Departed to KK at 9.25 pm (12th June) and arrived there midnight. So straight away took a taxi to Beach Lodge (a backpacker hostel that is totally low cost and convenient too). All activities were booked via the internet (Mountain Trails & Travel Agent).
13th June
Dive TAR Marine Park
Couldn’t wait to the divings. Around 9.15, Evan (the Dive Instructor) picked me up from Beach Lodge to Sutera Harbor Marina. I thought I would be sent to TAR Marine Park via Jesselton Point. The Marina was sooo beautiful and lots of private luxurious catamarans were there. Around 10, I and a couple of husband and wife from Germany, together with PADI OW students headed to Sapi island. By the way, our Divemaster was Rudy (dunno exactly the right spelling).We did our 1st dive at Agil reef. I couldn’t wait to see lots of nudibranchs but it was somehow a bit disappointing. There were only common nudibranchs (Phylidiella sp) appearing on my sight. There were tumpet fish, Mooray eel hiding in a vessel, lionfish and never-seen-before soft corals. Around 45 minutes, we ascended up with still a lot more air in the tank.
We relaxed at Sapi island. I had only cut fruits because I didn't have appetite at all to have proper meal for lunch due to headache. Hate it!!There were many people at Sapi island and I was uncomfortable with it.
Next dive, at 1.30. We dove at Sulug reef. Well, the visibility was like hell, I think less than 2 meters. But we managed to see Mantis Shrimp and Lionfish on the sandy bottom. And my 1st experience to see cute cuttlefish relaxing above the corals. There was also a pufferfish with it’s caudal fin got cut, maybe got bitten by something. I started to feel like vomiting. Hmmm….I knew I would throw up and that’s it, I did it when surfaced.
Around 3.30, went back to Beach Lodge and zzzzzzzzzzzz…
14th June
It was a very exciting moment. Couldn’t wait to go to Mt. Kinabalu. Around 7.15, a van picked me up and other tourists (Malaysian Chinese). We were brought right away to Kundasang. We arrived Kinabalu park and registered ourselves at the Kinabalu park headquarters. Well, when we arrived there, the 4 years old kid, who appeared in the newspapers for successfully reaching Kinabalu peak, was there. The paparazzi were busy taking his photos. Just couldn’t believe that kid managed to get there.
After registration, we were sent to Timpohon gate, which were couple of kilometers from the park. It was very cooling and refreshing. I brought my 7kg hiking. Well, it is proven that I was not strong enough to carry heavy load uphill. After 3/4 of the journey, I gave up and let our guide to bring my bag. By the way, our guide was Rapilin Wido, from the Dusun tribe and he was a Muslim. He was such a small guy but he carried 32kg loads uphill…and downhill. Oooo my God!! He was so patient with all the fuss I made but he understood it as that was my first time climbing Mt.Kinabalu.
The journey to Laban Rata took around 6 hours at a 6 km track. It was raining and worse, I didn’t have any raincoat. Luckily my winter coat manage to keep me warm and dry from raindrops. 6 km was damn far and it was even worse because it route was uneven. When it comes to climbing the stairs..well, I have no idea how many stairs I stepped on..that was really exhausting. With the still bearable pain, it was not a torture at all when I really could enjoy the cooling environment and beautiful scenery.
Laban Rata was already sighted. Environment was getting more and more interesting. Around 5 pm, we arrived Laban Rata resthouse and had our meal immediately. I ate a lot due to starvation.Hehe…After dinner, I was thinking of having hot shower but beyond my expectation, the chalet that I stayed in did not provide any hot shower, instead we had to do it manually…boil some water and mixed with cold water. That was so troublesome. Actually, I didn’t even bath because it was damn cold up there. I put on layers of pants and shirts but they weren’t enough to protect me from extreme cold. As early as 7.30, I went to bed with 2 layers of blanket. The worst part, I couldn’t sleep even for a minute because my feet was too cold. That was so uncomfortable but whatever it was, I knew I had to bare with it.
