AspiringNomad

Thursday morning started off like any other day, lazily! Bavo and I still hadn’t heard back from the travel company about our expected tour the following day and so we headed to their shop at about 12:00 to confirm our booking. We then decided to go to another one of the islands not far from Kota Kinabalu, Mamutik. We got the boat from the same ferry port as the previous day and arrived on a small island mostly covered with jungle but with a beach along one side that the tourists were occupying. At this point, I would like to address a certain group of tourists who are particularly entertaining to watch, the Chinese. In fear of coming across rude, I won’t delve into why they are quite the spectacle to behold, but watching them has given me a laugh or two since being in Borneo!

After a relaxing day at the beach, we headed back and dropped in at Yhe Nook Cafe for something to eat before organising our things that evening, ready for the Kinabalu Hike the next day. During our time in Kota Kinabalu, we had seen a gym in the nearby shopping center. Without really thinking ahead, we thought it would be a great idea to go check it out the night before our two day hike up the tallest peak in Malaysia. I distinctly remember saying that I wouldn’t train legs, but I couldn’t help getting onto the squat rack for a few sets. After about 5 weeks of not going to the gym, I was desperate to feel my body move but it didn’t come without its consequences!

As we sat out the front of our hostel on Friday morning waiting to be picked up for our tour, Bavo almost got scammed into the car of a stranger who was trying to tell us that he was the one taking us, and all our luggage, in his tiny 3 door car to the hike! Being pretty sure that we hadn’t just paid hundreds of pounds for a tour that was going to collect us in a car, barely big enough for one person with a guide that didn’t speak English, I was confident to turn down the offer and wait a little longer for our ride. At 6:20am, the tour bus turned up with ‘Amazing Borneo Tours’ plastered on the side, with air-conditioning and a list with our names on, I felt that this seemed more like it! The noise of the city, the call to prayer, and big buildings were quickly left behind as we left Kota Kinabalu.

The first part of our day kicked off at about 9am with 6km ahead to us. We started at 1800m above sea level and the climb on day 1 ended at 3200m above sea level. The sun was shining, the weather was hot and the air was getting thinner and thinner as we made our ascent. The tour agency provided all its guests with their own guide, so Bavo and I were climbing with Billy, who seemed to be particularly popular with the other tour guides. They all had a little chat with him or a hug as they passed, so we assumed we were in safe hands. The first 3km were OK, but we were soon humbled by the following 3. Mount Kinabalu was slowly killing me! My legs were shaking and every step up was getting harder and harder. Bavo and I were slowly realising that the gym session the previous night was a rooky mistake, and when we finally got to the hostel, I was ready to collapse! The hostel, being inconveniently placed high on a mountain, is all run by solar panels. The air temperature was about 12° celsius and the lack of hot water was taking its toll on everyone. We were all sat in our warmest gear with hot coffees and tea supplied by the Pendant Hut hostel. At 4:30pm, we had a briefing for the Via Ferrata that we had booked to do the next day. There were 3 of us taking part in the most difficult one, ‘Low’s Peak Circuit’, which is the highest Via Ferrata route in the world; Bavo, Anthony (from Hong Kong, who spoke perfect English), and myself. We had to practice getting our gear on, looping the ropes into position and get used to using our calipers, but once we had done that, we were sent off to another building to have a huge buffet dinner. Just what the doctor ordered after a big hike! Plates piled high with an eclectic mix of noodles, rice, mash potato, chicken and veg, we were fuelled for the for the 2nd day of hiking. Saturday morning was to start at 1am, therefore the attitude in the hostel on Friday night was focused towards sleep and by about 8pm everyone was tucked up in our 8-man dorm room in sleeping bags and we all drifted off to sleep. 1am came around very quickly, and everyone quietly got up and headed to the common area for some bread with jam and peanut butter. Billy met Bavo and I at about 2am and by 2:15am, we were on our way, with our head torches on lighting the way. The sky was full of stars and we could even see the milky way! The lightening in the distance made the whole walk very atmospheric! The pace was slow but continuous, it was difficult to tell how difficult the climb was due to it being pitch black but the strain in my legs and breathlessness was a good indication that this was a very steep climb. Another 2.9km was complete, and at 4:15am we had made it to the summit just as the horizon was starting to turn an orangey/pink. We chose our seat on the rocks and watched the sun come up. The top was freezing and so being, let’s say, a little under prepared, I was really feeling it! More and more people were making their way up the mountain and you could see their head torches in the distance as they slowly made the climb up to the top. It’s hard to put into words how amazing the sunrise was. I’ve never been one for tearing up at something that was beautiful but the combination of seeing the sunrise in a country I have always wanted to visit, the altitude, the difficult hike to get there and a really nice text from Mum was enough to send me over the edge! I think Bavo was wondering what had gotten into me, but once I pulled myself together, I was able to appreciate the colours of the sky and the 360° view of the skyline. There was a complete sense of calmness at the top, everyone was taking photos and wrapping up warm but there was no wind or loud noises just the gentle sound of chatter coming from the group of guides who seemed completely disinterested in the sunrise as they had probably seen it 1 million times before! Meanwhile, I was in awe of the colours, the clouds, the lightening to my right in the distance and the city in the far distance behind me. I could even see the sea! At 6am, Billy came to get us and practically ran down the mountain/cliff face to get us to the via farrata point at 6:30am sharp. Anthony, Bavo and I were all geared up and ready to go and were casually hanging off the edge of a cliff face at about 6:45am! We had 1.5km of climbing down the rock face on pre fixed metal bars and foot plates. It was so much fun and the views were incredible. Just as we thought we had finished, the guide informed us that to get back to the pathway, we had to climb another 500m up! Absolutely exhausted, the three of us huffed and puffed our way up the ropes and ladders, through the jungle and scaled up the rock faces to finally make it back up onto the main path back to our hostel. At 10am we were back, having breakfast that was prepared for us. Everyone else from the previous night had already started to make their way down as they either didn’t even reach the summit or decided not to do the short via ferrata option ‘walk the torq’! In my opinion, not doing the summit after already hiking 6km on the first day is a strange choice, but each to their own, I guess!

