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Part 4: Denouement in Kota Kinabalu

27 November 2010

It was our last day in Sabah before we fly back to West Malaysia. So far, Sabah has been one of the greatest experience in my life especially Via Ferrata.

I got up around 8.30AM to eat breakfast and my roommate was still asleep that time. The buffet breakfast was until 10AM and since we arrived quite late, we just took as much as we can when it's 5 minutes to 10AM xD My verdict for Palace Hotel's food? Bland! TOTALLY BLAND! Everything was almost tasteless for me.

Fortunately, I didn't stuff myself to the max in the morning because we went to this place for an early lunch. If you can't see the wordings, the shop is called Kedai Kopi Melanian 3.

The food they serve was the BOMB! It was one of the tastiest pork ball I've ever tasted. This definitely made up for the bland breakfast buffet.

Then, we went to the Filipino market to do some shopping.

This place is so cramped and not suitable for tall people like me.

Such a cute way for Digi to advertise themselves!

Next stop, the Sabah Museum.

We took a whole lot of pictures here =D

And this is our last stop before we head on to the airport. We decided to grab something light before going on to the beach. This is the first time I've ever eaten satay kambing (mutton satay)!

And here we are looking at the sunset again but it wasn't as beautiful as the one in Pulau Tiga. After finish camwhoring and such, we head to the airport.

We arrived back in LCCT quite late thanks to the delay cause of a double booked seat BOO! Anyway, that's all for my trip to Sabah. Love the experience gained there :)

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Part 3: Conquering Mount Kinabalu

25 November 2010

Morning comes and it's time for us to leave our rooms and climb the mountain.

Before that, we had our simple breakfast. The omelette was fantastic! We were given our lunch boxes to carry along the climb.

We then head off to the office to get our passes to climb the mountain. Without this card, one shall not pass the gate to climb the mountain!

So here we are at the Timpohon gate. We started climbing around 8.10AM.

It sounds quite tough to climb this mountain at first but actually it's quite easy. There are steps and pathway for you to climb up.

At every shelter, they have a tank of untreated water for you to refill your bottle. It's up to you whether or not you will drink this water cause some people get stomach ache after drinking it.

This walking stick is like a gift from heaven! It helps a lot in climbing up to Laban Rata.

I arrived in Laban Rata around 12.40PM. It took me around 4 hours 30 minutes to reach here from the bottom. They said an average person takes 6 hours. Another thing that motivated me to climb faster is because of the Via Ferrata briefing that we must attend.

Whee.. I think my socks play a role for not getting me any blisters =D

It was like heaven up here. I really can't believe a person like me who don't regularly exercise and don't do sports can reach up here this fast. Must thank the walking stick, isotonic drink and energy bars! :D

After paying RM400 at the bottom of the mountain for this activity, of course I wouldn't want to miss the briefing and this pushes me to climb faster xD They have two Via Ferrata routes - one long (Guinness World Record) and one short. Obviously I took the short one since I'm afraid of heights and I still don't know why am I doing this -.-"

It was around 10 degrees Celsius. It's rainy season so the temperature drop to the lowest at this time of the year.

After the briefing, we went back to Laban Rata to have our early dinner.

It was getting darker and..

..the temperature fell to 6 degree Celsius!

This is where we put an evening at. The Gunting Ladagan Hut is located at the entrance of the gate to climb to the peak of the mountain. Since its quite a climb from Laban Rata, some decided to stay here and skip supper before the climb to the peak.

This is roughly how the room looks like. The bathroom and toilet are shared so it's a little disgusting as some people never flush the toilet. Also, there's no hot water to bath in unless you boil your own hot water! Cause of this, many don't want to take a bath. I showered in iced water! It's super cold, super refreshing and super energizing! LOL!

26 November 2010

Got up as early as 1.30AM and went for supper. The temperature fell to 4 degrees Celsius. Thank goodness I'm all geared up for this! I don't feel cold at all. We began hiking up to the peak around 2.30AM.

The air was getting thinner and thinner. I constantly stopped to catch my breath. It was getting brighter and I know I'm going to miss the sunrise before I reach the peak.

