4 posts tagged “kinabalu”

Day 1
we left at 11am to get to Senai airport in view of the delays at the checkpoint. surprisingly, traffic was smooth and we went through the Singapore customs in no time. the Malaysian customs was another story - had to wait in line for over 1 hour in the poorly ventilated hall. our queue was almost stagnant as the officer was processing the passports very slowly. it finally progressed after another staff took over her duties. after getting into Malaysia, we boarded the wrong bus that took us to Larkin instead of Kotaraya. well, it turned out ok because there was a bus from Larkin to Senai too.

Senai airport doesn't have much for us to do except to eat while waiting for departure time. hmm, I feel that Airasia is a much better budget airline than Tiger or Jetstar. anyway, we arrived ahead of schedule and reached our hostel at 9pm.

Day 2
we woke up at 5:30am and after a hurried breakfast of instant cup noodles, we were picked up in a cab to Mt Kinabalu park headquarters at 6:15am. the journey was supposed to take 2h but probably because we started early and there's not much traffic, we reached the park at 7:30am.

after arranging our climbing permits, met our guide who is also our porter, we boarded the van that took us to Timpohon gate which marks the start of the climb. I'm so glad that I asked for the porter and bought the walking stick. the stick really helps a lot and I don't think I need an extra load on my back during the strenuous climb. Guy was carrying his pack all the way though...poor thing.

and so, we began the climb at 8:30am and man, it was really tiring. it started raining after we climbed for about 2+ hours and we realised that our jackets were not waterproof so we were wet throughout the climb. it just rained and rained and it was all muddy and slippery. finally, we reached the Laban Rata resthouse at about 3pm. there's a 0.5km marker on the track and it seems to be that every 0.5km is doubled to 1km over there!

6.5hours of climbing up stairs (mostly at the beginning) and then rocks where you have to find places to step on...it's exhausting.

we checked into our room which has 4 bunk beds. a couple from Penang arrived at about 6pm and they were on the Mesilau track :O after showering, eating and packing our stuff for the summit climb, we went to sleep. Guy was having a bad headache but luckily, it got better after he took some panadol in the night. for me, sleep eluded me and I wondered if I slept at all when we woke up at 1am.

Day 3
we are supposed to start climbing at 2:30am and reach the summit at 5:30am. even with our headlamps, it's difficult to climb in the dark and moreover, I'm already so tired. I was letting groups of people pass by while resting and panting. I think the low oxygen at the altitude doesn't help too. some parts of the trail, we had to pull ourselves up using the rope as the incline was very steep. the rope is stable but it moves because people above and below you are using it so it tends to swings a bit. there was one time when it swang and I hit my elbow on a rock surface, luckily I got away with minor abrasion. there was 1 part which is like a ledge and that was quite scary because there's not much places to gain a foothold.

finally, we reached the summit at 7am. I almost wanted to give up...it was so near yet so far. distances are tripled here if they were doubled earlier on. before the trip, I intended to take more pictures during the climb but in the end I didn't because my hands were cold and wet in the gloves (not waterproof again!) and I am too exhausted to do anything else except to move forward.

then began the descent - the parts where you had to pull yourself up using the rope became a huge challenge while going down. I wanted to slide myself down but even then, it is difficult to find a place to break the slide. my arms were also aching from holding on to the rope. it's really difficult...I can't describe it here. the sun was also shining bright and I must have got sun burnt during this descent.

we reached the resthouse at 12:30pm and the guide said we have to descend in an hour's time and we need to make haste because it will get dark. so I became rather stressed :S

shall not go into details but the descent seemed neverending. we got back to Timpohon gate at 6pm and I could hardly walk. as before, we were wet and cold from the rain. the guide was holding my hand for most parts as otherwise, I was moving really slowly and afraid of slipping. our guide is only 17 years old and he was wearing a torn pair of converse shoes to climb! he said it's his 1st time as a guide although he had been a porter for quite long...so along the way, other guides were telling him to lend us a hand (I think) such as pulling me over some difficult parts.

oh yea, my neck was also aching from constantly looking down at the track too. :S

we met our cab driver and reached our hostel at about 8+ pm. he was waiting for us since the afternoon and hence, we had to pay an extra 50RM surcharge for that too. when I got back, I was feeling nauseous and realised I'm starved. luckily we still had cup noodles left over and I felt much better after eating.

