Our first climb

The highlight of the trip would definitely have to be climbing Mt Kinabalu in Borneo. Not only was it a personal triumph but reaching the summit with Aaron was grand. We got to see each other's strengths and sharing this experience has brought us closer together. He was a bit worried about my asthma and I of his tendency to feel light headed but in the end, we reached the summit together and reaped its overwhelming sights.
Aaron and I got to the headquarters of the park around 11am and started hiking around 12pm after getting our guide. There are two parts to our mountain climbing. The first day we climbed to the rest lodge which is 6km away and the lodge itself is 2.7 km away from the summit. Then at 2am the same day, we hike up to the summit and watch the sunrise and hike back down to the headquarters. That's right, that is 11 hours of hiking total for today.

The start of the climb required a smile


The soon faded into huffs and puffs

The hike to the lodge was strenuous and it took a lot of endurance to hike yourself up those huge and forever meandering steps filled with wet slates and red clay rocks. I was out of breath really quickly, every 200 meters I needed a rest. 200 meters doesn't sound like much but it is torturous when it is 200 meters of rock and steps taller than your knees. Our guide was amazing, he walked the mountain briskly, arms folded while Aaron and I huffed and puffed.The hike up to the lodge was amazing, filled with pitcher plants and fogs coming into the forest. It took us 6 hours to hike up to the lodge, it was amazingly hard and I think it took more mental than physical, knowing that you can push yourself and also needing to know when to have to stop for a rest. Resting for 5 minutes did a whole lot to refresh our steps. 1.5 km from the lodge, the view was amazing, The altitude was above the clouds, above most weather! A guy mentioned that at the lodge he saw lightning flashes from the clouds below but above the clouds it was sunny!

Aaron, ever so happy to have reached the lodge

After dinner at the lodge, Aaron and I went to bed on bunk beds shared with two other smelly guys. The lodge smelled like body odor but oh well, its the only one there! It was hard to get any rest due to the smell and the chatter sounds of others outside. We woke up at 2.30am and started climbing to the summit, without anything to eat! It was pitch black but we had head lights and it was amazing as we climbed in total darkness except for the parts we focused on.Aaron felt a bit dizzy once in a while, I think due to altitude but we stopped until he felt better. The hike from the lodge to the summit was more pleasent than the base to the lodge. It was a slight incline climb on slate plates and was not as exhausting as step climbs. We got to the peak before 6am and saw the sun rise which was amazing. I mean, you could see the clouds trying to pass mountain peaks, forming a bubble blanket as the mountain cuts through them. We stayed at the peak for half an hour taking photos and waiting for others to take photos by the sign that says you're at the top. Annoying chinese tourists took so many photos of every friend combination possible AND they packed soft toys to take photos with at the peak. I mean, what the heck. These people were in their 30s. A guy pulled out a red dragon soft toy and posed with it. A girl pulled out a chicken soft toy and posed with it too.

The descent down was amazing because the sun had finally come up and we got to see what we were exactly climbing in the dark. It was mostly slabs of rocks at a menacing decline that made you lock your knees and it was generally ankle and knee intensive. Aaron felt quite bad coming down as we climbed the summit on empty stomachs (don't know why they didn't feed us) We packed chocolates and some candies but he didn't really want those. He wanted oranges. Descending the summit, he had nausea and wanted to vomit but resting often helped and we finally reached the lodge at 9am. We ate a buffet of baked beans, toasts, chicken sausages (it is a muslim country after all!!) and fruits and noodles. We rested for an hour before going on our 5 hour trek down to the headquaters. It was indeed a long long day. Our trek down was less labor intensive but a real tackle on the knees and toes and ankles. I was fine until half way through when all the compounded weight and shock due to the high steps going down, my legs started to shake and knees lock. Aaron was fine, filled with food in his tummy and often going a bit fast and slipping which made my heart jump.

The climb down, those wretched loose mud rocks!

We got to the base and had our lunch and I was just so so tired. The food was crap. After eating, we went out to catch a bus to get back to KK. Numerous taxi drivers came up to us and offered a ride for 100 ringits! (That is around 30usd) I said, haha, I can catch a bus for 15 ringits. No way. He tried to talk us down to 20 ringits a person but I don't like giving taxi sharks their money. Another made a wonderful offer of 150 ringits to which I said, get out of here. We caught a mini public bus for 15 ringits and it was a pure malaysia experience for Aaron. The driver was on steroids and drove like he was in a get away car. He made passes on curves with cars coming toward us. His turns were so hard and fast that a malay lady sitting by the aisle fell off her seat and right into the door! The driver didn't even apologize and went the same speed. Everyone in the bus went, OOOO!!! Aaron nearly had his leg impaled when the door opened and the rod that mechanically opens it inside retracted quickly by his knee.

That post climb shower and sleep was the best, best ever.