Trip to Sabah (Day 7)

Well, we are finally at the last day of my trip to Sabah. Looking back, I realized that it actually took me one whole month to finish talking about the trip!!! OMG!!! And the thing is, I did not really find my trip to Sabah THAT interesting at all. I shudder when I actually go to some place that I like… might take me half a year for me to finish describing it :P. Of course, after finishing this long series of my post, I might have to rack my brains to find something to talk about. I am not a very exciting guy and thus, there’s almost nothing that I can talk about my life. Well, that is a problem in the future…

It was the last day in Sabah. Sore and energy drained from the stupid mountain-climbing the day before, I really wanted to stay in bed for the rest of the day. However, being a responsible person and not to miss our afternoon flight, I forced my eyes open when my hand phone rang. Apparently, I was the first one to wake up. After cleaning up, I went to the lobby (it’s actually just a small living room) to use the computer for online. It’s free, but there is only one… so if there is someone else waiting to use the computer, one is expected to use it for only 15 minutes. There are already hundreds of mails waiting for me when I sign-in to my e-mail account. Just as I finished sorting out the junk mails, the girls came downstairs with their luggage and the guys were ready to go too.

For breakfast today, the lodge owner took us to one of his friend’s restaurant called Apiwon… don’t know what it meant. The restaurant is famed for beef noodles. Unfortunately, I was unable to taste it since I don’t eat beef. Instead, I ordered a bowl of seafood noodles. Well, the taste is really quite normal lah, but I must say that the ingredients are really generous. The prawns are quite huge to be used in something like normal noodle soup. There are also fish balls, fried fish slices and fish cakes too. We also ordered fried fish cake which when taken with the special sauce given is quite good too. Normally, the fish cakes that I eat elsewhere are either too salty or are so tasteless that I doubt there is actually fish in there. The fish cakes in Apiwon are not too salty and you can actually taste the fish when you eat it! After the lodge owner paid the bill (yay!), we asked him to take us to the market to do our final shopping craze (well, actually, it’s the girls’ shopping craze).

Apiwon Restaurant...

Nice fried fish cakes with sauce...

The gorgeous beef kuay teow...

Porridge ordered by the lodge owner...

My generous bowl of seafood kuay teow...

It was around 9am and it was the first time I was in a van in the city center at that time. Previously, we were already on our way out of the city center to other places before 9am. The streets are jammed with cars! It can actually rival the streets of KL, except that the roads in the city center do not have so many lanes as that of KL. Even with the small lanes, the cars, vans and lorries still park haphazardly at the roadside without regards for any other people… I guess this shows that Sabahans really are Malaysians :P. Finally, after crawling through the cars, the lodge owner left us beside the market and asked us to call him when we are done as he drove back to his lodge.

First stop, we went to the fruits section of the market. There, our group bought avocadoes! The girls have been yapping non-stop about the benefits of avocado and how different Sabah’s avocado is from the ones in West Malaysia… heck, I didn’t even know that there are avocadoes for sale in WM! I supposed the avocadoes here are considered cheap kua (which I suspect is the main reason for the shopping hysteria). There are rows and rows of avocadoes there and they are divided into green ones and purplish ones as well. The green ones are those that are still raw while the purplish ones are ready to be eaten. It’s priced at RM3 per kg… which means it’s about 3 to 4 avocadoes. They took a really long time shifting through the gazillions of avocadoes available there. I bought only 3 avocadoes myself and it cost me RM2 only! The strange thing is, some of the avocadoes, when you shake them, you can actually hear the seed rattling inside. I enquired the shop owner if that is a good sign, and he says it is… so I ask him if those without t seed-rattling sound are bad, he said no too! He said each and every fruit there is in good condition! He doesn’t even know how to lie properly!

Avocadoes... common sight in the market

Next, we passed by a shop that sells tit-bits. Well, there’s no better gift than food. If you buy food, you can share one packet with several people but if you buy gifts, you can only give one to each person. So, it’s more economical to buy food. I bought two packets of brown sugar filled cookies called “kuih cincin”. It was quite nice. Of course, it’s nice only if you do not pay attention to the amount of sugar you are consuming. All those low sugar diets are just crap. Also, I bought a packet of prawn crackers and another packet of white round shaped thing which turned out to be coconut flavoured cookies. I’ve tried all of them and all of them are quite nice… but then again, I have a sweet tooth… so, if something sweet tastes bad, it would have to be horrendous for a normal person.

