Sweet Escape

On the eve of February 27th, 2012 as I lay on a piece of rock 884 meters above the sea-level, I felt alive. The heavens were in a bright glow; the stars aligned in a giant dome. I felt like I could reach out and touch them. In that moment I felt like I was one of them.
What started as an urge to get away from the hectic university life, turned into a most unforgettable journey. For starters, it was the first time I’d made a decision like this all by myself. It was spontaneous and might I add, daring. Our local outdoor activities club was organizing a hiking trip to Malaysia. I’d always been a fan of the outdoors but the status of a broke engineering student doesn't come with many such pleasures.
We were to scale this giant named Gunung Datuk (Mount Datuk), also known as Gunung Rembau. Close to a 100 km from Kuala Lumpur, it is said to have been the gathering point of leaders to elect the future Dato back in 1372. They sure seem to have been a bunch of fit guys. I, on the other hand had to start working out weeks before the due date, this being my first major hike.
What most travel websites don’t tell you is how much (if any at all) the right company matters. We were a bunch of 18 strangers when we left for Malaysia but over the course of the next two days, I couldn't remotely describe my gratitude towards them. I’m inherently a reserved person. Taking a step outside my comfort zone amidst new people was tricky but delightfully refreshing.
The climb was estimated to be nearly 2 hours long, but hardly 30 minutes into it, all of the beginner’s excitement faded into a stronger sense of regret. The trail was getting steeper and the 50L haversack was not helping. Needless to say I took more breaks than I was proud of. Each time I would look at the faces of my fellow comrades, expecting frustration or impatience, but all I would see was genuine concern and a desire to help. They knew I could make it and somehow that overpowered the self-doubt that I harbored. A little over 2 hours later, I was at the top of the giant named Gunung Datuk.
That night as I lay under the myriad of stars, I felt both meaningless and invincible at the same time. I pictured myself as a little speck on this planet. It was as if climbing all that way had given me a clear top-angle view of my own life and how little some things mattered. I realized I could do anything with a little faith and perhaps the right intentions. In that moment, I became a different person.