In May 2012, a friend and I travelled to Sabah to climb Mount Kinabalu. My friend had spent several months training for it. I, on the other hand, hadn’t done any preparation.
Looking back, that probably wasn’t the wisest decision.
From Singapore to Sabah
Our journey began with a bus and taxi ride from Singapore to Johor Bahru Airport, where we caught our flight to Kota Kinabalu.
We arrived on 5 May and spent the night at Nexus Resort & Spa Karambunai. It was a lovely place by the sea, and the photographs show a broad, quiet beach with forested hills in the background.
It was a relaxing beginning to what would become a much more demanding couple of days.
The following morning, we checked out and headed directly towards Mount Kinabalu.
The climb begins
We had arranged our climb through Amazing Borneo Tours, and one thing I remember particularly well was the strength of the mountain guides.
They carried backpacks that would have been heavy enough for many of the climbers, yet they seemed remarkably capable of handling those loads.
I had deliberately packed as lightly as possible. I even left my Nikon D90 and its lenses behind because I didn’t want the extra weight. That’s one reason I have so few photographs of this trip.
We started climbing on 6 May.
The mountain was beautiful, but climbing it was another matter. My friend had prepared for months, while I was relying entirely on whatever fitness I already had.
We eventually reached our overnight resting place around six in the evening.
The accommodation was adequate, and after the day’s climb, having somewhere to rest was what mattered.
Before sunrise
We had another early start the following morning.
I remember setting off around three in the morning, hoping to reach the upper mountain in time for sunrise.
One photograph shows a bright moon against a deep-blue sky. Another captures layers of clouds stretching towards the horizon.
The photographs don’t tell me exactly when each was taken, but they remind me of the extraordinary scenery up there.
Higher on the mountain, the landscape changed. The greenery gave way to broad expanses of granite, with clouds moving around the rocky peaks.
It was unlike the scenery we had encountered on the lower slopes.
The way back down
If climbing the mountain was difficult, the aftermath was something else entirely.
By the time we were back, our legs were so sore that we could barely walk.
My friend had spent months training, and I had done none. Whatever difference that preparation made during the climb, I certainly felt the physical demands of the mountain afterwards.
It’s one of those experiences that is much easier to appreciate when you no longer have to take another step.
Looking back
There are only nine photographs in this album, far fewer than I would normally have taken on a trip.
But I remember why I left the heavier camera equipment behind. On a climb like this, every bit of weight mattered.
What stays with me isn’t just the beautiful mountain scenery. It’s the guides carrying those enormous loads, the contrast between my friend’s preparation and my own lack of it, the early morning climb, and how completely exhausted our legs were afterwards.
Mount Kinabalu was a memorable experience.
And if I ever attempted something like it again, I think I would do a little training first.