Kinabalu Mountain Lodge and Kinabalu Peak!

The day before our climb, we changed location to a hostel near the park entrance of Mt. Kinabalu. Kinabalu Mountain Lodge was in the mountains at the end of a road, peacefully away from everything. The views were stunning, and in perfect Lauren fashion, she would say, "Guys. Guys! Look at where we are right now." She had a point, but we all laughed every time.

We went for some long walks to check out the plants, insects and whatever else we could find. The best thing was probably "Prayer Mountain." We decided that that's where people were sent for punishments - the prayer box. We snapped some photos and headed back to the lodge to make PB&B (peanut butter and banana) sandwiches for the hike. We all sat around on the patio watching the sunset, hanging in hammocks, writing blogs or reading Kindles as the cold night set in.

In the morning, Friday, October 28, we were picked up at 9:30am and headed to the mountain. We got a quick rundown of the schedule and the four of, us plus one English guy and two guides, headed up the mountain at 10:30am - long way to go. The weather was good, a little overcast, a light breeze and a bit cool - perfect for a hike. I was still panting and forming a sweat after about half a kilo (as Keeler would call a kilometer). We were set to trek for 6.2 kilometers on day 1 with something like 2400m altitude gain. We were warned about going slowly to avoid possible altitude sickness, and we all faired well. Since the four of us had all just finished PADI classes, we joked about making safety stops and stabilizing buoyancy on our way up - PADI knowledge in real-life situations.

We made it to the overnight stop a little after 2pm - good timing. I was consistently behind the group by about 10 minutes or so. I haven't exactly been super active while traveling. Our lodge was another 150m up, which doesn't sound like much, but it really was. We took some power-naps before 5 o'clock dinner. Most people went to bed right after eating, but none of us felt tired. We played cards in the food lodge until about 9pm and attempted to head back to our room. Luckily, I had a flashlight with me by chance because the whole way up to our room was pitch black!

Wake-up call was at 2am, but we hardly got a wink of sleep. It was freezing up there, and I insisted on spooning to keep warm. We had to go back down for food, an extra 300m round trip on the 2.5 kilometers to the peak. At 3am, we started day 2 of the trek to the top. We didn't want to make it too early because the top is super cold and windy. We stopped for 30 minutes at the 7km mark. The terrain changed several times throughout the trek. The first day was mostly steps, whether it be small rocks, big stones, wood planks, etc - and it was steep! The second day was harder. It was completely dark and all you could see was whatever your headlight shone upon. The stones were slippery, and at around 7km, you actually had to pull yourself up the side of the granite-like mountain with a rope. The next part, we pretty much were scaling the side of the mountain, again holding onto the rope without a clue as to what kind of fall was below.

The air was getting thinner and my breaths were getting shorter. Finally, the sun started rising, lighting up the mountain. We were well above the clouds so the sun hadn't risen to our level yet. I made it to the peak at about 5:45 as my friends were already freezing up there. At 6am, we got the sunrise photos that we wanted and headed down the freezing, windy peak immediately. Lauren and I made several stops coming down to get more photos since going up, we were too cold to pull out the cameras. We had another breakfast at the lodge at 7:30am and relaxed until 9. The whole way down was pretty hard on the calves and quads, but it was still easier than the way up. We made it to the park entrance at 11:32am, and then we were taken to a lunch buffet at noon. They fed us a LOT in the 26 hours. It was a strenuous hike, but it was amazing to make it to the top. The mountain is beautiful. It was worth the $275 (2 guides, 5 meals, accommodation on the mountain), but I'll never do it again!

Kota Kinabalu

After an unexciting week in mainland "Lame-aysia," I couldn't wait to get to Sabah, Borneo where my two friends Keeler and Chris (and his sister, Lauren) were meeting me. We went there just to climb Mount Kinabalu, although I heard that other parts of Sabah are great for scuba diving and for seeing orangutans. They didn't have time for those other activities, and I didn't sort it out to head there on my own, unfortunately. 


