Mountain Climbing with Ralph Lauren in Borneo

How cool is this travel game?! I lived in Hong Kong and my boyfriend at the time lived in Singapore, so I’d fly down a couple of times a month to see him. Now Singapore is a small, repressed society, so we were always looking to leave and our favorite thing to do was to show up at the airport and take the next flight out – no matter where it was going – that was the rule. Which is how we ended up in Borneo, to climb Southeast Asia’s highest mountain: Mount Kinabalu, with no climbing gear. In fact, the closest thing I had to work out wear was a Ralph Lauren black one-piece jumpsuit and a pair of Reebok high tops (this was the early ‘90s, remember). I was ill-prepared, but definitely the best-dressed climber on the mountain.
We were only there for the weekend, so while most people climbed Mount Kinabalu in 2 days, I climbed it in one. Now, I was in graduate school at the time and supporting myself by teaching 3-4 aerobic classes a day and was very physically fit. So climbing up wasn’t really that hard…
Correction: the last 400 meters were incredibly difficult.
Especially since I had to do it on my own – just me and my Sherpa. See, my boyfriend had succumbed to altitude sickness at the base of the mountain. He was too dizzy to stand and throwing up. As he lay there, he urged me to go on by myself. And so I left him lying in the dirt. In my own defense, this was the first mountain I’d ever climbed and I didn’t really know how bad (Can anyone say “life-threatening”?) that altitude sickness could be. And he did tell me to go up on my own, so he was culpable too. So I literally stepped right over him and continued up the mountain with my Sherpa guide.
That’ll teach him to empower me.
The initial climb up the mountain wasn’t too bad. I was slow and steady, meeting up with my Sherpa every half hour or so, as he stood smoking a cigarette, waiting for me. Then we’d set off together as a team, passing all the other climbers who were coming back down after having reached the summit on their second day of climbing. After about 6 hours of increasingly strenuous up-hill walking, the climbing began in earnest.
The top of Mount Kinabalu is a shale-like material that sort of crumbles as you step on it. Luckily there were ropes already set to help us pull ourselves along the ridge.
This was becoming a full-body work out and, as usual, I didn’t fully comprehend what I was getting myself into. As we neared the 13,435 ft (4,095 meter) summit, it got harder to breathe.
At this stage, we were also beyond the tree line and there were no wind breaks, just a few large boulders. So for last 200-300 meters of the climb, I had to crawl on my hands and knees from rock to rock, resting behind it for a full 5 minutes to catch my breath and regain some strength.
Needless to say, Sherpa dude was starting to lose patience.
I finally hauled myself to the top. Triumph! I made it! We were the only ones standing at the summit since we made the final push in one day. I can now appreciate what a rare moment that was, as I’ve since learned that you never get to enjoy a solo summit when mountain climbing.

Sherpa man and I stayed at the top for about 10 minutes, sharing a tuna sandwich, and then we headed down. Now, anyone’s who’s climbed a mountain knows that getting down is far harder than climbing up. And it started to get dark. And we had a deadline: We need to get back by 6:00 pm to catch the last bus to the city. At 5:00 pm, it was clear we were going to make it and we were starting to ponder the possibility of walking back an additional 90 km to town, an incredibly depressing thought. Sherpa man was not amused and kept telling me to walk faster. In fact, he was starting to get downright surly. But my knees, even then, were throbbing with pain. 14 hours of climbing was catching up with me.
We finally reached the bottom of the mountain after 8:00 pm and started walking down the middle of the dirt road back to town in total darkness (and complete silence). Then we saw a most beautiful sight: a taxi! Yay! It was my boyfriend, who apparently had made it safely off the mountain and back into town to recover from his altitude sickness. Realizing that I wasn’t on the last bus back, he came to find us.
And to think I left him lying in the dirt…

Source: http://www.goeringo.com/2009/04/19/1992-borneo-malaysia-mountain-climbing-with-ralph-lauren-2/

