Before I Lose My Mind: Mount Kinabalu 2011: Getting there

It'd been a massively busy time for me during the school vacation of September to October, being involved in numerous leadership camps which called for me being present at the camps or just following up with the administration of the camps. The end of the 6 week period was marked with the trip to Kota Kinabalu, where we attempted to summit Mount Kinabalu (Malaysia's highest mountain, standing at 4,095m).

It was hardly a good time to be travelling for me because the renovations for our new home had to be confirmed before I left, and fortunately, Kat was a massive pillar of strength for me by handling the details of the renovation, leaving me to focus on my job.

From this weather...

As there were no direct flights which departed from Singapore on the morning of our departure, we had to take a bus from Singapore to Senai Airport in Johor (Malaysia) to catch our flight to Sabah. The flight didn't get off to a good start as a thunderstorm descended just before our departure. As mentioned previously, I love to travel but I hate the journey, and the two cute little girls sitting behind me morphed into little she-devils and decided that the back of my seat was a football. So much for catching some sleep as I'd only a couple hours of sleep the previous night. And flying for the first time with Air Asia, I doubt if I'll fly with them ever again for flights that are any longer than an hour. I'll save the disparaging remarks about their flight attendants, but what I'm about to relate, I find completely unacceptable.

I'm always pretty uncomfortable about flying through clouds, and for the flight from Senai, we were surrounded by clouds because of the storm. I've flown through some pretty "interesting" turbulence whenever I flew over Australia, which usually happens during breakfast and coffee will be flying through mid-air. However, the captains would always make announcements assuring the passengers, and keeping them updated about the situation. Nothing of that sort from the Air Asia pilots. Throughout the whole rocky experience, there wasn't a pip from them, not even when the plane dropped for more than a metre and people were screaming. Excellent job. Perhaps making broadcasts costs money too, and being a budget airline, every cent counts. And yeah, Air Asia's motto of "Now everyone can fly"? Well, that applies to the calibre of pilots they hire too. Think about it.

..To this

Suffice to say, I was immensely pleased to land at the KK Low Cost Carrier Terminal. When we alighted onto the tarmac, we were greeted by a brilliant blue sky and fine weather. My first impression of Kota Kinabalu was that it really was quite different from the major cities of Peninsula Malaysia. Development wise, it felt like it was 10 years behind the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, but everything was so neat and well kept. The pace of life is definitely much slower too. We were driven past the beach front and the neat lines of trees by the road prompted one student to comment that it reminded him of Perth. As we made our way up to the Rose Cabin, located near Kinabalu Park, the pressure in our ears told us that we were making our way up the mountains. We arrived at Rose Cabin after about 2.5hours, we immediately felt the coolness of the altitude, as well as the wind chill. The group took a picture at the little garden with the mountain as the backdrop, but it was covered by heavy clouds, which was a sign of what was to come.

Storm clouds looming

Just like the rest of Kota Kinabalu, Rose Cabin is rather old but it was clean and well-kept. What was fascinating for me was the gas heater that they used for the shower. I haven't used a gas shower heater for a good 20 odd years now, and I gotta say, a gas heater gives much better heat than electric ones can! During the night, my colleague and I got out on the balcony which has a breathtaking view of the mountain, and I managed to get a couple of shots of the night view. We left the window ajar so that we could enjoy the natural air-conditioning, and it was a rare night of restful sleep considering that I usually don't rest well in a new environment. This would be the last time we would get a good night's sleep for the next couple of days.

Stay tuned for more stories of my little adventure!