1st Tahan Expedition, part 31... A LUCKY MISS !!!

All the time that we were on the 1st Gunung Tahan
Expedition we were totally unaware of the trouble that
was brewing in the Malaysian capital and elsewhere on the peninsula that would eventually lead to the infamous
MAY 13 Malaysian Riots of 1969.
We departed from Kuala Tahan on the 22 April 1969
and arrived safely in Singapore on 23 April 1969.
Racial riots broke out on 13 May 1969 in KL and other parts of Malaysia. There were some attempts by various criminal elements to " spillover" the riots into
Singapore for their own rotten purposes. But they were
largely contained by our own security forces and police.
When the riots broke out , I and the others like Yew Ghee [ yg blog website ], Jason, Edward, Kar Wai etc.. from TTC, were fully immersed in our OBS full-time course in Pulau Ubin which was held from May 8 to 29th 1969. We had
no contact with the outside world and knew nothing much about the killings and massacres then. Only after we had finished the course did we find out the horror of it all. There was a great amount of tension in the air...even in Singapore, as many of us, our people, have
friends and relatives over there. My sister-in-law and her family with 2 young kids were in P J, Selangor at that time. There was no news about them.
Not until when calmness returned about a month later did we hear from them.
D2 and I went over to visit them and to help them relocate back home.

Looking back, it was indeed a most fortunate miss !
Just 3 weeks separated us from that fateful day of infamy.
We could have easily been caught in that terrible maelstorm.

1st Tahan Expedition, part 30....Where are the RUGGED 10 today?

Where are the RUGGED 10 today?
Where is our guide Ahmad today?

Ok, let's start with the 4 teachers.

Mr Twang Peck Ee
After his stint at Broderick Sec Sch,
he joined the PE Dept of NJC. He also taught in some other schools in his later teaching years. He has happily retired from teaching many years ago. The last time I met him, he was living at Casuarina Road, off Thomson Road.

Mr Balbir Singh
After his stint at Balestier Hill Sec, he too joined the PE Dept of NJC. In later years, he was promoted as a vice-principal to a school in Bedok, where he eventually retired. I have met Balbir, in the course of my work, many times.
We remain firm as friends and as fellow 1st Tahanners. The last occasion we met was only last year at Changi Airport. He was on his way to Indonesia as an educational consultant while I was on my 1st exploratory trip to Myanmar.

Mr Tng Kim Guan
Kim Guan had the most varied roles amongst us. After his stint in Victoria School, he went upwards to a number of posts and places including Principal of Serangoon Sec, Deputy Principal of Raffles Instituition and finally Cluster Superintendent. In the course of my work, I met him more than the others. We remain firm friends. He has retired from a very fruitful education career. He lives in the Yio Chu Kang area.

Mr Dick Yip ( myself )
After my stint in PBS, I was head-hunted to join Hwa Chong JC PE Dept in the early 1980's.
I headed the PE and Sports Dept in 1991 until I left for SS where I retired from service in 2005.

T Jesudasen ( NJC)
Today Jesudasen is an ambassador in our Min of Foreign Affairs.
The last time I met him was when he and his wife took a walk in the beautiful grounds of HJC and we had a short, brief chat nearly 15 years ago.

Francis Lee, Louis Hwang, Tham Han Chew, Tan Yam Tee and Tan Yeow Huat ....all NJC
Well, I have never met them again since those 1969 days. ( Would love to see them again!)
And I have no details of where they are today.

And finally our expedition guide, Ahmad
In 1985 I led a Tahan team from HJC to climb the mountain again. There, I made some enquiry
about Ahmad. Other guides knew him but told me he was unfortunately not around at that time. I was really hoping to see him again. Then in 1995, Taman Negara Resort, a newly formed consortium came down to Singapore to further promote Tahan National Park and their new facilities, activities and adventure trips. Only a handful of "old hands"teachers, with a strong and active adventure background, were selected and fully sponsored for that trip to Taman Negara.
I was one of them.
So I ended up re-living my warm memories of Tahan, Melantai, wild animals, the boat trip, the rapids, leeches and nocturnal animals wandering around our huts. Then....I made extensive enquiries about our 1969 guide, Ahmad. I had an old photo with me. The news I got was sad. They told me that he had passed away not that long ago.

1st Tahan Expedition, part 29....Equipment and Costs

This journal of our historic expedition to G Tahan will not be complete without some mention of the personal and group equipment we had and some aspects of the cost, 4 decades ago.


