At LCCT airport
Damn tired coz woke up at 3 something in the morning and reached the airport at around 5 I guess. Eat Mc D also no mood. lol.
Yo yo wassup!
Show off my 15kg bag after collected the bags from KK airport
I found a statue in front of the hostel we stayed. I imitated the lady. =P
Me = Joker
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Ok. Let's talk about Mount Kinabalu!!
We started the hike very late that Monday. After all the waiting and changing vans, we only started our hike from Mesilau's gate (about 2000m from sea level) at about 11.15am. Since Mesilau trail is 2km longer than Timpohon trail, normally people need 8 hours (about 3 hours longer than Timpohon trail) to reach Laban Rata, our hostel. Initially in our plan we planned to go Timpohon trail one. But on that day we suddenly changed plan and asked the driver to bring us to Mesilau gate. We had to pay extra RM15 each person for the Mesilau guide fees which was quite reasonable.
For some of you who might not know, we need to stay overnight at Laban Rata hostel and then only start hiking up towards the peak at 2.30am. The hike from Laban Rata to the peak is normally about 3 hours. So normally people will reach around 5.30am when the dawn starts breaking.
If you're lucky you can see nice sunrise and sea of clouds. I was not lucky enough to watch the cloud sea coz it hadn't been raining for 7 days. I only managed to see clouds that looks like thin cotton wool floating around the mountains afar. The sunrise was not very magnificent either. Just a slight change of sky colour and there came the sun.
The Mesilau hike reminded me of the long dreadful Irau hike. As a comparison, last time I took 5 hours to reach Irau peak last time, with a rucksack about 10kg which later I let someone to carry two 1.5L of water and thence reduced to 7kg. Such hike was already demotivating and dreadful. This Kinabalu Mesilau hike was even worse! With 10kg rucksack summore (I didn't pay the porter to carry my things coz I find it fun to feel myself as if I'm an expedition venturer.. sigh.. dun talk about expedition, I will cry coz I can't go...) It took me 7.5 hours to reach Laban Rata. Imagine the mental stress. [Dry laugh]
I started to pant already after the first few steps from the Mesilau gate. lol.. Maybe the air was already thin coz the gate is itself 2000m from sea level.
First pondok
But the trail started to go downhill somewhere around 2km from the gate. So all of us were so happy we sang and sprinted down the trail. That was the relaxing part, but just for 1km.
Second pondok
3rd pondok
Stopped by a pondok to finish my breakfast. =P
Starting 3km (or 3.5km??) it started to go uphill again with lots of steep wooden staircase. According to our guide, Petrus, it was going all the way uphill to Laban Rata. Our spirits gradually dampen. We stopped singing to reserve more energy for the climb. =P
Started to look tired
Half way climbing we saw a bunch of old uncles and aunties who were from a Singapore Yoga class having lunch in one of the pondok. We also stopped for lunch there and had some chat with a very sporting aunty who looked like she's in her 60s. Really salute them! I dunno whether I got the guts to climb KK when I'm that old. But they took quite long to reach Laban Rata.
Old auntie from Singapore
After lunch we continued our journey.
(Yor.. my legs very big from this angle..)
When we hiked half way, Petrus pointed to Laban Rata afar and said we were reaching soon. All of us almost pengsan. It looked very far lo.. It looked like it's impossible to reach. Summore we haven't even reach the junction which joins Timpohon and Mesilau trails. So demotivating that time.
Lucky thing was that I didn't feel the weight of the rucksack. No back pain at all this time. It was just the panting and breathless feeling. Is it because of lack of lung capacity due to lack of endurance training? lol. Maybe.
Slightly before 5km Petrus told us the restaurant at Laban Rata was closing at 7pm and with such pace we will reach later than 7pm and we would not be able to eat our dinner. Get Pei and me volunteered to 'run' up to tapao dinner for the rest of the team. So we took a group photo and then splitted.
This is 500m before the junction
The junction!!! =D
When we reached the junction we were jumping of joy. Coz we thought the trail will be much more easier. Timpohon ma. Mana tau....
This 4.5km is Timpohon one. Meaning 4.5 + 2 = 6.5km for Mesilau
The Timpohon trail crazy one. The steps were so tall and the staircase was like forever. When I saw the endless staircase of the merge trail (2km more to the hostel), I kept stopping every few steps. It was even more tiring to walk these staircase than the long Mesilau trail. Or maybe the long Mesilau trail had depleted our energy?
