Sabah, Borneo



In typical backpacker style I booked only one night at my current hostel and ended up 'sticking' as seemed to be a similar affliction for anyone staying in 'Zoku Lifestyle hostel'. I spent the majority of my trip in Borneo with an ozzie pal whom I first met working in the US three years ago. Our only plan for our time here was the hiking of Mt. Kinabalu which we proudly summited and from which my legs have only just forgiven me for. This was a two day one night feat which included staying in the 'Laban Rata' mountain hut, which we like to call base camp. We set off on this hike confident in our abilities 'to smash it' and soon realised training may have been a good idea! The track to the summit is comprised of never-ending and very steep steps through thick and beautiful jungle. The air is heavy with the only sounds (apart from your own heavy breathing) being birds screeching and insects screaming. We set off at a hearty pace which gradually began to slow as we realised that the never-ending steps were showing no sign of respite. Despite being deplorably uninformed about flora and fauna (sorry mum), the exotic plants found on this track were wonderfully exciting, particularly the 'pitcher plants'--carniverous creatures designed to catch and eat flies, insects and, in some cases, small birds.
After a 3.5 hour hike we finally reached our home for the night at 3,700 metres. We had narrowly escaped the rain and watched in awe from the safety of the hut as the grey clouds rushed in and visibility of the mountain below vanished in seconds. The next morning our hike began at 3 am and we found ourselves in an orderly procession of head torches marching upwards and onward towards the summit. Slippy steps and wobbly legs were the order of the day however things really began to reach fever pitch when the track stopped and we were left with a  sheer rock face and a rope to haul ourselves up. As I didn't particularly want to look down I was left with no option but to look up onto an amazing milky way in the uninterrupted nights sky. We summited in time to watch the sunrise and enjoyed the feeling of being above the clouds, watching the sky turn from red to pink to blue. We climbed all the way down the mountain with two English men whom we had befriended in Laban Rata and watched in begrudged amazement every time 'porters' would breeze past us carrying crates of food and supplies for the mountain hut, ego's slightly bruised we would stumble on! We were assured by our guide that Mount Kinabalu is the highest in South East Asia however a quick Google rates it as the 3rd highest. Either way, at 4095 metres we were proud of our accomplishment! 


My other adventures in Borneo include and are not limited to White Water rafting in the Padas or 'spicy' river (home to crocodiles which our guide was quick to reassure us were "vegetarian" and that locals believed them to be their ancestors) and a trip to the jungley East coast and 'Sepilok' where we visited numerous sanctuaries and watched goggle eyed as Orangutans and probiscus monkeys played and ate food. We also couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable as we witnessed a large male Orangutan mate with a female in a way that did not look entirely consensual...

Fun fact: locals call white people 'orang putih' --'orang' means man and 'putih' means white!
The bus journey back from our Sepilok experience to KK was eye opening for me as I witnessed first hand the sheer volume of Palm plantations. These palm trees are cropped to satiate our own greed for palm oil. They lie in areas which previously would have been wild jungle and natural habitat to the aforementioned monkeys now seen in sanctuaries. 

Kota Kinabalu itself is a city of extremes with many western shopping malls and sky scrapers as well as shocking poverty in its shanty town like 'water villages'. Residents of these watery villages live in wooden houses built on stilts over the most polluted water I have ever seen and where I am afraid to say I also saw children bathing. A very shocking site considering that on the other side of the road lay the city's 'Times Square' and commercial haven. A very sorry juxtaposition.
Rain thunders down outside my hostel in the city of Kota Kinabalu in Borneo's northern state of Sabah. Perhaps I should have done more research into 'rainy season'. Tomorrow I depart for the bright lights and city sights of Singapore and I am beginning to realize simultaneously just how much this island still has to offer me and that, infact, it's quite big! I guess I will have to return...Now for my next jungle, of concrete and a long awaited reunion!



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