When I fall In Love, it will be forever

Did I enticed you enough with the title? :P

My love at first sight, here it is.. This piece over here was captured after it rained or merely misty rain, a normal phenomenon in Kundasang.

I've heard various stories of what are the origin of the name of this mountain, the majestic Mount Kinabalu. Legends have several versions, one of which is Akinabalu is the name of a chinese widow (Cina Balu) who went to mourn for her lost husband at the top of the mountain.

I've fallen in love since the first time I set foot onto this place. It had the feeling of longiness, always wanting for more and more of me to spend time here. It sort of like brought me home.. Its where my heart is.

Its the magic I think.

Look at this first piece that I brought home from my first expedition to Mt. K. The cloudy Donkey's Ears peak meant that during the time when we reached there, it was merely the break of sunlight. The thick mists made the oxygen felt so thin, making you feel a bit dizzy and that's when you realized you already caught the altitude sickness. Even my own comrade (konon la.. fellow climbers kan) who've experienced the climb a year before, really struggled to put his every last drop of energy due to unexpected altitude sickness.

Oh yea, don't forget to get some good gears for your climbing prior to the ascend. My recommendations:

1) Shoes : Kasut Toreh Getah (Adidas Kampung or locals here call it Adidas Tambunan) RM 5
2) 20-30 liters back pack - be it Deuter, High Sierra etc, don't have to bring too much items, just enough for emergency usage. The rest, for RM 8 per kg, why not hire the porter. Don't grumble, you should spend some money to the economic development of local Sabahans.
3) Winter jackets - 1 piece for summit climb.
4) Water bottles (500 ml). Please refrain from bringing the 1L or bigger bottles, guys.. the trail is not like what we have in Peninsular where water are scarce, source from roots and water points.. no no.. There'll be ample check points for you to refill and refill again because the trail has already provide you with toilets, shelter and water checkpoints. NO FUSS!