Mt. Kinaballers

Here is the "there and back again" tale of Mount Kinabalu.

When I first told people I was going to Borneo, anyone who had been there, without fail, told me that I had to hike Mt. Kinabalu--that it was the one thing I had to do.  At approximately 13,500ft, it stands as the highest peak in southeast Asia.  Many of those who completed it said it was the hardest thing they had ever done.  Okay, I'm always up for getting to the top of a hill, let's do this.

Now, much like the rest of Borneo, Mt. K is almost always booked via a package.  The vast majority of climbers hike to a lodge 6km up the trail, stay the night there, and then wake up at o-dark-thirty and hike to catch the sunrise at the summit.  These are the packages to book.  The problem is, for one overnight hike, it's like $350USD.  I'm all for climbing mountains, but that's a bit pricey for highly elevated nature.  The alternative is to do the whole thing, roughly 17km (11ish miles), up and back, in one day.  People who've done the 2 day hike said we would die, the guidebook said it was only for the ultrafit, and the tourism industry eschews it because they don't make nearly as much money.  Spoiler alert! We decide to punish our legs and not our wallets and opt for the one day.

Much like the rest of our trip, the Mt. K logistics had to go perfectly, and they did.  First, we had to get from Kota Kinabalu (KK) to the base of the mountain to start our hike as close to 7am (when the park opens) as possible.  Buses don't start that early.  So travel/hiking buddy Amy and I found a minibus station at 430am.  Great. Except there were no minibuses, and according to the few people queued up that early, there won't likely be until 6am.  Less than great.  We found a taxi parked there, and this sweet old man of a cab driver said he can't take us because he has to wait for a newspaper delivery, but his friend, Mr. Yap, he's coming soon, and he'll be able to take us.  Our trust was now in the hands of this sweet old man, and sure enough, Mr. Yap (another sweet old man) did arrive soon thereafter and we got a decent price for the hour and a half journey to the base of the mountain.  Thanks Mr. Yap.  Logistics hurdle one passed.

We arrived to the base of the mountain at exactly 7am.  As if we had planned it that way.  The second hurdle is at the ranger station.  As previously stated, the one day hike is discouraged for various reasons.  Thankfully, we had an ace in the hole.  Friend and amateur travel agent extraordinaire Julia is a local in Kota Kinabalu.  After numerous attempts, she was finally able to get through to the ranger station and make a reservation for two for a one day hike a few weeks prior.  However, the rangers told her to give her name (not ours), so we have nothing under either of our names.   We rolled up to the ranger station, and much like at a restaurant, I stammered something like, "uh, we have a reservation for two, except it's under the name Julia." Like an accommodating maitre'D, the guy behind the desk pulled out a reservation book and there we were, line 6, reservation for 2.  No questions asked about where was Julia, or who we were.  We pay money to three different desks for things that we don't bother asking about, and we're about ready to go.  Easy day.

Now I should mention here that the rangers have been known to require one day hikers to pass some sort of physical tests or rigorous questioning before they're allowed to proceed.  I was slightly worried because I had a muscle strain in one leg and had just cramped up in the other two days prior at a frisbee tournament.  But, we must have looked like a couple of mountain goats because there was no calisthenics, no push-ups, no shuttle sprints, and no rigorous questioning about how steely our resolves were.  Logistics hurdle two passed. Now it's actually time for the hike.

We started through the gate at 7:40ish am.  It is 6km straight up to the hut where the less steely stay for the night.  Reading others' accounts, people make it seem that these first 6km are like death by stairs.   Admittedly, there were plenty of stairs, but we made it to the hut just after 11am.  Three and a half hours.  psssshaw.  No.Big.Deal. What is everyone whining about?  Likely because the lodge was not the day's destination, but rather just a checkpoint, the hike did not nearly seem as hard. Underneath is the ridiculously over-priced lodge that we didn't stay at.

We stopped here for lunch, and we took a little longer than we should have eating our healthy potato chips and candied dried fruit meal.  It's only another 2.x km (not sure of the exact distance) to the top, but this was the toughest, steepest part, and we had to summit by 1pm, so an 11:45 push-off saw us a little behind schedule.  At around 1245, we saw the only other one-day hiker we met, coming back down.  She told us her guide made her turn around.  Panic.  I abandoned all thought and started running up the mountain.  I got to the last checkpoint only to discover that there was a gate, but there was no one there manning it.  Since most hikers do the summit for sunrise, everyone else was gone.  When Amy and our guide, Felix, came up, there was really no question.  We hid our packs in the "office" except for the water (Felix actually just dropped his on the side of the mountain a little ways up).  We went on.

