We arrived at Mount Kinabalu National Park, Malaysia's first (and rather spectacular) World Heritage Site after a one and half hour taxi ride from Kota Kinabalu. We checked into their fabulous accommodation, with the mountain towering above us. We stayed in Ligawu Lodge (?) and were given a fantastic split level room with two bathrooms, a huge bed on the mezzanine floor and a giant sofa with lots of large floor cushions. All wooden floors, floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the forest and cable TV. Apart from the Mt Lavinia Hotel in Sri Lanka, probably the best place we've stayed in on the entire trip.
We tried to get an early night before we started our trek, although I slept rather fitfully (think I had an attack of pre-climb nerves) and managed to take a chunk out of my shin on the bed corner
and fall down the stairs in the morning - not the start I was hoping for! We had a huge overpriced breakfast and met our guide Roi, then took a shuttle to the start of the trek and set off. It was fairly clear when we departed but this didn't last for long. The climb itself is just under 10km to the summit, but the steepness of the paths and rocky steps has to be experienced to be believed. It's about a 45+ degree incline all the way and there is very little relief. It just goes up and up and up. The steps are past the kids waists at times, so we have to haul ourselves up and then help them. It's very hard going. There are rest stops every kilometre, small shelters with benches and these are very well used. The first 2km pass fairly quickly but then it starts to rain. And I don't mean Manchester drizzle - I mean Bornean downpour. The path rapidly becomes a waterfall and we are totally soaked in our new outdoor clothing that turns out to be not very waterproof at all. Within half an hour, our boots are filled with water as it pours down our legs and gushes off the rocks into our boots. Visibility is not great and all you can see is the steep rocks and tree roots above you and the dense forest to the side. There are no views. It has to be one of the most unrewarding treks we have ever endured. And it is an endurance test - not an interesting trek through rainforest. All you see are your feet and the rain as you try not to fall or slip and concentrate on the ground as much as you can. It's pretty hellish.
Laban Rata, the pre-summit base camp, is enshrouded in cloud when we drag ourselves in after enduring 6 1/2 hours climbing (most people make it to here in about 4-5 hrs). It's like a frat house dorm, very loud and very basic. Our room looks like 'my not so beautiful laundrette' as we fail miserably in trying to dry out our gear for the morning. We have to pay 10 pounds each to dry our boots (which turns out to be a pointless exercise). We eat more eggs and try to get some sleep. I can feel the altitude (we're at about 3300m) and have a headache and insomnia. Tevo starts vomiting during the night but says he feels better in the morning. At 2am, we get dressed in our damp clothes and winter woollies and set off for the summit. Just past the last of the rest houses (about 3400m), Roisin starts throwing up too. Tevo complains of a headache and keeps missing his footing as we walk - his co-ordination is already being affected. This part of the climb is even steeper to begin with. It is clear we're not going to be going to the top so Lee goes with Roi, our guide, and I return to Laban Rata with the children. I regretted my decision to let Lee go instead of me as soon as the children were back in their bunks. I felt so disappointed at having come so far and being so close. I waited up for sunrise but the views weren't that great from Laban Rata as the skies were not so clear still, although it had finally stopped raining.
Meanwhile, Lee raced to the top of the mountain. He made it in less than an hour and a half, so had another hour to wait until sunrise. He perched himself at the summit and almost froze to death. He says it's the coldest he's ever been in his life. The sunrise wasn't as spectacular as he hoped as it was obscured on the horizon by alot of cloud, but he had amazing views all around the Sabah coastline (and I'm sure this is the version that Globetrekker will show when they air their programme since Ian Wright had just been there a few days before), and he could see many of the islands. He raced back down and was back in his bunk by 7am. After a short nap, we all had some more eggs and peanut butter on crackers, and then set off from Laban Rata at about 10am. Within half an hour it was raining again. Fortunately, none of us were as miserable this time (the prospect of a lovely hot bath at Poring Hot Springs perhaps) and we made it down in about 4 1/2 hours.
We left almost immediately for the hot springs and were woefully disppointed when we got there to find one of the grottiest rooms we had ever stayed in (surprisingly still part of the park accommodation). We were promised a 4 bed room and were given a 2 bed cell, so we had to reduce our stay from 2 nights to 1 in order to afford an extra room. The prospect of sharing the bathroom (with its freezing cold showers) with the general public was not appealing either. The next morning we could barely walk and steps were more than hellish. We checked out the springs, but as it was the first day of the school holidays, it was packed beyond belief, so Lee and I rested in the sun (
now it decides to stop raining) while the children played with the Malaysian children in the pool and the water slide. Everyone was so friendly and polite, it was actually very enjoyable despite being so busy. After that, we went to the canopy walk above the forest, it's the highest in Malaysia. The steps up there are only about 800m, but it felt like 8 miles. Roisin almost refused to move anymore. But once we got up there, we all thought it was worth the pain as we wobbled across the bridges high above the trees.
