An event that inspires me the most

This was one of the most memorable experiences and the boldest decisions I had ever made so far. On 30th September last year, I went on an unplanned trekking trip with my friend to Mount Batur, Bali, Indonesia. For me, it was my 21st birthday gift to myself. For my parents, it was probably their nightmares as I did not notify them about my impromptu trek. The trek up this active volcano took place in the middle of the night as we were trying to catch the sunrise. We started at around 4.30 a.m. and began our way up. Everywhere was pitch black and the only source of light was coming from our torch lights. The cold was biting and nasty, and the stone path was painful to walk on but the night sky made up for it; it was full of stars. I had yet to climb all the way up but I was feeling great at that point in time. However, nearing the top, I was climbing on all fours as the rocks were harder to reach. Slowly, the sky was lightening and my heart was beating in anticipation at the views that will greet me.

My first shot at 5.55 a.m!

It was truly amazing because opposite of us were Mount Agung and the famous Lake Batur. Both of them looked so huge from where I am standing. I was really overwhelmed.

And I had my sunrise shot at 6.15 a.m.!

My guide (Adi), my friend (Jia Li) and I

My guide led us to one of the craters (above). 

The trek down was scary as it was a 45 degree drop. It was a lot tougher because of the crumbling rocks, slippery sand and also there was the fear of falling down. I had lost count of how many times I slipped and fell hard on the rocks. But even then, the views on the way down were terrific, and never once did I regret trekking up the volcano.

The reason why I chose this event to write about was because of what I had said to myself when I managed to reach to the top of the volcano; 'If I can even get up here, I can do anything.' I am not a confident person so for me, the trek was a huge confidence boost as it showed me that I can complete the task on hand as long as I had set my mind to it. Not only that, it was also a journey of discovering, and pushing the limits of oneself. It was a really fulfilling trip.