Hullabaloo 'bout Mount Kinabalu?

Sometimes the destination is not too memorable, and when all is said and done, it is memories of the journey that linger.  For me, Mount Kinabalu and the Poring Hot Springs were such destinations.

First, mountains themselves don't do that much for me; perhaps I am spoiled living on the North Shore, having a mountain literally backing onto our home, and having driven over the majestic Rocky Mountains many a time.

Second, warnings in Lonely Planet, describing the dead skin and body scum floating in the Poring Hot Springs did not enhance the appeal of that destination.

What I do fondly remember is the road trip, our traveling companions, the night we stayed in the J Residence Guest house, the unmundane Mundain evening we shared with the Tan family.

I  recall our impromptu "talent show", the local eatery with its soiled tablecloths and cheap eats,  acquiring a taste for unusual Chinese "cookies", and the roadside Halal Market on the winding road to Mount Kinabalu.

...to pass the hours on the long drive
I developed a liking for these snacks...

we stopped at a mountainside Halal Market...

fresh fish, no fridge

muslim fish monger

...makeshift stands

vendor "turning inventory" of his speciality,
sun dried, cardboard-infused fish with shoe scum for added flavor

various dried fish filets

chilli peppers

"Pope's Noses" or chicken neck skins? Anyone?

more Halal prepared chicken parts

Halal chicken innards and feet (toe nails on)

a genuine local market, nomadic and portable

Leaving the bustling market, we drove onward...finally arriving at Mount Kinabalu National Park...

cloud enveloped Mount Kinabalu, the world's 20th highest peak
and located within its own UNESCO World Heritage Site

Mundain was there...

...with too much time on my hands

Mrs. Mundain on the park grounds

nice but...binder dundat

to humour the Mrs., I jumped into this replica of
a gigantic flower indigenous to this region,
...but where are the Orangutans I came to see?

...the obligatory walk bridge

...provides the obligatory photo op

...the Tan family seemed awestruck

...a quick meal at one of the Park restaurants
then off to Poring Hot Springs...yikes

Fee schedule...everything is a la carte...
and that goes double for foreigners

"I can't wait to wade into floating dead skin"
...needless to say we did not go for a soak

but we did go on a canopy walk, through
the treetops, 30 meters above the forest floor
on rope suspended wooden planks

this is NOT part of the canopy suspension system...
I don't have any pics of the BEST part of the Poring experience
because I balked at paying a camera charge on top of admission

Mundain out.