Sorry about the lack of photos guys. You wouldnt believe the hassle Ive had trying to upload photos. I went out and bought a card reader but then when I plugged it in to the computer (they have four and I tried them all) the whole thing just freezes up! so I've spent enough time messing with them Hey but I am 10,000 miles away so even a few words is pretty impressive!

We woke early this morning and went down for breakfast. This hostel is fine but it is nowhere near as friendly as Red Palm. There are about thirty rooms and dorms here and many different nationallities but it is all a bit clinical with desk staff changing all the time. Anyway we decided over breakfast to catch the bus up to the Mount Kinabalu Park and walk one of the many trails up there. We weren't sure which bus to catch and were dithering around by the bus station when a young Malaysian guy ran up to us shouting " You want bus to Park? Quick, Quick leaving now ....Only bus today!" so we ran with him to the bus and climbed on board, made ourselves comfortable and paid the return fare (about 30 MR each return) We then waited and watched in amusement as the guy filled his bus up running up to other potential punters and getting them all to run to the bus. We got away about 20 minutes later at 8:00 o'clock with a different conductor and driver and left the persuasive ticket salesman filling up another bus.

I used the word "comfortable" earlier. That was a bit of poetic licence in actual fact. This had to be the most uncomfortable bus we have ever riden in including Pikes old school bus that Robinson's our local butchers hired to take a party up to the countryside March in London and believe me that was ROUGH. I'm no mechanic but in the first couple of miles I had diagnosed a loose back axel. broken suspension, and the wobblyest steering king-pin I have ever come across! The whole bus kept jumping as if it was driving over sleeping policemen and the driver seemed to be struggling to hold onto the steering wheel. After a few miles we started to climb and the roads deteriorated to something only slightly better than a farm track. We now knew why the bus was in such poor condition! The scenery however was amazing. Basically it was mostly secondary rainforest cleared in places for growing vegetables. There were many banana trees and tree ferns along the roadside giving way to less familiar species further away from the road dripping with vines and creepers hanging remenicent of the Tarzan movies. As we got higher we caught glimpses of steep expansive valleys coated with an even layer of forest. Secondary rain forest is regrown forest that has been felled at some time in the past and does not suport the same wealth of wildlife as Primary rain forest which has been untouched for hundreds, if not thousands of years. I take the point and fully understand and suport the campaigners who are trying to halt, or at least slow down the clearing of the Primary Rain Forest, but to the untrained eye the secondary forest is pretty impressive.

We bounced and grumbled our way ever upwards for two hours, passing several little settlements on the way. The habitation seemed to be mostly wooden or corrugated iron shacks built on stilts, presumably because of the heavy rain. There was the occasional vegetable garden in evidence but landscaping is not high on anyones agenda up here and the living acomodation was littered with scrap iron and rubbish! Mandy pointed out a rusty old car through which someone had actually built a fence! We eventually arrived at the park Gates which were very impressive and surrounded by imaculate lodges which had been built to house wardens and trekking parties who were participating in the two day trek to the summit and back. We had decided not to do that as many younger, fitter people than us had told us that it was just about impossible to do anything for two or three days after the climb as you were so stiff and un-comfortable. We really didn't want to spend any of our precious time in recovery!

We paid a small entrance fee (15 RM for non malaysians) and collected a map and decided to follow the Silou Silou trail as we had heard that it was one of the most beautiful and walkable in the four hours or so that we had before our bus turned up at the gates on its way back to KK from Ranau.

The map they gave us was, in common with every other map we have had in Malaysia, absolutely useless. The map maker puts on his map everything he thinks is important or worth seeing and omits everything he has no personal interest in. Thus it is no small miracle that we actually found our way back out of the forest alive. Mandy thought it was my poor map reading at first, and not without reason I might add, as we did spend an hour walking in the wrong direction in Krakow because I had the map upside down. But after three or four wrong turns, dead ends, and significant features turning up in completely the wrong place she snatched the map off me (sorry, official version,....... asked me politely if she could have a look at the map) turned it upside down and finally agreed it was a crap map! Anyway,,, our first true experience of the forest was awe inspiring. The bird calls and insect noises were at times overpowering and we both wondered how they all knew how to start and stop at the same time as sometimes the whole forest would suddenly fall silent and then a few seconds later burst into life again with the noise rising and falling in volume and tone like a natural symphony. An unforgetable experience. We felt very "Ray Mears" as we worked our way along the trail climbing over fallen logs and crossing streams on crudely fashioned wooden bridges. The trail was obviously quite regularly maintained or it would have very quickly become un passable and there was certainly no need for "Keep to the path" notices, The forest was simply far too thick to wander very far off the trail. Mandy took the lead due to her lack of faith in my navigational skills, whilst I shut up and kept my opinions to myself. The track was very steep and muddy in places and Mandy found it quite difficult to both watch her footing and keep an eye out for snakes and spiders and other creepie crawlies. (Which incidentally we disapointingly saw none of) But she managed and she also managed to keep her patience with me as I was constantly stopping to listen or take photos. Just like in the English woodlands you can walk along all day and never see any wild-life but walk slowly and quietly with occasional long stops and a whole new world opens up to you. We worked our way back to the road junction where the bus stopped and found that we had about half an hour to wait so we went in to the small restaurant conveniently situated right by the bus stop!

The change of paragraph indicates that I have just taken off my David Bellamy hat and put on my Keith Floyd hat! Which reminds me, my head is getting a little sore and I must buy a proper hat whether it be a Keith Floyd one or a David Bellamy one. The building was bungalow style and we sat down on the veranda overlooking the bus stop and the Park Gates. Mandy chose Mushroom and cashew with rice whilst I went for chicken noodles. The food came in less than ten minutes. It was delicious and Mandy was thrilled with the size of her portion. We were each given a little bowl of clear liquid with herbs and things floating in it and unsure of whether it was a finger bowl or somthing edible we had to ask the nice Malaysian owner what it was. It turned out to be the most delicious chicken soup served as a side dish. Anyway I had great fun eating my spaghetti sized noodles with chopsticks and had to spend the rest of the trip looking like Dave Brooker with my dinner all over my shirt!

The bus arrived right on time and although the trip back to town was down hill it took just as long and both of us slept off our meal on the less bumpy parts of the journey. We went back to the Summer Lodge and freshened up for a night on the town. We explored more of the town and are beginning to accept that this nation is totaly adicted to shopping. Every turn reveals a new shopping mall each one more crowded than the last and it's not just the women there are men of all ages rushing about weighed down with shopping bags. The food vendors were fascinating although we were not brave enough to try any of the weird and wonderful creations they sell. We were in one of the shopping malls when the heavens opened. We have long since stopped taking any notice of Martyn's prediction that it rains every day at 4:00 o'clock. You can actually tell when it is going to start raining. The heat and humidity slowly builds up untill heaven can no longer hold the pressure and then the rain starts, you usually get about twenty minutes warning as large single drops of rain spit down for a while before the clowd burst. And when it hapens it is like a blessed relief and everything suddenly feels better. Anyway we watched the rain beat down for half an hour or so and then almost as suddenly as it started the rain stopped and everybody continued with what they were doing. For our part we had had enough exploring and worked our way back to the BB Cafe just outside Summer Lodge and had their seafood barbeque and listened to the Malaysian band work their way through country and western classics, (I nearly said 'murder' but it was actually very enjoyable) The highlight of the evening was their rendition of Kenny Rodgers 'Gambler' .....unique. Got to bed about 12:30.