Assortment of cookies...

"Kuih cincin"...

After we shopped for the delicacies, the girls wanted to buy dried seafood!!! They got some sea cucumbers, abalones, dried mini prawns and other unknown stuff. Luckily, they stopped before starting to buy bird’s nest and shark fins. But then again, I never heard Sabah being famous for bird’s nest, have you? While I was at the dried seafood market, I snapped pictures non-stop to compensate for its lack of usage in the mountains.

Dried seafood...

Scallops... thanks the witch for telling me that :P

Used by my mum in porridges!!!

Sharkfins... don't know if it's real though...

Rainbow sifting through a basket of sea cucumbers to make a nice meal for her bf... so envy!

Big, small, long, short sea cucumbers...

Abalones... doesn't look like the ones I ate decades ago...

Close-up on abalones... if you ask me, they really don't seem like those shown on tv

Dried mini prawns (don't know the exact term :P)

Dried cuttlefish...

Don't remember what this is but it look like salted fish...

Sea horse for sale... poor horsey

Finally satisfied, we called the lodge owner and we crammed ourselves inside the van as it start on its way to the airport. I think I did not mention this in my earlier posts, but you would be given a piece of paper when you enter Sabah. Thus, when you leave Sabah, you must return that piece of paper… think of it as a one-page passport… lose it and you’ll be visiting the immigration department and police station in no time.

In the airport, I even shopped a few souvenirs for some people that need to be bribed back in West Malaysia… and the plane was delayed!!! Well, it’s not actually delayed… it took off around 15 minutes later than the scheduled time. I’m supposed to take another flight in LCCT… and initially, I had around 45 minutes before the counter close after the plane from Sabah touch down. By the time we arrived at LCCT, there was only 30 minutes left for me to catch the next plane… and the luggage took forever to come out! Not to mention there are thousands of people waiting right next to the conveyor belt. Finally, when I got all my bags, there’s only about 10 minutes left!

I ran all the way to the check-in counter like a madman. Luckily Richard helped me carried one of my bags or I’ll have to slug it all the way to the counter. When I reached the counter, the destination sign had already been changed to Phnom Penh or something like that!!! I was really panicking. Luckily, there are still several people who are going to the same place as me in the line.

View of Sabah from the top... well, part of it anyway

Leaving Sabah...

My lunch... very expensive lunch :(

Not very nice roti canai... and not very nice sauce too...

Flying through a thunderstorm!!!

As if all the running is not enough, when it was my turn to check-in my luggage, the Air Asia person told me that my luggage is more than the allowed 15kg per person! Huh? When I took the plane from Sabah, the Air Asia weighed my luggage and it says it’s just 14kg! Did I take the wrong luggage? Or am I one of those victims who are used to bring “extra” stuff? The latter is not possible since my bags passed through the scanning. I suspect that the weighing scale in LCCT for Air Asia is inaccurate. Of course I did not argue. Then, the AA person told me that I have to pay extra for the extra weight and the extra luggage. Extra luggage? Apparently, each person is entitled for only one piece of luggage that weighs no more than 15kg for tickets that are bought March/April 2008 onwards! Previously, you can have any number of luggages as long as the total weight does not exceed 15kg. Thus, I have to pay extra!

This is really putting a thorn into my otherwise beautiful day! Well, I paid them without complaint and was just glad that I managed to catch the plane. Also, did you know that there are no tax-free alcohols for sale in LCCT? At least there’s none in the domestic departure and arrival hall. Maybe there’s one in International halls?

The leftover chocolates I bought from Laban Rata... please note the price...

Anyway, in conclusion, it was an okay trip… if I ignore the fact I had to take 6 days unpaid leaves (which costs me an extra RM1000++) and also failed to complete the main objective of the trip. Even though I complained a lot in my posts, those are just the needy me...I did have some nice moments in this trip. And I do relish in the pleasant company of my friends. I also tried some interesting and good food took part in some exciting activities (banana boat ride, white water rafting) which I would never do alone. I would have happily declared that this trip is a very good one if I managed to reached the top of Mt. Kinabalu. I do hope that their next choice of destination is less “demanding”. Some pampering resort near a beautiful seaside would do just fine…

The Sabah group...

