On the morning of the 24th I woke up in a foggy state just before my alarm was set to wake everyone in the dorm. I quickly defused the sound bomb and sluggishly made my way to the common area to eat the complimentary toast and instant coffee that would be breakfast. In a hazy state I decided to try Vegimite, an Aussie favourite about which I had heard good things. My mouth was assaulted with a terrible bitter, sour, salty, almost indescribable taste. Perhaps bearable in the midafternoon, it was loathsome in the state I was in. Perhaps you need to allow your taste buds to wake up before Vegimite... I cleared my mouth of the taste with peanut butter and pineapple jam. Jenifer was up soon, too, and after a splash of cold water on my face and a hurried packing of my daypack, we set off for the nearby bus depot. I had only 23RM in my possesion, so I stopped at a bank on the way only to find the ATM out of service - "come back at 7am" said the security officer sleeping inside. I headed to the depot and discovered the minibus was leaving very soon; I;d have to get money along the way. Well, after cramming into the back seat of the minivan (I soon remembered the Medan-Toba trip, and wondered how I ever convinced myself to take a minivan again) and leaving KK, I realised that there would be no ATMs along the way. A few small settlements along the way did not offer the luxuries of banking. two or three hours later the van stopped at the turnoff to Mount Kinabalu park headquarters and, after allowing us to claim our luggage, sped off along the windy mountain highway. Five got out, a young british couple, a singaporean soldier on holiday, and Jenifer and I. we clamboured up the hill to find a toll booth where we paid the 15RM entrance fee, then continued to a series of buildings. My primary concern was money, and I desperately tried to cash my travellers cheques (which I have rarely used, but have been very helpful in a few sticky situations) or buy money with my visa card - no luck. Questioning the young staff of the headquartersm, then the restaurant, then the shop across the street I got the same set of answers from everyone.
me: "Can you cash travellers cheques?"
them: "Yes"
"Good", withdrawing a few from my money belt
"Oh, sorry sir, can not"
"Can not?"
"Yes"
"Yes you can?"
"No"
"Can you cash traveller cheques?"
"No"
"What?"
"Yes"
"Do you speak english?"
"Yes"
"I need money, is there anywhere I can cash traveller cheques?
pointing, "Over there"

I followed each finger until I had completed a full loop and was back at the start. No luck. For the sake of sanity, do not ask Yes/No questions in SE Asia. The reply is always yes when the truth is usually no.

I discovered that one desk took credit cards, horay! unfortunately Jenifer (who had no cash to lend me) had already paid for accomodations. I could not extract money from these people. The desk that accepted payment for the park fee (100RM!) and the guide fees (75RM!) did not accept credit cards. $%!#%

Luckily the british couple with whom we were were going to share a guide didn't mind lending me 250RM until we got down the next day.

This was the first and hopefully last time my wallet would be unprepared...

After settling all of our fees, which abound at this World Heritage site, we were aquainted with Rowdy, our young Malay guide, and we boarded a bus. the scenic 5km ride was over before we knew it, and we were at the main gate. I bought a walking stick and a water from the 'souvenir' stand and then we were off (all five of us from the minivan shared the guide, who was less than rowdy, I might add). After a brief downhill bit be began to climb well established steps carved into the jungle mountainside, the air cooled by our 2000m elevation. I was concerned about my knee and leg, still sore and swollen from my stint in Bario, but the climb didn't seen to bother it too much; sure glad i bought the tensor bandage in Kuching!
We climbed steadily, eventually fanning out according to our respective fitness levels; the guide stayed with the british couple at the rear. I haven't done much exercise in Asia, aside from a whole lot of walking, but I found myself at the front of our group along with the S'pore soldier and Jenifer, a very fit marathon runner/ecochallenge alumni/daily jogger. It was recommended to start between 7am and 9am, though we started closer to 10. Our western legs seemed to pump harder than the local legs (not many asians excersize) and we soon passed a large number of Malaysians. Our brief stops at the regular covered rest areas served to rewater, while for many, served to collapse and recover. Soon the S'porian dropped from view. Passing the 500m marks on the 6km trail to the mountain lodge, Jenifer and I made our way up the almost endless steps (LP says 2400 of them) that weave through the thinning jungle. Around 1pm we arrived at Laban Rata, a massive full-service lodge built at about 3200m. Upon stepping through the doors, the ski-lodge smell and design almost convinced us we were back home in Canada. There we not too many people inside, leading us to believe we were some of the first. We checked in, dropped our day bags in our heated 4 bunk room, and then headed downstairs to eat. We found a place to rent jackets and eagerly paid 10RM for the thickest and warmest available. Jenifer found a Playboy-brand jean jacket, big on her, and I found a goofy looking puffy jacket, small on me. We were served by a large number of employees as we ate our expensive rice and noodle lunches, then headed upstairs to try and nap (truly exhausted from the night before and the 6km trek). The british couple would arrive awhile later, checking in to share our room.

