Kinabalu Itinerary

I promised a good friend I'd share my itinerary. So here goes :)

Day 1: SG - JB Kotaraya - Senai International Airport - Kota Kinabalu International Airport
Effectively, this day will be spent travelling. If you take an AirAsia flight which I did, it flies at 6.20pm. Check-in closes 45 minutes before departure time, so need to reach the airport by about 5.35pm.

SG- JB Kotaraya [1hour]
- Take train to Kranji MRT.
- At the bus-stop outside the MRT. Take Causeway Express (yellow bus). Cost SGD$1.
- Trip takes about an hour including custom clearance and traffic jam.

JB Kotaraya - SenaiIA [1 hour]
- From JB Kotaraya (which the Senai Airport positions as it's City Lounge), can take Airport Express.
- This will take another hour
- Cost RM$4

Senai IA - KK IA [2hours 30 minutes]
- Once the plane lands in Kota Kinabalu International Airport, clear the custom, collect barang. This is about 8.50pm
- Outside the Airport, there's a taxi service counter.
- At the counter, buy a ticket to board the cab to the hotel. Ticket costs about RM $13.60 for the trip to the hotel.

Taxi-service counter outside KK Terminal 2

Would recommend staying at City Park Inn situated at Jalan Pasar Baru @ KK.
It's near the long-distance bus station where you'd board the bus to Kinabalu National Park HQ.


Rooftop @ Citypark Inn
More information on the Inn here


Day 2: KK - Kinabalu National Park HQ (approx 1,700m a.s.l)
I'm not sure when the earliest bus departs from the long-distance bus-stop, but remembered there were 2 time-slots available to me - 10am or 2pm.
I booked the 2pm one.

Bus trip takes about 2 hours.

Checked into Menggilan Hostel. This is a dorm and costs RM$12.
I didn't book any accom in advance so this was the only one available.


Dorm at Kinabalu National Park


Twin-sharing Accom called Hill-Lodge
This is an alternative that you may like to consider. I stayed here the night I came down :)


Day3: The Ascent - Laban Rata Guest house (3,272m a.s.l)
7.30am: Gather at the HQ to meet the guide assigned.

Anxious climbers gathering in front of the Park HQ for the climb

See below for details of permits and costs involved

Laban Rata Guest house
Will reach here after 4-5 hours of climbing. This is where we take a break, have a shower and tuck in to a sumptous dinner before starting the ascend to the peak.


Day 4: Laban Rata - Peak - National Park HQ
2am: After catching some sleep, most people will start off at about 2am to reach the peak before dawn. The atmosphere is electrifying as everyone started getting ready at about 1am.

On my way down, I reached National Park HQ at about 6pm in the evening.
Walked very slowly because of the rain, so have to spend the night at the park.
If you want to go back to KK immediately upon descend, try to reach by about 1pm.


Day 5: National Park HQ - KK
Checked out of the accom at Park HQ and boarded long distance bus back to KK.
Took the bus from the same stop where it dropped us on the way here.


Day 6: KK - Senai IA - JB Kotaraya - SG
Flight back to SG is at 8.20pm, so spent the day exploring the place.

Plane will reach Senai IA at about 11.20pm. You can take Airport Express back to Kotaraya for RM4. Once at Kotaraya, we took a cab back. SGD$15 per person.
Boarded Comfort cab instead of the JB ones. (There are plenty of SG cabs at Kotaraya)


Note: It's best that all the accom arrangements are made before flying over. I learnt it the hard way. If Laban Rata resthouse is fully booked, they won't allow you to climb. So the most important thing is to book yourself a bed at Laban Rata before getting the flight. Can book accom from this site http://www.suterasanctuarylodges.com/


Approximate BUDGET for this trip

Day 1: SG - JB Kotaraya - Senai International Airport - Kota Kinabalu International Airport
Transport Kranji MRT - Kotaraya : SGD$1
Transport Kotaraya - Senai IA : RM3
Transport KKIA - Hotel : RM13.60 (takes 4 per cab)
Accom @ CityParkInn : RM50 (Double)