Trip to Sabah (Day 6)

Winter Queen passed by our dorm. I was sure that the room temperature reached the freezing point when I woke up at 2am. It rained heavily last night too, but thankfully, the rain stopped a few hours ago. If it had kept on raining, we would not be allowed to climb the second phase of the mountain.

I did not even bother to brush my teeth. I refused to step outside and let my skin touch any water at all. One drop of water and I’ll drop down dead due to the shock of freezing water. Others began to stir from their deep sleep as I pack my backpack. I made sure that my bag was light… I only brought chocolates, water and my trusty camera which had been lying unused the whole time.

It was so cold that I couldn’t have slept even though I obviously lacked of sleep. Fully geared with my jacket, gloves, beanie and headlight, I went outside to meet up with the guide who was already waiting outside. It was really dark and thus a working headlight is a must. It is better than torchlight since one might need both hands to climb the mountain. When we have finally assembled, the guide looked at us and said, “So, all of you are going, huh?” It was not a question, merely a statement of surprise. I swear that when his eyes swept past me, it lingered a little bit longer than others. I knew that the statement was meant solely for me. I didn’t blame him at all… I knew that my performance was on par with those fat and rich men… only that I am not rich… I would have preferred to be rich than to be able to climb the mountain.

Anyway, it wasn’t a good start. The guide gave some briefing about safety and that we should not push ourselves to hard (meant for me only, of course) and that we should hold fast to the rope when available. We started off at 2.30am… already there were several groups in front of us. At the beginning, we had to climb flights of insanely high stairs. It’s as if they merged three to four steps into one big step. If could feel my breath and energy seeping away less than halfway up the stairs.

After the stairs, it’s the rocks. Since it rained yesterday, it was really wet, slippery and muddy. But in my condition that time, I did not care much. I was sort of in a half-awake state of mind... mindlessly stomping my way uphill. I touched a rock to balance myself and I was shocked to find that I was able to feel the coldness through my pair of gloves! There were already scores of people who have passed by me but with pure determination, I reached the third obstacle.

This time I had to climb a cliff with the ropes which are nailed to the ground as a guide. Well, if I have problem with just climbing stairs, I most definitely have problems with pulling myself up the mountain! My progress was excruciatingly slow. The only good thing that came out of it was I did not feel cold anymore.

I was almost halfway up the cliff when I stopped for a breather and the guide suddenly appeared behind me and said, “Do not block the road.” I bit back a retort and rushed up the rope until I reached a rather flat and wide area. I let go of the rope and sat down on a piece of flat rock.

Again, thoughts of giving up assaulted me. I watched numbly as another score of people passed by. After getting my breath, I forced myself to climb again. It went on for several times… climb, stop, rest, climb, stop, rest… until I finally reached a hut. This is the checkpoint and I think only beyond the hut that one can get the certificate that you’ll get whether you complete the climb or not (different types of course).

After registration (by showing the name tag), I continued my climb. The rest of the way was all rocky cliff with a rope for climbers to hold on to. Actually, it was really dangerous. The ropes were sometimes nailed far apart. At one point, I slipped and fell. Even though I firmly held on to the rope, I swung for quite some ways before coming to a stop. Flashes of my life appeared before me. So, this is what they see when one stares into the face of death. The more embarrassing and dangerous thing was when I slipped and fell, I pulled others above me to the side as well. So, even if you did not slip, you can still be pulled to the side by others due to the length of the rope… and if at that moment you did not grip the rope firmly, a deep gorge await below.

After several tries, I found that it was actually better to not pull yourself up. The ground was actually not very steep at most places. Only certain places you absolutely need to hold on to the rope. For the rest, it is easier to just walk. Soon, I dropped into a routine, which I think was working wonderfully. I walked a few steps, stopped, took several deep breaths, walked several steps again and repeat. I did not sit down as it would take a great effort to get back up. Once I did sit down at the side of the cliff. I looked up to watch for the beautiful stars that the lodge owner talked about, but it was quite cloudy and I did not see any stars. Then, I looked back down and a wave of nausea swept over me. Since then, I dared not stop and look down again.

Even with my extremely slow pace, I was not the last one. There were still several couples who were struggling up the mountain behind me… far behind me. With my method of climbing the mountain, I was sure that I could have reached the top, although most probably not in time for the sunrise, which was supposed to happen at 5am to 6am.

