Alright, so on the second day in Kota Kinabalu I decided to go to Mt. Kinabalu to do the climb. I decided to stay at a resort the night before, near Mt. Kinabalu so I wouldn't have to endure the bus ride the same day as my climb. So on Sunday, Vincent drove me to the bus stop so that I could go to my resort. So I get in this little van that will drive me to Mt. Kinabalu. The experience in the van was good. It reminded me of being in a third world country very much so. I say this mostly because the people in the van along with me weren't tourists and that was good. It was a lady with three kids. One of the kids had snot running down his nose and the one kid took a pee just outside the van. Why do I say this? I say it because I had compassion for them. I wanted to speak to them, but I didn't know Malay. I wish I did. Anyway, the family was beautiful, and I'm sure God saw them as beautiful...even when most people would just write them off.
So I took the van ride for 2 hours or so up mountains and around corners and roads without guide rails. Again, this trip was covered in a lot of prayer. Mostly when travelling :-) It was pretty much constant as well. So we get to kandansan where my resort is supposed to be, so the van drops me off and I ask "Kinabalu Pine Resort" and the driver kind of points off to the right. So I go to the right and go up this hill and don't find it. Mind you I'm in the country now and there aren't many people. So I stop by this nice looking place, and I see this guy and ask him about Kinabalu Pine Resort and he points from where I came from and then points down the road. So I walk about 500 meters down the road and find it. It's a beautiful place and I check in. Then the rest of the evening was pretty much restful. Dinner was included and was huge. I had crab soup, sweet and sour prawns, cashew chicken, and garlic celery. Mmm, it was so much food and soo good. Also had fresh sqeezed pineapple juice again.
So I slept the night there and then in the morning got a shuttle bus from there to the mountain. At the mountain I signed in, got my permit and got my guide. My guide's name was Bungin. He was a great guy. He was a smaller guy, but looked like he had climbed the mountain many times. He didn't know much English though which was a little hard. So we then get a shuttle bus to Timpohon Gate, the start of the trail up the mountain.
Then we hike up the mountain to the rest house about 3km shy of the peak. A little about the trail. The trail up the mountain is mostly comprised of stairs. Yes, 2500 according to one guide book. So it's a tough climb if you don't like stairs. Every km or so there is a rest area where you can sit and get some water and use the bathroom if you need to. Of course I stopped at most of these. But I did make it up to the lodge in about 4.5 hours. Which is quite good. We passed a lot of people. I give credit to my guide as he was always telling me to pass people. Ugh, I was so sweaty though and my clothes were disgusting. On the way up though, I did meet some really nice people. I met a group from a Christian church in Kota Kinabalu. They invited me to church, but I wouldn't be there another Sunday. Maybe if I'm ever in Kota Kinabalu again. The trail was fun as well because you would pass through different types of forest and clouds and such.
So I get to the top at about 1:30pm and realize I have till at least 7 to chill. So I change out of some of my sweaty clothes and go to hang out at Laban Rata. Laban Rata is the main lodging up on the mountain. Not where I was staying though, but there was a restaurant there, so I got some delicious Sabah coffee. I then hung out and talked to an English couple up there who has been touring SE Asia for the last few months. They are looking for TEFL teaching jobs though, so I told them I'd send them some info about teaching in Korea.
Anyway, I then have dinner up there and go to bed around 7pm. Yes, 7pm. It's already cloudy on the mountain and I realize I have to get up at 2am to start the hike to the top around 3am. So in the morning I trek down a bit to Laban Rata to have bfast and to meet bungin. We meet around 3 and start the hike up. Note...this hike up is in complete darkeness besides having a headlamp. So there is a line up the mountain of lights. It was quite amazing. There were probably a good 100 people hiking up that morning. Anyway, most people started at 2:30 in the morning. We started at 3, but began catching up to people, so like normal Bungin fasion, we passed them. The last 2km of the hike to the top are on pure granite. It was a clear morning so there wasn't any problem with weather. On the granite there is a rope that you can hold on to or follow. We just followed it as it's quicker that way. Parts of the trail in the morning were scary as it was complete darkness and you don't know how close you are to the edge. In reality we weren't too close, but we didn't know that. Stamina was key for this part as the last two km are killer as you just want to get to the top but don't know where it is. I swear my guide said 300 more meters and it turned out to be another km. Finally Bungin and I reach the peak in complete darkness and somehow we are the only ones up there. Did we pass everyone? Well, if nothing else, we were the only ones atop the 13,000+ ft peak. I got a few pictures and waited for the sunrise. Yes, I had to wait 45 minutes up there for it. We got to the top around 5am. It was cold though. I had my sweater on, a long sleeve shirt, my long john shirt, a beanie, and gloves and I was still cold.
It was soo worth it though when the sun came up. Everything came into light and it was mind blowing how beautiful everything was. Truly spectacular. Even at the top I couldn't help but thing how Amazing God is with creating things like he has. By the time the sun came up there were lots of other people up top with us.
So after about an hour and half up to Bungin and I take a few last pictures and then head back down the mountain. This part wasn't so bad. I get back to Gunting Lagadan and grab my bag and tell Bungin we'll do the last 6km down the mountain at 9. So at 9 we head back down. This part wasn't bad for the first 2km. Then the last 4km were killer. Going down so many steps kills your legs. And I was sweating and thought I'd get heat stroke or something. Luckily I didn't. But by the last km I just wanted to quit. But we kept pushing. We got down to the bottom by about 12:45 and the guy at the shuttle bus said we came down fast. Thanks Bungin :-D So I went back to the HQ and got a certificate that said I successfully climbed Mt. Kinabalu. After this I told myself I wouldn't do any more stairs or treks. You'll find out later that I lied.
So then I went to get a bus back to Kota Kinabalu and found one, then got back to the lodge sore and was welcomed by everyone at the lodge. Then in the evening I went with Najjif and Rahmat to the waterfront to see the sunset. It was a nice sunset. We also walked through the Philippino market to see crafts. Then after this we went to the fish market. Here there are tons of vendors grilling their fish. We find one vendor and we hit the jackpot. The fish here is sooooo cheap. We get a thing of tuna steak, some squid with squid roe in it, and stingray. Mmmm, it was so good. So we eat there, without silverwear which was great and talk to this couple that's sitting with us and he is a pilot for Malaysia Airlines. Nice couple. Then we went back to the Lodge and just chatted the rest of the night away which was great.
Also, I talked with Vincent about what to do the next day and he recommends the Rafflesia tour. It's one that he'll take us on and it's a cheap price. So Michelle and I end up telling him we'll go on it as the other two guys leave tomorrow.
More pictures below, now of the climb:
Mount Kinabalu Trip
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