Our first day together, we got a speed boat to an island near Kota Kinabalu called Manukan. We were all expecting a nice beach with soft sand and beautiful views, but Lame-aysia continued to disappoint. We had to pay a beach fee upon arrival, and the sand was essentially rocks and uncomfortable to sit or walk on. The beach was pretty short, and there weren't many people nor places to get a snack. The one minimart was part of a resort and obviously was expensive. We had to entertain ourselves there for four hours as our return was pre-scheduled for 5pm, and it started raining at 4. 

Finally, we were picked up and dropped off at the seafood market in KK. The market was awesome with all kinds of fish in all sizes and colors. People were yelling at us from every direction to buy some fish as they chopped away, spraying fish guts in the air. We tried some random street foods from nearby vendors before checking out the night market and searching for a restaurant for dinner. We ended up eating for less than $2 a person. KK is a pretty quiet town without too much to do, so we ended the night with some card games at the hostel - a nice, quiet night.

Mainland Lame-aysia.

I flew into a small airport in Kuala Lumpur (from Koh Samui), and they didn't have easy transport into town. I got a cab to Chinatown, and a local lady ended up sharing with me at no discount to either of us. She worked at a hotel on Lankawi island, and her English was superb. She gave me some tips about Malaysia, and I eventually got to Reggae Mansion Hostel and reunited with Joyce, whom I had missed terribly. We have a great time together as we think the exact same way and have the same attitudes towards the same things. 

Reggae Mansion KL Dorm.

She did some touristy things with me that she had already done before - some malls, the Petronas Towers, other popular parts of town, etc. You could pretty much get KL covered in one day. We also encountered a couple issues in Bukit Bintang - we just wanted to sit. Apparently, you are not allowed to sit on the sidewalk or anywhere. We didn't accept this well. Check out Joyce's blog here for more on our adventures. 

The next couple days were pretty boring. We decided to go up to Cameron Highlands - Tenah Rata - to visit the BOH Tea Plantation and strawberry farms. We had some rainy weather and spent an evening writing blogs in Starbucks instead of exploring. However, we managed to get some fabulous Indian food dinner sets for less than $3. The tea plantation was really beautiful, but of all the strawberry farms we could have gone to, we were taken to one that was grown by hydroponics, and we only saw a few rows of it. Needless to say, it was unimpressive. 

BOH Tea Plantation 

But Cameron Highlands was good for delicious, cheap Indian food - $2.50 

After a night there, we went further north to Penang. It's supposed to be famous for food, but we found nothing notable. We spent the whole day visiting all of the landmarks and tourist sites as marked on the tourist map. We wanted to sleep at Reggae Penang because we loved the one in KL, but they only had one cubby bed left. We were determined to stay there anyway, and we agreed to share one bed in a small room full of 15 smelly boys - what were we thinking? Well, it wasn't the worst place I've ever stayed. 


We covered Penang in 24 hours and headed back to the luxurious comforts of Reggae Mansion KL. Of course, there still wasn't anything to do in KL, but at least we had a comfortable place to sleep with breakfast included. We still found plenty of ways to entertain ourselves - we laid out on the roof, and I finished the last 50% of Shantaram which had taken me two months to get through the first half. 


Unfortunately, there was nothing impressive or worthwhile about mainland Malaysia, which is why it earned the very appropriate name "Lame-aysia." There was nothing particularly interesting to see, the people weren't friendly or helpful, and it was way too expensive for what it was. If it wasn't to have more time with Joyce, I would have left sooner than I did, but when the company is good, you can enjoy yourself anywhere; just better if it is cheaper!

Koh Phangan and Koh Tao

Lena and I were convinced to stay in this area called Baan Tai upon arrival in Koh Phangan rather than the Full Moon Party beach, Haad Rin. We reluctantly paid for four nights and had to take 100 Baht rides to the town and back. Our door had a piece of wire as a doorknob, and a janky padlock went through a hole to keep it locked. After one night there, we knew that we'd have to find an alternative, even if we couldn't get any money back from the dreadful Great Bay Resort. We got a recommendation from a local expat who sent us to Suncliff Bungalows - it was perfect. We paid 300 Baht a night for a charming bungalow, fully equipped with the random millipede, frog in the bathroom and an upright fan and cold shower - it was all we needed. They had the upgrades for 1000 Baht a night, but with the money lost, the only thing in mind was "cheap!" Anyway, the pool there had a perfect view for sunset, and it was absolutely stunning. Finally, something worked out for us. We met up with the friends from Vietnam again - Ryan, Dillon and Craig - and the long-lost Siri! We also met a few more Brits that were a ton of fun to party with.

