Anyway, I will leave job related talks for another entry - since it's certainly not my intention to do it on this 5th post of my trip to KK. And it's the most exciting part, the main part and also the only reason for having the trip in the first place.
The day started off early, with a hearty English breakfast - all with the intention of providing that extra boost of energy as we made the hike up Mount KK. I have thought about how to recount the journey...and for fear of boring you guys (and myself too!) with countless words, I'm going to let the pictures to the talking - or so the saying goes. Plus for me, the main reason for blogging about these whole journey day by day was simply so that I could come back one day and reminisce.
So here is a shot of the hotel we stayed for the night at the "kaki" of Mount KK. It's about 30mins to the Mesilau trail we had planned to take.
Hehe...all of us with our walking stick - more useful when coming down to ease the strain to the knee.
There is a park at Mesilau itself, though we were only interested to begin our journey ;p
OK, before we begin, must have group picture-lah. Hehe...be sure to check out the "After" picture at the bottom of this entry ;p
A quick check on Pang's watch to see how high we were already before setting off. Apparently we were almost at 2K metres at the Mesilau start point. 4K - 2K = 2K left...easy la, right? Or so we thought LOL!
Just to make sure we were on the right trail ;p
See those plastic bags I was carrying? Those were part of our lunch - there was fried chicken, a boiled egg, a can of coke, and the rest were all cheese or ham sandwiches. Oh...and there was an apple as well. These were all we were going to have till we reach Laban Rata for dinner. We started off around 9:20am and estimated to reach Laban Rata around 4-5pm. Haha we reach around 7pm...tired and hungry ;p
We were delayed probably because we stopped a lot to take scenic pictures and also to eat ;p I was like snacking every 40 minutes or so ;p
Hehe...loads of posing and cam-whoring ;p
Man...my neck started aching after a while...but so long as I didn't take it off, I guess I didn't feel the pain...yet.
Taking a break. Pang was carrying two bags - his own and LT's bag. The perfect gentlemen - since LT was getting tired as we moved higher up. Oh...and see Pang's shoes? Hehe...DIY fix after the soles started coming off...it was still OK then...but it was tough for him later on as it started to rain and the path got slippery.
The trail was an "up-and-down" - meaning we hiked up several hundred metres before trekking down a few hundred metres. The Mesilau trail is far longer than the Timpohon trail - but the former is more scenic and much more beautiful - hehe with lots of places to take pictures and enjoy nature.
Well, that was before it started to rain...slightly at first and then it fell more earnestly. Wasn't too much trouble though since most of us brought either a rain jacket or rain-...(what do you call those plastic rain jackets?)
This was kind of the end of the Mesilau trail - also half way to Laban Rata. At this point, there was still about another 3 hours up Summit trail to reach Laban Rata.
Also managed to see pitcher plants along the way. Pitcher plant = Periuk Kera. Used to study it in school last time, but never had an opportunity to see it up close ;p
Getting wet and a bit slippery, but we pushed on...hehe what other choice did we have? Head back down? It was nearer to go up than down at that point ;p And what do you call that "blue disposable plastic rain jacket" ? 
We were close...though we were getting tired and just wanted some hot food. The rain was making it colder than it seemed...
We were close...though we were getting tired and just wanted some hot food. The rain was making it colder than it seemed...
Hehe...this is a close up shot of Pang's shoes...it caused him a lot of pain since he sole kept slipping off as we were reaching Laban Rata. He had to stop and re-tie the shoes multiple times...I salute him for the having the perseverance to continue.
This is the "After" pictures ;p We were all a bit dazed, with FL wasn't in the mood for any picture taking ;p
I stuffed myself with food - it was a buffet dinner so it was all for the taking! ;p I was cold and hungry...and my shoes got soaked wet...but still it didn't stopped me from filling myself...erm...sufficiently ;p
By the time we finished our dinner, it was around 8pm already and the sky was dark. Only then did we know that we still had to climb another 10 minutes to our lodgings at Gunting Lagadan. Hehe...along the way, I guess Pang lost his patience and I think the most memorable part of that 10 minutes hike was the different swear words that came pouring from him as he vents his frustration at having to cope with a less than complete shoes - it was dangerous for him as well cause it was so easy to twist an ankle in the dark, especially the path was rocky and slippery.
Anyway, we did make it to our lodgings and thought we could settle in for a good night's rest. Well, that's what we thought...till we found out how cold it was going to get later on...but that is for me to tell in the next entry ;p
More to come in: The Land Below The Wind: Mount Kinabalu - Day 6
Anyway, we did make it to our lodgings and thought we could settle in for a good night's rest. Well, that's what we thought...till we found out how cold it was going to get later on...but that is for me to tell in the next entry ;p
More to come in: The Land Below The Wind: Mount Kinabalu - Day 6
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