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Published: March 3rd 2006
(Matthew) As often seems to be the case, we're writing two travel blogs back to back. Borneo has been a very busy place for us but it's been a lot of fun so i haven't minded. as i'm typing, we're sitting in the state library in Kota-Kinabalu. the internet here is cheaper than at the other places in town. plus it's nice and quiet.
we left Brunei and caught an express boat to Kota Kinabalu. we had a fairly uneventful journey with only one stop. we arrived and went to check the places that Danny (from Brunei) recommended us to stay. the first place we checked was packed so we went to the second option. the lady there told us that she was all out of rooms for men and only had women dorm rooms left. so we set out again and found a really great plade just down the street. the lady was very friendly and the rooms were quite cheap. plus they provided free breakfest and had satelite tv upstairs. we were quite happy.
the next day, dustin started looking into diving. Kev and i decided that we really wanted to climb Mt. Kinabalu. we arranged for
Pitcher Plant
Carnivorous plant that uses digestive juices to absorb insects.one nights stay at Pouring Hot Springs and then one nights stay up on the mountain. It was pretty expensive but it ended up being worth it. we got a late start and didn't leave K.K. until almost 2:00 pm. as we were catching our main bus, some guys came up and started trying to offer us taxi rides. when we refused, they started shouting and giving us dirty looks. it was kind of crazy but we made onto our bus and took off. it took us several hours to reach Ranau, and from there we caught another bus to the hot springs. the hot springs were awsome. they had a bunch of out door tubs and we were able to use them after dark. it felt great.
the next morning we got up fairly early and caught a bus that was supposed to take us back to Ranau. the driver tried to make us pay way to much and was unhappy when we refused. than he dropped us off at the wrong place so we had to walk a while and then catch a second bus. we weren't very happy about all of this and it ended up
taking us a very long time to finally reach the mountain. along the way we met this awsome guy named Never. he was reading a Naruto comic book. i'm sure some of my friends will remember that cartoon show that i used to watch at school. well, i said something about it and he started talking to us. he spoke veyr good english. it turns out that his mother is Brittish and that his father is half chinese and half malaysian. Never speaks english, chinese, maylasian and two local dialects. i told him he should be an interepreter.
we finally made it to the park entrance and we were introduced to our guide who's name was Nelson. he was a quiet guy but he was pretty cool and spoke decent english. he told us that the shuttle cost 7.50 for each person to take us the 4. 7 km to the beginning of the trail. but we decided to walk instead. i ended up regretting it later.
the base where we started hiking was around 4,900 ft above sea level. the place where we spent the night was over 10,900 ft. we made this elevation gain in 10.7
km. i was so tired that i went to bed around 6:30 pm. we woke up at 1:30 am and began hiking the last 2.7 km to the top. it was so dark and there were over 100 people all trying to find their way along. i was doing fine until my flashlight bulb burnt out. i even had brough along extra batteries. i followed a group of japanese tourists until they stopped and then i kept going. kev had run on ahead so i was on my own. after a while my eyes adjusted and i was able to follow the trail by the light of the stars. it was a magical experience. the mountain is huge and there were times when i felt alone. i've never seen brighter stars. there were also lots of shooting stars.
i reached the top after about two hours. the summit soars into the sky and, at over 13428 ft it is the tallest mountain in SE Asia. i was the 10th person or so. it was so cold. i began to wish that i had brough warmer clothes. i got there around 4:00 and the sun didn't come up until after
The Big Waterfall
It may not look like it but this one drops over 150 meters 6:00. so i hunkered down in a little crevace and tried to stay out of the wind. but when the sun finally came up. it was all worth it. it was one of the most beautiful things i have ever seen. i'll never forget the experience.
we hiked down after that it was even harder on the legs. we hurried down cause we were both pretty tired and longing for a good night's sleep. by the time we reached the bottom, my legs were shaking. while we were sitting waiting for a bus to come by, a convoy truck pulled up and some soldiers jumped out. the ran up to us and asked if they could get their picture taken with us. after they were done, we took a picture of our own. it was pretty random.
if the hot springs felt good before, they felt ten times as good afterwards. we were going to get in them after our hike but there were to many other people so we just went to bed. the next morning, i got up at 7:00 and went to start filling up the tubs. it takes a long time. i got to
Sunset Amongst the Clouds
I went to bed right after i took this picture. My plan was to get some rest before making the climb to watch the sun rise, but our hostel was so noisey sleep was impossible. So i just listend to my ipod...then woke up at 2 A.M. as planned. have a good worship and to sleep on a bench in the sunshine. than these malaysian tourists wanted their picture taken with me. it was pretty funny. they would take turns shaking my hand and smiling at the camera like they were meeting the president. by 9:00 the water was perfect and kev woke up to come join me. it felt wonderful.
i had a great time in Sabbah. tomorrow we fly out fo K.L and then to Sumatra. hope you guys are all doing good.
love, matthew
(Kev)
Climbing Mount Kinabalu may have been my most memorable experience yet. I love hiking, and because we were so high up the temperature was comparable to hiking in Canada. It was nice to escape the heat for awhile, but the next morning I would have given anything to have it back!
