Sunny Outdoors

10 July 2010 - The mountain was swarmed with blood sucking leeches ! Almost everyone in the group got bitten, myself included. Some even had multiple bites. Legs and ankles were still bleeding at dinner time ...  These suckers came in different lengths and sizes -  there were small thin ones (that can easily squeeze into your shoes) and long fat ones that looked like an earthworm. We constantly had to look at our shoes to check.  Without fail,  every 5 minutes or so, there will be leeches making their way up for a fresh blood meal ! Even when we stopped, we had to scan the ground for leeches.  A lot of us got bitten when we stopped to rest for the first time.  You stop to catch your breath and have a drink of water and the next thing you know, you have leeches making their way up from the ground to your shoes and ankles. Yikes ! Although, I got bitten by one blood sucker who made it up to my ankle and had a good feast, there were at least 10+ leeches t...

01 May 2010 - I have finally obtained my first pair of Adidas Kampung ! Thanks to my wonderful wife who persuaded the Malaysian supplier and convinced them to airmail the shoes over to Singapore.   This is the first time they have shipped these shoes overseas haha. You might ask, whats is this Adidas Kampung again ? Well, Adidas Kampung is the affectionate name for these Cap Gajah (elephant brand) rubber shoes - probably because of  4 stripes on the side of the shoes making them resemble Adidas shoes :-) They are usually worn by the rubber tappers and plantation workers in Malaysia and are also  popular among Malaysians for hiking in the tropical forests. These shoes are cheap (cost less than RM $10) and waterproof (100% Rubber).   It is often mentioned that porters in Mount Kota Kinabalu wear them to ascend and descend the mountain and they do so carrying heavy loads !  Studded soles  Cap Gajah (Elephant Brand) My wife bought them at RM $6....