edited (and modified somewhat) chat transcript a few days (?) after the Gu8nung Besar Hantu trek

online fwiend: … dont mind telling me exactly how u got injured? [this refers to the 2"-long cut near my left knee]
mchwen: long story...
online fwiend: all ears
mchwen: well we all reached the peak. and we about to get off. so, as usual, we took our group photo.
i climbed up next to Mr Garlock on the metal structure - something like the one up on nuang.
online fwiend: aha...
mchwen: * snap * snap * <photos taken> and we were going to get down. then there was too much movement. i lost my <footing> - slippery i guess - and i tried to jump off. then i hit the sharp edge of the metal structure… got a two inch cut - no pain
online fwiend: OUCH!
mchwen: quickly hopped towards Mr Mah. was holding onto my wound; got all my fatty tissues back in - and shouted at Mr Mah for help… we got the wound wrapped in less than 7 minutes. we're getting pretty good at first aid.
online fwiend: was it my fault u fell?
mchwen: i don't blame anyone. i had a bad feeling about the structure when i first saw it. <tried avoiding it> but thought it was nothing. then it happened...
online fwiend: did u cry?
mchwen: like i said. no pain. strange... thank god it was just skin. it didn't hit my thigh or calf where there was muscle. wouldn't have been able to walk down for three hours if i got hurt elsewhere.
online fwiend: may b coz it was suppose to happen on me , but u were there to replace me…
mchwen: hah! don't think so.
online fwiend: ^_^ ya never know!
mchwen: don't think so. it happened. u weren't there. don't think you would have changed anything.
online fwiend: but still feel kinda guilty..should have been there to catch u or somethin'
mchwen: IF you were there, you'd be the one screaming when u see blood.
online fwiend: yeah..probably. i cant stand the sight of blood. wanted to donate blood once in my school , saw the amount of blood they collected, freaked out - ran away.
mchwen: hehe. i haven't donated blood willingly in my life too. only time i ever donated blood = <donated to> mosquitoes and leeches.
online fwiend: did u get any leech bites?
mchwen: oh and i got leeched bad on besar hantu too. wanna hear the story?
online fwiend: tell me all about it!
mchwen: i was perfectly fine during the trek. no bite, not even one climbed on my shoes. But i got bitten the night before...
online fwiend: wanted to give u some fortune cookie just now, but didnt see u ..so too bad :o)
mchwen: this is a great trip. plenty of stories to tell...
online fwiend: uh huh...listening
mchwen: anyway, i arrived at the base camp at about 10.00+pm. it rained pretty hard, everyone else arrived at about 1.00+am! at 1.30am, i went into my tent to sleep - Mr Garlock was by my side…!
online fwiend: garlock? yeah..can forget bout messing up his hair. how come u arrived first?
mchwen: how come i arrived first? that's another story for some other time. listen to the leech story first!
online fwiend: haiyah! OKOK
mchwen: it was so hot & humid after the rain. and there was a generator next to our tent giving us light. actually it was set up by some folks working with perhilitan at the base camp too that night. so it was really noisy - droning sound. and hot. I was sweating inside the tent.
online fwiend: uh huh....
mchwen: then Amy started yellling outside the tent "aargh! leech bite! i'm bleeding! i'm bleeding! can't stop!"
online fwiend: uh huh....
mchwen: really noisy! i thought i'd let her die... but she kept making noises
online fwiend: as usual...then..
mchwen: so i can't sleep! and i wanted to wake up at 5am to go up the peak!
online fwiend: then u should have just killed her
mchwen: wanted to real bad… but i got out to rescue her. cleaned her leech bite wound... then Su Yuen shows me her leech bite wound... she got the leech off her. but don't know why they can't get leeches off without bleeding profusely… so I cleaned her too.
online fwiend: ya haa... u cleaned her wht? su yuen wht? whoa...wished i had bites too. :P
mchwen: you wish. ; ) i only cleaned Amy's little toe, and Su Yuen's wrist. <NOTHING MORE! so don't get funny ideas!>
online fwiend: then...
mchwen: so after cleaning them, i went to sleep.
online fwiend: ok..go on..
mchwen: when i woke up at 6, and got outta my sleeping bag, i saw my big fat toe all bloody.
online fwiend: eww..yuck… no one cleaned it fer u ?
mchwen: <I wish someone was there for me. But> i cleaned myself. i wasn't bleeding non-stop like the girls. anyway, after the trek down from the peak, and while we were cleaning camp. i found my leech. it was inside my tent. about i inch long and really fat!
online fwiend: squished it?
mchwen: no, just threw it out. hoped that it would bite someone else... ;-)
online fwiend: i used to put lotsa salt on it if i see one...or sometimes just burn it..whoo-hoo, i know its disgusting
mchwen: yeah. and let them fall off. then no bleeding wound...
online fwiend: big meany as usual
mchwen: cruel! you missed a really good trip.
online fwiend: thts it? tht was yr exciting leech bite story?
mchwen: ...yeah. what else do you expect! i lost blood!
online fwiend: sheesh! so i can roughly guess why u called this trip good. coz u manage to reach the peak right? does tht mean all the trips i went to are good ? er..
mchwen: all trips are good... in their own special way. <but on this trip> everyone had an adventure on this trip...
online fwiend: its just the leeches.. i use to camp alot.. so its nuthin
mchwen: lorry went into a ditch. took them ages to try to think of a way to get it out. <when> i went to see the lorry. <everyone> got it out in a few minutes. <and then there was> rain. heavy rain! slippery path. muddy path. some having to get down from a 4WD to push!… As for me I found the trek really great. Walked along narrow paths. felt like walking in a pristine forest trail - really clean. sadly, i got lots of scratches on legs and hands. undergrowth pretty thick in some areas.
oh and I had good food! I brought marinated stingrays!
you should come to this mountain when i go there again.
online fwiend: um..no one saw any 'ghosts'? OKOK- dont have to answer that question.
mchwen: no ghost. that's why i'd like to go again... actually, i want to go again because it rained so hard the two days we were there, we didn't get to see anything on the peak. all there was at the peak was this great white cloud wall!
i'll be there again to get the view - just like i'd go back to irau to relive the experience and hopefully get to see some good view
online fwiend: i would like to go to irau... wanna camp at the peak
mchwen: tell me when. maybe i'll join you - that is if u don't mind. and i was actually thinking of G.Tahan for the end of the year. but now i need to think again. don't know if i can walk that long with this new injury.
and y'know what? This new injuy is almost at the same spot as where i usually have the pain near the knee.

**End of transcript.

of course, a lot more happened during the trip, but they are stories for another time.

At the peak! (L-R) Amos, Bang Qin, Samuel, Desmond, Sze Ning, Mdm Berger, Craig, Amy, Gin May, "Tree", Rishi Geoff, Su-Yuen, , Me, and Bernadette
Photo © Don Mah