15th June 2008
Around 1.45 am, we woke up, boil some water and pour into our Maggi Cup. Definitely we have to eat something for energy. We started our way to the peak. It was dark and I didn’t have my head-torch. Luckily Rapilin had extra and I borrowed his. There were couples of climbers who were so excited to reach the peak. I guess I was damn slow and sleepy. Well, of course not enough sleep is very bad. There is a point where we need to use a rope lined along the path to the summit. Since it was till dark, I have no idea how extreme was the climbing. At Sayat Sayat checkpoint, we reported ourselves to the ranger and proceed to the peak. Journey was too long. Mount Kinabalu is definitely very huge. I felt that I have walked for 500 meters but looking around, I didn’t feel any change in the landscape. Just imagine how wide is the peak area. Around 5.45, sun started to rise. And it was really a pleasant moment. I really need sunshine to warm my freezing body. Exactly at the peak, climbers were so excited and some of them spent a long time there. The peak (Low’s Peak) is such a small space and climbers need to take turn to snap some pictures at the peak.
When the sun started to brightly, we made our way down back to Laban Rata. As expected, my weak knees limited my speed. Luckily there was a stick that really helped my movement. After 3 hours, we arrived Laban Rata and started to pack our stuff. And at 10, we went downhill. It was very tiring and sometimes I felt it was like a regret. But looking at the positive side, I know I have the ability to handle physical stress, and not only that, I know I manage to handle my emotion..though I tend to curse at times.Hehe…I was the last person to arrive Timpohon Gate, around 4 pm. Our lunchtime at Balsam Cafe (Kinablu Park) had elapsed and I guess the other 3 was quite angry with me (since I was the last to arrive). Due to that, we made our way back to KK. Around 7.30, I was sent to Beach Lodge. I was thinking of settling the laundry but I felt asleep due to exhaustion.
Well, lesson learned from this trip is, I need to keep fit and take care of my knees especially. Mountains are beautiful places and I shouldn’t let my knee problem to prevent me from hiking. Hope to be there again in the future.
16th June 2008
Bye bye
Dive TAR Marine Park
Couldn’t wait to the divings. Around 9.15, Evan (the Dive Instructor) picked me up from Beach Lodge to Sutera Harbor Marina. I thought I would be sent to TAR Marine Park via Jesselton Point. The Marina was sooo beautiful and lots of private luxurious catamarans were there. Around 10, I and a couple of husband and wife from Germany, together with PADI OW students headed to Sapi island. By the way, our Divemaster was Rudy (dunno exactly the right spelling).We did our 1st dive at Agil reef. I couldn’t wait to see lots of nudibranchs but it was somehow a bit disappointing. There were only common nudibranchs (Phylidiella sp) appearing on my sight. There were tumpet fish, Mooray eel hiding in a vessel, lionfish and never-seen-before soft corals. Around 45 minutes, we ascended up with still a lot more air in the tank.
We relaxed at Sapi island. I had only cut fruits because I didn't have appetite at all to have proper meal for lunch due to headache. Hate it!!There were many people at Sapi island and I was uncomfortable with it.
Next dive, at 1.30. We dove at Sulug reef. Well, the visibility was like hell, I think less than 2 meters. But we managed to see Mantis Shrimp and Lionfish on the sandy bottom. And my 1st experience to see cute cuttlefish relaxing above the corals. There was also a pufferfish with it’s caudal fin got cut, maybe got bitten by something. I started to feel like vomiting. Hmmm….I knew I would throw up and that’s it, I did it when surfaced.
Around 3.30, went back to Beach Lodge and zzzzzzzzzzzz…
14th June
It was a very exciting moment. Couldn’t wait to go to Mt. Kinabalu. Around 7.15, a van picked me up and other tourists (Malaysian Chinese). We were brought right away to Kundasang. We arrived Kinabalu park and registered ourselves at the Kinabalu park headquarters. Well, when we arrived there, the 4 years old kid, who appeared in the newspapers for successfully reaching Kinabalu peak, was there. The paparazzi were busy taking his photos. Just couldn’t believe that kid managed to get there.
