Drive to Kinabalu Park

The drive to Kinabalu park has been adventurous and memorable. Adventurous because we did not know the route and were exploring by ourselves and memorable because we were going on a long drive in a car all driven by ourselves.

The night before we started to Kinabalu park, we took directions from Marc regarding the route. We bought a route map of the KK city but that map did not have the route to Kinabalu park. After clearly hearing to the directions from Marc, I decided to be the navigator while Surya will be the driver.

We started off early by 5.30 from the hostel. We were told that it is about 2 hour drive from KK. The day before we filled up 10 liters of gas in the vehicle. Frankly speaking we did not really check the condition before we rented the car. We were actually going on an alien road and not sure if there would be any bumps. We were lucky to see a good sealed road for most of the way through.

Wonderful Road

Surya was our driver all the way

We drive for 36KM from KK to Tamparuli Roundabout which was very clear as it was a straight road. From Tamparuli Roundabout we took a right turn and drove straight until we reached outskirts of Tamparulli. From there we had to drive another 52 km mountainous route to arrive to Kinabalu Park. This route has been an up-hill driving all the way until we reached Kinabalu National Park. It was a long stretch of winding and neat road with some little bumps here and there to National park. All we need to do is to just stick with the main road and we will soon reach our destination.

We reached the Kinabalu park headquarters by 7.30. Upon arrival, we registered ourself and got a briefing by mountain guide info about trails.

Head Quarters, We stopped for the registration

We paid for the
Mt. Climbing Permit,
Mt. Climbing Insurance
Mt. Guide
Certificate of Achievement
Main entrance fee to Kinabalu Park

Balsam Cafe where we had our breakfast

At the reception

We were given food coupons:
1 pack lunch (Balsam Cafe) Day 1
1 dinner (Laban Rata restaurant) Day 1
1 breakfast (Laban Rata restaurant) Day 2
1 lunch (Balsam Cafe) Day 2

Breakfast

We had our breakfast at the Balsam Cafe for 45 Ringitt each. We took our packed lunch and started off in the taxi to the mesilau trail after parking our car at the head quarters. On the way to Mesilau, we came across the Kundasang village which was very nice and also had a small market place. We were excited to see the view of the mountains on the way to Mesilau. Everybody felt good about the decision of parking our car at the head quarters as it would have never made it to the Mesilau trail. It was too steep and even Land Cruiser was having trouble going up in 2nd or 3rd gear.

View on the way to Mesilau trail

In the cab, on the way to Mesilau

At around 8.45 we reached Mesilau and started off by 8.50.

All Set to go

Starting point of the trek

Finally I would say that the drive to Kinabalu park was exciting and exhilarating with the wonderful views and the cool breeze.

Kota Kinabalu Cheat Sheet

This was done by Surya before we started for KK.

Team PaPPu:
Mahesh 82233522
Santosh 91891638
Sudheendra 82233505
Nagaraj 81382383
Suryam 97250998

In the event you get into trouble:
Indian Embassy
The High Commission of India
No. 2 Jalan Taman Duta, Off Jalan Duta,
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Tel : (00-603) 2093 3510 (Five lines)
Fax: (00-603) 2093 3507, 2092 5826

Hostel in Kota kinabalu:
Borneo BeacHouse
House No.122, Lorong Ikan Lais,
Jalan Mat Salleh, 88100
Tanjung Aru, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
Tel: +6088 218331

Weather Forecast


















Mount Kinabalu Facts:
Summit (known as Low’s Peak) at 4,095 metres.
Essentially a huge granite dome that was pushed up from the earth’s crust, it is still pushing up at the rate of 5 mm per annum. The climb starts at 1,563 m. Climb starts at the Timpohon gate at 1800 m, either by minibus or by walking, and then walk to the Laban Rata hut at 3300 m. Most people accomplish this part of the climb in 3 to 6 hours. The last 2 km (2600 ft), from the Laban Rata hut at 3300 m to Low's Peak (summit) at 4100 m, takes between 2 and 4 hours. The last part of the climb is on naked granite rock. A typical descent from the summit is quicker but it is often equally painful as the ascent as the climbers descend more than 3000 m in five hours. The total trail to the summit is 8.5 km.

