Mount Kinabalu

After relaxing at the beach it was time to get off our butts and walk up the tallest mountain in South-east Asia. We travelled inland and up into the mountains to the Kinabalu Park Headquarters. Our first days walk was only 6km but it was pretty steep and took us up to an altitude of around 3300m. That along with the fact that it was pouring with rain the whole day made it tough going. At this point I'd like to state that I have been banned from disclosing the details of my mother-in-law's adventure up the mountain.

The overnight stop was at Laban Rata and after a couple of hours of sleep, at around 3am, Jackie, myself and our guide (Lanting) set off for the summit. Dangling onto a rope in the rain on a slope that felt more like trout belly than granite, I occasionally wondered what the hell we were up to. We made the summit at 5:30, with the lights of KK in the distance and the indication of an imminent sunrise. The cold weather and the worm of head torches winding its way up towards us was enough reason to set off down again. With the light of the new day we made our way across the tortured granite dome of the top of the mountain and back down to Laban Rata where we met Jacks' mom for breakfast. We set off about half an hour later and as we walked back to the Headquarters I couldn't help thinking how more people don't seriously hurt themselves on a mountain like this.