Post by allegra on Sept 2, 2005 10:16:32 GMT 8
From the Karerista Egroups :
From: KYLE MIMAY <lithiumrocker2005@...>
Date: Thu Sep 1, 2005 8:16 pm
Subject: majayjay lithiumrocke...
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This frightful night took place at Majayjay, Laguna
If you're familiar with Taytay falls, the famous setting for the "Tabing-ilog"
show.. please warn your friends & loved ones to call off any plans of going to
this place for the meantime.
My friends & I have long been sourcing out places where we can unwind & just
spend time together... most of us were into nature trips so one of us organized
a trip to the famous waterfalls found in Laguna. We were lucky to be joined by
friends who have been mountaineers for 5 to 10 years already. They have joined
the Echo Challenge & several mountains trips accross the Philippines. Equipped
with all the mountaineering gears & utensils, we worried less about surviving
the night & the mountain climb that was bound before us.
It was a 2-hour trip from Manila & we just had to walk accross the mountain
trail to reach the campsite... as you enter the mountain tracks, the air becomes
crisp as you hear the gush of water coming from the mountain as it goes its way
down to the river. There was a flowing riverbed beside the trail that was so
clear you would feel like walking through the waters instead of the pebbly
track. There were already several campers as we reached the campsite a few hours
before lunchtime last Saturday. We chose a campsite that was a little farther
from the crowd that was building up surrounding the waterfalls. We know there
would be a lot of party & drinking around the vicinity of the falls during the
night and so we chose to camp a few feet away so that we could enjoy a peaceful
quality time among ourselves.
Being surrounded by mountains & lying a few steps away from the riverbanks, the
chill of the night called for drinking session among friends who gathered around
for a night of bonfire & storytelling. After dinner, we had a few rounds of
vodka & gin to warm us up for the night. We had to hike a few meters to get to
the falls & back to our camp so it was quite a tiring day for most of us. Some
of us went to bed, or tent rather, early & i was one of those.
At around midnight, one of my friends came to our tent waking us up...
She whispered, "kumuha kayo ng bato, hawakan nyo lang... may nangyayare.." she
seemed calm but knowing her, i knew she was already very nervous. There were
three of us in our tent that she woke up... she instructed us to turn off our
cellphones coz we were being robbed... that the robber was holding one of our
friends, sticking a knife at her. I could hear shouting voices & somebody crying
hysterically outside. Our tent was a few yards away from where the crime has
been happening. We can only imagine the horror of the night that was befalling
us from outside our tent. We immediately ruffled into our bags, turned off our
phones & held on to our valuables. Somebody outside our tent immediately warned
us, "patayin niyo yang mga cellphones na yan! Pag yan nakita nila..". We
recognized the voice as one of our friends hiding behind our tent outside. We
tried to minimize our voices as we tried to figure out whether we should lock up
our tent or run to the next camp outside. I can only peek
a little & noticed how the full moon was the only light that illuminated the
commotion at our campsite. I tried with all my might to be calm & maintain my
presence of mind.. i grabbed some money from my wallet & so did my friends.. we
reached it out to my other friend that had also appeared in front of our tent..
we told him to give it to the robber so that no one would get hurt.. they said
he was asking for P5000, which we didn't really have at that time... he tried to
bargain down to P2500.. we said we really didn't have the money... our
mountaineer friends offered their cook sets & other stuff that could be
acceptable by the robber.. we just wanted him to take off & leave nobody hurt..
he said he had a gun and that we were being surrounded by his other companions..
he asked for a watch that he said he saw being worn by Kyle, our mountaineer
friend.. kyle ran to our tent giving us her watch while crying..."itago niyo 'to
please!".. We heard our victim friend shout, "Kyle, come
back.. he's gonna kill me!! Please come back!" Kyle was then crying
desperately, "bakit ako?!". We told her to calm down & just give the watch to
get this over with... so no one would get hurt.. crying frantically, she gave up
her watch to John, the one who came to reach out the money & watch to the
robber. Kyle had already disappeared from behind our tent even as we were toning
down our voices calling her back.. We then zipped down our tent & made no extra
movements inside so that we would not catch any more attention in case there
were still other robbers watching us from the mountains.. we kept silent, held
on to each other & prayed together as our mountaineer friend continued to
negotiate with the robber, as we heard from inside the tent.
A little later, to our surprise, somebody unzipped our tent! it was Kuya Mac,
the one negotiating with the robber. He searched for Kyle inside our tent..
"Kyle! Nasan si Kyle?" He told us to calm down & that everything would be
settled soon.. he kept asking for Kyle but we told him that she took off..