Photo: The Sungei Tahan at dusk


Group Equipment
1) ponchos - 10
2) parangs - 6
3) Haversacks -those without
4) Belts - 10
5) Aluminium water bottles - 10
6) matches - in waterproofed pouch
7) mess tins - 10
8) tin openers - 4
9) ropes - sufficient coils
10) crackers -sufficient packets
11) Bluet Cooker - 1
12) Tent side sheets - 4
13) cooking pots - 2
14) Fuels - sufficient qty
15) Sulphur powder



First Aid and Medical Kit
Besides the standard items such as plaster, bandages of various sizes and types, we also had the following:
1) antisan
2) anti-malaria pills
3) salt tablets
4) Iron tablets
5) water sterilising tablets
6) Insect repellent
7) Corricidin - red
8) Panadol
9) Po Chai pills


Personal Items
1) A small torch with extra battery
2) Extra water bottle
3) Shirts - 1 for trekking, 1 for sleep
4) Slacks - 1 for trekking, 1 for sleep
5) sleeping bag - 1
6) face towel - 1
7) jungle hat - 1
8) sneakers - 1 pair
9) ankle boots - 1 pair
10) socks - 2 pairs
11) dagger or knife -1
12) safety pins, sewing kit
13) spoon - 1
14) camera - 1 [ only Jesudason and myself had one each ]
15) films for camera
16) water-proofed containers, small
17) jacket or windbreaker - 1

Some Group Costs $ ( S'pore )
1) Train fares - 300
2) Stores, fuel - 70
3) Boatfare - 130
4) Camping fee - 100
5) Camera fees - 10
6) Food - 65 ( We chipped in with supplies from our homes )

1st Tahan Expedition, part 28.... We were on TV !!!

1st page of my 1969 diary. Did you notice the telephone numbers...only 6 digits back then!

I started keeping a simple diary since Primary 6. Those early years proper diaries were hard to come by. Most of us had no money to buy such a luxury. I recall using unwanted, old exercise books or a discarded notebook for such purposes. In the mid 60's, as I was then working, a free diary or two will somehow land on my desk yearly.

Here is the cover page of my 1969 personal diary. The page is also from this same diary dated May 24th 1969....barely a month after we had returned from our Tahan expedition. After the story of our exploits broke in the newspapers of the day, RTS [ Radio and TV Singapore ] contacted us. TV programmes and shows back then were all in black and white. No colour yet until 1974, I think. RTS were eager to feature all 10 of us in a special 30 minute programme they named " THE RUGGED 10 ". The recording and filming were done in their studio at Caldecott Hill.

From the May 8th to 29th 1969, I was attending the full 22 day OBS course # 15 at Pulau Ubin Outward Bound School. About 14 of us from TTC were chosen for this course, fully sponsored by the local British Army Hqrs. We were the 1st batch of teachers from TTC so honoured [ I will have a post about this OBS thing later].

So, on the 24 May, as can be seen from my diary notes, my OBS watch "Tensing" had just returned from the land expedition. I had a message waiting for me and was passed over by OBS Chief Instructor then....Henry Sng. I was told that our RTS special feature will be on air at 3 pm that day. Since my group was back, I asked for permission to see it"live" with my watch members. There was a TV set at the Meeting room and we gathered there, together with many other OBS instructors and also members of other groups.

That was the very 1st time[ not the last though ], that I appeared on national TV. That 30 min programme entitled, " The Rugged Ten" was shown a few times back then. But alas, none of us possessed the technology then for recording it. VCR did not exist at our level yet. Before 1999, that will be 30 years after our Tahan success, I did inquire from then SBC whether they still have an archived copy of the original programme. A friend there told me they most likely do....but it would not come cheap to get a copy made, provided clearance is approved. The figure quoted was frightening!!!

1st Tahan Expedition, part 27.... Mountain Plants

After nearly 40 years they still look well-preserved. I'm referring to some of the tiny ferns, leaves, mosses, bark and flowers which I collected from the 1st Tahan Expedition. Not having had any particular or special training in plant specimen preservation, I simply pasted the ends

of each piece of fauna with scotch tape onto the pages of an exercise book.

I have no clue to the specimens' actual names.

The value to me will always be that they once were part of our collective experience in that remote rain forest of the Gunung Tahan region....back in 1969.

To many others, they see leaves, twigs, bark etc.. as nothing more than just that.

For me, it is an emotional thing. Something that money cannot buy since they were picked by me and carefully protected to this day even.

1st Tahan Expedition, part 26..... A hero's WELCOME !

The report of our Gunung Tahan Achievement appeared in Malay, Chinese and English press....on Thursday 24 April 1969. Here is the original Straits Times report with photo.

1st Tahan Expedition, part 25....Departure from K Tahan

Tuesday, April 22 1969

Departure from Kuala Tahan

We had come through safe and sound after a most challenging jungle expedition. The previous evening we gave away much of our things to our beloved guide, Ahmad. There were items that we had borrowed and those had to be returned. Our self-made plastic fly-sheets we gave away. Last night, we had time to

browse around the main Park office. There was a Visitor's book there and most of us signed our names into history. I bought this particular postcard with a B /W Tahan river photo and got a couple of the guys to put their dhoby mark on it. I can roughly make out signatures of Twang, Balbir, Tng, Jesu, Yam Tee, Yeow Huat and Han Chew. Also got a stamp and addressed it to myself. That old address was my home and also of my family since before WW 2.

