When we returned from the jungle it was time to say goodbye: to Laura who was flying back to England, and to all the others who were travelling on in Borneo. I caught a bus to Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in Sabah at a towering 4095m. Unfortunately in the last 5 years the price for climbing has skyrocketed (get it?) and now costs over £150 for a day and a half walking and one night on the mountain. I'm nearing the end of my trip, and therefore my budget, so I opted against climbing it. Plus I still have some distant memories of climbing Mount Kenya and swearing I'd never climb another mountain again... probably for the best! I did, however, spend 2 days in the national park of Kinabalu which has beautiful primary rainforest and lots of trails in which to explore it. I could admire the mountain without actually torturing myself up it, and judging by the hobbling walkers I met comig down I was a little bit relieved! I also visited the botanical gardens and went on a guided nature walk. All very informative. I was particularly pleased beacuase I saw several varieities of the famous pitcher plants as well as at least 10 different orchids, including the pin-head orchid. Brilliant!

Returning to Kota Kinabalu for my flight back to KL I was glad to be in the warm again. The trails in Kinabalu Park ranged from 1500-2250m above sea level, and my guesthouse was at 1500m, making the weather a little chillier than I've become accustomed too. Back to the sweaty goodness of lowland Borneo! While in Kota Kinabalu I bumped into some of the people I had met at the jungle camp. First I saw an older couple from Hong Kong who invited me to have dinner with them, to share a "very special Chinese dish"... now this set alarm bells off, knowing that the Chinese delicacies usually involve all the animal parts you shouldn't eat, and I was right to be worried. The dish was called "ribs in tea" when translated into English, which isn't very accurate. Firstly, there's no tea, and secondly, there are no ribs! Just offal. Yup, I had to chew and then gulp down liver, kidneys, intestine and fatty bits of skin. Oh my word. Getting it down without gagging was my main objective. And I succeeded! I am very proud of myself! Thankfully there were also side dishes of vegetables I could eat to take away the taste. I won't be forgetting that meal in a hurry...

Returning to my hostel for a lie-down after dinner, I bumped into 3 uni students I'd also met in the jungle - they were staying in the room next to me. They were going for dinner so I joined them, intending to have a dessert to take away that lingering offal-y taste. The three of them had been to a place last time they were in KK which they showed me - a dessert restaurant! We all had various ice-cream/chocolate/fruit/sorbet/cream concoctions and they were amazing. Especially as I couldn't remember the last time I'd had chocolate. Yum!

I have just arrived in KL and am trying to sort out my next destination. I'll keep you posted.