Mount Kinabalu was meant to break the spirits of the weak. At one point, I was rejoicing because I finally reached the peak… only to find another peak in front of me. When I reached the second peak, a third peak appeared. The sky was already tinged with orange when at last, I reached the sign post that said 8.0km. Low’s Peak loomed in front of me. I was already on a big flat top of the mountain. All that remained is another 500m of climb. The Low’s Peak is just a piece of rock jutting out at the peak of the mountain.

I was going to climb it when I saw my friends coming down from the peak. Sigh… they have finished going up and down and I was just going up. Anyway, I was still planning to climb Low’s Peak, when the guide who had went up to Low’s Peak came down and said that I can’t climb up there anymore. He mumbled something about being too late and we would miss our check-out time if I continue to climb!

A group of tired climbers...

The sunrise...

View from top of mountain...

500m more and I'll be at the top :(

All those things about slow and steady were just a lie. I was unable to complete my climb not because I don’t have the determination but because I apparently was too slow. I was really moody at that time. I did not even take any pictures! Reluctantly, I started to go back to Laban Rata.

The paths were clearer now that the sun was up and I really had no idea how I managed to climb up those almost vertical cliffs. Descending from the peak was even more dangerous than ascending. Many styles were used too. At certain points, I descend while sitting on the ground, hand gripped tightly around the rope and slowly go down; facing the direction I was going. At other parts, I had to descend while facing the opposite direction I was going… sort of like rappelling down the wall except that there’s no jumping of course.

The whole procedure was very slow too… and I don’t care if I’m the slowest one. One wrong step and you’ll find your head squashed like a water-melon far below. There was one occasion when one of the climbers slipped down the mountain, sliding for more than 10 meters. He was practically rolling head over heels down the mountain. Luckily, a guide who was in front saw it and he jumped out, grabbed the climber’s backpack while his other hand held on to the rope. I shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if the guide wasn’t there.

It was around 8am when we reached our dorm. Quickly, we packed everything and went down to Laban Rata. The problem is that I had to take my entire luggage down to Laban Rata where our guide was waiting. Previously, our porters helped us to take the luggage. I had to dragged my bag all the way down to Laban Rata since it was very heavy… really don’t know how the porter took my bag all the way uphill.

We had another 1 hour left when we absolutely have to check-out or we’ll have to pay extra rent. And I think that even if you pay the extra rent, it does not mean you can stay another night there (though no one of right mind would do that), since the place might be fully booked for the day. We immediately settled down and gobbled our breakfast. It was a breakfast buffet with the normal stuff like bread, ommelettes, sausages, eggs, fried mee, coffee, tea, cereals, etc. The fried rice was horrendous. It was partially cooked! However, the Sabah Tea was very nice. Add milk and some sugar to it and it surpassed any western tea I have ever tasted… but then again, it might be due to my perfect combination of milk, tea and sugar that resulted in this amazing tea :P.

We immediately began our descent when we finished our breakfast. The air was cool, but not chilly… perfect for our descent. Unfortunately, after 1km or so, my kneecaps started to sting… and after that, it was like needles stabbing at my knees whenever I took a step down the rock stairs. It felt alright when walking on level ground. Thus, I had to go down the stairs sideways… with the aid of my walking stick. Needless to say, I was the last… again.

Luckily we did not opt for the Mesilau trail when going downhill. I would really have sit on the ground and cried if I needed to walk for another extra 2km. The guide was also extremely impatient. He dogged my steps and walked extremely close behind me. In the final 1km, I dared not stop to have a drink even though I was quite thirsty. At that time, my knees was painful even when I walked on relatively level ground!

I think I was more than 30 minutes later than the second last person of my group when I finally reached the ending point of Timpohon trail (or is it called starting point?). I swore that I would never participate in such a stupid attempt to prove my capability. To add insult to my already deep injury… there it was… a big notice board that showed the record holders of those who have completed the trail up to Mount Kinabalu in the shortest time. The champions finished it in a bloody 2 hours 39 minutes! Back and forth! Using Mesilau Trail! And I can’t even do that if I were to use Timpohon Trail for just going one way!

My final struggling steps (courtesy of Ivan)

Non-human records...

Timpohon...