It has disappeared from the map forever since the 1990's.

So, with all our gears repacked and ready for the homeward journey...I suggested we have a few final photos before we left Taman Negara for good.

This colour picture was taken just outside the Park Hqrs office.

Clockwise from Balbir ....Dick[me], Jesudasen, Louis, Yeow Huat, Han Chew, Yam Tee, Francis and Twang.

Photo-taker was Tng.

We re-boarded the 2 launches for our return trip to Kuala Tembeling and from there to Jerantut Train station by the same old rickety bus. We took the night train from Jerantut to Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, Singapore....arriving early the next morning, Wednesday April 23rd 1969., where we were informed that the Straits Times, Chinese and Malay press reporters were awaiting our arrival at Victoria School, Tyrwhitt Road, to interview us and hear our story. Victoria School Scout Den was our Preparation and Organisational Base Camp before the trip. I was a key old boy scout leader there for many years...in the 60's.

1st Tahan Expedition, part 24.....Melantai to Tahan Hqrs

Day 7 of Actual Climb...Monday April 21st 1969

Melantai to Kuala Tahan

Today, we were not in any real hurry knowing full well that this last leg of our journey was merely a trek back to Taman Negara Hqrs, about 5-6 hours away. However a more important reason was Ahmad....or rather his condition. He being a man of the jungle usually was way up before any of us even stirred from our sleepiness.

But that morning something was not right as we were all up before him. Now that by itself was most unusual. So we looked into his tent. He was not feeling too good. I recalled he said something about his " kepala pusing and badan sakit "[ head spinning and body ache]. We asked him what had caused it. He sheepishly revealed that he had consumed both the iron tablets and the anti-malarial pills that I had given him and he thought that was the cause of his problems. And he was probably right. He had taken them before he slept.

Here was a native of the jungle who had never taken such chemicals before and his body was obviously reacting to the iron and quinnine. So, I suggested he drank hot tea and more water to dilute whatever effects of the drug. We took our time to get ready, taking things easy to give him enough time to recover. The guys prepared a good breakfast for all, including Ahmad. By about 8 am, he was feeling much better and was ready to lead us again. We broke camp for the last and final time and bade goodbye to Sungei Melantai. Fortunately, Ahmad was able to recover otherwise we might have to fashion a makeshift stretcher to carry him back. Then we were off again onto the trail heading south. We arrived at Tahan Hqrs around 2 pm in good weather.

The 1st thing we did on arriving back was to report to the Park office, accompanied by Ahmad, that we were all safe and sound, and had achieved our objective. Ahmad confirmed everything that we stated. The Park Superintendent then asked Twang Peck Ee, our Expedition Leader, to provide him with the full list of names of the climbers and other details.

He told Peck Ee to come back later for a cert or letter confirming our achievement.

The 1st thing I did after that was to head straight for the Park canteen. There, I ordered some cold Coke or Coca-Cola as it was properly called for myself and some of the guys too. When we were discussing what we missed most the previous night, for me , that was my answer. I would give anything to have a simple, super cold COKE drink on ice preferably! Nothing else tasted better or quenched my thirst better that day. I supposed it was pretty much the same for the others. We re-ordered Coke and sat down to enjoy one of life's great pleasure! Only "tortured"

Tahanners would understand this.

Later, after we had washed up and had our lunch, we were each given an original copy of the Certificate/Letter which had our names on it. It was done on the Taman Negara Letterhead and dated that same day......the 21st April 1969, that we ended our climb. In all, we took a grand total of 6 DAYS and 6 HOURS for our expedition to Tahan and back. Was there an attempt to set a record in terms of duration, by us? The answer was and is " NO !". We were aware that we

were "trailblazers" from Singapore. Whatever time it took us to succeed wasn't important.

What mattered was that we had to succeed....to conquer the peak.

Nevertheless, we were well aware that we had planned for a 10 day expedition....not knowing what to expect. So, in the end, we were pleasantly surprised that we....the 1st Singapore Tahanners... had done it in 6 Days and 6 hours.

In doing so, we became the 1st Singaporeans to conquer Gunung Tahan.

And that was a matter of some pride and joy to all 10 of us.

In the evening of that day, we met up with dear Ahmad again. We had gone through all our group and personal items and all excess items were donated to him. They included all our unused tinned food, rice,sugar, cereals and other utensils and barang-barang[ things ]. He was grateful for our donations and the extra guide fees we handed him.

Then from his pocket he pulled out something to push into my hands...and added he did not want them any more. I stared at the pills and tablets of iron and quinnine in my hands. We all had a great laugh!!! He said in Malay to us that those pills were bad "ubat"[ medicine ]. Ha ha!!

He wasn't wrong at all in his conclusion.