However, as I gaze at the side where the sun rises, I can see the sunrise was blocked by a bunch of clouds. Sad but then I decided to slowly make my way to the top since I didn't miss anything.

No matter how hard it was, I pushed myself to the top and I made it! Thanks to the person who took this picture but I don't know why I'm not at the center of the picture LOL!

It was a magnificent and spectacular and majestic and fantastic view up here!! Too bad I have not much time to enjoy it as I have to leave for Via Ferrata.

Since I was afraid of heights, my two guides tried to persuade me not to do it. I almost give up on doing this due to their persuasion but thinking that I'm already there, I might as well just do it!

I was placed near the trainer cause I'm afraid of heights and he is always there motivate me that I can do it. I like him for that! Hahaha.. I pushed myself down. Lucky enough for me, there are mist around so I cant really see the bottom. The mist clears up later and that is when I sort of get used to do it. I make it out ALIVE! YAY! What an achievement for myself! =)

I wanna thank my trainer very much for constantly motivating me saying that I can do it hahaha.. the stupid small helmet make me look fat -_-" and I don't understand why can't people take a photo of me being in the middle of the picture?!

After that, we went down and had our quick lunch and started going down the mountain. It was devastating for me cause I hurt my toenails. It was so painful I walk damn slow. I was the last and my shoes aren't helping either.

My guides told me if I were to go down at this rate, until evening also we won't reach the bottom. So one of them offered me his sandals to wear while he wear his spare one. It looked quite funny on me but I don't care cause I can walk faster and less painfully. I overtook some who came down earlier than me. We had a quick meal after reaching the bottom while waiting for the rest to come down from the mountain.

We were then transported to our next stay at the Palace Hotel by our agent. I forgot to take picture of the room but I can say that the toilet was unpleasant as they did not clean it properly. Without showering, some of us quickly changed and went for dinner at this place as you can see in the picture above.

Our guide specifically brought us to this restaurant in this place - Hua Hing Seafood Restaurant.

I think some of them went crazy and ordered all of these -.-" RM34 per person which I think is expensive. I find the cooking here so-so only. I'm quite fussy with my food so don't blame me. I think I ate better and nicer ones in West Malaysia =P

This big prawn (I think its a tiger prawn) cost RM18! I could order another full plate of normal prawns with this. I'm not the stupid person who ordered this.

After our sumptuous dinner, we head back to the hotel. I went for a foot massage and it was kinda horrid for me cause of my toenails. The massage helps my lower leg but my upper part still feeling the strains and whatnot from the climb. I don't like the place too cause it's kind of prostitute-like place. Story to be continued! =D

Disclaimer: Below are my few tips to give an idea to people who want to climb up Gunung Kinabalu.

Climbing Mount KK Survival Tips

NOTE: Before climbing up at all, make sure your toe nails are short! I wore an Adidas shoes which protected my heel and didnt get any blisters BUT my toe nails which grew a bit longer from the week before I started travelling around got injured. It crippled me when getting down the mountain but luckily I exchanged shoes with my guide which is softer and less impact to my toe. Hence, CUT YOUR TOE NAILS!!

Checklist:

1. Light clothing. I wore sportswear up the mountain which easily absorb and disperse sweat. Cotton absorbs sweat making you feel uncomfortable yet heavier.

2. Camera. May it be a normal digital camera or a DSLR, make sure you have enough battery because cold will reduce battery life.

3. Do not carry heavy backpack. Towels are provided up in the mountain but there are no heater meaning that you will have to bath cold ice water unless you boil your own water and bath. If you really need to carry loads of stuff, just hire a porter which will also be your guide up.

4. Walking stick. It helps a lot.

5. Proper shoes. May it be Kampung Adidas or authentic Adidas, make sure it has a good grip and comfortable to wear.

6. Energy bars and isotonic drinks. They said an average person takes 6 hours to reach Laban Rata but it took me 4 hours 30 minutes to reach Laban Rata. I don't play sports and hardly do any exercise. At every shelter, I will eat up my energy bar and drink isotonic drink.