Dos and Don’ts on the mountain
Do not pee (unless you are about to explode)
Do not call out names (spirits may haunt you)
Do not have unprotected sex

Must-have at all times
Passport
Condoms
Lighter
Clean underwear

Local language phrases
You are cute - anda comel
What is your name – apa nama kau
Will you have sex - bolehkah anda mengadakan seks
How much – Berapakah harganya
What time (is it) – Pukul berapa?
Thank you – terima kasih
Help me – tolong saya
Good bye – selamat tinggal

Sightseeing

The Gaya Street Fair is held every Sunday morning and is the place where locals come to buy their goods. You can find almost anything at the Fair. From local handicrafts, souvenirs and clothing to food, drinks, Chinese medicines, delicacies and even animals like chickens and pet dogs, can be purchased for very reasonable prices. It also is a good opportunity to try out your bargaining skills.

Tunku Abdul Rahman Islands Park - Only 10 to 20 minutes by boat from Kota Kinabalu city, you can enjoy the beautiful tropical islands and indulged in lots of R&R. The Park consists of 5 islands, namely Gaya, Mamutik, Manukan, Sapi and Sulug. The park offers ample space to try water sports and you can also enjoy and adventurous jungle trek.

Shopping
There are 5 major shopping complexes in KK: Centrepoint, Wisma Merdeka, Wawasan Plaza, Karamunsing Complex and KK Plaza. Major shopping malls are located along the main artery of Kota Kinabalu, and you find just about anything from branded goods to local handicraft.

Filipino market: Situated a bit further than the above places, Filipino Market is a huge souvenirs and local handicrafts centre in Kota Kinabalu. It has more than 100 sellers that is placed under one roof. The building is made of wood and situated very near to Kota Kinabalu wet and fish market

Signal Hill Observatory

Offering a bird’s view of the city; the Sabah Foundation Building - a unique 30-storey building (it is a circular structure supported by high tensile steel rods, an architectural and engineering marvel, and there are only four such buildings in the world; it is Sabah’s highest tower)

Pouring hot springs

The Poring Hot Springs ranger station is 40 kilometers from Kinabalu Park HQ. Within 1 1/4 hectre (3 acre) area there are 5 hot springs with temperature ranging from 49º to 60º C (120º to 140º F) Soaking in a hot water bath is an ideal way to recurperate from an ardous mountain climb. Other attractions across the river are a small butterfly enclosure, a forest trail system, a Canopy walkway and picnic area. The chalets and hostels can accommodate 90 persons per night.

Itinerary
Day 0 – get your ass on to Tiger airways TR 484 departing @ 2020hrs
Day 1 – Diving starting morning till afternoon. Chillout in the evening by the beach or go into the city
Day 2 – Gates close by … Reach Laban rata by 6pm
Day 3 – Start climbing at 2am and reach peak by sunrise. After sunrise, start climb down and reach base by 1pm. Depending on the condition of the climbers, chill out in hot-springs or hit the city.
Day 4 – Flight TR 483 leaves @ 1155hrs

Time Zone
Malaysia is in the same time zone as Singapore (GMT +8)

Getting around
Mostly by taxis – a lot of haggling is due. But short trips cost 10 RM and slightly longer ones are 20 RM.

Night life / Hangout

Waterfront - Opposite the Promenade Hotel is a short stretch of the KK waterfront that becomes a hub of activity from dusk onwards. It is a popular meeting place for youngsters to hang out with their friends and where office workers converge for a beer after work. For tourists, it is the place to relax while watching the sun going down and eyeing the pretty ladies that may stroll by.
Some of the joints that are noted – BED, beach club, Cock n Bull, sugar bun

The Office pub - Tucked away in the Api Api Centre on the Marina Court side of the promenade, Pub grub will line your stomach, including famous sandwich wedges, fries and other what-have-yous. Populated by locals, Aussies, Brits, Americans and the odd South African, The Office Pub is watering hole of note.