The elevation we were at was high enough to make normal breathing difficult and send our hearts racing from lack of oxygen, and I remembered the Fuji climb and the extreme shortness of breath that came with its 3776m elevation. (just discovered now that my recent entries are tremendously more detailed than my japanese notes from September...).

My nap was unsuccessful, so I went downstairs. I usually eat when I'm bored, but it was too expensive to do that here. I met up with a few people and socialized a bit. Later I ate a big bowl of soup, supposed to be Thai Tom Yam but decidedly not, and a chinese tea. No european weiners or potato salad for me this year. Its not Christmas eve without european weiners and potato salad. Or schpeck kuchen (sp?), Dad's delicous german tradition. I didn't open any presents, but Jenifer kindly bought the second round of Carlesburgs - a Christmas treat that did wonders to make us laugh uncontrollably with our british friend, Dicken, who Jenifer had met previously in Singapore (strange coincidence). We played card games until it seemed it was time to sleep, though nobody I spoke with the next morning admitted to getting any sleep. The beds were comfortable, the rooms warm, but still I found it impossible to sleep. Maybe it was my heart rate, maybe the tea i had earlier; something prevented any sleep. Same same for everyone else.
The lodge began bustling around 2am, the start of the morning shift for the lodge workers. Buffet breakfast was served and I pigged out on three helpings of fried noodles, scrambled eggs, and french toast. Two coffees later and a pee later I went upstairs to get ready. I had brought every piece of clothing I owned, save my bathing suit and a tank top, and on this cold morning (7degrees at night) I put them on, layer by layer, Heidi style. Convertible cargo pants over my baggy thai pants; tank-top, t-shirt, t-shirt, dress shirt, fleece vest (thank goodness I bought this; the second time it's been worn!); two pairs of socks (only have two pairs left after my bloody and muddy trekking adventure); sarong-skarf and santa hat.
Jenifer and I, allied on this trip, decided to heed others warnings not to leave too early. We had climbed the 5hour ascent to the lodge in only 3hours, so decided to leave later than most so as not to wait to long at the summit for the sun to rise. Most left between 2:15 and 2:45, we left around 3:15. Bitter coldness and complete darkness made the climb tough. The trail from the lodge was well marked, and after the trees disappeared a ropeway marked the path. After a brief slog we hit a line of very slow moving hikers. I made my way past, finding it relatively easy going. After a few congested spots teh path opened up to a point where we scaled open rock face. I found it uncomfortable and unnecessary to go so slow, so whenever I could I'd pass. Eventually the trail took us up very steep grades, then the grade eased a bit and we were walking on a moonscape of solid granite past rugged peaks. I continued along, alone, until it seemed that there was noone ahead. Looking back at the line of lights was pretty amazing. I kept trudging along, finding a pace that didn't demand rest stops. I passed the 8km mark alone, and sometime later I met up with a slow-going malaysian without a flashlight, struggling to follow the ropeline over the harsh terrain. Together we climbed the rest of teh way to Lowes peak, and finally we were alone at the top of the world. The stars overhead were amazing, and in the distance Kota Kinabalu was visible, twinkling in the night. The moon was setting in a orangy glow that made me believe that the sun was rising in the west. I pulled out my sleeping bag and huddled for a few minutes before I heard Jenifer's voice and she appeared on the top of the small summit. We had climbed too fast, arriving at 5am, and for the next hour and a bit we sat coldly under the thin summer sleeping bag. Dicken was not far behind, and the three of us shared the mickey of brandy that I had bought in KK for 3RM. An artificial warmth.
I warmed my camera and batteries against my cold, sweaty body. My camera has been giving me trouble lately, forcing me to reconsider the comedy that was Andrew's broken camera. Not so funny when your camera won't stay on.
As cold bodies collected at the peak, the sun hinted at it's arrival. The sky brightened, allowing us to see what our surroundings looked like. we were sitting on the top of the highest rocky peak; on one side the cliff dropped into a bowl over 1000m below, on the other the solid granit dropped smoothly to a few lower peaks.
Sunrise was not too spectacular, but still beautiful. We took some photos, satisfied ourselves with the view, then made our way down the steep trail. A solid line of people still made their way up the ropeline.
The 2.7km trek to the lodge was tough on our knees. We got all of our stuff, rested for an hour, then set off down the 6km trail to the bottom.
Brutal on the knees.
Everyone was limping by the end.
Glad I had a walking stick.

I had hoped to repay the brits with cold, hard cash, but they had a strange itinerary and meeting later seemed improbable. I reluctantly handed over two endorsed travellers cheques.

We ate a meal at the bottom; for me a delicious "Christmas buffet" consisting of asian food - no turkey. After we went to the highway and waved down a tourbus, paying 10RM to get back to KK.