Day 717 - Highest mountain in sight

First thing this morning we set off to the Sunday morning market where we stocked up on delicious vege snacks from a Confucian Temple stall (including "pork" and mushroom steam buns, and mushroom and tofu rolls).

It was great fun pushing ourselves through this thriving market full of locals selling fresh soy milk, fruit/veges, rabbits and puppies, homeware, and more. Around 11am, the three of us met up with Helen and Skev (the Brits we met last night) and jumped in a minivan to take us to Mt Kinabalu National Park. It was a stunning ride with beautiful views over the green rolling hills that flow all the way down to the ocean that surrounds the jungle island of Borneo. The higher we drove, the more spectacular the scenery became - we all held our cameras out the window to try and get a snap of Mt Kinabalu (which, at 4095m is the highest mountain in South East Asia) towering in the distance. We also saw the long, snaking waterfall cascading down from almost the top of the Mountain.

At the park we were confronted with what we'd already found out in town - that the prices to climb the mountain (and sleep half way to the top) were no longer in our backpacking budget: they were asking more than NZ$100 a night each just to sleep in a 60 person dormitory ... The total per person price including food, accommodation, permits, and guide fees came to almost NZ$400 per person. As much as the mountain appealed, we spend this much in 2 weeks, so we felt it was totally over-the-top for just 2 nights!!

We found a lovely, cheap hostel down the road from the park entrance and then headed off to the cafe nearby for some food and drinks before wandering back to our beds and balconies just as the skies opened up!

The pour down had its benefit though, as it cleared the sky enough to give us a sunset mingled with the clouds that had found a home between the hills.

Adlibing it under the Mountain.