Day 4
we had thought of going for the padas white water rafting but we learnt that it was closed due to mudslide and something about a road had to be repaired. anyway, we visited some shopping malls but nothing interesting there. oh, we caught a movie that costs just 11RM for 2 tickets...so cheap! :D

~~
it's a very difficult climb and I have no idea why websites and people tell you that it's not very difficult and anyone of good fitness level can do it. well, I think it's a different type of fitness from running; I do see a lot of middle-aged folks and young children passing me by.

my thighs are still aching and I've fallen sick after getting back to Singapore. I still think that eating KFC zinger was the cause of my illness - too heaty for me. still recovering and unfit for work...fever just won't go away!

anyway, if you are going to attempt to climb, Guy's advise is to not go..haha. my advise as follows:
1. train very hard - go bukit timah hill and do a few loops at one go. you are going to be climbing 5-6 hours with only short rests in between
2. waterproof jacket / raincoat
3. raincover for bag
4. waterproof shoes - you are going to be stepping into mud most of the time and you won't have energy to think of how to avoid that
5. waterproof gloves
6. good headlamp
7. buy the walking stick (3RM at Timpohon gate)
8. opt for a porter - no point adding to your tiredness by carrying an extra 5-6kg on your back. it costs 7RM per kg but tip as you deem

photos on my flickr...

we started playing maplestory again! kekeke. such a drag to start all over but the game is still cute and fun, and well, time consuming too. moreover, I "spoilt" my magician character and had to re-start over...such is the game perfectionist in him... :S

it's 1 more month to climb KK and I'm extremely worried, to tell the truth. 2 weeks back we went to bukit timah hill and train (read: train me), I ended up with sore thighs the entire week and he felt nothing. that's a worrying situation...I wonder how I can make it up to the laban rata resthouse and then, up to low's peak. *SIGH* and, there's not much time to train - was not well over the weekend so didn't go climb. my thighs are super weak~~

and over the weekend, the travel agency emailed and said they booked us on the wrong date for the mountain resthouse!! that was so frustrating because I booked it more than 6 months back. anyway, we can't do anything about it and have to accept the modified plan otherwise, we have to stay in the non-heated accomodation!

we arrive in KK late evening and stay 1 night at a hostel. then the driver will pick us up at 6am and drive us to kinabalu park (takes about 2h) and then we'll start the climb after arranging permits etc. after the climb, we'll stay at the park for a night and there's a guided tour the next day - I wonder if I can still walk then! the original plan was that after picking us up from the city, we stay at the park for a night and climb the next morning. this is better and would allow us to have a good rest before the climb and not be in such a rush...*SIGH*

I did go watch sodagreen over the weekend. glad that I got there just in time for their performance at botanic gardens on sat - gees, I had no idea that the gardens is so huge and wow, there are so many people there having picnics. I don't think I ever had a proper picnic before but what a chore to prepare food and then make our way to a park. hmm, I think the heat will get to me to...perspire, perspire..argh~~ can I make my sweat glands less active?!

yesterday, we went to campers corner to get some gear for the kinabalu trek. got myself a pair of montrail hiking boots at $150 - the sales assistant was telling us that a trail shoe would be adequate but I listened to my bro's advice to get a pair of boots. in early dec, my bro got a discounted pair and was very happy with its performance so he asked me to get the ladies one. all the boots on display are in the range of about $300 (even the pair of trailers I tried were retailing at $250!) but when I said that I wanted boots, the assistant brought out a pair from underneath and it's the same model that my bro got - the discounted one whose retail price was about $280.

despite some research on climbing mt kinabalu, opinions are still varied - some say it's not that difficult, some say it's not easy...I'm worried but most of all, I hope the weather conditions work out for us when we go there.

besides the hiking boots, I got myself a polypropylene top from Everwarm at $38. wanted to get the bottom as well but they have no more stock for medium size except for the one in pink stripes - and they are not going to bring in any more stock! shall have to get the bottom from another brand I guess.

I'm still undecided whether I need an intermediate layer of fleece to keep warm but I think I will need it, given my low tolerance for cold. if so, my current windbreaker probably will not fit over it which means I have to spend on a wind+water-proof jacket. the pants are a must-get because none of the track pants I have are water-proof! tested them last night and the water just seeps through...sigh.

that's fleece top, outerwear top and bottom, and still intending to get another headlamp from petzl, clear shades to protect against wind else my contact lens will be really dry, waterproof gloves.

the kinabalu trip costs about $600 and adding on these purchases, it looks like almost $1000+! :( so broke...argh. luckily I can use my bro's backpack - backpacks are so darn expensive! but bf doesn't have one...I'm wondering if we can just use his 40L one between both of us and a small bagpack.

shall start training this week and break-into the hiking boots too. worrying-away...

our airasia tickets are booked for March 08! so, it's confirmed and we're going to climb majestic kinabalu in another 6 months.

it's scary and exciting at the same time. I'd better do some training by climbing my 21 storey flat, starting in Dec?

the good thing is that airasia is having a flight promotion (and it ends today!) and our return flight came up to around SGD$100 only! cheap right!! it was actually around SGD$90 but when I submitted the payment, I guessed they just sold out the returning ticket for that price and started selling the ones that cost MYR30 more. I think they switched it when it crossed midnight, will be smart and book travel tickets before the hour in the future. it's just a small difference but still.... ;P

good coincidence that the sabah tour agency emailed me to follow up on our earlier emails - I started enquiring in early July, hehe. that made me check out airasia and seeing the promotion, I quickly confirmed our dates and got back a confirmation booking from the agency last night! :)

I think it'll come up to about $450 for our 5D4N plan and I believe that's quite cheap. yay yay...I must make it to low's peak!