The first day we hiked 10 K which placed us at our hostel. Our hostel overlooked the mountain and the range bellow. That night i went to bed early, I mean we are talking back to the days of "bed time" early. I hit the sack around 7 P.M. so I would be
able to catch the sunrise from the summit. The hike to the summit was another 3k, so I figured getting up around 3 A.M. would give me plenty of time to reach the top in time, we were told the sun should rise a little after 5 A.M. However 3 A.M. comes to soon, and it really does when everybody else in the hostel is getting up at 1 A.M.. People were making so much noise that the possibility for more sleep was impossible. I decided to just get up and go for it (by this time it was 2). I started off following a sea of people, but eventually was able to overtake the pack, and hike in solitude. Hiking alone atop a mountain is amazing. The stars were crystal clear, the air was fresh, and i felt like I was on top of the world. I was the first person to reach the summit, and i remained there alone...shivering, yet satisfied. The sun did not rise for another hour and half so i did exercises to keep myself from freezing to death (I seriously don't remember ever being that cold). When the sun finally did rise the hours
Alone in the Dark
Hundreds of people climb the mountain everyday, but it is not fun being part of a pack. First thing in the morning I broke free, and did not look back. It is an amazing experiance being alone, atop a mountain, waiting for the sun to rise. I waited all became worthwhile. The tips of the clouds, and surrounding peaks all lit up, and with the light came a merciful warmth. This was the first sunset I have ever seen atop a mountain, and now that I have experienced one, I plan on seeing many more.
As we drove up to the base of the mountain I noticed that the scenery was very reminicent of the Jr year mission trip to Costa Rica. I had flash backs of that long bus ride and the beautiful scenery that we passed. I like the way certain things can bring those memories back... anyways it is time to eat, so i hope you all have a great Friday!
We missed our flight today (another story for another time) so our stay in Borneo will be extended one more day, and really...I don't mind.
Catch you all later
~Love Kev
(Dust)
Sadly there wasn't enough time here in Sabah for both the mountain and diving at Sipidan so in the interests of sanity (just kidding) I decided that even though I like mountains, I like the ocean more so I ditched the guys for a
View from the trail
The scenery up here reminds me of the Costa Rica bus ride. couple days. Well, since everything was hurried and quickly planned, kev and swena left before I did because it turns out that there are only 2 times that the buses leave for the 9-10 hour trip out to Semporna where the dive company that I wanted to use was. And since well....I'm not crazy and the shops wouldn't have been open at 4 am that day I didn't have enough time to get all my plans in order before the 7:30 am bus so I had to take the 7:30 pm night bus.
Alright well we've met some pushy people on a trip like this but haven't really had the people running off with your bags experience yet but the bus terminal at KK is JUST like that. When you get off the local bus that takes you to the terminal there is a mob around the door with a couple police trying to fend them off....they are all grabbing and pulling at you (thank goodness for all the buckles and snaps they put on packs these days). I had already talked to one of the bus guys in town so when he saw me he just put his
Break.
Matthew is a little winded... arm around me, smiled like a king and herded me through the crowd and whenever anyone would ask anything or tug on me I would just point at him and say, "sorry I'm with him" and they all backed off.
Well I didn't really sleep a whole lot but at one of the stops I got a nice surprise. These buses always stop at places for food and I thought the people were just using their own money. Well one of the guys that I had talked to gave me a funny look and asked me why I wasn't eating, and I just said I had food in my pack (which I did) but he looked at me like I was crazy and said well you just have to trade in your ticket because its included in the fare. So that was a happy experience. Then it was back to the whole big person trying to sleep on a bus ordeal that really isn't the best part of my travelling life.
I got into Semporna at something like 5 in the morning...almost thought this taxi driver was going to get out of his car and start a fight
with me....paid for a full night at a hostel even though I only had another 2 hours to wait but I didn't have anywhere else to hang out (and I didn't even sleep). Then at 7:30 I "woke up" well atleast finally went to the dive shop because it was open and finished off getting everything ready.
Sipidan is awesome, the first day was a little cloudy but the coral and fish/sharks were amazing not to mention the nudibranches and other smaller animals. I think it was the sleep but it wasn't till the 3rd dive that day that I was really having a blast. Once we got back to Semporna that night I wasn't hungry, or really even awake so I kind of plodded around town and found some water and internet then went to sleep at 8pm and slept the best I have all trip. The next day was amazing too, sun was out and some fishermen got "detained" by the military based on the Island we were eating lunch on....oh yeah it was great. Yeah the diving was excellent. I almost went back a third day but decided to make my life easier and have less
Sunset
Our first Night in Sabbah hassle because we had a flight to catch Friday.
I caught a Land cruiser taxi instead of the bus for about the same amount but turns out that was a bad idea. They pretty much just made fun of me because they knew I couldn't speak the language the whole time and were asking for tips and me to give them my Mp3 player most of the trip and then when they realized at the end that I only had 1 ringgit in my wallet left...they weren't smiling and winking anymore. By then I just wanted my bag and to be on my own again. I made it back fine though and met up with the guys pretty much as soon as I walked back into town and we've been swapping stories ever since. Its been a pretty good week, too bad I didn't have a chance to get some pictures of my underwater world while these guys got the sky, it could have been the best of both worlds.
Cheers,
Dustin
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Heidi
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Wow guys .... those pictures of the top of the mountain are amazing. I love the Post Card Worthy one .... and Matthew you look SO funny huddled up in those rocks, ha ha! Man, you guys keep having fun.