I am minimizing the moment a little, but this is really the make or break moment of the entire day.  Felix would have been entirely within his rights to make us turn back.  We would have had to by the waiver we signed.  But he let us continue, and that's when we started seeing our rewards.

Typically, summit is set for sunrise because it often gets cloudy or even stormy later in the day.  Luck was on our side again as we were handed a perfect, clear, blue sky and white puffy cloud type of day.

I should also point out that it's typically just above freezing at the top.  Amy and I spent weeks on end deciding which layers to pack based on the scare-tales of others.  After all that planning, the weather gave us a crisp, 55ish degree afternoon.  I was in shorts and a long-sleeved shirt, and Amy was in a tanktop and pants.  At this point, it didn't matter, because all of it is in our bags down at the last checkpoint anyway.

But we still weren't at the top.  On this beautiful granite landscape, up above the clouds, at altitude, we still had to push.  My strategy was push hard, stop, catch breath, start again, get head rush, huff and puff, stop again, turn around, admire amazing view, take picture/video, turn back around, push hard.  Rinse and repeat.  Amy went for slow and steady, almost hyperventilate at the 8km (3920ish meter mark), pick herself up, shake off the altitude, and then go.  We still weren't sure which of the many peaks the top was actually at.  All we had was a white rope to guide our way.  Step by step.  Huff by puff.  Rock by rock.  Follow the white rope.  Just follow the white rope.  Finally, at 2:30pm, summit.  Victory.

Just us.  No crowds of people clamoring for a photo with the sign.  No freezing cold ascent in the dark.  No rain blocking our path.  No guide telling us we had to turn back.  Just us.  Us and our victory. And euphoria.  He was there too.  

Back down, we had been told, was even harder.  Second psshhaw of the post.  Not so.  Not after what we just did.  After we passed the lodge again, we started seeing hikers coming up.  Two-dayers.  They saw us coming down, all smiles and whistles.  They turned and looked as we passed.  "Did you guys do it in a day?" they gasped.  "We did," we replied.  Huge grins on our faces, not bothering to hide our joy.  You'll love it, and you're almost to the lodge.  Encouraging, but secretly slightly condescending, coming from the mouths of the two of us, who had just bested the mountain in a day.  We repeated this ritual for the next hour or so.  We stopped and let each hiker pass. No please, you go ahead.  You're getting close.  Just up around the corner.  They asked us the same questions, and we basked in our newfound stardom of one-dayers.  Rock stars have not known our popularity, our fame, and the level of awe we were held in for those few moments.  

The rest of the hike took longer once the trail of hikers/admirers dwindled.  We got to the gate at 6pm, an hour late.  They were waiting there for us.  Waiting to lock up for the day.  We were the last ones off the mountain.

Like most things, luck had so much to do with our trip that day.  We had to get a ride out to the mountain earlier than most people go. We had a local who was able to make a reservation.  Our reservation was there waiting for us (thanks again Julia!).  No one put us through physical challenges to test our abilities.  Our guide could have made us turn back. We could have been halted by bad weather. My legs or Amy's lungs could have faltered.  Instead, the mountain gods were with us.  

I have hiked a lot of mountains in my life.  This was not the tallest, but for the experience, for the company, and for the view--the view I could stare at all day--this was surely the best.  I now join the legion of other Mt. K veterans: if you have the chance to be in Borneo, this is not something you want to miss out on.

Here's a link to the video I made of the whole day.  If my words haven't captured the experience, hopefully the sights will:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqlTu1aLQGA&feature=youtu.be

Post-script: we were sore for a few days.  I played pickup frisbee on the beach the next night, though not hard.  We could walk on flat surfaces, but it was going up and down for the next 2-3 days that made us hobble.  But every time I hobbled, it was just a reminder of what we had done.

