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Also in the photo series: Mike Tee visits Krabi for some rock climbing adventure in Thailand!
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The Trip » Mt Kinabalu: Day 1 |
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We started our ascent of Mt Kinabalu at 8am. The first few kilometres were nice - we totally absorbed the whole "relaxing nature" thing. |
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The Photos |
Click on the thumbnails below to view the larger photos. For best viewing results, press the F11 key on your keyboard to view in fullscreen - once done, hit F11 again to return to normal browser mode. |
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1.) Imagine waking up to this magnificent view from your window at 6:30 am! |
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2.) Breakfast. High-energy food recommended. Seen here is Evelyn trying to munch a pack of hi-carb tissue papers. |
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3.) Petrus Duli is our mountain guide. A dimunitive, quiet and unassuming chap - Petrus has ascended the mountain over 200 times, at a rate of 2-3 climbs per week. |
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4.) At the starting point, we were greeted to a notice board showing the winners of Climbathon 2001 - The World's Toughest Race. The climb that would take us nearly 2 days to complete - was finished in barely 2 hours 40 minutes by the freak runners! |
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5.) Timpohon Gate marks the start of the Mt Kinabalu climb. |
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6.) The trail starts off with a long flight of stairs - downhill! |
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7.) Soon enough, the trail starts winding upwards with some series of - no, make that many series of stairs at rapid intervals. |
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8.) Only a kilometre gone, and Evelyn seriously doubts whether all her investments for the trip had been worth it. "I'm gonna sit here and mope all day until somebody decides to lug me on his back all the way to the summit", she didn't say. |
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9.) Yes, the climb is so friendly that toilets are clearly marked too. Beat that, Everest! |
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10.) Jason takes a break for the obligatory photo shoot. |
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11.) Some parts of the climb are hiking up rocks - easy but gets slippery when it rains. |
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12.) Rest huts are provided every few kilometres along the way, and these mountain squirrels eagerly nibble on food crumbs dropped by climbers. I got bitten trying to feed one. Ungrateful little rodents! |
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13.) Every now and then, peeking thru the leaves, we get a good view of the mountain summit. |
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14.) Halfway thru the ascent, as the trees make way for smaller vegetation - the mountain presents us with a breathtaking sight. For the first time, I got to see clouds on eye level. |
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15.) Halfway point - the trees start thinning out. |
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16.) Climbers having lunch on the rocks, above the clouds. By far the best lunch experience I've ever had. |
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17.) Some foreign students we encountered. Lucky bastards! How come I'VE never gotten to do this as a student?! |
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18.) At this point, we were close enough to get a good look at the granite rocks on the upper ridges of Mt Kinabalu. |
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19.) The trail continues to guide us ever closer to the summit. |
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20.) Our guide Petrus Duli climbs up the mountain every other day, but is still fascinated by the awesome sight. |
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21.) These trees would feel right at home in a horror movie. |
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22.) An acacia tree. |
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23.) Along the way, we encountered these porters, men and women, who carry equipment, supplies, gas tanks, etc up and down the mountain. |
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24.) Finally, at about 1:15pm, we reached the Laban Rata camp which houses several rooms and a restaurant. We stayed at Gunting Lagadan, which was several hundred metres further up. |
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25.) Outside, these folks decided to get a sun tan while the rest of us were covered up in jackets due to the cold. |
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26.) The restaurant at Laban Rata was a warm welcome. Inside, it's a noisy cacophony of climbers getting to know one another, exchanging tales, making friends and generally, recharging for the next stage of the climb in a few hour's time. |
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27.) Around evening, the area was suddenly engulfed in a light of red and orange. Yay, sunset! |
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28.) The setting sun casting an orange glow behind the mountains. |
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29.) As the evening gave way to nightfall, streaks of blue, purple and orange painted a perfect picture. |
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30.) I know this looks Photoshopped, but it really isn't. Just ask this Singaporean dude whom I believe is called Jeff, whom I also believe promised to send over some pictures but never did. Prick! |
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31.) At Gunting Lagadan where we bunked for the night. That's Jeff from Amsterdam being kept awake by Jason's snoring orchestra made up of a steam train and broken trumpet. |
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Next: Mt Kinabalu: Day 2 » |
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