The Barbershop

I am going Nostalgia again...

Remember the scent of soap and talc, mixed with the smell of rusted steel and rotten wood? Remember the outdated magazine and Old Master Q comic you flipped through while waiting for you turn? Remember the lightness you felt after a good trim? Well, that was the barbershop of our childhood.

This barbershop, was always filled with grumpy men. Complaining about politics, aimlessly flipping through newspapers, talking on how close they are in winning yesterday's jackpot lottery, reminiscing about the good old glory days and hiding from their wives. But was never there to trim their hair. All in the midst of noise from the TV nobody watches and oldies on the radio nobody listens. And that was the barbershop, we grew up with.

Remember then when hairstyle was recognized through numbers? "Uncle, today number one!" And you will come out looking like a monk. Or if you are up for it, you can choose your hairstyle based on a few poster of famous pop star of that time like Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau or Jacky Cheung, pasted all over the wall. But was rare to see your hair turned out like theirs and left you wonder what magic they possessed to make them look that good! And that was the barbershop, of dreams being handsome, broken.

My 20 Awesome Experience Backpacking Sabah (1 to 10)

Truth to be told. My Journey to realization series had been dragging for long. If it continues at this rate, it would take me years to finish them! No thanks to my long winding writing, and with my laziness at terminal stage. I might as well save them up, if I were to publish a book about it. *laughs* Inspired by a post my friend wrote. Here is it people, My 20 awesome experience backpacking Sabah. In no specific order.

1. Volunteering at Tampat Do Aman Eco Resort.

For the free accommodation, for the nice food, for the amazing people, and for the breathtaking view. Volunteering was a good way to get the most out of a beautiful place, without burning a hole in your pocket. Tampat Do Aman Eco Resort (TDA) located in the most northern Tip of Borneo and managed by the infamous British expat, Howard Stanton. Surrounded by picture perfect beaches, the friendliest Rungus people, exciting wildlife and serene village life. But all these beautiful things came with hard work, real hard work. Me and Toby pouring sweat six day a week, working on upgrading and constructing TDA. We got our hands in carrying everything from food compost to trunks of coconut tree, landscaping, transporting, tank cleaning, to design and make furniture, waiting, painting and constructing. One can never imagine the hard work we did, unless you go try it yourself. The best part was perhaps seeing all our effort come to realize in making TDA a better place for all its guest, while not forgetting the cold shower after and that cold nice beer later!

My 20 Awesome Experience Backpacking Sabah (11 to 20)

Check out 1 to 10, click here.

11. Lost in Liwagu trail, Kinabalu Park.

I blame the misleading sign and my own adventurous heart for getting me lost in the Kinabalu park for almost 2 hours. But thankfully I end up with an interesting story to tell you. It was when I blazed down Liwagu trail, the longest trail within Kinabalu Park measuring up to 5.6 km. While I can smell the end of the trail just a kilometer away, I went down a trail that lead to the Liwagu river. I was misled into this when I encounter a confusing sign. The lost trail was not easy to blaze through, thick jungle vegetation and poor marker signifies that this trail had not been used for long. Thinking that there must be a way out down the road, I continue on, when the right choice was to turn back. Then the trail got harder and harder to blaze through, there was this fast running water and slippery rocks I need to overcome, and there was this gorge only connected by two very slippery thick steel pipe was only the few ridiculous obstacles I need to brace through. The Liwagu river was the main water source for the people of the mountains. My thought was if I followed the main supply pipe line, and follow the flow of the river, I believe I could get out of the jungle soon. This thought was slowly disappearing as I moved further inside the jungle and further away from the river. But my determination to get myself out of this situation push me harder overcoming those knee deep mud and uphill climb.

Must I say, that was awfully lots of cracks and burst on those aged supply pipe! They never failed to keep me wet all the time. When I reached the top of the hill, and miraculously there was phone reception!