My O-N-C-E in a lifetime experience - Mt KK!

After months of training @ Bukit Timah, the day finally arrived but p0h was filled with mixed feelings; both excitement & fear!! My greatest fear - height, physical stamina - can I really make it to the summit..???

A 1001 stories were told to me when I broke the news.. "I'm going to conqueor Mount Kota Kinabalu this Jul..!!" Peers shared their experience on how tough this hike will be.. Oooo.. not forgetting that there were ppl who said "I CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE SUMMIT / You will give up 1/2way for sureeeeee.."

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement, discouragement & blessings given.. I'm glad I've went, I'm glad I've made it, I'm glad I saw a different side of myself.. =)

**Mind you, it didn't create an impact that strong to cause a turning point in my life but at least..
- I know with perservance, I can do it..
- I may be slow but I'm determined to continue & complete the journey with my own efforts; I could haf easily asked our guide cum porter to piggy-back mi downhill.. "You can be slow but so long as you dun stop.."
- When I'm feeling down, I do need some encouragement from u by my side. I'm glad I had Kristi aka my hike buddy. She was my main pillar of support; her generous encouragement lifted up p0h's spirit to continue.. Oooo.. not forgetting, she motivated p0h abt dinner - KFC & Ba Gut Teh is awaiting for us when we complete our hike!!

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When: 16th Jul 10 (Fri) to 19th Jul 10 (Mon)
Who: Daniel, Kristi, Jeemee, Ally, Jas, Ben, Terry & p0h
Where: Mount Kota Kinabalu @ East Malaysia - Sabah
What: Hiking!

Price:
- Air tix ~ SGD155
- Accomodation + Hike ~ SGD 273 (inclusive of 5 meals)
- Other expediture ~ SGD 150 to SGD200 (inclusive of meals, taxi, 2 way van transfer from Backpacker's lodge to KK etcc..)

Itinerary

Day 1 Depart SG for KK

Overnight at KK

Day 2 Attempt part 1 of Mt K. climb

Lunch provided

Overnight at Laban Rata

Dinner provided

Supper provided

Day 3 Attempt part 2 of Mt K. climb

Breakfast provided

Lunch provided

Overnight at KK

Day 4 & Day 5 Extension @ KK Town

Day 6 Depart KK for SG

Lodging in Kota Kinabalu

http://www.kinabalubackpackers.com/

Flight Details

16^th July 2010 Friday

1735hrs (SIN) – 1950hrs (BKI)

Flight: AK 6274

19^th July 2010 Monday

1455hrs (BKI) – 1710hrs (SIN)

Flight: AK 6273

Cost (not exhaustive)

1) Air tix S$155

2) Transportation to hostel (taxi) 20 ringgit (shared) – 5 each

3) Day 1 hostel 25 ringgit

4) Transportation to Inanam bus station (taxi) 300 ringgit (shared) – 37.50 each

5) Transportation to Park HQ (taxi) 90 ringgit (shared) – 23 each

6) Entrance fee to Kinabalu Park 15 ringgit

7) Climbing permit 100 ringgit

8) Insurance 7 ringgit

9) Guide (4 to a guide) 100 ringgit (shared) – 25 each

10) Transfer to Timpohon Gate 4 ringgit

11) Laban Rata Rest-house 435 ringgit

12) Climbing certificate 10 ringgit

13) Transportation to Inanam bus station (taxi) 90 ringgit (shared) – 23 each

14) Transportation to hotel (taxi) 15 ringgit (shared) – 4 each

15) Day 3 hostel 35 ringgit

16) Transportation to airport (taxi) 20 ringgit (shared) – 5 each

17) Meals (estimated total) 100 ringgit

*paid in Singapore

Equipment for Climb

1) Day bag

2) Headlamp (with spare batteries)

3) Waterproof gloves

4) Disposable poncho

5) Windbreaker cum sweater

6) Fleece jacket

7) Beanie/balaclava

8) Trekking/track pants

9) Trekking/track shoes

10) Camera (with spare batteries)

11) Walking stick

12) Hydration supply

13) Thermos (BYO hot tea to the summit)

14) Hand warmers

15) Energy snacks

*good to have

Thanks Daniel for drafting the almost very comprehensive itinerary & things to bring!

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Arrival at KK Airport!


p0h..!


In case you dun noe, KK is @ Sabah - East Malaysia


We did thought of going on a dive trip right aft our hike. Looks like we had overestimated our limits. Haa~


The horror trail to the summit!


Balance it! Terry opt for the upper bunk & guess wad, he almost overturned the entire bed when he came down! Wad a close shave for Ben beneath it! Haa~


Be slow, be gentle ya..


Our dinner at the local pasar malam, nice grilled seafood. Daniel scrutinizing thru the variety of seafood for the group while Jas the negotiator, asking for the pricing in Melayu.


I yearn for some nice coconut juice..