Our other friend, the one hiding outside our tent, suddenly whispered.. "ayan
na, may paparating na mga lalaki... papunta sila dito.. ang dami nila...ayan na
pababa na sila!" I held on tight to my rosary.. we all cuddled in each other's
arms trying to calm down one another.. suddenly, there were shouting & somebody
had already hit kuya mac from behind.. there were several armed men.. they kept
shouting, "lumabas kayo jan!" I told myself then, this was it for all of us..
may God be with us... as the men tried to rummage through our tent, yelling at
us.. we noticed that they weren't really trying to rob us.. they were trying to
rescue us.. & they thought that kuya mac was one of the robbers that's why they
hit him.. the real robber had already gone away.. this was our rescue team.. our
friends from the other campsite.
We then went outside & checked if everybody was ok.. still Kyle was missing..
the rescuers came from the other campsite.. the ones surrounding the waterfalls.
Most of them were still up partying that's why they didn't notice that something
bad has already happened on the nearby camp. A stony riverbed separated their
camp from us & we were out of sight once the lights are out due to the shade of
the trees. Kyle had ran to them to ask for help. She was so brave! We gathered
only the important things that we could carry & came with the men to the other
camp.
What had happened was that the robber had appeared from behind while our friends
were still drinking outside, gathered around a small lamplight. The brightness
of the lamp blinded them from seeing through the dark parts of the surroudings.
One of our friends was already saying while they were still drinking na "kanina
pa may daan ng daan.." but they thought that she was only mocking the rest,
trying to scare them. The man had grabbed our victim friend, & let out a plastic
saying that he needs P5000 & we could all chip in & put it in the plastic... &
that's when time had suddenly stopped for all of us.
Please, if you have friends who are into hiking, send this mail or advise them
to avoid the areas of Laguna for we believe that our robber is only a resident
of the area. We suspected that he could also be a visitor from Lucban or
Batangas or other nearby provinces because of his accent/"punto".
I had no regrets of visiting the Taytay falls... it was a once in a lifetime
experience to be in one with nature & see how a rainbow forms when the water
hits the river after the rain.. to be able to drink water straight from the
mountains & not having to worry about the safety of drinking it. Just be aware
that when you are in these places where you can be nostalgic because of some
scene that you've watched on screen, never forget that you still live in the
real world & life is not always like the shows that you see on TV & movies.
Jorj Soriano
Citibank, N.A.
From: KYLE MIMAY <lithiumrocker2005@...>
Date: Thu Sep 1, 2005 8:16 pm
Subject: majayjay lithiumrocke...
Offline
Send Email
This frightful night took place at Majayjay, Laguna
If you're familiar with Taytay falls, the famous setting for the "Tabing-ilog"
show.. please warn your friends & loved ones to call off any plans of going to
this place for the meantime.
My friends & I have long been sourcing out places where we can unwind & just
spend time together... most of us were into nature trips so one of us organized
a trip to the famous waterfalls found in Laguna. We were lucky to be joined by
friends who have been mountaineers for 5 to 10 years already. They have joined
the Echo Challenge & several mountains trips accross the Philippines. Equipped
with all the mountaineering gears & utensils, we worried less about surviving
the night & the mountain climb that was bound before us.
It was a 2-hour trip from Manila & we just had to walk accross the mountain
trail to reach the campsite... as you enter the mountain tracks, the air becomes
crisp as you hear the gush of water coming from the mountain as it goes its way
down to the river. There was a flowing riverbed beside the trail that was so
clear you would feel like walking through the waters instead of the pebbly
track. There were already several campers as we reached the campsite a few hours
before lunchtime last Saturday. We chose a campsite that was a little farther
from the crowd that was building up surrounding the waterfalls. We know there
would be a lot of party & drinking around the vicinity of the falls during the
night and so we chose to camp a few feet away so that we could enjoy a peaceful
quality time among ourselves.
Being surrounded by mountains & lying a few steps away from the riverbanks, the
chill of the night called for drinking session among friends who gathered around
for a night of bonfire & storytelling. After dinner, we had a few rounds of
vodka & gin to warm us up for the night. We had to hike a few meters to get to
the falls & back to our camp so it was quite a tiring day for most of us. Some
of us went to bed, or tent rather, early & i was one of those.
At around midnight, one of my friends came to our tent waking us up...