The three of us decided to descend together. Our guides, Billy and Lawrence,  seemed like quite good friends, so they spent the while time chatting away and left us to it! After the 1st km, the Borneo weather took a turn for the worst, and it rained, and rained and rained! With no sign of it clearly up, we geared up as much as possible and hiked another 2km, slowly getting more and more wet. At the 3rd km, it turned from bad rain to torrential rain, and acknowledging that we were already soaked through, we continued on! Our trainers were ruined and our bags were drenched, even through their waterproof covers. The guides were busily making it look easy as they carried down an actual human being on their back (because she had twisted her ankle). It’s important to note that despite feeling like we were racing down the mountain, the guides were still going faster than us! We had essentially walked down a river to get to the bottom but finally, we made it to the end! Bavo and I had lost Anthony around the 4km, he disappeared into the jungle abyss with his guide as we raced on ahead, but we met him again back at the starting point and gave each other a hug. We all had just enough time to change into some dry clothes before heading back to Kota Kinabalu for a well-deserved night’s sleep. We had booked a hotel room for last night as we wanted a little luxury after an incredibly tough couple of days. It’s honestly probably one of the most exhausting things I have done but also one of the most rewarding!

I am now on a bus on the way to Sepilok. My legs are aching and my right knee is definitely ‘not OK, hun’ but I am beyond excited to get to the next stop. The main reason for me wanting to visit Borneo is to see the Orangutans and Sepilok is the place to go if you want to see them! As usual, the bus companies think that everyone wants to watch an action film on full volume during a 7hour journey. So I am obliged to listen to it blaring through the speakers, we’re now on film number 2. Fortunately, the scenery is keeping me more than occupied. Just miles and miles of deep green jungle occasionally separated with a small town or village with tin roofed shacks selling fruit and veg, odd laundry service shops and motor repair stores. I feel like I am a world away from little ole Norfolk, but as much as I miss home, Borneo is incredible and I am itching to see more!