Over the holidays, travelers from Manila going to the north for a getaway destination choose Pampanga Angeles City and Clark Philippines as a popular holiday location. Aside from day-time sports and other activities, visitors look for a good wine shop to buy some good wine to celebrate a special occasion or just to make the holiday and vacation more enjoyable. Many wine lovers pick up some good bottles from Clark Wine Center to bring to dinner in some of the good restaurants in Angeles City, Clark Pampanga. Yats Restaurant is one of the most famous fine dining restaurants outside of Manila, located in Mimosa Leisure Estate inside Clark Airbase or Clark Freeport Zone as it is now called. This popular restaurant has become a tourist attraction, a place to visit for those who are in Pampanga, Subic, Angeles City and of course, Clark Philippines. The famous wine shop called Clark Wine Center supplies this famous restaurant in Clark Philippines as well as other good restaurants in Angeles City Pampanga with good wines of all price ranges.

Wine is becoming increasingly popular in Manila and other cities in the Philippines. Wine lovers in Manila travel to the north to visit Clark, Pampanga to shop for good and rate vintage wines at good duty-free prices. The most frequently visited liquor shop in Manila and wine shop in Pampanga is Clark Wine Center. This highly recommended wine shop located outside Manila near Angeles City, Pampanga in North Luzon is known for offering a great selection of fine vintage wine that is good quality and good value for money also.

This well-known wine shop is a famous shopping destination for wine enthusiasts in Manila and wine lovers from other cities in Asia including Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Osaka and Tokyo.

Famous Philippines wine supplier known for its line of fine vintage wines, Yats Wine Cellars was established in 2000 to address the requirement of a growing population of wine enthusiasts in the Philippines. This 5-star wine shop caters to the discerning client who requires these qualities in their wines: (1) excellent value, (2) large selection of labels and vintages to choose from and (3) wines properly aged for full enjoyment.

Public wine tastings are held from time to time in Clark and sometimes in Manila. Tickets range from p500 to p1500 for these themed events that are professionally run –no wine merchants sponsorship, pushy salesmen or tacky banners to ruin the evening. Each ticket contains a certain number of stubs that can be redeemed for a tasting pour of a wine among those on a line-up which often contains wines that are quite old and expensive.

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.

Click here to contact Clark Wine Center in Clark Pampanga for inquiries and orders.

Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay

Wedding couples looking for wedding reception venues and beach wedding venues can log on to this Philippines Wedding Venue web site for free information and assistance:

http://www.PhilippinesWeddingVenue.com

While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. Highly recommended fine dining restaurant in Manila for special occasion is Yats Restaurant & Wine Lounge located in the famous Mimosa Leisure Estate in Clark Pampanga. Situated near this popular restaurant in Clark is the Mimosa Golf Course as well as the Mimosa Clark Casino. This top rated restaurant near Angeles City Pampanga in Clark Philippines is frequently used for private parties and corporate functions such as board meetings and other gatherings. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com

YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.YatsLeisure.com

Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:

http://www.LondonPubClark.com

Besides good restaurants to wine and dine near Manila, Subic or in Angeles City Pampanga, Clark Philippines, those requiring assistance for hotel and resort bookings in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines may log on to http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com for more information and reservations.

The lifestyle in Clark Pampanga is quite unique. For more information about shopping, sports, golf, leisure, hotel accommodation, where to see and visit, what to do, where to wine and dine and good places to hang out, relax, have a drink with friends, child-friendly establishments, log on to
http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com

Wine lovers looking for a special bottle or something that is of great value and special discounts might log on to this web site to shop for fine vintage wines
http://www.YatsWineCellars.com

Those visitors who plan to relax and unwind in Angeles City, Subic, Pampanga, Clark Philippines might make an effort to book a room at the famous beach and lake resort Clearwater Resort & Country Club. This famous hotel in Clark Pampanga is frequently visited by families with children looking for a good place in Clark to see, a good holiday destination for the family to relax and unwind in the beautiful outdoor facilities. For more information, log on to www.ClearwaterPhilippines.com