1st Tahan Expedition, part 23....K Teku to Melantai

Gunong Tahan Descent -Day 6 of Actual Climb, Sunday April 2oth 1969

Kuala Teku - Melantai

We awoke very early to the beautiful and melodious calls of jungle birds and hungry monkeys announcing a new day. It was a peaceful morning as we set about digging up our cache of buried food and preparing for a good breakfast. We would need all the energy for the tough journey still ahead of us. This was one stretch that most Tahan climbers, even today, would find daunting. Breaking camp

very early, our intention was to set off before the heat and humidity got to us. We put our haversacks on, clambered over to the giant boulders that sat right smack on the banks of the Sungei Teku....for a "last look" at the awe-inspiring, fast- flowing river [ Top photo]. It seemed that we each wanted to etch or burn the images we were fortunate to be witnessing into our our mental hard disk [ No computers then! Never even heard of such.].

Then we turned southwards and headed for the river crossings. The problem with leeches resurfaced. In one of the river crossings, Jesudason had a slip and that was how some of our films got wet and were damaged.

The river bed were mostly of slippery pebbles, rocks and uneven stones upto waist deep in some places. He wasn't the only one who had a slip.

We were fortunate that no one was injured in the river crossings. In many later expeditions over the last 4 decades, some serious and even fatal incidents had occured...either at river crossings which can be flooded or along the trail.
Having endured the Malang hills, we knew what to expect and so rationed our water very carefully. We had adapted well to our surroundings and our movement as a group was VERY DISIPLINED. There were no stragglers within our 10 member group. We wisely followed the instructions and guidance as given by Ahmad. Following his speed and tempo on the return trek, with no slacking off by anyone, proved one thing.....that all the tough physical training we had carried out paid off. This will always remain the golden rule for Tahan expeditions....henceforth.

We reached Melantai, our 1st campsite before nightfall. All exhausted, we went to bathe and

swim in the gentle waters by our camp. This was one night we could really afford to relax as Tahan Hqrs was only 4-5 hours away reserved for the next day. We were in early celebration mood as we brought out all the foodstuff we had from our packs and from the buried spot. We had planned for a 10 day expedition but that was only our 6th day on the trail. So with much extra food, we had reconfigured the amount for our meals. That night would be the last dinner we would be taking on the trek.

Later, as we all sat snugly around the campfire recounting the incidents and events of the previous days, and discussing about what was tough, what we each learnt, what we miss the most during these 6 days, etc..... Ahmad, who by then, was accepted as like one of us, joined in.

By the campfire light our conversations eventually centred on him. How we could help him as he had helped us splendidly.... alone. We took stock of the things we had and still needed and decided that we would donate all extra things to him when we were back at base camp.

I was checking out my medical kit when Ahmad came to sit beside me. For the 1st time during the entire trip, he was curious and asked me about the various pills and tablets I had dished out to all every morning. He wanted to know what each was for and why were we taking them. I tried my level best to explain in simple Malay what each pill was for. For example, the iron tablet...I said simply, " Makan ini boleh jadi-sehat dan kuat!"[ eating this result in health and strength]. For anti-Malarial tablets I said," Makan ini...kalau nyamok gigit awak, badan tak sakit-lah!"[ eating this....when mosquitoes bite, your body will not be sick!]. After going over my medications with him, he asked whether I could give him some....iron and anti-malarial tablets.

No problem....as I had more than enough. I explained the dosage to him.

Later that night, we drifted into a restful sleep....all of us.

1st Tahan Expedition, part 22...Kuala Teku campsite

These 2 pictures originally in beautiful Kodak colours have faded with the passage of father Time. Nevertheless, it captured us so clearly at the end of an eventful day....the same day we had made history.
We were all very exhausted having descended from the Padang plateau. Earlier that morning, we had set off to conquer Tahan peak and then returned to our base camp at Padang...repacked all our gears and things for the descent to where we now were.

Photos:
Top, from L to R
Standing: Ahmad, Tng, Yam Tee
Seated : Jesudasen, Louis, Dick Yip, Yeow Huat, Twang, Francis and Balbir. If you enlarge this picture you can see my BOWIE knife which I had placed on my pouch ,gripped by my feet.

Bottom, from L to R
With Ahmad was Francis, Tng, Louis and me[Dick]
Lower-Jesudasen, Yeow Huat, Twang, Balbir and Yam Tee. In the foreground a pair of boots can be seen....likely was Yam Tee's. The NJC cloth emblem which I had sewn on to my left shirt pocket on the initial train journey, can be clearly seen if you enlarge the photo.

1st Tahan Expedition, part 21....The DESCENT from Tahan

Day 5 of Actual Climb....Sat April 19th 1969

After breaking camp at our desolate Padang campsite, we gathered for one final group photo. Yes, all 10 of us were in it and who else but our dependable guide, Ahmad snapped the picture.

Everyone was smiling! We had much to be smiling about. Our objective had been achieved and we're homeward bound. But there was still a long distance to go on this return leg of the journey.

