There was once a princess who loves the outdoor adventures.

One day, she heard the townspeople talking about the legendary Bukit Tabur. She once so heard that Bukit Tabur was a mountain so high, so difficult, that no ordinary travelers dare travel alone without any hiking experience.

Feeling up for the challenge, she decided to take on the experience herself to testify the townspeople theory. True to her words, at the crack of dawn, the princess started hiking up the hills of the legendary Bukit Tabur by herself.

It was easy peasy at the beginning for the sporting princess. Many of the male travelers that walk in her path were blown away by her confidence, speed, and consistency to keep going. Even some of them couldn't catch up with her.

As the princess hiked higher and higher, the path became rockier and rockier. Soon, the princess found herself climbing through ravines, and steep terrains. Pushing herself above heaps of rocks, and griping firmly and surely to promising rocks that won't let her to fall to her death. The pathway to the peak of Bukit Tabur was getting more steeper and dangerous, but the princess kept going, unknowingly that she is now 30 feet high above the ground.

As she pulled herself over the edge of the 2nd cliff leading to the peak of Bukit Tabur, she stood up to finally catch her breath. The astonishing view of the city made the princess more or less weak in her knees, but it wasn't the view that is taking her breath away... It was the terrifying height that she was so afraid of, that she started stumbling to the nearest tree that she could grab.

No doubt that the princess love the outdoors, and the thrilling adventures that she could experience, but she also forgets that those thrilling adventures may also befall on to her own weaknesses-- heights.

 * * *

It was my first time hiking up to Bukit Tabur. No doubt the experience was really thrilling and breathtaking, I started to reflect on a few things during my 4-hour journey to the peak of Bukit Tabur. Similiarly, I was afraid of heights, like the princess, but it also reminded me a few things that I reflected on.

Of course, the beginning is easy for like most people. I was so excited that I rushed up the hill like a little kid going to a shopping mall.

A few peaks later, things get tough, but I still kept insisting to go on because I knew it was easy peasy for me. Few minutes later, I found myself 50feet above the ground and I went like.... shyt... what have I got myself into. I liked the idea of rock climbing, in fact I enjoy every single one of it. But I soon realize that the journey to the peak was really kanasai scary and I found myself holding so hard onto the trees, ropes, and hugging onto big boulders of rocks.

Making a leap of faith- away from your comfort zone

Being so attached to hugging boulders of rocks and clamping myself to tree brunches, there was one time where I was required to let go of a rock in order to get myself over to the other side of the cliff. I was super glad my experienced boyfriend was there to guide me, but me being me... I kept throwing doubting questions like:

"ARE YOU SURE?!"

"REALLY?!"

"YOU CONFIRM CHOP SIGN?!" (Yee Leong would be so proud of me using his patented word... But let's focus on me right now as I'm about to leap to my death...)

Boyfriend reassured me that it was gonna be okay.

"Grab my hands and let go of the rock," he said.

Let go of the rock.

LET. GO. OF. THE. ROCK.

I think I almost fainted when he said that, but of course, with the full amount of trust I had for him, I did let go of the rock and safely made it to the other side of the cliff.

Which taught me something:

Sometimes in life, that there are things we wish to have and achieve, but we're just to scared to take that leap of faith due to uncertainties and being afraid that things don't end up the way that it should the way before, taking us away from our safety and comfort zone. But the truth is, nothing will ever change if we never make that change. Sometimes, we have to have trusts in what we have that could take us to some place that we deserve to grow. Sometimes, it's okay to take that leap of faith.

There's No Turning Back

Of course making that terrifying leap of faith made me more reluctant to turn back, even when I saw a few travelers going back the same way they came up from. I was also actually quite tired after some time and I just wanted to go back and rest. Seeing the travelers walking back the same way they came from, really disheartens me to think to myself," Is this the right way that we're going? Why is everyone turning back?"

Sooner or later, I found out that actually, there was a roadblock (most likely the authorities put the yellow tape for security reasons). And again, my experience boyfriend reassured me that if we keep going, we will get back home soon. He questioned me whether I want to turn back and go back the same way we came in from. I outrightly said NO.

Which reminded me, the journey may be tired for some of us. Sometimes we wouldn't know how far that we've come, and sometimes we forget the challenges and difficulties that we've went through those journey. But when we look back on how far we've come, we'll realize we've already come a long way and we shouldn't waste our efforts now and quit. Thus, the only way is to keep moving forward.

And as I look back at the tracks that I've climbed and hiked so far, I realize that myself too.