Day 86,87 (4/06 - 5/06) This was one of the things i have been looking forward to. Climbing Mount Kinabalu. I booked the climb through my guesthouse and it included everything. I was gonna do it all myself but this just makes things easier. A group of 4 of us went from our guesthouse; me, 2 guys from Sweeden and an Australian girl. We took a bus to headquarters (1000m) reaching at 9. We had a few problems at first with the booking beacause the Sweedish guys, didnt bring their reciepts...infact, they didnt bring much at all. They were wearing shorts and t-shirt and ditn bring any other clothes with them. All they brought with them was water, a little bit of food, and a blanket they stole from the airplane. And we are climbing to 4000m were it gets a little bit chilly. Anyways, by about 10.45 everything was sorted and we started the climb. We had to have a guide aswell, but he did at all really. The first day was the climb to the accommodation for the night at just over 3000m altitude, covering a distance of about 6km. The climb was alright (much easier than what i had to endure at Taman Negara), but sometimes the steps seem never ending. There was a reststop every km or so aswell. Baiscally a circular bench with a roof (cant remember what they are called...gazebo maybe). Anyways, after about an hour it decided to rain...torrential rain. So we stayed under a rest stop for about 30 mins untill it stopped hammering it down. The trail gradually got steeper and steeper, and it began to pour down again about 10 mins before i reached the accommodation. Reached at about 3pm, and immediately got changed. The Sweedish guys carried on for anohter 2 hundred ,metres or so to their accommodation. I think they got a bit stitched up with their accommodation. It was freeeezing in the main hall of the rest house. ANd i couldnt get the room key untill the guide showed up. And the guide didnt turn up till about 5. He was with the Australian girl who was quite slow at climbing due to her fitness. So i got some hot food and waited around. Eventually, got the room key and discovered there was a heater. I ran straight over to it to turn it on, but it didnt work. I Later on found out by some Australians that were staying in the dorm room with us that they dont turn the heaters on untill 8pm. Who's stupid idea was that! Our rest stop was the main place for food, so the sweedish guys met us here, and we had a buffet dinner which was included with our tour. All you can eat, so it was good. After, i decided to have a shower...which we were told were hot water showers. Well....this didnt seem to be the case. Upon testing the showers, i find it to be ice cold. Perfect! In the dorm, were me and the Australian guy, 2 other Australians on there honeymoon i think, and a dutch guy. Well, the 2 Australian girls were raving about how they had really hoty showers, so i decided to use the womans showers instead. They were empty. And yes there was hot water.....for only 2 minutes!! Eventually the heating turned on and the room warmed up nicely, too a point where it got too hot...never happy are we. Anyways, we all agreed to turn it off, and crashed early as we had to be up early for the 3am climb to the summit (weather depending for me...no way was i gonna do it if it was pooring with rain. Woke up to find that it wasn't raining and got changed into all the clothes i had in my bag. 1 long sleeve t-shirt, 2 t-shirts, a jumpery jacket thing that zips to cover my neck, rain coat (thats 5 layers on top) 2 pairs of trousers, thick hiking socks, a beanie that covered most of my forehead and ears, and thick gloves. The Australian girl decided she wasnt gonna climb to the top...infact she decided to never do such a climb or hike ever again. She leant me the beanie and gloves. I met up with the giude in the hall, and then met the Sweedish guys at the accommdation, still in their shorts and t-shirt and blanket, and they also took another blanket from their rest stop. I felt sorry for them...but seriously...everyone knows that its cold on top of mountains especially at 4000m...what idiots...lol. They were funny as hell though. We started to climb and it got pretty warm so i took off the rain coat. It was pitch black aswell, so had to use torches. The first part of the climb was ok, and then the smooth granite trail to the summit came and it got pretty difficult and the temperature plummeted. We had to walk up with the aid of ropes...but i decided to go up spider man style on all 4's holding the torch in my mouth. Was much easier that using the ropes, especially when everyone is uisng the rope at the same time. The last part, was very difficuly. My hands were freezing, and the trail was very steep and it was getting difficult to breath because of the altitude. We made it to the summit (4101m to be exact) at about 5.45am and waited for sun rise. We were amongst the first people there. By about 6am, the sky was getting lighter. Absolutely amazing. Was beautiful...have never seen a sight like that. The view was stunning. I really cant describe it...you have to see it for yourself to know what i mean. Anyways, it was gettin too cold for me, and couldnt wait for the sun to be clearly visible in the sky. If i did, i would probably still be up there incased by a block of ice. Went back down the moutain, which was much easier than i thought, lots of quick little steps. Although there was one tricky bit were the use of the rope was essential. Reached the rest stop at 7.30am, in time for an alll you can eat breakfast, before heading back down the mountain. Took about 4 hours to get back down, which was incredibly harsh on the knees and quads...there are sooo many steps. Me and the Australian girl were heading in the same direction so we travlled together for the next three days. In the afternoon we headed to andother place at the national park called Pooring hot springs...although all i did was lie on my bed for the rest of the day...i was well and truly nackered. However, this is one of the best, if not best thing i have done on this trip. Despite how tiring it was, the views i saw were worth it and was a great experience.