The makings of an adventure

This is an excerpt of an actual phone conversation between HF and me:

Me: Timberland shoes at RM149. Can buy ar?

HF: That's cheap. Timberland shoes are usually between RM 300 - 500. Grab it.

Me: But what would I need a pair of Timberlands for?

HF: Well... I'm sure you'll find a need for it.

Me: Like what...?

HF: I dunno... Maybe you'll want to climb a mountain?

15 mins later

Me: It's me again. I think we have to look for a mountain to climb soon.

I was on my last errand when I saw the bunting: Timberland Warehouse Sale. My curiosity was piqued. Never mind that checks and plaids are not cuppa tea, or that hiking boots and lumberjack jackets are not my thang, I just gravitated to the sale venue.

What happened in the next 20 minutes is summed up by the phone conversation above. What happened thereafter will culminate in a snap decision and forking out of more money to climb Mount Kinabalu, flight tickets, accommodation etc. Yes, I saved some money on a pair of Timberlands only to pay more than I saved to climb a mountain.

But I'm taking all of this in good faith. Never mind that we're sedentary women managers whose only strenuous exercise is Bikram yoga twice a week. Never mind that we have membership / access to gyms to which we have never visited since the day we collected our membership / access cards. Never mind that we have not 'roughed it out' since school days and have gotten all too comfortable in our cocoons. We're going to climb a mountain and the highest one in South East Asia no less.

As if that's not enough, we're going via ferrata, which I hear, involves walking on iron rungs and ropes sticking out of the sheer cliff side of the mountain.

And the clincher? We're going white water rafting the day before. Woo-hoo! Bring it on!