I couldn't even run.. -.-
Oh ya! Just before we reach the junction, we saw a bunch of pitcher plants. Really damn a lot lo. Irau also got a lot of these plants, but the pitcher plants at KK was HUGE! When I walk into the bush to take photo with the plants my head knocked onto one of the pitcher plant when I was taking the photo. Very scary... But hor, after knocking to the pitcher plant only I know the plant was actually solid like a wood. Initially I thought it's soft like orchid texture.
The pitcher plant I was pointing to was as long as my head!
Funny expressions. Hehe.
Take a peek. What's inside the pitcher plant? 2 butterflies and one leaf.
Back to the Timpohon trail. The scenery after the junction was nice!
All shrubs and short plants
Croaked trees. It might look scary at night.
We were above clouds already.
Irau-like trees
7km Mesilau Trail
Around here Woan Yng and Yannee caught up with us again. And we took a lot of funny photos on the rock.
Alright. I fail modeling. lol.
I think this pose suits me better. lol.
At around 7.7km (5.7km for Timpohon Trail) the sky was getting darker. And the oxygen was thinner with increasing altitude.
I kept panting harder and harder. Can see me ah?
After a while the wind started blowing stronger. It was freezing cold. My fingers started to feel numb. My ears too. I had to stop to wear head torch, gloves and beanie. So Get Pei continued to save our dinner.
When I've done wearing everything and ate some chocolate bars to warm up my body, the trail was already dark until cannot see which stone I was stepping on. Luckily I had my headtorch with me. That 300 meters was the scariest distance I had in my life. Dark, alone and had no idea how long more I could reach the hostel. Plus the scary wind-blowing sound. I was on the verge of crying. I walked slower and slower. I lost my determination.
This was the most demotivated moment in my trekking experiences. At least other treks I had someone with me, but this one I was all alone.
Afterwards when we met each other and shared our experiences during hiking only we know that almost everyone in our team were walking alone at the last 500m-1km distance. And the girls felt like crying too. Hehe.. I was not alone rupa-rupanya. =P
When I saw the first building I didn't feel the triumph coz I was lost. I didn't know which building I should head to. I called Get Pei but don't really understand what she was trying to say. Then I met Yannee, one of our girl. We walked pass the hostel and walked uphill and got lost somewhere outside the staff hostel. lol.. Luckily the staffs asked where we want to head to. It was very kind of them to point us the direction to the hostel. When we reached the hostel it was 7.10pm already. Luckily food were still served. =) And most importantly, warm water!
But it was my mind which was needed to be defrosted. I was slightly in shock. Damn scary la the experience. But this kind of thing (being lost) can be solved by asking the people around. So thinking back it actually is not that scary after all. lol.
Sorry no photos at the hostel coz everyone was half dead and very hungry already. Hehe. All we did was eat, eat and eat more. lol.
We were lucky again that we got to stay in heater rooms instead of the non-heater room indicated in the package thanks to Get Pei who requested for the change. Was quite warm in the room. But too bad no heater for shower. I didn't shower. Just wiped with towel. But that already could freeze my skin!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning, we started to hike up at 3am. The sky was full of stars! But I still prefer the stars in Kuala Kubu Bahru during my IW, lying on the road near orang asli housing area looking up at the stars with my group mates. Ahhh~~ It felt like heaven! The stars in KK were not as many as KKB.
At first I wore 4 layers: long john, T-shirt, jacket, thick jacket. I also wore a scarf, beanie and gloves. After 10 minutes I started to take off my thick jacket. Another 30 minutes I took off my beanie. And then my gloves. It was so hot I started to sweat at the very beginning of the trek!! Maybe because I slept in the heater room. But I kept coughing when the cold air came gushing to my mouth and nose. So I wrapped the scarf around my nose and mouth. It made me felt better. No more coughing. =) Petrus was curious why I wrapped it around my face. Hehe..
Around 700m more to reach the peak only I started to feel cold and started to wear back my jacket, beanie and glove. From this point onwards my fingers felt like freezing cold everytime I took off my gloves to take my camera. lol. But ears and nose didn't feel cold or pain. Just the fingers.
Robber Heay. =P
But my scarf kept slipping down. Very very mafan. Everytime have to stop and re-cover my face. Next time must bring this kind of cap to climb KK (see red arrow).
I regretted for not bringing any snacks when I hike up the peak. Half way climbing my stomach made noise already. Luckily there's one Chinese guy who was willing to spare me his Snickers! I reached Low's peak after the sunrise coz I kept taking pictures and missed it. lol. Nevermind la. The sunrise was not as magnificent also. =P
Eating snickers. Hehe.
Sunrise
Heading towards Low's Peak
South Peak (One Ringgit Peak. It's called such name because its image can be found in the RM1 note)
Donkey Ears Peak. Didn't know there's Ugly Sister Peak beside the Donkey Ears Peak. So didn't take the picture of the Ugly Sister. Next time will try to spot the peak.
