KUALA LUMPUR, December 3 — One of the first things most mountain climbers do after reaching the summit is to plant a flag of their country.
A 42-year-old Sarawakian lady, however, took things to a whole new level by showcasing her tribe’s traditional costume when she reached the Annapurna Base Camp in the Himalayas.
Nancy Maria, a former Dewi Remaja contestant (a beauty contest organised by Remaja magazine) managed to climb up 4,130 metres representing her tribe, the Kayans.
Nancy and her husband Werry Lipi flew from Kuala Lumpur to Kathmandu, Nepal on November 25, and have since been documenting their expedition to the base camp on Facebook.
Once they reached Kathmandu, the husband and wife duo went on an eight-hour road journey to get to Pokhara, which is the gateway to the Annapurna circuit.
On November 27, they officially kicked off their hiking voyage and passed through multiple villages, rivers and breath-taking sceneries.
The duo then crossed over to Chomrong village on the fourth day and reached Sinuwa, which is the halfway mark for their hike.
The next day, they hiked up another 1,128 metres from Sinuwa to Deurali in the span of eight hours.
On Day 6, they finally reached the Annapurna Base Camp at 4,130 metres height.
To mark her achievement, Nancy braved the cold weather and donned her traditional clothes to pay tribute to the people of Kayan from Uma Kuman in Belaga, Sarawak.
After spending some time at the base camp, the couple have started descending back to Pokhara.
