shipping company to have a foreign
motorcycle on board and they gave
me a personal assistant who called
me up and waited for me at the jetty
when the bike was ready to go. I felt
humbled and received a thumbs-up
from the port security and went on
my first ride out of town.
The ride took me towards Borneo’s
highest mountain, the magnificent
Mount Kinabalu, peaking at 4095
metres.
After a devastating earthquake
in 2015, access to the park has been
restricted and the hike has become
costly due to high conservation fees
and the need to go with a local guide.
Thankfully, the path was conserved
and not lost to the earthquake.
The final push to the peak featured
some steep, bare-rock parts and only
opens in the hours before sunrise,
which meant one night must be spent
up the mountain. Luck must be on
your side as the path often remains
closed after too much rain.
The next day, I got up at 2 a.m. and
mingled with other hikers in the only,
simple restaurant. Having slept for a
few hours and above 3000 metres, the
signs were not too promising; it had
been raining all night. We were told
TRAVERSE 102
that the ranger would still wait until
2:30 for a final decision but an open-
ing seemed unlikely.
At the last minute, the rain started
clearing and the ranger announced
that the path would be open if we
could go ‚now‘.
Poised for the possibility of climb-
ing the peak I rushed ahead with
my guide. The air sure does get thin
above 3500 metres and entering the
last part, we did have to take it a bit
slower.
Upon reaching the summit, we
still had a few minutes until sunrise,
with no sun and at altitude it sure was