Victoria Peak (Thumbs up peak). But I feel it look like a male organ. keke. Oh! It looks like a giant turtle too!
St. John's Peak. Looks like a smirking face (facing to the right)
Another magnificent picture of St. John's Peak
Group photo at Low's Peak, 4095.2m from sea level! =D Yeay! We've made it!
Group photo with Petrus, our guide.
Dun remember what peak this is already. Hehe. Low or South? Hmm.. Low's Peak spins anti-clockwise while South Peak spins clockwise. I think it's Low's peak.
With Low's Peak
Low's Peak's shadow! How stunning! The peak is so tall that its shadow is huge enough to cover such a big area under the mountain. =)
Someone decorated the mountain with some rock art. =P Not me. I was just taking the photos.
Another set of rocks. The crowds were moving down.
Layers of mountains. Nice!
Nice view of tiny houses under the mountain. We were inching down.
Some slight abseiling for safety purpose. Inching. Inching... =) Actually the abseiling parts in KK is way safer than the Bukit Tabur one coz the slope was not as steep as that in Bukit Tabur. (about 90 degrees in Tabur and at most about 40 degrees in KK)
We went down using Timpohon trail. Although Timpohon has big steps,I felt better when going down the mountain as compared with going up. Half way many of them suffered from knee pain. So we took quite long to reach the Timpohon gate. At around 2.30pm the guide told us that the restuarant will be closed at 4.30pm. We would miss our lunch if we didn't reach there by then. So, me and Ming Jia ran down almost 3km to the gate. We walked when there were stairs and ran when the trail was somehow flat.
Miss the time running like two crazy ladies down the trail passing a few people who were going down also. Luckily my ankle didn't feel painful. Just a bit sore. After passed by the gate we had to look for the van that was suppose to bring us to the restuarant. According to other van drivers, the van was 500m down the road. So, we ran again. lol. Everyone was looking with surprise. Damn funny one. In the end we asked the van driver to fetch us to the restaurant to tapao for the rest. We were too hungry and tired then and started to grab some chicken wings from the trays, sat anywhere we could find and started eating. Haha.
I got 2 certificates from the climb! Hehe. One is for Mesilau trail, one for Low's peak. Mesilau trail certificate have to pay extra RM2.
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Took some photos by the sea near the place we stayed. It's just beside the Wisma Merdeka.
Funny la this photo. Hehe..
This pose very nice right? But this pose made my leg kejang. Very painful.
In the end had to stretched my leg muscles a bit. Everyone was laughing. Damn wat-tat.
I was damn worry la coz the next day was the KK hike wor. If my muscles kejang how to hike? Luckily the KK hike was not affected by this injury.
Sunset. Everything was in orange. I love orange!
Took a pic at the place we had our dinner. It was dark already.
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We went for island hopping, snorkelling and watersports the subsequent day after we came down from Mount KK. I paid extra RM80 for para-sailing and RM90 for jet ski. Already there might as well try everything. But I didn't try the FlyFish which turned out to be very exciting, challenging but quite dangerous. I became their photographer instead. Hehe. It was challenging also la. Coz have to stand in the boat to try to take the photos of the FlyFish boat without dropping the camera into the sea. Coz the boat was in full speed. lol.. I enjoyed that part too. =P
At the beach when we just reached
Taken with the guides (on my left)
Parasailing
It was quite boring at the top. So we started to do weird weird things like... Yannie poked my ass! o.O So cham nobody heard me shouted "HELP!!!" up there. They thought I said "YEAY!"
So I started to back away from her (see picture below)
And then we started to poke each other on top. lol.
After finish poking, we felt bored again and started to make big movements hoping that we can drop into the sea. Kakaka.
Nay, I'm just kidding. We "lie" down with legs pointing straight and body falling backwards, looking backwards watching the sea level at an upside down angle. It was damn nice la.
Being pulled back to the boat.
Dragged through he sea water. lol.
We had a group photo after parasailing
Jet Ski
I was driving
After playing jet ski the guide found one snake in the sea. He let us hold the snake to take photograph. haha.
Was really scared but trying to look calm. hehe..
Get Pei freaked out. So cute la her expression =P
FlyFish
Get ready on FlyFish boat at deep sea
The boat was accelerating.
The motor boat was turning a sharp angle. This was before the FlyFish boat flipped to the side.
Two dropped into the sea. And they seemed enjoyed floating in the sea.
