It felt like hell along the way, but we made it to the top.
There's some hikers who know there's a long way to go And they're climbing the stairway to heaven When the get there they know they'll have sweat-soaked clothes But they'll gain the sweet views that they came for And they're climbing the stairway to heaven Someone claimed it's a thousand steps, but we couldn't be sure Because it seems no one has ever really counted As we climbed our way up the locals thought we must be nuts Because who goes that way if they don't have to Ooh, and it makes me wonder Ooh, and it makes me wonder There's a feeling I get, that seems like regret As my lungs they are crying for breathing In my thoughts I have said this makes me feel dead And I'm climbing these steps for the last time And it makes me wonder But then we make it to the top And see our town down there below And we can't help but let it show How glad we are that we did go We took each step and didn't stop And though the hike was very hard And we weren't moving very fast We were all for fun and fun for all We tripped on rocks but did not roll We were climbing the stairway to heaven (apologies to Led Zepplin and everyone who just read those butchered lyrics)
Alrighty then. Yesterday, our Friday group caught a Jeepney to Olongapo City and hiked back to Barretto by going up and over Kalaklan ridge using the path that has been dubbed “the stairway to heaven.” It’s been a long time since we’ve taken that route up and yesterday was a good reminder of why–it’s a tough bitch. I don’t know if it is really a thousand stair steps, but it was a 235-meter climb. But we got it done, and that brings with it a special sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Maybe for the last time.
And that was my daytime trip to heaven.
Last night I did attend the SOB at Whiskey Girl. I met one of the Whiskey Girl girls, and she joined me for a few drinks before the show.
I wound up not going to the Aftermath and made it a relatively early evening. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
And as we wind on down the road Our shadows taller than our soul There walks a lady we all know Who shines white light and wants to show How everything still turns to gold And if you listen very hard The tune will come to you at last When all are one and one is all To be a rock and not to roll And she's buying a stairway to Heaven
1. Gorgeous spider! Do you know what species it is?
2. In the picture captioned “Going down,” the girl in the foreground grew a second pair of eyes. I thought I was seeing things at first, but she really seems to have four eyes.
3. Your pulled-pork sandwich looks a lot better than the one I recently ate. In my case, the burger joint formed the pulled pork into a patty, then melted cheese around it to reinforce the patty’s shape. Weird. Yours looks the way such a sandwich is supposed to look.
4. Namsan’s main staircase has over 1100 steps. How does your Stairway to Heaven compare?
Kev,
1. No idea what kind of spider that might be. I’ve never seen one quite like it.
2. I had to go back and look again, but yeah, it almost looks like that under-eye face paint some athletes wear to minimize sunlight impact. Obviously, she wasn’t wearing any in the other pics, so it must have just been some weird shadow effect. I also didn’t realize the double entendre of a caption saying “going down” in a photo featuring a young woman.
3. Yeah, when I saw that picture of your recent pulled pork sandwich, I was thinking, what kind of meat is that? Didn’t realize it was melted cheese, but I don’t think I’ve ever had cheese on pulled pork, either. John definitely has the best-tasting pulled pork in town.
4. Namsan’s stairs were always challenging, but I don’t recall them feeling as never-ending as the ones on the Stairway to Heaven. Of course, I was younger back then, and it probably wasn’t as hot. Your mention of Namsan brings back a ton of nice memories, though.