Suncliff Bungalows Pool at sunset. 

Our bungalow.

The island was swamped with Israelis, more than anywhere else; however, the island wasn't as full as I was expecting from the stories I had heard. Pre-FMP (full moon party), we all reconvened for a painting party at Siri's hostel - Same Same But Different Hostel. I had some creative works painted on me to include a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and a Super Mario Bros. extra guy mushroom. We were all looking awesome and had a fun night. Different groups were split up and found again throughout the night. I lost one flip-flop after about 15 minutes, and I jump-roped with a fire jump-rope and went down a flaming waterslide - safely. It was not the horrible party that I thought it would be.

We spent a day at Haad Yao beach, which was so beautiful and relaxing, and I also found a delicious greek salad! Then everyone tried to sort out an exit route off the island. I ended up paying 400 Baht to get to Koh Tao for a PADI diving course - expensive considering I paid 550 to get from Bangkok to Koh Phangan. I had just enough time for an Open Water course before my Thai visa expired. I started watching videos as soon as I arrived at Asia Divers Resort, and the confined dives started in the morning.

I didn't have any problems until the filling of the mask with water. I have always had to hold my nose at any time while under water, and this didn't work well. After some struggling, I managed to do it successfully once or twice, but I wasn't feeling confident for the open water. Luckily, my three French instructors were fantastic.

After jumping in the water and deflating my BCD (buoyancy control device), slowly going down to the ocean floor, I got more comfortable. It was actually fun, with the exception of the mask tests. I still passed, and I had a great time diving. I can't wait to get my advanced certification and dive somewhere else.

From there, I got a ferry to Koh Samui and a flight to meet Joyce in Kuala Lumpur - reunited!

Back in Bangkok.

My time with Amy was sadly coming to an end. The laughs and experiences we shared were some of the best moments of my life. We got ourselves into and out of some once-in-a-lifetime situations - that girl is hilarious! We spent most of the day eating and shopping and finished it off with a couple drinks as we again bumped into Ryan, Dillon and Craig. We gave Amy a nice sendoff, and we went out exploring the city to the road with lady-boys and strip clubs - we wanted to see what all the fuss was about. It mostly consisted of rich, old men or oddball young foreigners. We got back in time to put Amy in her 3am cab to the airport; the end of an era.

Goodbye shots.

Over the last seven weeks, I collected all kinds of clothes and gifts, and I had to get some of the weight off my back. I mailed home a 7kg box, which my posture was thankful for, and roamed the streets until Lena arrived a few hours later. Over the next few days, we shopped, checked out Chatuchak Market (which is now flooded) and went to the MBK mall where I could reluctantly get a cheap phone and sim card only to satisfy my parents' demand. 

Chatuchak Market. 

We stayed in Bangkok for longer than I would have liked, but it happened to be Yom Kippur and Bangkok was a good place to be for it. Lena joined me in my last meal before the fast with a bowl of green curry with chicken and rice. She was going to accompany me to the Chabad House for the boring services but was subjected to racial profiling at the door and was refused entrance. I was completely stunned by the rude interrogation she was receiving by the older, Israeli doorman - in fact, I was truly embarrassed. I've never known of any congregation to be unwelcoming to a guest, no matter what their religion, but Lena left and I headed into the lonely room solo. 

I forgot how much I hate attending Chabad services, although the one in Korea wasn't as bad as this one. It quickly filled up with Israelis and the random American Jew, but it still felt empty. I forgot about the partition between the men and women, and the entire service was 100% in Hebrew - sermons, books and all conversations - which I can handle, but the Rabbi was speaking so quickly. I rushed out at the end and decided I wasn't coming back the next day. Instead, I handled some things I needed to finish before taking an overnight bus and ferry to Koh Phangan, in time for the October full moon party. 

