Priceless

Upon reaching the summit of Mount Kinabalu.

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Day 1 (06 July 2009)

After some last minute shopping for our mountain gears, we headed off to the Tip of Borneo, Simpang Mengayau, Kudat. It was 160km+ away from the town of Tuaran. We took nearly 4 hours to reach the destination. The weather was cloudy, so I didn't manage to snap the sunset. Nonetheless, the view was awesome and breathtaking.

A short visit at the Bavanggazo Rungus Longhouse, before reaching Kudat

At the Tip of Borneo

We reached KK at around 11.30pm. That's when I discovered that long distance driving is extremely tiring.

Day 2 (07 July 2009)

Next, we headed off to the Poring Hot Spring. The rest were playing at Kipungit Waterfall while I was setting up my camera for the following shot. For me, the photo is kinda average though.

Kipungit Waterfall

Now, this is where I had a scary encounter with Mother Nature. While the rest of my friends left for the hot tubs, I decided to stay at the waterfall for a few more shots. There was no other people, so I was literally alone in the midst of the forest. The fact didn't really bother me, after all, I'm often alone with my camera (as mentioned in the previous post).

As I was packing my camera gears, there was a sudden gush of wind from behind. The branches of the trees begin to rattle loudly. Hence I turned around. You notice the slow current in the picture above? Well, within seconds, a strong current started to flow from the top of the waterfall. Together with the rush of wind on my half-naked body, it sent chills up to my spines. I didn't move, I was staring at the waterfall until I realized that it was getting seriously dangerous.

Almost immediately, the strong current caused the water level to rise up. I quickly scrambled, grabbed all of my stuffs and ran to higher ground. About three seconds later, the initial spot where I was standing was flooded with the high current. Imagine, the water could have washed me away along with my tripod and camera... *touch wood*

I uttered a quick, short prayer. Indeed, it was a frightening scene, more so when you're alone and not a swimmer. After I've calmed down, I walked back to the tubs and joined the rest. I shared my experience to them. According to Andrey, one is not supposed to enter a forest area alone. In fact, there's a lot of traditional beliefs among the elders about the spirits in the jungle, huhuhu....

In the evening, we checked in at Grace Hostel in Kinabalu National Park. Andrey joined us for the night. Before we slept, we gathered our hands and prayed for the Mount Kinabalu adventure.

Day 3 (08 July 2009)

We have decided to follow the Mesilau Trail for our morning hike. However, due to some technical difficulties with our climbing permit reservation, we had to follow the Summit Trail via Timpohon Gate.

To cut a long story short, Sutera Sanctuary Lodges have booked our accomodation but did not reserve our climbing permits from the Sabah National Park. Consequently, the permits have all been given out (only 192 climbing permits were given out on a single day). And yes, I was one angry customer. After some heated discussions between the big bosses, we were given the green light at 10.20am. Since it was late, we were advised to follow the Timpohon trail instead.

The hike from Timpohon gate to Laban Rata was approximately 6km in distance. The first 2km was okay, then I began to feel tired. Eventually, my pace became slower as I needed a short rest for each 100-200 meters. The weather was so-so, foggy with occassional drizzle. But alas, after 5 long hours, I reached Laban Rata.

After our dinner and a quick game of Monopoly, we went to bed at 9pm. I didn't get much sleep though, the room was rather stuffy due to the heater. We were supposed to leave Laban Rata by 2.30am on the following day.

Day 4 (09 July 2009)

We left at 3am from Laban Rata. The journey to Low's peak is roughly 2.8km from Laban Rata. The weather was fine, albeit cloudy. The air was much thinner, making it harder to breathe.

From the 6km-7km check point, the hike was fairly easy. And then, it became tough. We had to use ropes to climb up the steep slopes. Since it was dark, we didn't really notice how steep it was. My goal was to reach the peak by 6am, just in time to watch the twilight from the sunrise. And guess what? Adonis and I made it exactly at the sixth hour! The best word to describe the whole experience is nothing else but priceless :)

At Low's Peak (4095.2m above mean sea level)

Goch arrived earlier at 5.40am, Amy and Yoke Mun arrived at 6.25am...

"Ku daki-daki, daki-daki gunung yang tinggi...."

See the monkey face? Hoho...

Probably my best shot from the summit.

Note to self : Do NOT bring a DSLR up the mountain again. Very "ma fan"....

We descended from the peak about an hour later. Going down was much harder than going up. Only then did we realize the steepness of the rocky mountain. Whoever said that Mount Kinabalu is easy, that person must be extremely fit!

Moreover, going down was less exciting than going up. There's nothing much to motivate you, once you've accomplished your mission to stand on the summit. Having said so, the journey was not over yet. We forced ourselves to walk on the same path to Timpohon Gate. I reached at 2.45pm.

With our mountain guide, Rusdi.

His personal record? 4 hours++ only... UP and DOWN the mountain @.@

From National Park, I drove back to Kota Kinabalu with my friends. Everyone slept early.

Day 5 (10 July 2009)

I invited my friends for lunch at home. My mum prepared a few local dishes, including hinava (raw fish) and sup soko (bamboo shoot soup) upon her beloved son's request, hehehe. Without a doubt, those two are my favourites!

In the afternoon, we went to the nearby Lok Kawi Wildlife Park.

Starring King Julian from Madagascar

Proboscis Monkey @ Goch's obsession!

After that, we visited the Monsopiad Cultural Village.

The Sumazau Dance

Trying out the blowpipe (or locally known as sumpit)

Learning the traditional Murut dance, Magunatip

In the house of skulls. It is believed that the warrior Monsopiad had 42 skulls from his headhunting days...

To our surprise, Tania was in Kota Kinabalu too for some work duties. We met up for dinner and chilled out at Signal Hill.

Day 6 (11 July 2009)

We headed to Sapi Island for snorkelling. Sadly, it began to rain heavily upon our arrival on the island. I didn't enter the water, but according to the rest, they didn't get to see any corals or fishes. Waves were pretty strong.

At Sapi Island

We were supposed to visit Manukan Island too, but due to the poor weather condition, we cancelled our plan. This time around, we had dinner at Andrey's place. I really like the grounded sagoo mixed with banana dessert :)

Day 7 (12 July 2009)

No photos from this point onwards. I was lazy to bring my camera around.

Among the places we visited are Gaya Street Sunday Market, State Museum and One Borneo. After having seafood dinner in Inanam, we spent the rest of the night at Cempaka Square for a wonderful karaoke session.

Day 8 (13 July 2009)

It's movie day.

I watched Ice Age 3 together with Yoke Mun, Amy and Adonis. Goch and Andrey opted for the movie Obsession, starring Beyonce. I fell asleep at one point of the movie. Owh well, I guess I didn't have enough rest throughout the week, hehe...

And then, it's time to say goodbye. My friends boarded their flight back to KLIA at 7.25pm.

Okay lah, that's all for now. Another long entry, even I feel tired of typing this up.... hahahaha..... Catch you guys later!