-More to come-

Sometimes things just work

Hi all,

This is the first of two accounts of my recent trip to the island of Borneo.  Borneo, for those unsure, is one of the biggest islands in the world.  The landmass is divided among three countries: the lower 2/3 belongs to Indonesia, and most of it is very undeveloped.  The upper 1/3 is Malaysia, and there is a small sliver at the top that is Brunei, an old Muslim Sultanate.  Travel buddy Amy and I stuck mostly to the Malaysian province of Sabah (the upper eastern side of the island), although we spent a great 12hrs in Brunei (see below).

This post is about the little things working out on the trip.  That seemed to be the theme of Borneo.  All the little things just worked out better than can be expected.   I have done my fair share of sitting in dusty bus stops for hours, or sleeping in airports, or sitting in a cramped minibus in traffic on an overland trip, backpack on my lap, wishing for nothing more than to stretch my legs.  On this trip though, the stars seemed aligned.  Any well-traveled traveler has plenty of stories involving coincidence and good-fortune.  Allow me to share two quick ones:

1.  Didier and the over-zealous cabbie

Here's the scene: it's 530am, and Amy and I have just arrived at the Kota Kinabalu (KK) airport via taxi  to catch a domestic flight to Sandakan.  From there, we were somehow going to make our way overland to the village of Sukau, which sits on the Kinabatangan River, which is full of animals (KK to Sandakan to Sukau to the river to monkeys, got it?).  As expected, the cab driver is trying to rip us off, and as expected, I am having none of it.  This cab driver is particularly adamant that his price is correct, so he starts to go over to the cab parked behind us at the airport departure section.  Out of that cab steps a middle-aged white couple.  As the two cabbies exchange words, I briefly explain our situation, and the man tells me in English but with a French accent what the price should be as he has lived here for two years.  I go back to the cabbie with this price, we agree, and part (in a funny twist, the we take the same cab a few days later to the same airport and have no trouble).  Once checked in, we run into the couple and small talk it up while waiting for the plane.  We learn that the Frenchman, Didier, studies snakes and used to live in Sukau (the village we're going to).  He's taking Allison, British ex-pat who lives in Tokyo and is a friend of his wife, to Sukau for a few days on the river.  He's got someone picking them up from the airport and going straight there.  Would we like to come along? Obvi.  I had done some minimal research on minibuses, but it was minimal, and this was not a minibus.  And it was free.  And it was raining.  No fun trying to sort out transpo with backpacks getting precipitated on.

Upon getting to Sandakan downtown, we had a to make a stop while Didier and his friend the driver visited a sick friend and picked up the driver's mom.  This allowed Allison, who was basically in the same boat as us, Amy, and I to visit Sandakan's fish market and have some hot, sweet tea.  That's basically all Sandakan has to offer anyway, so in an hour, brush brush with the hands, we've checked off that place.  The journey to Sukau was a 2hr blur of rain, Didier telling us about the local scene and waxing about enivornmental conservation, and me sleeping, but we made it there with no problems.  Allison already knew where she was staying--one of the cheaper guesthouses--according to my travel book.  We dutifully followed there and fell into a cozy, clean, and friendly little guesthouse where the river was 40yds away.  While having an afternoon drink, we met Linda, a girl from Sweden.  We all recognized her from the same flight.  Soon, since it was just us who was there, we all became river companions and fast friends.  Here is us to the right on our last night.  It was that night that Amy and I realized we had actually seen Didier before.  A few days prior we were on a secluded beach on Sapi, one of the small islands off the coast of KK. We met his Kiwi wife while she was swimming, and then we ended up passing them while they were on the beach (Didier in his trademark hammock) on our walk back to the jetty.  The world is small man.  

Amy and I knew we had no good way to get back to Sandakan to catch our flight back, and Sukau is not really a place to catch a taxi.  Thankfully, Linda was going back the same morning. Her guide (and ours), Mr. Agi (guy third from the left), took us back and even dropped us off at the Orangutan refuge center, exactly at 10am, just in the nick of time to see the morning feeding--the best chance to see the beautiful orange creatures.  It could not have worked out better had we planned it, which we didn't, and that was kind of the point.  Most of Malaysia comes in the form of travel packages.  We decided we could do it on our own and took a bit of a risk.  But we were rewarded with easy logistics and great company for a few days, all due to the friendliness of a Frenchman.  And it all started with an over-zealous cab driver trying to make a little extra money.