Taking a final "last" look at the beauty surrounding us at our campsite and especially at G Tahan, we bade farewell to that place and turned towards the south...taking up the trail towards Gedong. It was still before noon when we departed. We felt very much lighter as we resumed our climb up G Gedong and all the other peaks along Skeat's ridge. We had about 6-7 hours of daylight left to reach Kuala Teku. Having been the 1st group of Singaporeans to conquer this very tough mountain, collectively and individually, we felt very strong for this return leg. Our progress was very fast. We managed to reach Kuala Teku, with its fantastic roaring river of white water by late evening. We pitched our 2 tents and prepared dinner. It was an evening and night of total recuperation, of good rest and sleep, as the next day we would tackle the 7 river crossings and face the demons of the 27 Malang hills once again.

1st Tahan Expedition, part 20....OBJECTIVE ACHIEVED!

Photos: a) Another angle of the Batu Tahan or Tahan Quartz.

b) The 4 from TTC ....Tng, Dick, Ahmad our Guide, Balbir and Twang posing

at the summit.

We had taken all the pictures we wanted at the summit. The rolling mists of clouds moved over the plateau casting surreal sillhouttes in the shadows of the gentle mountain slopes. Weather at the top can change very fast in an instant from scorchingly hot, to cool and cloudy, then to misty rain. It was fortunate that our final ascent came with perfect weather....a beautiful, clear blue sky. That day, the 5th day of our actual climb, was going to be a very long day. From the summit we headed down the same way we came, taking less than an hour to reach our campsite at Padang. We topped up our water, broke camp and carefully cleared the site of debris [ A golden rule of camping is always to leave the campsite a better place than before you arrived ] .

Taking a final look at our campsite and at the Tahan peak, we turned southwards back towards the trail leading to Gedong. As we moved off silently, personally I did wonder whether I would ever come this way again in my lifetime. [ I do not know about the others whether any of them ever stepped onto Tahan again, after 1969.....unlikely would be just my guess. As for myself...I led a Hwa Chong JC group of students in an expedition to this same place and "re-conquered " G Tahan in June 1985!! That was a gap of 16 years ! Perhaps I may cover that climb in just a post or two, to point out any differences or changes since then ].

1st Tahan Expedition, part 19, " DIAMONDS" from Tahan

After we congratulated each other with pats, hugs and firm handshakes on reaching the peak, we got down to enjoy the scenic beauty from the very top of West Malaysia....looking as far as the eye can see. Then we spotted beautiful translucent stones that looked like big diamonds in the ground around us. These were actually quartzites which Ahmad told us were locally called "Batu Tahan". The whole Tahan ridge is composed of very ancient sedimentary rock....and many of such


quartz were clearly exposed in dried-up streams, river beds or cracks in rocks. We each collected a few bits and pieces for a closer study later.


Today, this is not allowed by the Park Hqrs.



This surviving colour photo showed the 3 of us ;


me[ Dick], Balbir and Twang as the 1st 3 TTC Camp


Instructors from Singapore to set foot on Tahan.



Quite a few others, leading their own students, would follow in our footsteps.....henceforth.


In later years, other organisations, having by then learnt about the great challenges that all Tahan expedition members must face up to and the immeasurable positive values acquired when overcoming the odds, came on board in greater numbers each year....to organise their own "Tahan" expeditions.


[ more to come in next post ]

1st Tahan Expedition, part 18...N J C and 4 teachers made history.

Gunung Tahan at 7186 ft, the highest mountain in West Malaysia was first conquered by a group of ten Singaporeans on Saturday, April 19th 1969 at about

10 am. The expedition was led by Mr Twang Peck Ee.

The group comprised of 4 teachers and 6 students of National Junior College.

Colour photo:

L to R: Tng Kim Guan, Dick Yip[me], Ahmad our guide, Balbir Singh, Twang Peck Ee.

B/W photo:

I captured this memorable and historic moment as the 6 NJC boys unfurled their college flag

at the peak of Tahan.

Standing: L to R- Yeow Huat, Louis, Jesudason, Francis, Han Chew

Squatting: Yam Tee and our guide Ahmad

1st Tahan Expedition, part 17...WE MADE HISTORY!

THE DAY THE 1st SINGAPOREANS CONQUERED GUNUNG TAHAN Saturday April 19th 1969

For the final ascent of Gunung Tahan peak we left all our gears and haversacks in our 2 tents. We only brought along our water bottles and the 2 cameras. No need for parangs and ropes as the vegetation at this high altitude consisted mainly of shrubs and small trees. Before we moved off from our campsite, I suggested that we capture the whole group with our camera. There was a problem....who will snap the picture? I took out my camera, configured everything, and gently asked Ahmad, our guide, to have a "look" at the camera. He had never held one before let alone operate it. I got the guys together and again asked Ahmad to look into the camera. I was by his side coaching him. Then I said, " Boleh nampak semua?"[ Can you see everyone?]. He said yes. I showed him how to depress the button without shaking the camera and quickly ran to join our party. The result of Ahmad's 1st effort at photography is this unique colour photograph [ centre photo] of the 10 of us just before setting off for the peak. I think he deserved a 10/10 score wouldn't you agree? Almost perfect pic!
Even the mist of clouds drifting in the background were nicely captured. A dramatic pic.

