The descent was quicker, but rough. Going down on the steep, slippery slopes also meant that we had to put a lot of pressure on our knees. Even with proper hiking shoes, the friction between the toes to the front of your shoes hitting the ground as you put each foot forward can be quite a force to reckon with. We were also going pretty fast, with hardly any stops to rest.

We arrived back at Timpohon Gate roughly at about 3.30 pm and was picked up by a van which took us straight to our hotel in downtown Sabah. We had initially wanted to scour the town after our climb, and were actually pretty excited at the thought. Unfortunately, we both were rendered useless when we got there, and I think neither of us could get out of bed till the next day. Just walking a mere 2 metres to the bathroom was such a chore,too. (Next to being pregnant and recovering from c-sect, it was the most uncomfortable sleep I ever had in my life!)

I remember being in excruciating pain for a full week and was diagnosed with feet trauma thereafter. My feet swelled twice their size, and I was hobbling and limping away. I even lost 8 out of 10 toenails a week or two after the climb and was pretty much walking around with no toenails to boast off. Thanks to my sense of adventurousness, the 20-hour climb had, unfortunately also busted my knees for good.

With that, I will shamelessly proclaim that I have done mountain climbing with a proof of certification to show for it. And, oh! While you can request for the guide to carry your belongings for you, I carried my own 15 kg back-pack too. Both ways!

Mount Kinabalu was a climb of a lifetime. Looking back, the climb was generally easy and doable for those in excellent physical condition, although it is not something I would be attempting ever again. Till today, I still wonder why I did it and the only thing I could think of was that I was trying to find myself at that time. I was probably contemplating the meaning of life, and only to find that life is better at the foot of the mountain and that I should have stayed there.

And that only confirmed one other thing: I found myself to be totally mad, as I had willingly paid for it to torture myself, and get me two busted knees.

Absolutely wonderful.

But hey! It’s cool that I have been on top of the world. Literally!

 

Above all that, I think I had a super awesome guide with stamina of 100 horses!I shall remember him for as long as I live.