Day 52: The Mountain

Up early this morning, as our planned road trip to Mount Kinabalu and the nearby hot springs was going to be done by public bus. The only tours we could find the previous day were either full or very expensive (220+ RMY each!). So it was alarms at 6am, out the door by around 6:20, a quick roti canai at the 24 hour Muslim restaurant next door and then a 5-minute walk to the bus station.

Annoyingly, the mini-van we were intending to take was doing the typical developing world thing of "it leaves when it's full". There's no schedule, you just tell the driver where you're going, hop on, and wait. It's not a huge bus - just a Toyota Hiace van with 12 seats, but hopefully you're on a popular route! I think there were six others when we boarded at 6:45, but it wasn't until 7:30 before we had a full complement and heading off into the city traffic.

Although the city and the mountain share a name, they aren't actually that close together. The entrance to Mount Kinabalu national park is some 80km from the centre of town, and the drive by minivan takes about 90 minutes. Unfortunately for us today was looking pretty overcast although not threatening imminent rain, but it meant we didn't get much of a view of the mountain as we approached. It's a bloody huge mountain though, the summit is just over 4000m high and it's much more jagged than other high mountains we've been on/near.

Eventually we hopped off the bus at 9am at the park entrance, paid for our tickets and headed inside. Actually climbing to the summit was definitely out of the question as it's a 2-day 1-night affair, staying in huts high up on the mountain. Permits book out many months in advance, and it would require a lot more cold weather gear than we currently had (ie none). But it's a national park and there are still plenty of trails with good views, so we set about exploring.

Followed one track down a stream for quite a way before ending up at a small botanic garden. Apparently there's an estimated 8000 species of plants on and around the mountain, simply because of the ridiculously varying climate: an alpine moonscape sticking out of a tropical rainforest. We wandered around looking at the displays, but I have to say that plants probably aren't my favourite things in the world. Emerged from our trail at the main road leading up to the summit trailhead a few kilometres away.

We started walking along the road as it didn't look that far to the trailhead on the map, but when we passed a 2km marker and realised that it was another 3km to the end and up some very steep hills, we decided to stop. At this point we hadn't eaten for 5 hours, weren't carrying snacks and only had a small amount of water, so going much further was really out of the question. Luckily we decided this just as we reached a memorial to earthquake victims who were killed last year while climbing the mountain. From what I could gather most of the groups were Singaporean schoolchildren (all aged 12-13 or so, very sad).

So back down we went. I had a mishap on a tight hairpin bend while sticking close to the gutter to avoid a large bus - there was an extremely slippery patch of concrete with nothing to indicate (ie no moss etc), so when I put my foot on it I immediately tumbled over. Nothing too serious, just a grazed left knee, a jarred upper back and some slightly grazed hands, but I'll live.

Back to the gates by 12pm we had lunch at a restaurant and headed out to the main road to try and find transport to our next stop - the hot springs another 30km further down the road. I was a bit concerned because if the minivans only left when they were full we could potentially wait ages for one that couldn't let us on, but we got extremely lucky and a half-full van pulled up within 5 minutes! I was extra glad because it had also started drizzling at this point, which thankfully it hadn't during our hikes.

We arrived at the end of the line in Ranau township about 15km from the hot springs, and the minivan driver offered to take us the rest of the way for some extra cash. We agreed and off we went again! I forgot to mention that the day's first driver had been a total Schumacher wannabe and the second driver wasn't much better, but with just the two of us in the van and I assume no "schedule" he calmed down and I only thought we were going to crash a couple of times in the next 20 minutes.

The hot springs were actually a bit of a disappointment. Although we didn't have to pay to get in (our Kinabalu ticket already covered this area), there wasn't a whole lot authentic about the place. The original hot springs were roped off for swimming, and all the other areas were packed full of Malaysian daytrippers from KL and the requisite Chinese tour groups as well. We soaked our feet in a hot bath and had a wander around (Shandos also paid a couple of ringgit to look around the butterfly sanctuary), but overall it felt like a very low budget Wet'n'Wild. Maybe if we'd had more time to look around and properly swim it would've been better - we both had our swimmers but I wasn't inclined to swim because of the graze on my knee which had bled a little.

Back out the gate and on the transport hunt again. No taxis and no minivan service, but a tour bus driver spoke to his "friend" who drove us back to Ranau town for 45 RMY. Not the best deal but we were feeling a little stuck. Once there our luck turned again - the minivan back to KK was leaving at 4pm (it was currently 3:40) so we bought Magnums from a nearby supermarket and waited. We set off at 4pm promptly with a very empty van (just us, the driver and two others), so I guess the "when it's full" rule doesn't apply late in the day. Who knows.

Nothing to report from the journey home - Shandos processed photos while I listened to music and watched the rugged scenery go by. Quite a long trip as the trucks struggle with the mountain passes, and it was after 6pm when we got back to KK. Up to the hotel room for a quick shower and freshening up before we went back to the same Chinese place as last night. I'd found out afterwards that it was renowned for chicken wings in a honey & garlic glaze, and Shandos wouldn't take no for an answer! So we had that along with a sweet & sour fish fillet dish, rice and two drinks for 37 RMY. Sorry to keep bringing it up but the cost of eating always puts a smile on my face.Læs mere