From L to R: Standing - Tng Kim Guan, Tham Han Chew, Francis Lee, Twang Peck Ee, Louis Hwang, Tan Yam Tee, T Jesudason and Dick Yip.

Squatting- Balbir Singh and Tan Yeow Huat

In high spirits, we set off in a northerly direction crossing streams and spurs which rose steeply along the flanks of Gunung Gedong. The trail then continues to the ridge linking Gedong with Gunung Tahan. We traversed along the ridge and cut into a deep saddle and then before us was a fantasy-land of dense, low forest with all kinds of mosses, ferns, orchids and twisted trees. The ground was damp. The leaves on the trees and plants were wet with tiny glistening droplets of moisture. This place was truly magical. A perfect setting for gnomes and fairies, I remember thinking.

The final ascent was now before us.... a gentle, steady climb of about 350 metres to the summit. As we trudged along, without our heavy packs on our back, progress was fast. We climbed the last steady incline leading towards the structure at the top. That was the trig station set up to pin-point the highest point on the Malayan mainland.....G Tahan [ Top picture]

We reached the very peak of Tahan in the later morning of that day round about 10 am. It was a historic moment for all of us and for Singapore mountaineering and adventuring.

Bottom photo:

L to R: Top row - Twang, Francis, Dick

Bottom row - Yam Tee, Louis, Tng, Ahmad,Yeow Huat, Han Chew and Jesudason.

All the 6 NJC guys had their college emblem proudly displayed either on their shirts or jeans.

And me....I was the 1st Scout and warranted Scout Leader from Singapore to set foot on the peak. I carried and wore our Singapore Scout scarf proudly at the summit.

We felt a great sense of relief that we had together achieved what we had set out to do. It was a momentous

day in our life, that day.

With some time on our hand, we studied the landscape and simply enjoyed the geography around us. Then we spotted

what looked like diamonds among the rocks and in cracks on the rocky slopes. We had never before seen such "gems". This got us all excited.

[ More pics and story in next post]

1st Tahan Expedition,part 16....Seeing is Believing!

Thought I'd add one more photo before I do the post on the actual ascent to the peak of Tahan which will be featured with historic photos of the triumph. Would you believe it? Here we were higher than the drifting clouds around us, at an altitude of nearly 6000 ft and yet we looked like preparing for a beach swim! How come?

This photo showed us on the morning of Sat 19th April 1969, before the ascent of the peak. The temperature was soaring to the point where we could get sun-burnt. The other reason was we had endured a night of bitter cold sleeping in our tents on the exposed Padang plateau. But it was nevertheless a most memorable experience, never to be forgotten. So in a way, we welcomed the sun to warm us up a little after the previous night's cold while we got ready for the last leg of our ascent. That portion will take about 2 hours.

L to R: Francis, Dick Yip[me], Yam Tee, Balbir and Yeow Huat.

In my right hand I was holding a plastic Tupperware box. That box was very important as it contained all the medication, pills and tablets that I had described in my earlier posts. It was my duty as Chief medic to dispense the various kinds of tablets and pills to all ten of us in the morning, after breakfast. Looking back at all the happy and smiling faces, all in good health and peak condition, I guess I must have discharged my duties well.

1st Tahan Expedition,part 15....More Padang Memories!

This was after breakfast on the early morning of Day 5, Saturday 19th April 1969. Want to know why we were all topless? Nothing sleazy going on. We all got up very early before sunrise. It was really cold up there in the exposed plateau of Padang. But as soon as the sun shone its face at us, without much cloud cover, with no canopy over our heads, the heat rose super fast...causing us to perspire a lot. We did not want to get overheated before we set off for the peak, a little while later. That was the tent the 5 of us slept in....and in that order too.

L to R:
Dick [me], Francis, Yeow Huat, Yam Tee and Twang.
Bottom Pic:

The other tent members from L to R:

Jesudasen, Louis, Balbir, Ahmad [our guide] and Tng. Squatting: Han Chew
Ahmad had his own tent.

Here is another interesting piece of nostalgia. Look closely at the top photo. Can you see me holding something in my right hand? Know what that is? It is a knife. Yes, a knife but no ordinary knife, mind you. That is a BOWIE knife. For readers who do not know anything about the history of this particular type of knife. Perhaps you may recall the story of Davy Crockett and the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, Texas. All 185 men, led by famous mountain men and freedom fighters such as Davy Crockett, William Travis, Capt Dickenson and Jim Bowie defended the fort to the last men, against a vastly superior force of 5000 Mexicans led by Gen Santa Anna. They all died....including Jim Bowie, who was famous for both his knife fights and the highly regarded knife that he wielded....the Bowie knife, named after him.
It is a very solid, firm, sharp knife with a blade that is almost half a cm thick. Unlike, the flimsy scout knife usually made of cast iron[ my scout pals and I have broken many in our time], this Bowie is of solid steel.
This treasured knife is still with me today.

