An adventure trip to Sabah, well organised by Miss Wong, one of Aric's friends.
On 1-5 we (13 Malaysians and 1 Kwai Loh) left from the LCCT for Kota Kinabalu, where we arrived at the end of the morning.
The Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park, a short distance west of KK, was our first destination. Snorkeling is the main activity here. The chalets of the Manukan Island Resort were comfortable, but the food was overpriced.
Snorkeling was possible from the beach. I had bought a camera which could be used underwater, so of course we had to try that out! Results were not bad.
The next day we went back to KK to explore the town. As the town has been destroyed in the 2nd World War, there is not much of historical interest. But it has a reputation for seafood and we took the big splurge that evening in one of the waterfront seafood restaurants
Whitewater rafting was next on the program. The following day we went by bus to Beaufort, from where a romantic train took us to the Padas river. After a short but much-needed introduction in the technique of whitewater rafting ("Always keep paddling, even when dying"), we boarded the boats and started our trip through the "Washing Machine", the "Cobra", the "Merry-Go-Round" and many more.
As this was the first time in my life, I felt quite nervous, but thanks to the two expert boatmen, we managed to reach the finish without capsizing.
Actually it was big fun...:-)
The culmination of our trip, literally and figuratively, was Mount Kinabalu, at more than 4100 m altitude. For this mountain we had been training for weeks, in Kiara and Gasing. Technically not a difficult mountain, but the trail starts at 1830 m (the Timpohon Gate) , so you have to climb almost 2300 m!
We started rather late and it had started raining.
It was a tough climb, we reached Laban Ratah at the end of the afternoon, quite exhausted. But hot tea, food and fellowship did wonders..;-). The usual procedure is to go to bed early, try to get some sleep, wake up the next morning at 2-3 am, so you can watch the sun rise from the summit. Then go down all the way to HQ.
I was one of several in our group who decided that this would be too much. At the end only 5 out of 14 reached the summit. Bravo, Aric, Tamy, Max, Andrie and Yew! I took my time, going down, looking for flowers, especially the famous Kinabalu pitcher plants.
Late in the afternoon we arrived at the Poring Hot Springs Resort.
To soak your weary limbs in the hot baths is pure paradise!
After the bath, I had even enough energy to visit the nearby Kipungit waterfall.
Too soon it was time to go back to KK for some shopping in the Filipino Market, before flying back home.
A remarkable trip. I like to give the mountain another try (Mesilau trail?) but then I will take more time for the climb.
The pictures marked with a star, contain additional text info. |
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Dan wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
lovely. .... but you must go back, the summit region and Mesilau trail is breath taking..... |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
"....anywhere, anytime, anything" -- ha ha....I like that. |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
I guessed right. It was gloves for the mountain conquerers. You bought them at the park? Would have cost you RM5 a pair. The same one go for RM2 in SS2 pasar malam. /stephen |
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Kwai Loh wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
Hey, what do you think? I was traveling with Chinamen, and I am one myself, more or less...:-) Of course they where bought cheap in KL. |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
Fantastic! And they all co-exist? Too bad humans can't do that very well. |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
I'm glad you explained that. |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
Beautiful catch! How come I missed this bird the last time I went through the page? |
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lightlingmk2 wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
Beautiful painting in oil, I suppose. |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
The restaurant sure love you. How much did you have to pay? Didn't even want to ask the price when we were in KK. But I think it is cheaper than in KL. /stephen |
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Kwai Loh wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
Each of us forked out RM 100, making a total of RM 1400 :-)!
We walked around the aquariums and went on ordering lobster, crab, shells, until this amount was finished...haha
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lightlingmk2 wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
This is a flugoria spp. Beautiful and colorful insect. Unfortunately you are not able to spread the hind wings to reveal the more splendid colors. |
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lightlingmk2 wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
when i was here 35yrs ago it was a square bath tubs all in a row. lucky you fellows. |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
Way to go. Must feel like heaven after the climb. /stephen |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
oh, Poring is a nice place to explore le |
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lightlingmk2 wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
Don't look like sotong ! |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
You've got to be kidding! More like leafbird food. /stephen |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
Did the ants join in for lunch? /stephen |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
You guys were lucky you could move out. Last week some guys from The Sun (the free paper) as well as other visitors waited days and days but did not get to go up. The winds were gusting at 50-60kph. One could literally get blown off the rock face. /stephen |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
And you didn't feel cold at all did you? |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
Good day Jan! Awesome sunset! KK has some of the nicest sunsets in Malaysia. The Kwei loh knows how to have a good time. Cheers! |
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wrote on Aug 7, 2007:
The results are not bad at all, I must say. |
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wrote on Aug 8, 2007:
Nice trip, Jan. |
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chengwc wrote on Aug 8, 2007:
LOL... I that’s our expertise when goes on a vacation :-D |
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chengwc wrote on Aug 8, 2007:
I thought this was some sort of sea berries? |
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Kwai Loh wrote on Aug 8, 2007:
Sorry, sorry, it is not sotong, but a kind of seaweed |
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wrote on Aug 8, 2007:
Which is why I maintain that it is very presumptuous of us humans to claim that we've CONQUERED such and such a mountain. The mountain ALLOWS you to climb. |
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wrote on Aug 16, 2007:
3290 meters is quite an achievement. Congrats |
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wrote on Aug 18, 2007:
Jan, I am so disappointed with you, so near with, a little more grit and you would be there, gee a couple of months ago I was on top of the Matterhorn, and I am 66 now, my climbing friend is 72.Hee hee, any way well done Aric and the rest of the party, for getting to the top. Cheers
Robert |
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