Borneo 2014

I think maybe Dave and Officer Andrew managed to sleep - everyone else managed snatches, and Jackie didn’t sleep at all. Regardless, we were all up by 2:00 and raring to go in half an hour.

A hundred people were all setting off to the summit about this time, and it took a while to clear the congestion. The sky was dark and the air was clear. Head torches were flashing everywhere as everyone got used to walking up the steep wooden steps in the dark.

I regaled (pissed off) everyone (Dave) by talking endlessly about how there would always be a Justin Bieber-like figure for teenage girls to adore. This went on for half an hour before everyone (Dave) just ignored me and we walked on into the darkness.

About 4:00 we reached Seyat-Seyat hut. I forget what the significance of this hut was, but it was a checkpoint to make sure we were running on schedule. We were half an hour early.

It was probably round about this point that the vegetation morphed into a rockier landscape and we would start having to follow the guide rope up. I found this quite fun. A series of ropes lead up to the summit, which you use traverse the trickier sections of rock.

The group (and about thirty others) reached the summit right on time, for sunrise around 6:00. A perfect sky for the sun to rise.

Everyone took many photos, while jostling for position on the big pile of rocks. We stayed up there maybe half an hour before heading back down again.

It wasn’t really till now, in the daylight, that we could appreciate the beautiful scenery of the mountains around us, and forest below. We returned to Laban Rata for 8:00. Some more food, some rest, some coffee, packed up our gear, more coffee. We waited for everyone to collect together, and we left at 9:45 to get back to the bottom.

The next few hours were to be torturous. All the walking we’d been doing over the past eight hours were starting to take their toll not only on my knees, but all over my legs. Getting down all the steps was starting to prove very difficult for me.

My mental resolve was starting to break and I’m ashamed to admit I snapped in anger more than a few times. My jellified legs were having a hard time keeping me upright and the minutes were counted down as we neared Timpohon gate. Jackie kept me company the whole way down and were it not for her, I probably would have taken much, much longer.

It’s quite hard for me to convey just how hard this descent was for me - despite my experience with Everest Base Camp and Kilimanjaro, neither compared to this. I think my legs were pushed to endurance. The aches and pains would last for days, not only for myself, but the whole group (though I suspect it took me longer to recover than everyone else). Even the tiniest steps would be a struggle for the next few days after this descent.

We finally reached Timpohon Gate at 13:20 where we signed out of the trail. Considering the numbers at the summit, there was a surprising lack of people around us - maybe two others, and none of our group. Jackie and Dave were way ahead, with Fred and the British girls, and the others were some way behind. We took a minibus at the bottom to get back to the lodge, where we awaited the other members of our group and had lunch before getting on a tiny minibus to Poring.

We arrived at Poring around 3. There wasn’t much to this town - it seems like the town consisted of a single main road on which sat the famous hot springs. Incidentally, this was also local to Donny’s hometown, having grown up in a nearby neighbourhood.

Our hostel - the Round Inn, was directly opposite to the hot springs, across the road. This was a cheap stay, but Donny assures us this was the best in the area. However, I’m not sure if this was some sort of act of sadism on Donny’s part, but the entrance to our rooms was via some steep, rickety stairs - there wasn’t a single one of our group who wasn’t wincing in pain after the mountain descent.

After dropping off our stuff, we decided to hit the hot springs. To be honest, the springs were a disappointment. The place wasn’t as exotic as the name might imply - you basically fill outdoor hot tubs from taps, and it takes ages. It would probably take an hour, but I never stayed around long enough to find out. You could’ve used a tub someone else had filled and left, but that seemed kinda dirty to me, like getting into a bath after someone else had finished with it.

We decided to go back to the hostel and have a rest. The room itself was small, with an air conditioner unit over the bed (which dripped water on our heads during the night!) and came complete with a big lizard hanging out on the wall in a top corner of the room. The shower unit in the bathroom was situated over the sink which was interesting.

The hostel had a laundry service, which the group took full advantage of. I forget if it was priced by weight or items, but it was pretty cheap for an overnight service.

Dinner was at 18:00. The menu was varied enough - I had the chicken curry and Jackie the sizzling beef before everyone wandered off for an early night. We were to stay in Poring for tomorrow, so no need to worry about packing.

LINKS