Oh yea! Forgot that we were also lucky to have the chance to learn how to drive a boat! Me, Yannee and Get Pei one by one volunteered to learn. =D
The boat hor.. the stering already rosak. So, we had to control the engine part: if wanna turn left have to turn the thing right. I always turned to the wrong direction and suddenly turned it back to another direction. Everyone on the boat was screaming when I drove. lol. Dangerous driver. =P
I was seriously tanned right after 30 minutes standing at the beach. It was so fast! (-_-) Not yet even go out for snorkeling and water sports already suntanned.
Group picture at Jesselton Point after finish everything.
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The next day we went for white water rafting. I hoped I could go to the Level 5 rafting. But too bad I had to follow my group. So we went for the Kiulu River Level 1 instead. It was damn boring la. Not current one. Can even read a book in the boat. (-.-) But we consoled ourselves that it had not been raining for one whole week already, so the water current at Padas (level 3-5) won't be as fast as well. So in some way, we didn't waste that much, did we?
Still can pose for photos. lol.. (I very stupid la.. go and cover my face with the paddle. Sweat...)
This was some tiny current which didn't give any rasa to us.
So, during the rafting we jumped down to the river and swam. And had some water splashing war with another boat. But too bad we didn't have enough energy to splash the water. The water couldn't even reach them. lol. So we lost the war. =(
For those who wants to try out this rafting in KK, this rafting was RM170 per person. Level 4-5 was RM230 per person at Padas.
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We went straight to Gaya Pasar after we put all our bags in the hotel on the first day.
The fountain in Gaya Street
They sell quite a lot of weird weird stuff. Very different from those sold in our pasar malam.
I seriously dunno what these are and what these are for.
Roots? For what? I didn't ask. Hehe.. Too shy la.
Some masks and traditional musical instruments.
More masks.
They sell keris also! Whoa... Damn cool la.
Gongs and some chinas.
More musical instruments
Barang hiasan
Cactus. For what? Can eat one ah?
Paintings of sceneries, orang utan and also the life of orang asli
Dogs for sale in pasar malam! So cute! Quite cheap also. Sigh... I had the urge to buy at that moment.
Fishes are sold here too.
Some baskets
Pearls and crystals. They have plenty of pearls sold everywhere. But not roundish one.
Pasu-pasu
Corals for what? Decoration? So not environmental friendly.
Had our lunch at Gaya Street. Ordered some dumpling noodles which looked like this:
Looks very disappealing. lol.The taste was just so-so. But the soup was damn salty.
After jalan-jalan at Gaya, we walked to the shops nearby coz Ming Jia wanted to buy Kampung Adidas.
On the way, we saw this incomplete construction area which looks quite artistic. Hehe. So we took some photos.
This is the shop which sells the shoes. The shop name is 雄风 (Siong Fong if not mistaken)
Only RM4.90 for one pair of kampung adidas. But too bad the smallest size was 5 which is too big for my feet. Something wrong with their shoes size system. o.O
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The last dinner in KK we had seafood at Tanjung Aru Seafood Restaurant at Waterfront.
Before going for the dinner, we took some pictures at the beach.
Group yoga. Haha.
Our shadows (I'm second from the left)
Me and Ming Jia, kissing. lol. Look like kissing right? =P
After all these nonsense photography session we went for our dinner. There were some locals performing with those traditional musical instruments we saw in Gaya pasar and some traditional Kadazan dances.
When they performed the bamboo dance, they danced so gracefully regardless of the speed of the closing of the sticks. I remember I gave really loud applause to them after this performance.
After that they called for volunteers to try out the game. Because of being too loud I kena 'invited' by the performers to try out the bamboo dance. Actually I really wanted to play the game one. Luckily they come to invite me. Coz I shy to volunteer la.. =P Without second thought I went on stage. They taught us the steps and then the game started. The girls took the video of me and Get Pei playing the game. Too bad I still haven't got the video from them. Will upload when I get the video.
In the end we even managed to take picture with all the performers tim! So happy le. This is like bonus of the KK trip! What a luck we had! =D
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There's one place selling very nice TakoYaki near our hotel. It's in the Merdeka Square.
Just RM2.50 for 1 box. Very cheap and the way they make the food is very hygienic. They vacuumed the cooked oil away everytime after cooking.
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That's all for my 6 days 5 nights KK trip. Spent around RM1800 including the accomodation, island hopping, air tix. This also includes expenses which were not covered in the package: meals, water sports, souveniors, KK Mesilau cert, KK Mesilau guide (add guide fees), snorkeling equipments, transports and a lot of herbal tea (coz my lips were cracking, it was very dry and I didn't drink enough water)
p/s: Next post will be my first sailing experience from Raleigh monthly meeting and Broga hill sunrise.
(Updated 19 May 2009 7.06pm)
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