Tired, sore, breathless and low in morale pretty much summed up my condition at that time. I think it was around 2pm when I reached the end of the trail. Pretty soon, we were on our way to our lunch buffet (buffet, again??!!!). I was extremely hungry at that time but my appetite went downhill when I saw flies surrounding the food! Sure, the food are covered, but the flies are a turnoff. Fortunately, the flies, for some reason like the cakes only… thus, the food for the main course did not have flies snooping around.

The drinks are located in another counter, and there is a machine which gives out coffee, cappuccino, mocha, milo and stuff. However, all the drinks are hot. Thus, I asked for ice and they retorted back why anyone would need ice when it’s cold. Well, the place that we were having lunch is at mid-mountain, thus it’s cool, but definitely not cold. Besides, I saw a large fridge behind the counter that contains various cold drinks! Of course I did not press the issue, being tired and all. The food, in summary were not good at all… and in my state of hunger, if a food does not taste good, it meant that it is very bad in normal times. Still, I did have three helpings. Of course, it was a total package thingy, so I don't think we have much of a choice in choosing where to eat.

After lunch, we were on our way back to KK city center again. The journey was a blur since I was sleeping the whole way. When we reached the City Park Lodge again, we were reassigned new rooms… no more four beds for three persons anymore :(. There, we all slept again, and later, in the evening, we went out to have our dinner.

Too lazy to walk far, we decided to try another restaurant recommended on the internet which is located at Gaya Street… just behind the lodge. The restaurant is called New Man Tai, and it is famous for its Beaufort (I think it's read as Boofort) style noodles. Learning from past experiences, we ordered just one dish of noodles for one person while we ordered several other dishes that go with rice. The Beaufort style noodles came and it was disappointing (no surprise there). It was almost similar to wanton noodles… only less tasty. We also ordered soup… if I’m not mistaken, it was seaweed soup. It was quite nice. I think they did not use much “ajinomoto” since it has a very clear and refreshing taste… did not feel thirsty at all. We also ordered Claypot Bean Curd, Claypot Chicken (which turned out to be black beans chicken) and a plate of vegetables. The plate of vegetables is the same as the ones used in Beaufort Style Noodles. Initially, we thought they mistakenly gave us the same dish twice! The food there was so-so only. The dishes that was marginally “good” was the chicken and the soup. Others are just a total flunk. I guess East Malaysia have different taste than West Malaysia, huh?

New Man Tai...

Vegetables (don't know what kind :P)

Claypot Chicken

Seaweed soup...

Claypot Bean Curd...

Beaufort-style noodles...

As we returned back to our lodge, I took some opportunity to snap some photos of the gaming outlet I noticed earlier. Did you know that there is no Pan Malaysian Polls and Magnum in East Malaysia? Instead, they are replaced by STC 4D and 88. Don’t know if they belong to PMP and Magnum or not. Toto, however, is still the same in EM and WM. Also, I could not find any the Star newspapers around the city center! Maybe it’s just not as famous as in WM! Wow, things really are different when you are divided by the South China Sea!

STC 4D... is the horsey familiar?

88...

Stay tuned for the final episode of the "Trip to Sabah" saga!!!

Trip to Sabah (Day 5)

Today is the day… weeks of training, thousands of RM spent and the day finally comes. For those who are still in the clouds. My friends and I were attempting to conquer Mount Kinabalu. There are two popular trails (maybe got others too, but not so famous loh) for one to reach Laban Rata and from Laban Rata, to Low’s Peak… the highest point of Mount Kinabalu.

The two trails are Mesilau trail and Timpohon trail. We opted for the Mesilau trail because we were told that the surroundings were more beautiful. So, our plan was to go up using Mesilau trail and go down using Timpohon trail… with that, we would be able to experience both of the trails. Well, we woke up early, packed our things and took it together with us to the main lobby. There we had our breakfast buffet (real buffet this time, yay!). It was a normal type of breakfast buffet, with bread, nasi lemak, porridge, fried beehoon, cereals, orange juice, milk, coffee, tea, etc.

Buffet breakfast...

Sample of my breakfast...

We ate and ate and ate without any regards to the consequences. According to my past experiences, hiking with a full stomach is a disaster waiting to happen. But then again, this is a 6 hour hike, so you’ll need all the energies that you can get. We waited for the food to settle down and went to a shack where the guide and porter were waiting for us. First, we need to weigh our bags that we wanted the porter to help us to take up to Laban Rata. The price was RM10 per kg… for a return trip of course. That settled, we bought a wooden stick for RM3 each. I know that some people would balk at the mention of buying a plain stick for RM3, but trust me; it actually was the most useful tool of all.