2.  Brunei

When travel buddy Amy and I were planning the trip, Brunei was on our list simply b/c it was cheaper to fly back from and fit into our schedules.  It helped that it was a new country, one more to add to the list, but all it had ever been was a 12hr stopover on our way back to Manila.  We figured we'd walk around a bit, have a meal, take a few pictures, and call it a country.  And that would have been fine.  Instead, we got a random and enjoyable 12hrs with more new friends.

On our first day in KK, I played a frisbee tournament, and one of my teammates was Rachel, a 15yr old stud of a frisbee player.  She was there with her sister Natalie (also a stud player), her dad, and some of her dad's friends.  Her dad, Mike, works at the US embassy in Brunei.  We found this out early in the day and because Amy is friendly and I was Rachel's team captain, we had plenty of talk time throughout the tournament.  We told them we had 12hrs in Brunei later in our trip, and they instantly invited us to hang out with their family.  Invite accepted, insta-plans for Brunei.  A few Facebook conversations in the week and Amy and I were ready to get picked up from the Brunei airport.  So far, so good.

Our flight got in early, so we went to get out some Brunei dollars (1.27 to 1USD for those who are curious).  While at the ATM, this couple, about our age, was right behind us, and Amy thought they were staring.  Finally, the guy spoke up, and was like, "um, I'm sorry, did we meet you guys a few days ago at the bottom of Mt. Kinabalu?"  And sure enough, they had.  Kay and Faye, this English couple (Faye being a sweet northern girl and Kay reminding me of the guy who played Dr. Bashir on Star Trek DS9 or Gais Baltar on BattleStar Galactica, take your pick) had been at the foot of Mt. Kinabalu the same time Amy and I arrived (wait for the next post for Mt. K).  We had a short interaction of asking Kay to take our picture, he accepting and them making Faye do it, then chatting for a minute about the hike, and then parting ways.  Standard stuff.  Anyway, wow, can't believe we ran into you here in the Brunei airport. So strange.  More small talk.  What's your name again? Cool, we have some friends picking us up.  Have a good time in Brunei.  Lates.

But the Brunei airport has no obvious pickup point.  Amy and I waited for a while where we thought we should be, then started wandering back.  Again, we ran into Kay and Faye.  Awwwkward. They were looking for a bus.  Another minute, another convo, another laugh, and gone out of our lives again.  Except not.  When frisbee teammate Rachel and her dad Mike pulled up, they saw Kay and Faye, who pointed them in our direction.  But by that time, Mike had offered to take the two of them as well into town or wherever they wanted to go (according to his kids, picking up traveling foreigners who are looking lost is standard behavior for Mike).   Mike and Rachel and their family have been in Brunei for a couple of years, so they're as local as we're going to get.  We get taken to do some souvenir shopping, then to a mosque and a water village where Mike gives us all the mission of talking to 3 strangers (we squeak by with some hellos, though admittedly, our collective effort could have been better).  We head to dinner at one of the houses of a frisbee player, and then we settle into a few hours of tea and cookies at the hosts' house (Brunei is a dry country).  Kay entertained us with cheese jokes and drunken stories, all in the Queen's perfect English.  Amy and I shared our travel stories.  When it was time to catch our flight, Mike, because he is awesome, not only took us to the airport at 1am, but he also let Kay and Faye, people who he had just met a few hours prior b/c they looked like the lost foreigners that they were, stay at their house for the night (and who knows, maybe even for longer).  I cannot think of a better way our time in Brunei could have been spent. (Above right is the whole crew, minus Mike, who's taking the photo, in front of the Sultan's palace).

Again, these two stories are not tales of spectacular feats or daring conquests (that comes in the next post), but they bring a smile to my face every time I tell them.  For those of you who have spent your fair share of time on the road, you know what I'm talking about:  Sometimes trips are hard and inconvenient.  But, more often than not, if you're open, if you're friendly, if you're willing to take a bit of a chance, you'll find people who not only help you to get where you're going, but who make the journey that much more enjoyable.  We had that in spades on this trip, which is another reminder to pay it forward when you can.  As Mike put it, "I want to live in a house on the side of a road and be a friend to man."

Fun Brunei fact of the day: the Sultan's palace, the Istana Nurul Iman, is the world's largest single family residence.

-More to come-