Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

This is my excuse for not having posted anything in the past week and a half: I went to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia!

Oct. 11 - We took a flight from Clark International Airport (this is about 2 hours away from Manila) and arrived in Kota Kinabalu City around dinner time.

After we had our first Halal meal (mostly tofu), we walked around the city a little bit and had some Tiger beer before retiring.

Oct 12 -  Early morning, our group of 8 climbers from Cebu, Davao and Manila (represent!) pushed for Kinabalu Park to set foot on what we came there for: Mt. Kinabalu.

The climb to the high-altitude resthouse, Laban Rata, lasted about 6 hours. I felt so spent that day, having no serious training prior to the climb. But a buffet dinner welcomed us and we all had our fill of sumptuous Malaysian-fusion selections. After dinner, we stayed at the Gunting Lagadan cabin (some 100 meters above Laban Rata).

Oct 13 - Our summit bid started at around 3 AM. The climb was physically and mentally exhausting as we raced for the sunrise. Add to that the extreme cold and thinning Oxygen as we reach 4000 meters elevation.

My greatest achievement in climbing mountains happened at around 6:30 AM, when we reached the summit of the highest peak in Southeast Asia. I felt teary-eyed as I posed for a photograph - evidence of success!

The trek down the mountain took a total of about 6 hours - from the summit back to Laban Rata; then down to the park headquarters. My legs and knees took a beating so serious, it needed 5 days to fully recover.

 

We were wobbling and dreaded the sight of stairs by the time we came back in KK City. We spent 3 more days there, and I'll tell you more about it next time!