1st Tahan Expedition,part 14....the 3 wise men of Padang

This 4 decade old colour photo showed the 3 of us, from L to R, Balbir Singh, Dick Yip[ me] and Twang Peck Ee looking like 3 wise men in the remote Padang plateau. Behind us, in the background, is the Tahan ridge. We were looking at the beautiful setting sun far to the horizon in the west. This picture was taken on the 4th Day of actual climb...April 18th 1969. We had made remarkable progress since we started off from Kuala Tahan Hqrs....as trailblazers. It was a tremendous blessing that we managed to arrive at this Padang plateau, set up camp, recover from our most exhausting efforts, and be able to sit down in relative peace and tranquility to enjoy the sheer, raw beauty and splendour of nature in the mountains.
More importantly, having arrived at this place Padang, in good time and with all our equipment in order and with no serious injuries or illness to worry about, we were supremely confident that our ultimate objective....conquest of Tahan peak, will be accomplished the next morning.
We had time on our hand to enjoy and study the landscape of the Padang campsite that evening.

1st Tahan Expedition, part 13...Sweet Memories of Padang camp

Some photographs that will forever rekindle the sweet and nostalgic memories of our unique
experience camping at Padang, under the shadow of Gunung Tahan...in the background.

Photo:

This was early dawn on the 5th Day, April 19th 1969. Breakfast was cooked in our curry pot sitting atop the Bluet gas cooker. A clear picture of our makeshift tent set-up on right. Vegetation was sparse. All in high spirits enjoying a joke or two. The peak of Tahan is above a standing Francis, nearest to our tent.

L to R:

Balbir(standing), me[Dick], Tng, Han Chew all seated, Yeow Huat( standing), Twang(seated), Yam Tee(standing), Louis(seated and eating from mess tin)
and Francis (standing). Jesudasen was the picture-taker.
The grounds at Padang were soft and soggy in parts. There were small streams that contain brownish water around our campsite. Though the water was brownish due to the peaty soil conditions, it was pure and clean. The air was the freshest we've experienced thus far. In the early morning, the descending mists came upon us with the peculiar fragrance of the trees and plants that were all around us on the mountain slopes and the valleys. It was a most welcoming kind of fragrance to be enveloped by while we ate our breakfast.
The previous night was cold. I remember the howling winds blowing across the flat plateau, making our tents flapped. This campsite, so high up in the Tahan mountain range, made us feel very secure. No humans around. No wild animals did we see . There were birds. Definitely no signs of human civilisation. We were in such a remote area and at that time higher than anyone else, that night, in West Malaysia.

That night we truly enjoyed cooking and having our dinner under the most beautiful night sky I have ever seen. There were literally "millions of stars" up there. Being a trained scout and then still a scouter of the 6th Arrow Scout Group, Victoria School, I was familiar with star-gazing and could clearly point out the Southern Cross and the Orion cluster, amongst others , to our party.

The night sky above us was truly like a magical fairyland of lights. I remember singing this campfire song up there...without my ukelele though............

" There's a million stars a gleaming

And a crescent's over there

There's a billy can a steaming

Smell of supper in the air

There's a log fire burning brightly

Though the night air may be damp

And our hearts are singing lightly

For we Tahanners are in camp "

ps: Now whenever you read about or hear about the term"Tahanners", you need not
have to guess about its origin....for it was 1st sung right up there at Camp Padang on
the starry,starry night of Friday, April 18th 1969.... the eve of our historic ascent of
G Tahan.

1st Tahan Expedition, part 12....Our 1st Sighting of G Tahan

DAY 4 of ACTUAL CLIMB - Friday, April 18th 1969.

Wray's Camp to Padang

Photo Top: This was me next to our tent with G Tahan in the background.

Everyone had removed his haversack, after overcoming 2 very tough, steep peaks....Gunung Pankin [1463m ] and Gunung Tangga Lima Belas [1539m] and this one we were having a major rest on, Gunung Reskit. These 3 peaks are on a ridge-crest known as Skeat's Ridge...named after William Skeat ,who in 1899 reached this point but failed to progress further in an early Tahan attempt.

The tree[next to Tng] with twisted deep-furrowed

trunks and tiny elliptical leaves...is the easily recognisable gelam bukit or Leptospermum flavescens.

Photo : Left to right:

Ahmad ( our guide), Francis, Twang lying down, Me( Dick Yip), TngKG (standing), Balbir, Han Chew, Yeow Huat(hidden),Louis and Yam Tee. Picture -taker ....Jesudasen.

