Malaysia and Thailand

Dec 30 2008

Yes, the rains do fall on Mt Kinabalu. The mornings start out relatively clear but by mid-day the clouds have gathered and sometime in the afternoon the rains fall. It is best to time your walks for the morning and be well sheltered for the afternoon. Unfortunately we do not always follow our own advice.

We were back in KK for two nights to wash clothes, read emails and set off once again. We took a minibus on 28 Dec 2008 from Kota Kinabalu (KK) to Kinabalu National Park. It was a painless 2 hour ride. We had good views of the rocky peaks on the way. Our accommodation, D'Villa Rina Ria, was 500 M from the Kinabalu National Park gates. The small hotel is right on the busy highway but we had a "suite" with a sitting room with a small sofa, a quiet bedroom in the back with TV and a balcony overlooking a valley. It sounds far more luxurious than it was. The decor was our usual basic and the toilet flushed with a bucket of water. We did have hot water delivered through a handyman's special plumbing. Hot water is good. We were in the mountains and the temperature drops as soon as the sun goes down. In fact we had to ask for extra blankets.

We arrived before lunch, ate at the small hotel restaurant and set off for our first walk in Kinabalu Park. Established in 1964, the park encompasses 750 sq km, with Mt Kinabalu at 4095 M, the highest peak in Malaysia. Most people come to summit the peak, a hard uphill slog accomplished in two days, but we did not. After enduring a few months of physio on my knee before we left Canada, I did not think a summit hike would be wise. Instead, we explored a few of the day hiking trails. The first afternoon we walked up the main road leading to the summit trail and took a nice trail through the rainforest alongside the Silau Silau River. Towards the end of our walk we heard the first rumblings of thunder, which gradually increased in intensity. The storms were getting closer. We took the first exit back to the main road and headed for our hotel. We just made it before the rains came in earnest and continued all evening. Luckily we were safe and cosy in our room.

The next morning seemed to promise blue skies. Boy were we fooled. We set off for the park once again. We paid 16.50 RM for transport via taxi to the Timpohon Gate where we saw our only glimpse of the peaks. All the summiteers gather at the gate with their guides. It is 8.5 km to the summit from the gate and you must pay 100 RM each and hire a guide to go all the way. Day walkers, like us, pay 10 RM and can walk the first 4 km. We decided to walk as far as we could for two hours before turning around. We actually got to the 2.5 km in 1 1/2 hours but that was enough. It was straight up steep stairs.

good place for a rest stop

Mt Kinabalu waterfall

There was a pretty waterfall right near the beginning but mostly we were hiking in the trees. We were glad we had lots of water and our hiking poles. Comparing our fitness level with most of the people who were heading to the top, we concluded that only a small percentage would make it. The people we have met on our travels who did summit Mt Kinabalu said they were pleased to have done it but paid the price of very sore muscles for the next few days.

Back at the Timpohon Gate, we ate our packed lunch and watched the clouds obscure the peak. We heard the first rumblings of the afternoon rain, but went ahead with our plan of walking down the 5.6 km Liwagu Trail back to the Park Entrance instead of taking the transport. Thunder claps continued off and on and after about 1 1/2 hours of downhill trails through the forest we had to put on our rain jackets. Smarter people would have heeded those thunder warnings. We ended up walking for two hours in the pouring rain. In better weather it would have been a pleasant walk through the forest and beside a river. Instead we waded through water-filled pathways getting increasingly wet.

We made it back to our hotel safely but soaked. We had dry shirts to change into but no dry shorts and our day-hiking shoes were water logged. We had only the bare minimum with us and had left our big bags with additional clothing in KK. We stripped off and washed everything but given the cool weather and lack of sun, nothing dried very well. That was enough for me. We had seen most of the day hiking trails and we didn't look forward to walking in wet feet. It was time to return to KK and the sun.

After breakfast on 30 Dec we packed up and got a ride back to the city in a pickup truck with an extended cab. We returned in time for lunch. Since it was our anniversary (43rd!) we celebrated with a non-Asian meal. The Italian restaurant Little Italy was recommended so we had pasta and our first glass of wine since leaving France.

We had time before leaving Borneo to revisit the islands off KK and do a little snorkeling. We took the motorboat shuttle to Mamotik, the island we had liked on our last visit to KK. Who should we met there but some of the fellow travellers we had met on our trip to Kinabatangan. An English couple, David and Diana, plus three Aussie girls were also there for the day. We all enjoyed the sunshine and warm waters and brought each other up to date on our travels.

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