Cocoon - Around the corner from Upperstar and Shani's is Cocoon. A funky place with modern decor, good looking and efficient waiter staff, with a live band always at the ready, peppered by the DJ's mix.

Borneo Beachouse

In Kota Kinabalu we stayed at a wonderful backpackers place called the Borneo Beachouse. The location of this backpackers area is awesome as its just 5 minutes walk from the airport. There is this beach called the first beach which is 3 minutes walk from this place. This beach has a nice sunset and hence we can see lot of localites flocking there during the evening time.

First Beach

Entrance of First Beach

Borneo Beachouse

Mark and Dave who manage the place were very very friendly and helpful. They helped us with the gear and also helped us in giving the directions to the Kinabalu park.

Thats Marc with the Team Pappu, Dave was sleeping as he takes care at the night.

The whole house was filled with the souvenirs given by different tourists from different countries. The overall presentation was great. I would definitely stay when here again when ever I go back again. These were some of the boards which I saw in their beachouse.

This was at the reception of Borneo Beachouse. Very Innovative :-)

Mount Kinabalu Trek Preparation

I have been doing hiking many a times since childhood. This all started off with Lateef Saab and Kaapral hill in Nalgonda. During Engineering days we went for Lohaghad and Matheran hill hiking. I have also been to Kedarnath which I would call it as a trek as it was challenging. Finally I am going for a proper trek to Mount Kinabalu. We have been planning it since the start of this year. Because of my marriage we have postponed the whole trip to May. Today is the day when we fly to Kota Kinabalu from Singapore. I, Nagaraj, Surya, Mahesh and Santosh are in the group.

The whole bookings have been done by Santosh. We have booked tiger airways to Kota Kinabalu, booked a lodge in Laban Rata, booked hostel in Kota Kinabalu and also booked for the Scuba Dive. The whole idea behind this trip was given by Surya. We also tried ordering some customized T-Shirts. But as we cannot get just 5 different shirts we did it on our own. Below are the pictures we printed on our t-shirts.



















Thats for me - Lazy Crazy :-)

This pic is for Mahesh and the caption is "Stay Fit - Ramababu"

This pic is for Surya and the caption is "Psycho - Suri"

This pic is for Nagaraj and the caption is "Rasik - Builder"

This pic is for Santosh and the caption is "Citi Sucks - Banker"

The check list was prepared by Mahesh and its as below:
- Trekking Shoes
- Extra pair of socks
- Full pants
- Full sleeve shirts
- Sweater
- Raincoats
- Plastic Covers
- Tissues
- Extra batteries
- Digital Camera and Video Camera
- Lip Guard
- Head Lamp or torch
- Towels

Hope we will have a great trip and I shall soon share the pics once I am back from the trip.

Mount Kinabalu Trip

Camping at ECP

It was a sudden plan to go for camping at ECP. Me and Surya decided on that and finally let everybody know about the program. I, Surya, Nagraj, Srinivas, Mahesh, Santosh and Mandeep were the team for the Dusk to Dawn outing. Hemanth was supposed to join us, but as he was suffering from fever, he couldn't make it. On Friday night I, Surya & Nagraj bought all the necessary items for the camping.

We bought
6 people tent.
2 sleeping bags
1 mat
2 barbecue ready made pits
1 vodka bottle
and the necessary items for the barbecue.

Basically we were a bunch of boys who got tired of the work life and needed a much necessary break and hence organized this camping. Even though we called it my bachelor's party, it was just to get away from stress.

Saturday morning we prepared the necessary items for the night out. By 6.10 on the Saturday evening we reached ECP in order to get a place for our tent. When we reached there we already saw many tents that were already in place. We finally got a nice place to place our tent. The tents around us had many Malay, Chinese and Indian people. We placed the tent and then went to 7-11 to get some beer and soft drinks. After that went to rent skates and bicycle. It was $14 for 2 skates and the same amount for 2 bicycles. I & Surya did skating while Nagraj and Srini did the cycling.

