We were pretty lucky to find ONE tour agency/dive shop open (they all close on Sunday. Strange no?) and we managed to book a day trip out to see Mount Kinabalu and the Poring hot springs.
It was a long and windy drive up to the Mount Kinabalu park HQ. Easily 3 hours going up and up and up. The best part of the drive was seeing the mountain. Cos of the switchbacks, the mountain would drift to the left and right of the van.
Our tourguide mentioned that Mount Kinabalu is a ‘shy mountain’, always hiding behind clouds. And that was pretty much the view most of the day. We did get a really lucky unblocked view of the mountain (keep reading) on our way back.
Unfortunate name for a town? Depends what dialect you speak.
First stop was the Mount Kinabalu Botanical Garden. Lots of orchids and Pitcher plants. Too bad we arrived at the wrong season to catch a glimpse of the Rafflesia.
Renting a private room cost 20RM. That’s really cheap. But then again, there are FREE hotspring pools in the compound. Very interesting set up. Each public basin is first-come-first-served, you get in one and turn on the water from the spring. These are free, but you can’t get naked (You probably could, but it would be frowned upon). If you’d like privacy, you can rent a room, but there are only 10 of them, and they are also on a first-come-first-served basis. No reservations.
A rare photo op. Our tourguide was kind enough to stop the bus and let us snap away. Even the tourguide and the busdriver were taking photos, so rarely does the Mountain appear so clearly.
That’s the Novotel. Like I said, lovely place, lovely rooms, fantasic bathroom… I forgot to mention, they had 24inch iMac’s in the lobby with internet access. I was able to check scores everyday and manage my team.
It was a long and windy drive up to the Mount Kinabalu park HQ. Easily 3 hours going up and up and up. The best part of the drive was seeing the mountain. Cos of the switchbacks, the mountain would drift to the left and right of the van.
Our tourguide mentioned that Mount Kinabalu is a ‘shy mountain’, always hiding behind clouds. And that was pretty much the view most of the day. We did get a really lucky unblocked view of the mountain (keep reading) on our way back.
Unfortunate name for a town? Depends what dialect you speak.
First stop was the Mount Kinabalu Botanical Garden. Lots of orchids and Pitcher plants. Too bad we arrived at the wrong season to catch a glimpse of the Rafflesia.
Renting a private room cost 20RM. That’s really cheap. But then again, there are FREE hotspring pools in the compound. Very interesting set up. Each public basin is first-come-first-served, you get in one and turn on the water from the spring. These are free, but you can’t get naked (You probably could, but it would be frowned upon). If you’d like privacy, you can rent a room, but there are only 10 of them, and they are also on a first-come-first-served basis. No reservations.
A rare photo op. Our tourguide was kind enough to stop the bus and let us snap away. Even the tourguide and the busdriver were taking photos, so rarely does the Mountain appear so clearly.
That’s the Novotel. Like I said, lovely place, lovely rooms, fantasic bathroom… I forgot to mention, they had 24inch iMac’s in the lobby with internet access. I was able to check scores everyday and manage my team.
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