Part 50: Mount Kinabalu.....
The hostel was fully booked with a fresh new batch of travellers - out went the unsocial's - in came an instantaneous, friendly talkative bunch.
Already there was a very noticeable, and different atmosphere at breakfast, people were talking and acknowledging me for the first time since I arrived here.
A friendly German guy introduced himself, showing off several leech bites from a jungle trip he'd been on the day before, a tall Nepalese guy pleasantly asked if he could borrow my phone charger, then politely made me a cup of tea to say thanks, a pair of bubbly Australian girls smiled and said hi, and so it went - what a difference a day makes. Now this was much more like it for me, especially since leaving the Philippines. After making my breakfast, I sat in the lounge watching the sports channel, wondering about my next move, and it was whilst sipping my tea that I over heard a group talking about climbing mount Kinabalu!
This was it, this was my chance - they were discussing travel arrangements to reach the foot of the mountain.
With out even thinking, I just went straight in, interrupting their conversation.
'Hey, are you guys climbing Mount K' I asked.
A dread locked guy looked startled at first, before saying that they were hoping to climb the following day, and that they were on their way to obtain the permits at the headquarters.
For a split second I wondered if I crashed their party as they all just looked at me. But thankfully, they asked me if I wanted to join them.
'Errr sure' I said, trying my best not to sound in the least bit desperate, which of course I was. And that was it, just like that. Moments later, all of us were on our way to get the correct documentation at the depot.
Steve from Tasmania, Tracey from Canada, Ludwig from Germany, and lastly me completing the group.
We were all talking and clicked pretty much instantly, exchanging stories on the way to the office, which was a short walk from the Hostel. All of us seemed on the same wavelength, and keen to avoid the tour companies who charge huge commission to organise the climb for you. We would be putting it together our selves to save money - not that we had much choice.
Turns out these guys all met a few days ago too after all travelling Asia alone.
When we arrived at the office, there were surprisingly still spaces for the following day which are normally limited, probably more due to the fact the weather forecast was poor, and no one was silly enough to attempt the climb. Either way, we had less than 24 hrs to prepare for the adventure of our life's.
We were given a list of things we needed for the climb by the rangers at the lodge - none of us hardly had any of the correct clothing or equipment, and soon wondered exactly what it was we were getting our selves in to! Well it was a little to late for that now as we handed over the money.
Because there were now four of us in the group, we would all be saving a small fortune, especially since going direct to the source, avoiding the middle men - although It still wasn't cheap, but more than half the price of what it would have been, anyway ee were issued with the necessary permits, and insurance. The climbing fee, compulsory guide, as well as food, accommodation at base camp, were negotiated into the price too.
We were all eager, firing a tirade of questions at the ranger; would we be fit enough? is it hard? what about altitude sickness? what if one of us gets injured? etc. They must get this all the time because the rangers just laughed, and did their best to reassure us. Either that or they actually were laughing at this rag tag bunch of poorly prepared backpackers. I had to remind myself that is exactly what we where - backpackers, not experienced mountain adventurers.
So we decided to split up and meet back at the hostel later to see if we could pick up some of the essential things on the list that we needed.
One of the biggest problems we would encounter, according to the rangers, was the temperature which sometimes drops as low as 1 or 2 degrees. So warm clothing would be absolutely essential, water proof's were too, and that was my first thing on my shopping list.
I purchased, wooly gloves, a hat, a water proof jacket, some paracetamol for the altitude sickness, rehydration salts, energy bars and a head torch.
To be perfectly honest this would have to do because a huge part of my budget was already blown.
A few hours later I rendezvoused with the rest of the team back at the hostel.
Tracey, who we nominated as our expedition leader bought us all blue matching tops to wear, with skull and cross bones emblazoned on the front.
It was a great idea, that would indeed help maintain the team spirit needed to get us up and back down safely.
All of us compared clothing and equipment we purchased earlier, which to be honest, was so obvious to anyone with a brain, or common sense, that it was not in the least bit adequate!
Our apparent enthusiasm was outweighing our combined inexperience, and our sense of humour was hiding the nerves we were all feeling - for a start, none of us even had long trousers!
With that in mind, we decided to head back out and search for some, but It was early evening, and the main malls were now closed. So if we were to find any it would be from the night markets.
We were laughing our heads off at some of the things we found, typically none of it was suitable of course. The closest thing we could find were ladies leggings to wear underneath our shorts - it was the best we could find, and would have to do.
After being laughed at by the marketeers, we made our way to the fishing port to eat, and discuss a plan of action for the following day.
Plus we still needed to arrange our own transport to the national park at the foot of the mountain which was 120 km away, and where we would begin the climb.
A taxi would cost a fortune and was out of the question. I guess this is the disadvantage of not booking a ready made, fully inclusive tour, but like I have said many times before, I still maintain that this brings the most satisfaction.
After a delicious supper of freshly grilled seafood, we strolled back to the hostel to prepare our backpacks.
Obviously the most sensible thing was to travel as light as possible.
Which ironically would not be a problem for any of us, since we did not have half the stuff needed for the climb anyway.
The more we thought about it, the more we realised how ill prepared we were - especially after researching several websites, I then thought it wise to not to continue reading - would ignorance be bliss or suicide ? Time would surely tell!
Nearly 5000 meters high from top to bottom, its the highest peak in South East Asia.
Mount Kinabalu is located on the east side of of Borneo. Mysterious and moody, but always recognised as a magnificent sight, it has captured the imagination of locals and explorers for centuries.
The first honour of climbing Mount K goes to Sir Hugh Low, a British colonial officer, who reached the summit in 1851.
However, he did not scale the highest peak, believing that it was completely inaccessible to anything other than birds.
We were prepped and ready to go first thing in the morning and would need a good nights rest to conserve as much energy as possible.
I found it really hard to wind down with so many thoughts going through my head, instead spending the night drifting in and out of sleep.
We all met down stairs for breakfast, and although nervous, we were all in good spirits and raring to go.
Tracey researched the bus route, finding out we could get a ride to the the foot of the mountain by local minibus, or van less than 10 minutes walk from the hostel, at around 7am.
Its not scheduled, but rather it leaves when its full.
We were prepped, packed and ready as we would ever be for the journey to the national park where we would get our papers stamped, then begin the climb.
The start point would already be 1200 meters up and takes well over 2 hours to reach by a very winding steep road.
The journey there was beautiful, with the now more prominent Mount Kinabalu and its surrounding rich tropical hills and sub alpine rainforest cloaked in swirling mists, and white puffy clouds.
Seeing the mountain get bigger in the distance enhanced the nerves - it was as magnificent as it was daunting! My ears were already popping.
Taking pictures out of the window was taking my mind off the nauseating winding roads but we soon reached the gate where the temperature was noticeably much cooler.
After a quick photo opportunity with the gates entrance and the barely visible mountain behind us, we made our way to the office to complete the paper work and meet our guide - a smiling tiny chap named Aslan.
He looked us up and down, chuckling to himself - that spoke volumes and said it all. My nerves just quadrupled, but it was too late for that now.
He then asked us to follow him to a nearby 4X4 for a short drive through the woods to Timpohon gate where the adventure would begin.
The mountain looked unbelievably high, making me dizzy just looking up at it. Then after a brief prep talk we were handed a packed lunch each by the rangers and commenced upwards.
Alone in my thoughts for a second, I had myself a little moment, quietly asking the mountains permission to climb it, preying for good weather - something I learned from an old friend.
Time would soon tell if my prayers would be answered.....