Week 2: Kuching and Kota Kinabalu

Still in Bako National Park . . . On Saturday, October 21st, it rained first thing in the morning, so we played cards. Later in the morning, we went for a 3 hour hike. It felt like I was on the set of “Honey, I shrunk the kids” . . . . we saw leaves the size of our torso and grass the height of us! It was really neat! After an unappetizing lunch (okay, they served the EXACT same things for breakfast, lunch, and dinner . . . . needless to say, I never want to see fluorescent yellow rice again!), Kristen and I went for a 2 hour hike up to an area that overlooked a beach. We learned later that there was a crocodile seen in that water! YIKES!!!!
On Sunday, October 22nd, we left the park and returned to Kuching. Lisa, Jill, and I visited the Semenggoh Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. We made it there for feeding time, so we were able to see quite a few orangutans. One was over 100kg! It was neat to see them eat . . . . one was given an entire coconut and smashed it on the ground and then used its teeth to crack it open. They are incredibly agile for their size – they could climb to the top of a tree and then reach over to travel to the next tree. The trees were swaying back and forth under their weight. There were a few babies – very cute!
On Monday, October 23rd, the weather was not very nice. We saw a movie and left for Kota Kinabalu. We met up with 2 other girls from school – Nicole and Paige. It was great to see them. We stayed at a fantastic hostel, where the staff was so friendly and helpful!
On Tuesday, October 24th, the 6 of us went to an island to soak up some sun for the day. It was quite nice. That night, we went out for dinner with 3 other girls staying at the hostel. They were from London and Dublin, so it was neat to hear about their travels.
On Wednesday, October 25th, we shopped in the morning. We found a factory outlet store which had some great finds. That afternoon, Kristen, Nicole, Jill, and I went to another island to work on our tans.
On Thursday, October 26th, the 9 of us took a bus to Kota Kinabalu National Park. We set out to climb Mount Kinabalu. At 4095m, it is the highest mountain in South-East Asia. We paid for a mountain guide that was a big help; especially for Kristen. He climbs the mountain once per week and it only takes him 3 hours to reach the top – which is 8.7 km away! The walking stick was a bargain at $1 . . . . such a help! It was incredibly steep – natural rock formations for stairs, and wooden ladders. 2 girls turned back at .5km and 1.5km respectively. It took us 4.5 hours to climb up 6km. We then had dinner and saw the most amazing sunset – my favourite pic so far! We stayed in a 4-bed dorm room with no heat. We went to bed quite early, as we had to be up at 2am to begin our climb to the peak.
Friday, October 27th . . . . we were climbing the final 2.7km to the peak at 2:30am. It took us 3 hours to reach the top – quite chilly, but no snow. I’m kinda glad that we climbed in the dark . . . . I may have lost my nerve if I had seen what we were doing! We only had flashlights to guide us. At one point, we were hoisting ourselves with ropes that were anchored into the side of the mountain. The stars were amazing – I have never seen that many! Nicole was the fourth person to the top! WOW!! We just made it to see the sunrise. And it was spectacular! It was like something out of a magazine or a postcard! We then started our descent . . . . and when I saw what we had just climbed, I was astonished. At one point it looked like the end of the earth – the rock dropped into clouds and we could see the city in the far distance. We stopped for breakfast at the 6km mark and then descended all the way down. It took a total of 5 hours to descend the 8.7km. We were very sore and tired – our knees were buckling. At one point, I took quite a fall on some “natural” stairs. It was really funny because I was babbling and continued my story as I was falling and then laying on the ground. Jill said that I was completely horizontal in the air, and Kristen said it looked like I had body-checked the ground! “Klutzy Krista” at her best! No worries – no major injuries!
On Saturday, October 28th, we vegged out on the beach of a beautiful island. The 4 of us could not move – it was quite hilarious to see us attempt walking up curbs and stairs within the city, or hurling ourselves onto the boat to get us to the island. I felt like Frankenstein – my knees just would not bend! We were so sore that we decided to “splurge” at the hostel and get air-con rooms . . . . simply because they were on the first floor! Ha ha ha
Sunday, October 29th was our last day of holidays. Kristen, Jill, Nicole, and I tried to go to another island but it didn’t work out, so instead, we paid to use the pool at a fancy hotel. It was worth it. We arrived back in Bangkok at about 10pm. Home Sweet Home – smelly, polluted, and stray dogs everywhere – ah, nice to be back . . . .

Conquering Mount Kinabalu was definitely the highlight of the second week. I am quite proud to have done it . . . . what an accomplishment – especially right before my 30th birthday. What’s next? Everest?! Ya right!

Thank you so much for reading these lengthy blog updates. Please do check out the pictures!

Take care.