I Sunflora used to think that I was 25. As each year progressed, I still thought that I was 25 until I got pregnant. That's when suddenly I felt my age. Every year and every month of it. There was something about me being pregnant that made me feel old and tired.
I had always had a tiny fear of height. Not someone who grew up living on the 13th floor surely! I discovered this fear I had when I went hiking up Gunung Ledang with a good friend of mine. I had absolutely no problems climbing up but had such a difficult time climbing down. I felt my knees shaking and that I would tumble and roll down.
Somehow my fear was heightened during our recent trip to the Edge of the World. It was my first desert trip and we went with three other families. My beloved was pumped up to go and had organized the logistics for the trip. Equipped with 2 GPS and 3 4x4s, 4 families met at 6:30 am at the end of a highway and made their way eventually into the desert.
The ride in the desert was somewhat bumpy, some parts scary and other parts shaky. By the time we arrived at the first viewpoint my knees were shaking and I was totally unprepared for the strong cold wind. I was somewhat under dressed and its been a while since I did any hiking or rock climbing and my feet refused to move. They felt like they've been weight down with rocks.
Somehow at the back of my mind, I had this vision that I would tumble, lose my footing and the wind would sweep me off and blow me over the edge and I would fall down the cliff below.
Call me scardy cat but my legs absolutely could not move! So the plan to climb up was aborted.
And then it was time for breakfast. Now I'd have to say that breakfast was the highlight of the trip. Never mind the breathtaking view, the desert fresh air or even the difficulty in getting to the place but breakfast was THE thing that we all have been looking forward to. With Nasi Lemak, Satay goreng, bee hoon goreng and karipap sayur, we had a hearty breakfast.
Then off to the second viewpoint, which required no climbing at my part. With the sun now up above us, the sky clear and blue, I managed to capture some pictures.
The man in blue is a work colleague of one of the guys. Just the though of going the edge is making my palm sweat.
On the way back, we took some pictures of camels. We found out that camels don't roam in the wild anymore. They all belong to someone and some would probably be slaughtered this coming Aidiladha.
Once on the tarmac, we all heaved a sigh of relief. It didn't help that Sally told us about the story of the family found dead in their card in the desert during the summer. A mother with five children had all languished in their car, with no sign of their father. All had died due to dehydration and the heat. Two of her children were laying on the backseat, covered up with a sheet. The mother was holding her baby on her lap while the other two children were hugging each other in the front seat. The mom had left a note saying that she accepted her death as fate. We felt very uneasy after that story, knowing that the desert could be your deadly enemy.
And hopefully we will make another trip out soon.