After this, we grabbed our bags and headed to the nearest town of Ranau to catch the bus to Sepilok, right near the east coast of Sabah. Unbeknown to us, we had missed the last bus, so after a 3 hour wait at the bus stop, a passing bemo (kind of like a mini van with seats) picked us up and took us on our way. Normally, they drop you at the roadside on their specific route, but they took us right to the door of Sepilok Jungle Resort, where we wanted to stay. The bargain family room turned out to be a cockroach infested cramped dorm. That night I listened to them scuttling about on the floor as I wondered if I dared scamper to the bathroom. It gave me another dose of insomnia and I was awake for most of the night. The next morning we asked for a new room but they could only offer us a large double aircon, so we took it and were relieved to find these rooms were set along the beautiful lake and gardens and were really rather nice - it only cost about 5 pounds more but then Lee didn't have a bed and had to use the trusty thermarest (but didn't have to share the floor with any cockroaches!). We had a rest day and then headed into the orang-utan sanctuary the next day. It was great - their name means forest people - and they were so close. We watched them at the feeding tables (in the pouring rain) and even they seem less inclined to come and feed in such torrential conditions. On the way back we spotted a youngster knocking around on his own and watched him for over half an hour. It was amazing to see these creatures in the wild and a brilliant experience for Tevo and Roisin, as their habitat is under enormous threat from the forest clearing making way for the ubiquitous palm oil plantations (local villagers also face this loss of habitat as they are moved on from their traditional areas to make space for this ecologically offensive but economically rewarding development).
After this, we went to Sandakan, an east coast port, and found a great little hotel called Mayfair. It had spotless cheap rooms and each had its own DVD player and TV - and Mr Lam the chinese owner also lets you borrow numerous DVDs from his extensive collection for free. Well that was us sorted - we spent two days sitting on our beds, eating junk food and watching back-to-back movies. Just what we all needed! We organised a trip out to Turtle Islands - another National Park where you can stay the night and watch the nesting mothers come ashore, and if you're lucky, you get to see the hatchlings return to the sea. The accommodation is basic and the food's appalling for vegetarians (yet more peanut butter crackers for us) but it's worth it to see these amazing creatures.
As we had a day to wait before we could go to the islands (they strictly limit the numbers to protect the turtles) we arranged through Mr Lam, to take a jeep out to the Kinabantangan river to possibly see proboscus monkeys. It's a long drive and half of it is down a rough bumpy road, of the like we haven't seen since the Indian Himalaya. We were also told it was unlikely we would see anything at that time of day. We had a peaceful and picturesque boat trip down the river and we saw monitor lizards, kingfishers, eagles, cormorant, wild pig, a crocodile (who looked a bit hungry) and a whole family of proboscus monkeys - how lucky did we feel!
The next day we headed out to Turtle Islands (there's actually 3 islands there but you can only stay on one of them - they were bought compulsorarily from a private owener back in the 70s when they realsied what an important site it was and declared part of the National Parks of Sabah. We arrived on our superfast boat just before lunch and had a few hours snorkelling off the deserted beach (where you can see all the tracks from the turtles coming ashore the night before). This is the furthest east any of us have ever been on this big blue planet and we could even see the start of the Phillipines. That night, after more peanut butter crackers, we went to see the nesting mother. They only let the limited number of tourists see one mother - she was a huge green turtle (they also get leatherbacks and olive ridleys). She laid over 70 eggs which the park officer collected to take to the hatchery (she was none the wiser as she buried what she thought were her eggs). There are giant monitor lizards, the size of Komodo dragons here so it saves many of the hatchlings by intervening in this way. We then visited the hatchery and afterwards they bought out the incredibly cute hatchlings who were ready for release. We all got to hold one and give them a name. Then we went back down to the sea to release them. It was a wonderful experience and one we will remember for many years to come.
We returned to Mr Lam's hotel in Sanderkan and hung out for a day watching more DVDs and eating more junk food, and then took a long distance bus back to Kota Kinabalu, where we had a flight to return to KL in the morning. Our experiences in Sabah have been so varied and there is so much to do. We never made it to the Sipidan islands but then it would have been truly expensive and we decided there is plenty to come back for, especially if we learn to dive first. The people of Sabah were, like all Malays we've met, friendly and accommodating. It's alot bigger than you imagine and takes a bit of time to get around but we found out Air Asia fly all over Sabah (for future reference). The food (for veggies) is awful but then it's worth tolerating for the amazing and unique wildlife and the wonderful geaography. We were also worried about malaria before we went to Sabah but actually left with trenchfoot instead ;-), and many wonderful memories of course.