7. Raincoat. In case it rains, put it on.

8. Waterproof bags. Store your electronics and wallet in here in case it rains. I got myself Ziploc to store my camera and phone.

9. Muscle Rubs. Apply this before climbing to prevent any muscle strains.

10. Aspirins (e.g. Panadol). Take aspirins before climbing up the mountain and before going to the peak as a precaution in case your body can't handle altitude change. Altitude sickness is horrible and you don't want to mess with it.

Going to the Peak

11. Torchlight. If possible get the one which you can strap around your head.

It was 4 degrees when I started climbing up. These will keep yourself warm:

12. Beanie. Keep your ear and head warm.

13. Gloves. It is very important to keep your hands warm! I wore winter gloves which kept me warm but it is not suitable for Via Ferrata

14. Socks. Get winter socks or just wear 2 layers if you cant stand cold.

15. Windbreaker. Inside the windbreaker, I wore a tshirt and another sweater. I'm always warm and no problem of coldness.
 

Additional stuffs:
- Hydration Salt (Keep yourself hydrated! I almost got dehydrated because I left my drinks with the porter which is far behind from me when I'm going down the mountain)
- Mosquito repellent (I dont have any problems with mosquitoes even though I didnt apply it)
- Sunblock (I didn't use mine at all but if you have sensitive skin, might as well use it).

P.S.: There might be stuffs that I missed out. So don't rely too much on this!

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Part 2: Going Around Pulau Tiga

24 November 2010

Continuing from previous post. We spent the night in Pulau Tiga Resort. Quite a nice place to be except for those who can't bath without hot water xD

Morning comes. I didn't even bother to wake up to see the sunrise because it was at the other side of the island.

Had my simple English breakfast. Then everybody gathered around 9AM for our activities.

We decided to jungle trek before going for the mud volcano bath.

It's kind of a short trek - around 5KM.

The best part is that we are not dressed for jungle trekking but for the mud volcano bath. Luckily I brought my Crocs slippers which is more comfortable to walk in =D

We trekked all the way to the different types of beaches they have in this island - rocky, sandy & muddy.

After exploring the island for a bit, we hurried to the mud volcano shelter as we have not much time left until our next destination in Sabah.

Tadaa! This is the mud volcano area! It was so disgusting but a great experience! You can float in the mud and its kinda difficult to navigate around but once you get used to it, it will be quite fun. Getting out from the pool of mud is another different story -_-" It was so slippery and heavy that it takes quite an effort for me to get out from it.

After having enough of mud, we trek back to the resort barefooted! This is because it is too slippery for us to wear our slippers. Fortunately we have a guide to carry our stuffs. And this is what we looked like after bathing in the mud!

After cleaning up, hurried to the ferry to head on our next destination which is our main objective of this trip - conquering Mount Kinabalu!!

My white Crocs became yellowish brown color. Sad but I'm glad I brought it cause it protect my foot a lot =D

This photo's color is more realistic (taken from my phone). We quickly head off to Kota Kinabalu and there goes another 2 dreadful hours in the uncomfortable seat in the van.

All of us did super last minute shopping for shoes and what not. It consumed a lot of time until we almost missed out buffet dinner at the restaurant at the foot of Mount Kinabalu.

Miraculously, we arrived at the restaurant in time for our dinner. This is all thanks to the driver =D

Luckily there's quite some food left for us. The nice cook grilled extra meat for us. Grilled lamb! Wheeee my favorite!! =D

We went back to our room after the dinner. Four sharing room. Thank goodness I was partnered with Victor which I have no problem with at all. Apparently, the other side faces lots of problem which I don't care LOL!

They provide us with towels and basic toiletries including lotion! LOL! I don't know why lotion.. what is it for?! The shower was mad. The water at first was the craziest thing ever! It was so hot until you can boil an egg in it. I'm not so stupid to bath in such boiling water. I waited until it cools off a little and starting having my warm and sometimes cold bath -_-" After that, lights out for me and those hyperactive people go play some card games. To be continued.. =P

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