The Climb: Eve Arrival at Kota Kinabalu

Back from Kota Kinabalu yesterday night & still recuperating from sore pains all over my legs. Some of u peeps have already pestering for me to share the experiences here. Gonna do it for sure but in few parts. This trip around, with fellow Akurian Majidah & Clarence (a truly muhibah gang indeed) is planned with fairly reasonable budget & I shall share with u guys on this. Hopefully, this will serves as useful tips for wannabe Kinabalu conquerors without burning their pockets.

We arrived at Kota Kinabalu International Airport Terminal 2 at 12.00 pm & proceeded to the 4- star rated Promenade Hotel. Booked online at MYR 230.00 nett per night for this & will be staying in this hotel once descend down from Mount Kinabalu. We brought 2 sets of luggage & here, we offloaded 1 luggage & took only our backpack. The luggage was kept in the hotel till we check in 2 days later. This practice is rather useful to avoid carrying unnecessarily heavy luggage during the climb later. Most hotels, including the budget ones will obliquely provide this service.

Hotel Promenade - Strategically located at KK waterfront & within walking distance to many KK attractions

Practically, there are 3 ways to reach Kinabalu Park from the city capital. First is by driving on your own in a rented car. However, the distance of 2 hours drive to the park makes this an unfeasible idea, especially when u are descending down with sore legs later. Second is by bus, costing RM 15.00 per pax & takes approx 3 hours of journey. Lastly, is by MPV taxi which costs RM 20.00 per pax & takes approx 2 hours of journey. We took the last option. We went to this taxi/bus station at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in a taxi ride, costing RM 12.00. Same as practiced in most places, all taxi drivers here don't charge u by meter fare. Be prepared to accept this culture unless u have transport on your own. There are also MPV taxis to other cities such as Beaufort, Kudat, Tenom, Ranau, etc at this place.

Stuffing our bags in a Toyota MPV taxi for a ride to Kinabalu Park

Using the Firefly flight style, the MPV taxi driver will try to gather 7 passengers & once all are onboard, he will departs immediately. We waited 50 minutes for him to consolidate all persons. Took us 2 hours to reach Kinabalu Park entrance. Checked in ourselves at the Park HQ for the overnight stay at the Park area & for the climb next day. The costs of hiring mountain guide is RM 128.00 for a group of 3. There are at least 10 different places of accommodation with different rates available in the Park itself. It's highly recommended that climbers have an overnight stay at the Park area on the eve of the climb to acclimatize to the cool weather.

The gang at the entrance of Kinabalu Park

We checked into a dormitory-style Grace Hostel , sharing the room with an Australian lady & 2 KLites. The hostel facilities are rather true to its name, gracefully simple, blending nicely with natural environment in the area. The lodges & hostels are managed by Sutera Sanctuary Lodges, same management as Sutera Harbour Resort. So, u can expect a respectable standard of facilities & service here.


Grace Hostel, Kinabalu Park

Our dormitory beds

Surrounded with greens like this, who needs air-con for the rooms?

Haze or mist? Only God knows...

True to the Sutera's standard, dinner was good at Balsam cafe, serving western & continental cuisines. Had a hot shower back in the hostel before setting the lights off early to rest for the penultimate climb the next day. Prayed hard that night that weather will be clear & not as hazy as what been reported earlier.