After we got our name tags (you can’t go up the mountain if you lose them), we started off on our journey. The guide and porter did not follow us because there is only one path and they are sure to catch up with us soon anyway. The path was muddy because it rained for a little while yesterday. Basically, the path is the same all the way up to Laban Rata. There are steps either made of rocks or mud filled bricks. I was hoping that the path was more like a slight incline all the way upL. So, if you want to train before climbing Mt. Kinabalu, choose a trail that has steps all the way.

There are also signs for each 500 meters that we completed and we took pictures of them at each of the stop. The total length of our trail is around 8km while the Timpohon trail is 2km shorter than the Mesilau trail. I have to admit, albeit grudgingly, that the Mesilau trail’s surrounding was quite nice. It has a constant fog surrounding the trail in the later stages of our climb and the trees although stunted, were quite unique. It was like a gigantic bonsai.

Our first stop...

Second stop...

A small waterfall...

However, if you ask me whether the extra 2km was worth it, I would say NOOOOOO!!! The extra 2km in the mountain is not the same as a 2km walk in shopping complex. If you were to ask me to walk for 10km in a shopping complex, I would have no problem with it at all. By the time I reached the sign that says 2.0km, I was already regretting the choice of Mesilau trail. My greatest fear came alive when I realized that I was trailing behind the group, almost stopping to catch my breath with every step I take! My friends were quite supportive because they wanted to wait for me, but I would rather die than to have them watch me crawl up the steps one at a time. So, I asked them to wait at every 500 meter sign.

As a result, I spend most of my time watching my steps than enjoying the scenery… not to mention that my (super duper) camera lie unused in my backpack. Pretty soon, the guide and the porter caught up with me and I would never forget the look of surprise in his face. According to the progress of a normal person, it should take at most 30 minutes to complete a 500 meter trail and I was 1km behind schedule. I was really under pressure since the guide did not overtake me but he followed me REALLY close! It was like he’s herding a flock of sheep.

Worse, there was no water at the stop stations! I was told again and again that I did not have to bring a lot of water in my backpack because I can refill them at the rest stations. My bottle was already empty when I finally reached the fourth station that has water.

Initially, we planned to have our dinner at 6.0km. This is because at 6.0km, the Mesilau trail would merge with Timpohon trail… however, all thanks to me; we had to stop at 4.5km. I took out my packed lunch, which was given by the Mesilau Resort (included in the total packaged) and was wolfing down everything in no time. There were cheese sandwiches, fried chicken, sausage, egg, an apple and a can of 100 plus. To my dismay, the can ring broke when I tried to open the can and I thus, I have to drink my regular water.

My lunch...

Pitcher plant...

Well, actually, we all put honey into our drinks… and surprisingly, it was refreshing. Of course we did not put too much and so the water was just slightly sweet. The honey, we got from our breakfast buffet, which was supposed to be served with pancakes :P. By the time we were finished, there was not even one packet of honey in the basket back in the resort’s restaurant!

We also bought two packets of raisins each and it was really invigorating, to be eaten when you feel tired or just want something to eat. Chocolates are good also, but some would think that it was too sweet, so stick with the raisins.

Anyway, it was with great pain and effort that we (sorry, I) reached the merging point of the two trails. It was around 2pm. We started off at around 8:30am and thus, we averaged less than one hour per km and we still haven’t omitted the time we used to have our lunch. So, I was thinking since we have only 2.0km left, we should complete the trail within 3 hours at most… and when we confer with our guide, he told us that it would take 4 hours plus for us to reach Laban Rata!!!

Apparently, the trail from 6.0km onwards were quite difficult… also, during our climb for the first 6.0km, we went downhill for around 2.0km, that’s why we averaged for less than an hour per km. Well, I could not give up then… I was almost there and so with grim determination, I continued my journey uphill.

And then, it started to rain! We quickly took out our raincoats and our progress became even slower. My shoes and socks were already wet, but by that time, I did not attempt to avoid any obvious water puddles. My only objective was to complete the trail as soon as possible.

Strange looking tree...

Isn't the fog nice?

Lush green plant...

