Day 1, 26/8/95

Our journey started from Kuala Lumpur on a morning train to Ipoh. Depending on the train service, the journey will take about 3 to 4 hours. We reached Ipoh around 2 p.m. and from there we proceed to our first destination, Hulu Kinta Recreation Park, which is located on the outskirts of Ipoh.

Day 2, 27/8/97

We met with our first guide Mr. Ong and continue through the Orang Asli (natives) village. We met with our main guide who is a local here. I don't really know his real name, but everybody calls him Pak Ngah. The first stage of the walk is quite easy with just a bit of climbing. After about an hour or so, we reached Pak Ngah's son-in-law place. We took a break here and guest what we found.... loads of durian, the king of the fruit, stuffed beneath his hut. This is no ordinary durian. The Orang Asli usually keep this type of durian for themselves and sell the less desired ones to the public. It was a feast for us. For those who don't know, durian is a famous fruit in Malaysia. I don't know why but foreigners seems to dislike them. Probably it's because of the strong smell. After the feast, we continued our journey. This time it was hard. Not only we have started climbing, but we were hiking through a log trail (trail left by trucks used during logging) which, without any trees to cover the trail, is both dry and hot. The heat from the durian that we ate really made us suffer that day. Throughout the journey, we could see what logging has done to the surrounding. Although we were presented with green lush scenery, there was also an alarming number of land erosions that we could see. Because this part of the place is not a forest reserve area, logging continue to thrive here. What a pity because this part of the state could well be the next tourist attraction after Mount Tahan (highest in West Malaysia).

We camp by the log trail on the second night. At this height, it was quite cold during the night. We spent the night talking about our past experiences, future expectations (like climbing Mount Kinabalu) and heard plenty of interesting stories from Pak Ngah, whom I may say despite of his age, is still one of the strongest member in the group.

Day 3 28/8/95 It was early in the morning where I had my first glimpse of the top of Mount Korbu. It stood there, in silence, bold and just waiting there, for us. After about an hour or so walking through the hot logging trail, we finally entered the jungle trail and reached a small waterfall area which would be the last water spot. Our guide told us that there will be no more water source for the entire journey. We carried as much water as we possibly can when we left the waterfall. To reach Mount Korbu, we had to cross a couple of mountains and walk along the Titiwangsa Range (so called the backbone of Peninsular Malaysia). Although it was tiring, the great view of the mountains really took all the tiredness away. We could see the entire state from here. There are even rumours that in a clear day, you can see Mount Tahan from here, which was a few hundred kilometres from this place. Reached the top about 5 p.m. Our water supply was running low. Most of the water was consumed while we were climbing.  We had only 2 small bottles left - for the ten of us. It was a miracle when it rained that night. We collected all the water trapped in our tent's fly-sheet. It was just enough to last us until we reach back at the waterfall the next day.

11 p.m.. The wind was blowing really hard. My father and I had to get out to strengthen our tent a few times. We had a rough time trying to sleep because it was quite wet in our tent, not to mention the biting cold.

3 a.m.. I woke up and remembered stories about how you can see Ipoh from the top of Mount Korbu. The wind was still blowing hard when I stepped out of the tent. Then, there it was, the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in my life. The city of Ipoh as seen from Mount Korbu. It looked liked a sea of golden lights. All the glittering in the tranquillity of the night. I wish I could be here forever. I did try to take some photos of this magic view but my camera wasn't good enough to capture the breathtaking scenery in front of me. I stood there motionless, savouring all the moments that I could until I felt the urge to crawl back into the tent. It was awesome.....

Day 4, 29/8/95

We started descending early in the morning after a light breakfast. Our destination was the place where we camp during the second night. I really enjoyed every moment of the journey. We reached our campsite quite early than we've expected. When I look at Mount Korbu, it seems very far away. Sometimes I still wonder how we'd managed to walk the distance to reach the top of Korbu.

Day 5, 30/8/95 The afternoon was hot as hell. Again, we stopped at the hut where we first stopped on day 2. And again we had a big durian feast. This time we ate as many fruit as we could. Boy are we going to pay for this ! The day was becoming hotter as ever. The durian that we ate made the hot day more unbearable. It was like climbing a mountain in the middle of an arid dessert. By the end of the day, we reached Hulu Kinta Recreation Park, had a short rest and went straight to Ipoh to catch the night train back to Kuala Lumpur.

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