for this, I thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
Terima Khasi y Selamat Jalan!
30th June 2000
posted by About Me: @ 3:50 pm
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