Andrew Gaskell
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Gunung Mulu... A Memorable Experience

23/11/2016

14 Comments

 
Sarawak, Malaysia

What is it that drives a man to attempt something ridiculously crazy? Is it the possibility of failure that causes the enchantment of success to be that much more alluring? Is it the adrenaline rush that one might experience when pushing the boundaries physically and legally? Is it the prospect of losing oneself completely to the challenge, such that anything that happens outside the confines of one's immediate sensory perception becomes completely irrelevant? Does one need to lose oneself in order to find oneself?
​In any case, browsing the park brochures for potential activities at Gunung Mulu National Park, my eyes are drawn to the following:  "...the Summit climb is the greatest challenge that Mulu has to offer..." That seals it. This is the one. The trip "covers 24 kilometres and climbs to almost 2400 metres above sea level". The brochure goes on to detail the seriousness of an arduous guided four day trek. Rubbish. I'll do it in a quick daytrip. Fast and light. That's the key...
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Sneak Peak: View from Gunung Mulu Summit
Dear readership, as I continued to write about my preposterous misadventure, the word count mounted and I realised that the current blog format could not do the story justice. As such, I have decided to embark upon the ambitious task of writing a book. This is something I have never done before and will take some time to complete. If you are too impatient to wait for the story, feel free to quote me out of context and fabricate a whole lot of pretentious speculation about my thirteen day excursion.

​Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm my gratitude to all the people of Malaysia and Australia who have supported me throughout this absurd period in my life. In particular, the SAR participants: Police Inspector Gabriel and the Murudi Police Force, Marudi Bomba, Sarawak Forestry Corporation, Mr Hein and all the guides at Gunung Mulu National Park, the local communities of Mulu - particularly Batu Bungan and Long Iman, my good friends from Kampung Nyegol and of course Uncle Brian, my father and twin brother.​
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Team Cobra: Lex, Jerome & Mus from Kampung Nyegol with the twins
​Additionally, those who worked tirelessly behind the scenes including: Department of Foreign Affairs Australia, Honorary Australian Consul Kuching, Missing Persons Unit Australia and of course Master Administration Coordinator Aunty Rosemary.

A huge thankyou to the incredible people of Sarawak who have treated me with immeasurable generosity and kindness since my arrival in Sarawak at the beginning of August. I have a number of great Sarawakian friends who provided me with tremendous support in the aftermath of this insane ordeal.
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Typical Sarawakian hospitality demonstrated in Long Remirang (photo courtesy of Taufiq Razak)
And of course my friends and family back home in Australia from Tasmania, to Melbourne, to Sydney, to Brisbane, to Cairns. Your support has been overwhelming. I am truly a very lucky man to have such a loyal group of people behind me.​
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Mitch Carnes (an ardent Angelique Kerber fan) has been so tremendously supportive, it may be time to trade in the t-shirt for a limited edition "Andrew Gaskell SAR Mission" equivalent
​Nobody panic, my extremely serious articles will continue to be published on this blog next year. So please don't do anything silly before then - No running with scissors. Or feeding the cat blindfolded. Say no to suspicious looking men offering cheap lollipops. Don't eat unwashed fruit. Never look the armed hostage-taker directly in the eye and inform him that he is a bald, ugly, illiterate, repugnant freak with low self-esteem and serious mental health issues. Look both ways before crossing the road. Don't swim with crocodiles. Don't eat mouldy sandwiches. If the pavlova is green and hairy this Christmas, forget it. It's probably been sitting at the back of the fridge since the previous festive season.

On that note, do have yourself a Merry Christmas if it is your custom to celebrate the significant Christian holiday. If not, please have yourself a Merry Ordinary Day on the 25th of December.

Andrew Gaskell
​Lunatic, wanderer, general advocator of senselessness
14 Comments
Kibin link
24/11/2016 12:37:21

Does one need to lose oneself in order to find oneself?
- the Journey to self discovery. the Ibans have what we call the "Bejalai" or go walk about.. the journey to your becoming of age

Reply
Andrew Gaskell
24/11/2016 12:55:40

How interesting! Is this still common practice in rural areas today?

Reply
Kibin
24/11/2016 22:08:57

Yes. We still do.. But of a different form to suit the modern needs.. Going for further education, going to work abroad for example. To go gain knowledge and wisdom,

Walesy
24/11/2016 12:56:09

There are some more tracks opening up in the near future in Cairns next to the Blue and Red tracks. Not so perilous, but JD managed to 'lose' a Frenchman JB on the Blue track in preseason, remember. lol. All the best.

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Andrew Gaskell
24/11/2016 13:00:06

Haha Walesy, I remember it well... After an extensive SAR mission I think we found him next to the esky of beers. If memory serves correctly there weren't many left by the time we got there...

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Schuyler and Lindsay link
17/12/2016 22:10:07

I was about to pop some popcorn and settle in for the preposterously epic tale, but I suppose it'll have to wait. Don't leave us hanging on the book though! We're good for a couple pre-orders.

The 3-day pinnacles trek was fairly brutal and I'm told the Mulu summit is 4x harder... maybe more like 13x in your case? Definitely glad you're safe!!

Reply
Andrew Gaskell
18/12/2016 01:38:52

Haha, hi Schuyler and Lindsay! I'm working as fast as I can... probably at least 13x as hard...

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Schuyler and Lindsay
16/7/2020 01:04:09

Don't think we haven't forgotten!! lol

Fyza
1/5/2017 03:11:28

Hi,
Hope to hear your experience during the missing. What have you found and see in your journey?
I heard in local stories that there are Bunian/jinn (genie) that used to hide the jungle trekker, in their world dimension. I dont know bout you.
Hope you are fully recover now. Stay safe 😉

Reply
Andrew Gaskell
1/5/2017 08:31:05

Hi Fyza,
Thankyou for your comment. I am well recovered now and engrossed in writing about the experience. All will be revealed in my book. All the Best. Andrew.

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Rynn
10/10/2017 13:29:55

Andrew, please remind yourself that all the forest is not the same like other, even the local themself can get lost in their own forest. That the reason, even as a MULU GUIDE, me myself will bring accompany when i do my hike, just to prevent anything bad happen..

Reply
Andrew Gaskell
12/12/2017 10:16:42

Thanks Rynn. You are obviously a far wiser man than I.

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Widi Syahruddin link
22/3/2019 15:43:33

Please kindly give me permission to use your blog as a reference. Hopefully, this story can be used as an inspiration for my writing on Wattpad

Reply
DEVIL FROM INDO
15/7/2020 15:23:40

you are so noob !!

Reply



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    When his job expired in the middle of 2016, Andrew realised that he still had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. It was then that he decided to stop pretending to be normal and stop pretending to be a respectable citizen. He abruptly announced that he planned to embark on a journey beginning somewhere in Asia, heading in a generally westward direction, for an indefinite period of time.

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