I've nv been a great fan of sotong but these grilled sotong are good. Sedap!


Lovely hibiscus on our way up to Mt KK..


The background was supposed to be showing part of the mountain but it gt covered by the damn clouds! Arghhhh..


Yes, this was what I saw but was unable to capture it earlier.. TMD!


Aft a quick toilet break, the folks were engrossed in our driver's cam.. lotsa underwater pics.


Jeemee posing beside the 'warning sign' board; trying real hard to convince the rest, convince Daniel he ain't suitable to proceed for the climb.. Haa~


Now u know the 1001 reasons Jeemee had. He claimed for the following: obesity, muscular..


The horror trail which awaits us..




That's where we collected our lunch box!


Jeemee - volunteer for carrying all our food!


Briefing time! All of them are dead damn serious abt this!


The wonderful steps down, also marks the start of the journey..


Our 1st resthouse & the 8 of us were already cursing like mad! Haa~


2nd resthouse.. 4 more to go..


Ooo.. btw, the squirrels are human friendly. They approach you if you feed them with food. Prob 1 of my closest encounter with this shy creature. =)


p0h pouting her lips.. "Wad? Still gt a long way to go??" 4 more km (vertically up) to go..


Make sure u follow the signs else I can't be sure where you will end up at..


Finally, 1/2 the journey has been covered but.. I was already physically & mentally exhausted at this stage. Way b4 reaching this mark, I already had thoughts of returning to the base..






Ok.. this is prob the longest break time (almost an hr @ Layang Layang) I had on my 1st day. Jus moving off, it poured so we jolly well stayed put at the shelter!

I was so bored that I took out the cam to cam-whore with #$%^& expressions..


I'm not kidding.. it got freaking cold aft a while. Sitting there, exposed to the wind & rain..




Finally the rain stopped.. a few more pis b4 we embark on our journey.
Layang Layang is also the final hike journey for leisure hikers. For hikers attempting to go further up, pls ensure you get the permit ya..


Ben said I looked as though I was promoting for their toilet! *pengz*





Nice purple buds on the trees.. its prob 2000m up there. Everything is so nice & cooling..


This pic is so 'Genting Highlands' lohhhh..


Nv buy such flimsy raincoat.. tear easily & less coverage esp on a raining day like wad we encountered..


p0h + her 'good friend' aka walking stick..! No regrets spending RM3 getting it.. it helped me in many ways.


Ok.. final lap.. last 500m to go! It was a 'so near yet so far' experience.. I bet you wouldn't be able to understand until you've gone thru it like us..


Finally, reached Laban Rata @ 1800h! 9hrs of hike, 6km covered.. dun noe how many thousands metres up there, lesser O2, my nose starts to run like a loose tap..
A place above the clouds.. too bad not at the right direction else I'm sure it will be lovely to view the sunset at the dining area where I took this pic..


When the sky turns darker..


On the way up to summit.. Wanna know how steep it is..? watch this..


Though I've missed the 1st light for the sunrise, the view from the summit is magnificent.


The rest of the grp making our way down.. poor p0h had already started to limp down, not knowing she's suffering from a swelling knee at that point of time.


How u come up = how u go down.. find yr way down ok??


Not a tough one.. jus follow the rope, follow the crowd down.. but walking down is nv an easy task. I swear by this..





Self-entertaining despite of the injury!


Well, that's abt all I've got.. not much pics from a bai kah who struggled her way down.. choosing the right spot to land my walking stick, walking carefully so that I don't slip & fall, was prob my 1st priority back then..

It was prob the longest, toughest walk in my past 27years.. we were up at 2am on Sun morn. Setting off @ 0300h, reaching summit ard 0700h.. Stayed & rested for prob 15mins b4 making our way down from summit.. for 15hrs, I was wide awake + 12hrs of hike + covered 11.4km. This is absolute madness..!

We hurried ourselves down.. not becoz we wanted a nice shower or to laze in the bed but the breakfast counter closes at 1030h..! Be there on time else go hungry till end of the day!! (Thank god I had breakkie..)

No time for shower / nap & we began our hike downhill right aft breakkie @ 1100h.. Dan was the 1st to arrive the base @ 1400h & I was the last to reach.. at 6pm, with an empty stomach coz there was no lunch & limited water supply! (FYI, we were the 2nd last grp to reach the base)..

Poor folks who waited.. waited for our return on an empty stomach. Jeemee wanted to eat KFC so badly that he almost gt the driver to drive down town to get 1 back for everyone..

With that, it marks the end of the Mt KK hiking trip. p0h certainly deserves a pat on her shoulder for such achievements!

**Its O-N-C-E in a lifetime experience, I strongly encourage anyone who's physically well to take up this challenge. Take it up & u will understand how tough it is.. u will understand I'm not whinning thru this entry too! Haa~

Next challenge.. Mt Fuji? Planning in progress.. but its certainly a shorter, easier one to complete.