Siem Reap is flooded.

Although we were warned about floods in Siem Reap, we were confident that we wouldn't encounter any problems because of it. It didn't work out as perfectly as we had anticipated, but there have been worse situations. It was raining, and we had to barter a bit with a tuk-tuk driver to get a reasonable rate for taking us to a guesthouse through the floods. The whole city was flooded, so pretty much anywhere we decided on staying would be a challenge to get to, especially for these little carriages attached to motorbikes.

After the flood-levels had gone down quite a bit...

We settled for a very sub-par guesthouse for about $13 per night - not so cheap for Cambodia, especially considering the dirty shower water that smelled of mold and rust and the broken air-con, which loudly dripped like Chinese-water-torture all night long. We were out of there first thing in the morning and found a gem - Bun Kao Guesthouse. The owner, Bun Kao, was arguably the sweetest local man I've met on my travels yet. The rooms were spacious, clean, had cozy beds, air-con and hot water - except when we blew a fuse. My luck with the hot showers isn't so great. In the six nights that we stayed there, I think I got through one shower without blowing a fuse. Every night, I'd be mid-shampoo when the lights and water heater turned off. I'd have to feel around for a towel and waddle down to the end of the hallway to flip the switch - unfortunate, yet still hilarious every time.

The four of us (Amy, Joyce, Niall, myself) met another quartet of Chinese-English guys - Jimmy Jason, Jeremy and Louis; they were a ton of fun and responsible for several nights of laughter; the Brits say some weird things. In our six days in Siem Reap, we spent three of them at Angkor Wat. Amy and I got bikes from Bun Kao and went all the way out there and all over the grounds.

Joyce bought a book and became our free tourguide.

This is the the photo Niall took for us when asked to take a picture of us at Angkor Wat.

Bun Kao arranged for us to do some volunteering for a couple days at a local English school as well as at a village outside of the city. I taught computer class, which was a nice break from all the English I've taught over the last year, others taught English and took BMI tests.

We had to fit a lot of people in one truck.

My computer class.

This was his favorite toy.  It was alive.

The children are stunning.

Little girl outside Angkor Wat.

On a hangover day, Joyce and I took an awesome cooking class for $12 while the others lazied around. We had a stroll through the market with our instructor and returned to make one of the most satisfying meals. I got stuck dicing veggies for days while Joyce was posted at the deep-frying pan. We made the local tofu amok (similar to green curry but lighter), chicken breast with homemade sweet potato fries, banana flower salad (which I can never have enough of) and fried vegetarian spring rolls - fresh mango and sticky rice followed for dessert.

Like I said, I did a lot of dicing.

Clockwise from the top: Banana Flower Salad, Vegetarian Spring Rolls, Chicken Amok, Grilled Chicken Breast.

It got hot in Siem Reap. As the flood-levels got lower and higher and lower and higher, we took a day to lounge at a nice hotel pool nearby. It was well worth the $5 for a pool, a tan and a chilled out day with a great group of people.

At this point, after three days at Angkor, too many nights out on Pub St, too many Temple Club t-shirts (free with bucket purchase) and too many buckets of alcohol, we were all anxious to move on to the next city yet again. A week with Bun Kao, the Brits, Joyce, Niall and Amy was awesome, but onto the next one! As a sendoff to Cambodia, Amy and I went out for a few drinks and found Ryan, Dillon and their newly acquired Aussie, Craig, on Pub St. We talked and danced until our night was cut short for us to catch our overnight bus to Bangkok.

Pub St.

After all the rushing to be ready for 1:30am, the bus didn't end up leaving until 4:30am. Luckily, we got a few zzz's while waiting because Amy and I had no seat on the bus and ended up spooning each other at the feet of two Cambodian ladies at the front of the bus - thank you, Asia. By the time we crossed the Thai border, found our ride into Bangkok and made it to Khao San Rd, it was about 2pm.