One week after returning from the northern tip of Borneo that is Sabah, I write these memoirs, of the trip to reach its peak...When we got back to Laban Rata, most of the
angmos had already left.
Save for one or two that were sunning themselves on the hostel's wooden deck, the others had begun to make the 3 hour descent to Park HQ. We, on the other hand, decided to have breakfast first. I mean, the both of us had just come down from the summit and the last thing we wanted to do was to give our knees such immediate punishment.
So I joined Darren, Mitch and KZ for Milo (again) and some noodles. While Rick lay concussed on his bed. The poor fella finally succumed to the fever that had infected the rest and lay near comatose while I described our adventure up to Low's to a rapt 3-man audience. We were only going to begin our own descent at 10am so I had some time to prop my aching feet up and have a little snooze in the cafeteria as well.
At 10, Jo came by to see if we were ready to move. Rick had recovered somewhat after popping 2 Panadols and the rest were all raring to go after having slept soundly till eight. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and there was a cool mountain breeze (yes a real gentle one no kidding) that made conditions just right for the trip down. When we got out, the thermometer showed a temperature of about 11 degrees celsius. And the 2 digits were a welcomed sight.
We found the going so much easier on the way down and we made good progress, passing by
pondok after
pondok in quick succession. I was tired but I still had a spring in my step because there was a sense of achievement after having conquered the summit. You tend to forget about the pain when you're satisfied. The route down looked so different from yesterday when we had made the climb up. And we found ourselves asking if we had been here before. Things don't look the same, you know, in the glorious sunshine and the full extent of Kinabalu's beautiful greenery became immediately apparent as we trudged by.
Many climbers were on their way up. And today, we were the ones dishing out the words of encouragement.
C'mon! not far now,
You can do it!, The pondok's just 100m ahead. Lucky for them, there were no warnings about mini waterfalls or the soggy inclement weather we had to tell them about.
On the way up also were numerous porters, lugging up a variety of neccessities like food rations, gas tanks and mattresses for the dormitories upstairs. A couple of them were also carrying furniture and, get this, doors. Yes, unwieldy chunks of wood strapped together and carried on the backs of some poor, bent men. How these porters do it with nary a grunt or groan, negotiating the rocks on a steep incline is anybody's guess. Plus they do it handsfree mind you. No grappling of branches or the like. The first porter I saw had a load the size of a baby elephant on his back and from a distance, I thought that Sabah Parks allowed 4WDs up the mountain. Respect.
At alittle after 1pm, we reached Timpohon Gate, the start point where barely the day before, we had begun this alpine odyssey. Bernard, our driver was already waiting at the gate and we all tumbled into his taxi for the ride down to the Park HQ where Jo would certify our climb to the summit and give us our certificates. Rick and me got the colored certificates for completing the Peak while the rest had similar designs, only in Black and White, for their efforts to Laban Rata.
We told Bernard to take us for lunch and then to Poring Hot Springs which was about 40km away but still within the confines of Kinabalu National Park. Our mountain passes got us free entry at the Springs and it was really
shiork to dip your feet in the sulphorous, mineral-rich, hot water. I am not a firm believer in the medicinal/therapeutic properties of Hot Springs but I swear alot of my leg-ache was dissolved in the warm comfort of the hot-pool. A fitting end really, to a fitting climb.
On the way back to KK town in the evening, there was hardly any banter in the taxi because we were all asleep. Bernard woke us up when we got to the Hotel Holiday.
And when Lawrence greeted us with a
Ahh you made it back alive!, I had a smirk on my face that said
Yah, No Big Deal.
Labels: Travel