She whispered, "kumuha kayo ng bato, hawakan nyo lang... may nangyayare.." she
seemed calm but knowing her, i knew she was already very nervous. There were
three of us in our tent that she woke up... she instructed us to turn off our
cellphones coz we were being robbed... that the robber was holding one of our
friends, sticking a knife at her. I could hear shouting voices & somebody crying
hysterically outside. Our tent was a few yards away from where the crime has
been happening. We can only imagine the horror of the night that was befalling
us from outside our tent. We immediately ruffled into our bags, turned off our
phones & held on to our valuables. Somebody outside our tent immediately warned
us, "patayin niyo yang mga cellphones na yan! Pag yan nakita nila..". We
recognized the voice as one of our friends hiding behind our tent outside. We
tried to minimize our voices as we tried to figure out whether we should lock up
our tent or run to the next camp outside. I can only peek
a little & noticed how the full moon was the only light that illuminated the
commotion at our campsite. I tried with all my might to be calm & maintain my
presence of mind.. i grabbed some money from my wallet & so did my friends.. we
reached it out to my other friend that had also appeared in front of our tent..
we told him to give it to the robber so that no one would get hurt.. they said
he was asking for P5000, which we didn't really have at that time... he tried to
bargain down to P2500.. we said we really didn't have the money... our
mountaineer friends offered their cook sets & other stuff that could be
acceptable by the robber.. we just wanted him to take off & leave nobody hurt..
he said he had a gun and that we were being surrounded by his other companions..
he asked for a watch that he said he saw being worn by Kyle, our mountaineer
friend.. kyle ran to our tent giving us her watch while crying..."itago niyo 'to
please!".. We heard our victim friend shout, "Kyle, come
back.. he's gonna kill me!! Please come back!" Kyle was then crying
desperately, "bakit ako?!". We told her to calm down & just give the watch to
get this over with... so no one would get hurt.. crying frantically, she gave up
her watch to John, the one who came to reach out the money & watch to the
robber. Kyle had already disappeared from behind our tent even as we were toning
down our voices calling her back.. We then zipped down our tent & made no extra
movements inside so that we would not catch any more attention in case there
were still other robbers watching us from the mountains.. we kept silent, held
on to each other & prayed together as our mountaineer friend continued to
negotiate with the robber, as we heard from inside the tent.
A little later, to our surprise, somebody unzipped our tent! it was Kuya Mac,
the one negotiating with the robber. He searched for Kyle inside our tent..
"Kyle! Nasan si Kyle?" He told us to calm down & that everything would be
settled soon.. he kept asking for Kyle but we told him that she took off..
Our other friend, the one hiding outside our tent, suddenly whispered.. "ayan
na, may paparating na mga lalaki... papunta sila dito.. ang dami nila...ayan na
pababa na sila!" I held on tight to my rosary.. we all cuddled in each other's
arms trying to calm down one another.. suddenly, there were shouting & somebody
had already hit kuya mac from behind.. there were several armed men.. they kept
shouting, "lumabas kayo jan!" I told myself then, this was it for all of us..
may God be with us... as the men tried to rummage through our tent, yelling at
us.. we noticed that they weren't really trying to rob us.. they were trying to
rescue us.. & they thought that kuya mac was one of the robbers that's why they
hit him.. the real robber had already gone away.. this was our rescue team.. our
friends from the other campsite.
We then went outside & checked if everybody was ok.. still Kyle was missing..
the rescuers came from the other campsite.. the ones surrounding the waterfalls.
Most of them were still up partying that's why they didn't notice that something
bad has already happened on the nearby camp. A stony riverbed separated their
camp from us & we were out of sight once the lights are out due to the shade of
the trees. Kyle had ran to them to ask for help. She was so brave! We gathered
only the important things that we could carry & came with the men to the other
camp.
What had happened was that the robber had appeared from behind while our friends
were still drinking outside, gathered around a small lamplight. The brightness
of the lamp blinded them from seeing through the dark parts of the surroudings.
One of our friends was already saying while they were still drinking na "kanina
pa may daan ng daan.." but they thought that she was only mocking the rest,
trying to scare them. The man had grabbed our victim friend, & let out a plastic
saying that he needs P5000 & we could all chip in & put it in the plastic... &
that's when time had suddenly stopped for all of us.
Please, if you have friends who are into hiking, send this mail or advise them
to avoid the areas of Laguna for we believe that our robber is only a resident
of the area. We suspected that he could also be a visitor from Lucban or
Batangas or other nearby provinces because of his accent/"punto".
I had no regrets of visiting the Taytay falls... it was a once in a lifetime
experience to be in one with nature & see how a rainbow forms when the water
hits the river after the rain.. to be able to drink water straight from the
mountains & not having to worry about the safety of drinking it. Just be aware
that when you are in these places where you can be nostalgic because of some
scene that you've watched on screen, never forget that you still live in the
real world & life is not always like the shows that you see on TV & movies.
Jorj Soriano
Citibank, N.A.