After registration, we were sent to Timpohon gate, which were couple of kilometers from the park. It was very cooling and refreshing. I brought my 7kg hiking. Well, it is proven that I was not strong enough to carry heavy load uphill. After 3/4 of the journey, I gave up and let our guide to bring my bag. By the way, our guide was Rapilin Wido, from the Dusun tribe and he was a Muslim. He was such a small guy but he carried 32kg loads uphill…and downhill. Oooo my God!! He was so patient with all the fuss I made but he understood it as that was my first time climbing Mt.Kinabalu.
The journey to Laban Rata took around 6 hours at a 6 km track. It was raining and worse, I didn’t have any raincoat. Luckily my winter coat manage to keep me warm and dry from raindrops. 6 km was damn far and it was even worse because it route was uneven. When it comes to climbing the stairs..well, I have no idea how many stairs I stepped on..that was really exhausting. With the still bearable pain, it was not a torture at all when I really could enjoy the cooling environment and beautiful scenery.
Laban Rata was already sighted. Environment was getting more and more interesting. Around 5 pm, we arrived Laban Rata resthouse and had our meal immediately. I ate a lot due to starvation.Hehe…After dinner, I was thinking of having hot shower but beyond my expectation, the chalet that I stayed in did not provide any hot shower, instead we had to do it manually…boil some water and mixed with cold water. That was so troublesome. Actually, I didn’t even bath because it was damn cold up there. I put on layers of pants and shirts but they weren’t enough to protect me from extreme cold. As early as 7.30, I went to bed with 2 layers of blanket. The worst part, I couldn’t sleep even for a minute because my feet was too cold. That was so uncomfortable but whatever it was, I knew I had to bare with it.
15th June 2008
Around 1.45 am, we woke up, boil some water and pour into our Maggi Cup. Definitely we have to eat something for energy. We started our way to the peak. It was dark and I didn’t have my head-torch. Luckily Rapilin had extra and I borrowed his. There were couples of climbers who were so excited to reach the peak. I guess I was damn slow and sleepy. Well, of course not enough sleep is very bad. There is a point where we need to use a rope lined along the path to the summit. Since it was till dark, I have no idea how extreme was the climbing. At Sayat Sayat checkpoint, we reported ourselves to the ranger and proceed to the peak. Journey was too long. Mount Kinabalu is definitely very huge. I felt that I have walked for 500 meters but looking around, I didn’t feel any change in the landscape. Just imagine how wide is the peak area. Around 5.45, sun started to rise. And it was really a pleasant moment. I really need sunshine to warm my freezing body. Exactly at the peak, climbers were so excited and some of them spent a long time there. The peak (Low’s Peak) is such a small space and climbers need to take turn to snap some pictures at the peak.
When the sun started to brightly, we made our way down back to Laban Rata. As expected, my weak knees limited my speed. Luckily there was a stick that really helped my movement. After 3 hours, we arrived Laban Rata and started to pack our stuff. And at 10, we went downhill. It was very tiring and sometimes I felt it was like a regret. But looking at the positive side, I know I have the ability to handle physical stress, and not only that, I know I manage to handle my emotion..though I tend to curse at times.Hehe…I was the last person to arrive Timpohon Gate, around 4 pm. Our lunchtime at Balsam Cafe (Kinablu Park) had elapsed and I guess the other 3 was quite angry with me (since I was the last to arrive). Due to that, we made our way back to KK. Around 7.30, I was sent to Beach Lodge. I was thinking of settling the laundry but I felt asleep due to exhaustion.
Well, lesson learned from this trip is, I need to keep fit and take care of my knees especially. Mountains are beautiful places and I shouldn’t let my knee problem to prevent me from hiking. Hope to be there again in the future.
16th June 2008
Bye bye
