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Tuesday, Jan 11, 2011
Slept until 9am and then Lesly and I headed down to the bus stop. We rode a bus up the mountains adjacent to the city and were immediately in a whole new environment. The hard grey buildings transformed into soft green foliage. We walked up in what can be best described as a thick jungle. I felt rather intoxicated from the scenery, or it might have been from the beer I had before leaving the apartment. Either way, the effect was nice.
Soon we were on the paths of Grass Mountain. The heavy mist made it impossible to see far, but that only enhanced the effect. It was like being in a movie. We climbed the stone path higher and higher.
Since time was pressing, Lesly wanted to head back down. I opted to jog on upwards for a little bit just to see more of the sights. I said I'd run back down.
I was quite excited about being on this mountain, so I ran pretty fast up and the journey was well worth it. I finally reached the part where the mountain appears to be on fire. The "smoke" just pours out of the ground in many places. Right on the edge of the path, a slow steady stream of hot vapor was escaping the earth. I had to feel it so I took off my glove and placed my hand over it.
Fortunately, it was a very mild burn. But yeah, it's hot!
I wanted to ascend more. It was just such a wild adventure. The scenery wasn't changing drastically, but it was still so invigorating to discover what was just a little farther up the stone steps. However, I knew I had to return back. I started running back down the mountain.
It probably sounds a little dangerous, which might be because the steps were all wet with morning dew and the mountain cloud mist. No matter. I was very careful. Soon, I caught up with Lesly and the bus arrived about 8 minutes later. Nice timing since they only come every 30-40 minutes. We rode back into town.
Back at the apartment, I showered and then rested, and in time, we all left for our dinner at the hot pot place. This was a place we had visited the year prior. I remembered it well. Reservations are needed as it's quite popular. A lot of the items are "all you can eat," so I went all out this time. I mean within reason that is.
But I ate a lot, and then there was free beer, so I had 2.5 glasses. And we have to finish with ice cream cones. Can't turn that down. (I had two small ones.) We were stuffed when it was all done.
Forewarning: the next paragraph contains information on natural human functions.
Coming home, my digestive tract was not pleased. It just wasn't used to a lot of food. I needed several pit-stops on the way home. Luckily, the MRT station had them at each stop. The challenging part was that they only had the Eastern version, where there's...well, no toilet. Just a small smattering of porcelain in a very simple design. What was funny is that they were pretty nice--I mean clean and fairly new. What I don't get is that if you're gonna buy new toilets, why not buy the modern kind? Perhaps people just prefer the older method or something. To me, it's so awkward. I mean, you can't sit down. Most of the time, this is a moot point. But like I said, my tract was in crisis mode. In short, I got to try the Eastern method. Make sure you have strong legs if you attempt at...well, not at home I would surmise.
Back at home, the others crashed and I watched some football. It's nice to view the NFL even when you're thousands of miles from home.