Dreamy...

A decade past by and some one who was far at the front shouted, “We’re there, we’re there!” and everyone else who was at the front shouted too… they kept on telling me that I’m almost there… it was really embarrassing. My heart lifted when the first building came into my sight… it was the most the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen (I was delirious at that time).

Of course, that building was not our destination, but my spirits were lifted. We walked past several buildings and finally reached Laban Rata, the place where we check-in. There was a big digital sign that shows the temperature of Laban Rata and it was 10 degree C at that time! However, filled with grime and sweat, I did not really feel cold then.

We checked out watches and we finally completed the trail at around 5.30pm… it took us a bloody 9 hours to complete the bloody trail. I think it normally takes 6 to 8 hours to complete the Mesilau trail. On the bright side, we took less than the 4 hours predicted by the guide to complete the final 2.0km. The place that we were supposed to stay is another 300m away but since the restaurant will close at 7pm (I think), we decided to eat first before we go to our dorm.

I was really tired and hungry that I totally forgot to take a picture of what I ate :P. But it was nothing special, although I did have a lot of helpings. It was a buffet too, and there were mushroom soup, red bean dessert, tea, coffee, chicken, beef, sausages, eggs, vegetables, cakes… all the normal stuff lah. The hot stuff like mushroom soup and red bean dessert were the most popular ones.

The cafeteria at Laban Rata...

That's what left when I remembered to take photo

Pretty soon, we were hiking uphill again to our dorm. Well, the good thing is that the next day, we won’t need to climb this 300m! The scenery was a sight to behold. Our dorm was located near the trail up the mountain and we can see water flowing down the mountain, forming an intricate pattern of waterfall… well, it wasn’t really a waterfall, but it looked like a waterfall.

Finally, we reached a dinghy hut made from aluminum roof. A word of advice, never ever stay at any other place other than Laban Rata… I forgot the name of the place that we were staying at, but you should stay at Laban Rata no matter how expensive it is… it’s worth the price. As expected, the room was chilly; there were three double-decker beds and next to our dorm is a kitchen where one can boil water but you’ll need to walk outside to reach it.

The first thing that we all do is of course take a nice, hot water bath. The bathroom and toilet is located outside… around 100m away from our dorm. And the road to the bathroom was muddy. I was told to go and try out the hot water first.

The bathroom was quite clean, although a little bit dusty and there was no place for me to hang my clothes! Anyway, there were two knobs in front of me… one was green in colour and another one was red colour. Needless to say, the hot water was of course the red colour knob… I turned it one and waited several seconds before trying out of water… it was cold water!

The nightmarish room...

Well, it is possible for the hot water to take some time to come out so I waited for a few moments longer and it was still cold water. So, I turned it off and turned on the green knob. It put my hand under the shower and was hit by a blast of freezing water! Apparently, the cold water is the heated water! This water heater is different from the ones we had in Mesilau, you don’t have to wait for the water to boil… the hot water was routed from somewhere far away so I guess it got cold when the water reached the bathroom.

Well, no matter how, I couldn’t have slept without having a bath, so I gritted my teeth and jumped into the shower. This is one of the main reasons that I implore readers to stay only at Laban Rata. At least, by staying at Laban Rata, one would not need to walk all the way back to their rooms in the outside after their baths. I was shivering when I finally finished my quick shower. While I was leaving the bathroom, I noticed a sign in front of the bathroom… and it mentioned that there will be no hot water from 8pm until 4pm next day!

So, I ran back and told the others. The others were in dismay, but one of them thought of boiling the water for bath. It took them a very long time to get enough hot water for everyone… but I did not pay much attention to them. I was really freezing at that time. I even took out my winter jacket, complete with gloves before I jumped into the bed and cover myself with double layers of blanket.

I have never felt that sensation before. My chest was painful, my body was shaking and my fingers were numb. I even wear socks when I started to feel a tingling in my toes. I thought that I was going to die with cold. In conclusion, I was in a really wretched condition. It was at that time that I started to regret my decision to climb Mount Kinabalu (again :P). I felt like those homeless people in winter (except that I am wearing an expensive jacket).

I kept on waking up from my sleep whenever I tossed and the blanket slipped out and a gust of chilled air sneaked into my body. I prayed fervently that this was only a nightmare but my prayers went unanswered as I was consumed by darkness and cold…