Borneo Part 1 : A walk in the clouds

14th April 2012, me and other seven of my mates made it to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah with a mission to conquer Mount Kinabalu (highest in South East Asia) and Low's Peak Circuit (World's Highest via Ferrata). We were schedule to arrive in Kota Kinabalu with three difference flight by AirAsia. Most of us got a cheap dirt bargain price from AA during their sale back in May 2011, which was RM12.20 for a return flight from Kuala Lumpur.

After 2.5hours easy flight, five of us reached Terminal2 Kota Kinabalu airport. Had breakfast at KFC while waiting for other two of my team to arrived. and we took a taxi to our hostel. 4pax taxi is RM30, while 5-6pax taxi is RM42  and luggage might be charged separately. Check-in at the Rainforest Lodge and got ourselves 1x 6-bed dorm for the guys and 1x 4-bed dorm for the girls, A/C included. We spent the day walking around the city centre window shopping and bargaining. After a long day walking we stop for dinner at the Philipines Market, just in time when our last team member reached KK. Had a short walk at Kampung Air Night Market and back to the hostel.

Sunday morning market in Gaya Street is just behind our hostel. The sun rise early on this side of Malaysia, compare to Kuala Lumpur. 0700hours felt very much like 0900hours! Walked around the market while waiting for our ride to next destination, Kundasang. Luckily in front of our hostel is a huge supermarket. Bought plenty 1.5L bottled drinks from less than RM2, and stock up chocolate bars for the climb. Urvan 3.0 finally arrived and we are on our way to Bayu Homestay with a few pit stops. 1st stop is the Rumah Terbalik (Upside down house) in Tamparuli. Next is the Desa Dairy Farm, beautiful nature with Mt Kinabalu as it backdrop. Check-in at Bayu Homestay (honestly, the place need a lot of improvement), located about 500m from the Kinabalu Park entrance. In the evening, we visited the Kinabalu Park office to settle all related procedure for the climb tomorrow.

The ascend to Laban Rata starts at 0840hours. A bit late though, and we got about 7 hours to make it before cut off time for Low's Peak Circuit briefing. Hopped on the bus and reached Timpohon Gate (about 4km from the Kinabalu Park entrance). Together with us is our two mountain guide, Richard and Sapinos. They gave us a short briefing and off we go hiking. From Timpohon gate, the distance is 6km to Laban Rata.  As for the journey up, you will need to experience it for yourself. 

Since my group had made a booking with Mountain Torq (MT), we stayed in Pendant Hut instead of Panar Laban Hut. MT trainee conduct the practical safety briefing for Via Ferrata activity, and later had buffet dinner in Panar Laban Hut. It was drizzling at first, but later its getting heavier, and we get to witnessed the Laban Rata waterfall with a perfect view. 

By 8pm, most of us were already tucked in the sleeping bag provided by Pendant Hut. 0100hours, all of us are already wide awake, had our early breakfast and start ascending the next 2.7km to the Summit of Low's Peak. Short distance but with thin layer of oxygen, the walk felt like forever. Lucky me, Im doing great with minimal AMS symptoms. Due to my slow walk, Sapinos suggested that I remain on the plateau to get some rest before Via Ferrata activity which need all participant to be there at 0700hours. We descend down to the KM7.5 mark where the trainees wait for us.

With awesome weather we kick-start our most awaited activity, the Low's Peak Circuit. The view is just magnificence and breath-taking! The whole route will take about 3-4 hours to complete. We start of descending along the rocky surface for about 600m, then a rest before jungle trekking for another 20minutes and finally walk horizontaly for another 300m before arriving near sayat-sayat hut. Its quite exhausting but everything is OK with a view from 3776m above sea level.

All of us manage to finish earlier than targetted time, had out late lunch and start to descend to Timpohon Gate. On our way down, it was raining heavily. I wouldn't mind as we had the perfect weather for summit and LPC on our first visit. However as for me, the descend is more challenging than the ascend. Had a good rest in Bayu Homestay (despite of the feverish feeling) and the next day, we are off to Sandakan...

**From Kinabalu Park, you can stop a minibus to Kota Kinabalu with only RM15 instead of booking a taxi at RM150. However the bus might not be on schedule, and it may start the service after 10am.

Expenses :
RM52.20 return ticket AA ticket + luggage
RM28 per pax in Rainforest Lodge
RM35 per pax for van ride KK - Kundasang one way
RM25 per pax Bayu Homestay
RM1.3K Low's Peak Circuit package with Mountain Torq (package varies from different agency)
RM35 Kinabalu Park - Sandakan express bus one way

Borneo Part 2 : Unsung RocTrip