We enjoyed having beer, vodka and juices along with chips while skating and cycling. We sat and just chit chatted till 8 and then decided to start off with the barbecue. When we tried lighting up the ready made barbeque pits we brought, they gave us lot of trouble. We also tried pouring some vodka on to it and lite it up. But result was the same. I & Surya went to 7-11 to get some accelerate to lite it up. Finally we bought fire starter for liting it up. After a 30 minute fight we finally were able to start our cooking.

Its then the whole fun started. We enjoyed our food a lot. We had chicken, veg patties, burgers, corn and chips along with beer, vodka, sprite and water. After 1 hour of eating session we started playing cards. By the time it was 12, one after the other slept and finally I, Surya & Mandeep were left. We then decided to take a walk in that beautiful night along the beach. It was a starry night and the breezy environment made the night much better. I & Mandeep sat down on the platform made along the beach and watched those waves coming and hitting the edge of the platform. The sound of those waves was very nice to hear.

After some time I, Surya & Mandeep went to McDonalds and had a coffee, corn and coke. Mean while Nagraj woke up and we decided to start off home at around 4.30 so that we can have some proper sleep at home. We woke Srini, Mahesh and Santosh and came back home by 5 in the morning.

Race Day

It is very late to post this. But as I was a bit busy with many other things, I couldn't do it. From now on I will try to make sure that I update things as soon as possible.

RACE DAY - 28th September 2008

Yes! Today is race day !

It was hot, stuffy, humid. The roads were dusty and there were people everywhere. And there was a strong buzz of excitement in the air. I

was not really excited today as I have seen it for past 2 days and did not find it much different. In fact I asked my friend Mahesh to go ahead for the race day. But back of mind I had that thought of not to miss this unique opportunity of being part of history.

I arrived at the circuit just before 5 pm to join in the festivities. The cars today are so much more powerful and the sports more glamorous. I was alone there and have seen all the seats getting filled up much before the start of the race. This was not the case in the last two days. All the spectators were actually getting ready with the cameras to get every moment of the race and the food to survive for the next 2 hours. There were giant projector TVs through out the circuit and most of them were watching the proceedings of the race in it.

At around 6 all the cars came out and the drivers were getting ready for the race. I was lucky to see all the cars getting ready right on the track with the crew out there. Many VIPs got a chance to actually take some pictures with all the drivers. Common people like me were excited to see our heroes directly from far distance.

At 7 PM, just after the national anthem, the crowd cheered as they saw the cars racing off from the starting grid. I along with other spectators jumped in joy when Felipe Massa raced past first. The atmosphere was sensational !!! It was hard to follow the race as the cars speed past us in an instant and the roar of the engines drowned out the available "live" commentary coming from the big screens. But still when ever cars came round the corner and left the other corner everybody stood up and saw the cars racing past, and other time we were

just watching the race in the Gaint screen.

After about 15 laps, Nelson Piquet in the Renault crashed. The next and the most embarrassing moment for Ferrari would be todays disastrous error in the pit lane. As a result of this error on the pit lane Felipe Massa lost ground. The Brazilian was pitting on lap 15 and drove off with the fuel hose still attached to his car, leaving one of the pit crew sprawling to the ground and subsequently stretchered off in a neck brace. All the Ferrari fans including me felt very bad with this incident.

It was a miserable night for his team mate too. Kimi Raikkonen rammed his car into the barriers with just four laps to go, ending his race. Over all it was a very bad day for Ferrari. Towards the end of the race, the drivers were under a lot of pressure to end the race quickly as there is a cut off timing of two hours. The race must be completed by 10 pm, by hook or by crook.

Finally Fernando Alonso, who started in grid position 15 did an amazing turn around by winning the race with a mere 2.95 seconds over Nico
Rosberg who seemed to win the race at one point. Prime minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong presented the trophy to the worthy winner.

Well done, Alonso !