The climb from Wray's camp to our eventual objective Padang required much of our expertise, energy and teamwork. There is no water again up the ridge. We will not have any resupply of water until we reach our base camp at Padang. The challenge we faced was really tough. Climbing this ridge, going up and down, was very difficult made more so by certain sections having sheer verticals rock -face. Today, 4 decades later, ropes and in some sections, ladders are in place to aid climbers. We, as trail blazers, used our own ropes to traverse these difficult sections.

On this 4th Day of our expedition, after surviving our 1st cold night on a plateau, we were ready and looking forward to whatever was before us. Again Ahmad had reminded us to fill our water bottles to the brim. We lightened our load a little by burying another cache of food for the return leg. Then with Ahmad in the lead we started off early...heading for the next steep incline, northwards.

We were on top of Gunung Pankin after about an hour's hard climbing. The view from the top was most rewarding. After a short rest, we headed for our next peak ....Gunung Tangga Lima Belas. It took about an hour and a half to overcome this section which included a steep 30 ft high vertical drop, using only the roots of trees, shrubs and rock edges as foot and hand holds. It was precarious. One tiny slip and it may be Sayonara forever! On reaching the top of this peak we had another major rest, consumed water and looked at the vegetation around us. Everything seemed shorter...the trees,plants and shrubs.

Our spirits remained high as we trudged on towards Gunung Reskit, going down first before making the steep up slope climb towards the peak on the ridge. It took us more than an hour before we finally made it to the flat top of G Reskit [ See photo above]. It had taken us more than 4 hours since we started off from our campsite to arrive at this point. It was worth it though we were all very exhausted with aching bodies and constant thirst. The early morning cold had evaporated replaced by scorching heat on the exposed ridge. There was no more jungle canopy over our heads. The cool air provided some relief. In the photo, you can see that Tng had removed his shirt and was standing bare body. So too had I. Our shirts were all drenched in sweat. I removed mine as I wanted to feel the natural goodness of cool mountain air on my body.

" Berapa jauh lagi boleh-lah kita nampak G tahan?" [ how far more to go before we can sight Tahan?], we asked Ahmad. " Sudah dekat-lah! Lepas Gunung Gedong boleh nampak."[ Very near lah! After we reach G Gedong you can see Tahan]. We were obviously cheered and rejuvenated by his reply. We had no reasons not to believe him, his inimitable ways notwithstanding.

So we pushed on in perfect weather conditions, rather dry and hot, due more to our exertions, towards the next objective .....G Gedong at 1830 metres in altitude. But we had to again descend first to a steep gully and from there make an uphill climb towards a small summit called Gunung Tangga Dua Belas. The gully we traversed was sheltered and moist, with taller trees growing. On the ridge, it was more exposed and trees were shorter and stunted.

After about 2 solid hours of tough climbing we were on top of Gunung Gedong. And the view from there was simply spectacular and breathtaking! We took some snapshots but these, as well as many others from the expedition, did not survive the conditions[ the films were damaged on the return leg of the river crossing]. The vegetation here was quite similar to G Reskit, except perhaps, more rocky. We looked around at all the surrounding peaks and excitedly asked Ahmad which one is G Tahan. Much to our chagrin and temporary disappointment we couldn't see G Tahan even from that high point. We would need to descend first and come around to another angle or side of the mountain slope before G Tahan appears.

We wasted no time in moving off. It only took about half an hour to descend Gedong and while descending, Ahmad stopped all of us midway and pointed to a peak in the distance, " Itu-lah Gunung TAHAN !"[ That is G TAHAN! ]. We stared long and hard at it. It was actually along a ridge...the peak to the right. That 1st sighting of G TAHAN has remained indelible in my memory. Ahmad also pointed out our final destination....the Padang campsite, about 300 m below. There was actually no campsite back then in all the places we camped at. We were trailblazers, remember? We picked a spot to make our camp is a more apt description. For us, it was all virgin territory.

Down in the valley we went, feeling heady,relieved and exhilarated. Padang [ field] as the name implies, is situated in an undulating, open plateau that is quite huge in size. Ahmad led us to a spot where we set up camp. I looked around and saw rolling hills and valleys and other surrounding mountain peaks....reminding me of the story of Shangrila. We had made a most unexpected and remarkable progress in our mountain expedition. Originally, we had scheduled for a 6 day ascent and 4 day descent. Yet here we were, on the 4th Day, at the base of G Tahan.

Incredible! Unbelievable! And it was still early in the afternoon as we took our time to relax, set up camp and enjoy the sheer magic of that place. We had much time to joke and laugh after all that we had endured. We had arrived in one piece too...a Blessing.

Top Photo:

This was yours truly 40 years ago. The peak of G Tahan is at the top right of

the photo. I was standing beside our makeshift tent shelter at our final base

camp at Padang. This snapshot was taken in the early evening...as the cold winds started to blow and mists were gathering around our campsite. The altitude here is about 17oo metres. Evening temperatures can drop to about 10 degrees C while night time the temp can go as low as 4 degrees C. A good jacket is essential in these parts and I was wearing one.

[ story will continue in next post ]