Day 2: KK - Kinabalu National Park HQ (approx 1,700m a.s.l)
Transport KK to Park : RM10
Accom @ Park Hostel : RM12 (per bed)

Day3: The Ascent - Laban Rata Guest house (3,272m a.s.l)
Mountain Guide Fee : RM70 (1-3 climbers)
Climbing Permit : RM100 (per pax for non Malaysians)
Insurance : RM3.50 per pax
Transport to Timpohon Gate : RM12 per pax
Accom @ Laban Rata Resthouse : RM34 (per bed)

Day 4: Laban Rata - Peak - National Park HQ
Accom @ Park Hostel : RM12 (per bed)
Alternatively Hill Lodge : RM94 (twin-sharing)

Day 5: National Park HQ - KK
Transport : RM10 (per pax for long-distance bus)
Accom @ CityParkInn Double : RM 50

Day 6: KK - Senai IA - JB Kotaraya - SG
Transport to Airport : RM15
Transport from Senai IA - JB : RM4 (Airport Express)
Tranport from JB - SG : SGD$30

Total Expenditure : RM660 (approx SGD$300)

For AirAsia, the plane tix from JB to KK costs between RM69.99 - RM319.99, depending onwhich days you fly

Trip Choices

I'm currently doing research for the gang on possible places we can go these couple of months.

Have been collating and digesting info...
Books like Tramping in New Zealand and Hiking in Japan have been such great inspirations!

I think by tomorrow, I'd have something up :)

Market place at Kota Kinabalu

The other place worth spending a lazy afternoon in KK is the marketplace.

Situated beside the Filipino market, this hub of activity was an accidental find.
About the size of 2 - 3 football fields, this marketplace by the sea sells everything from fresh vegetables, corals, seashells, meat and seafood.


Colourful tentages demarcate one stall from the next.

The vegetables here are so fresh and abundant that I felt like whipping up a meal :)

Kid selling fresh tomatoes


Fresh market produce - loads of them

While roaming the market, saw a bunch of kids playing. The moment they saw me with a camera, they started running towards me, clamouring to be shot.
Then they started posing for the camera... haha...
Unfortunately, most of the shots are blurred cos they were jumping around so much. This is the best one I took of them


Kids clamouring for their photos to be taken :)


Sunset at the market

Enjoyed roaming this marketplac immensely. I liked the rustic feel to it. The vendors are friendly and extremely helpful once they learnt we're not local. One of them even convinced us to buy some watermelon and papayas from her. And they were so sweet...

Climbing Mt Kinabalu

I've always loved mountains. The majestic view from the top keeps me going back, time after time.

The recent trek up Mt Kinabula trip was terrific. Initially, I had second thoughts about going on this trip as I don't think I'm up to it physically. But at the end, I'm glad I didn't chicken out. Enjoyed it immensely.



The weather dampened my spirits a little as it rained relentlessly from the moment we arrived at the National Park HQ.

But I guess it's a blessing in disguise.
The place was completely full and I didn't book us anything in advance.
But because of the rain, some people cancelled their climbing plans, allowing me to fulfill mine :)

Prior to the climb, I'd spent 3 weeks in various parts of China with very good food and scarcely any exercise. So the climb was quite taxing for me. Thankfully, there were these amazing views to distract me from fatigue and giving up entirely.


The scenery is simply amazing... Beautifully formed trees against a sea of cloud.
Looks like a scene from Sleepy Hollow doesn't it?


Interesting terrain on the way up

We started climbing in the wee hours of the morning - 3 am. The target is to reach the peak before sunrise to catch the sun in action.

There were many climbers before us, each wearing a headlight or carrying a torch. Under the star-studded sky, they form a trail of light reaching up to the stars. Cool.

Sad to say, I didn't make it in time to catch daybreak - was just 15 minutes too late. By the time we reached the peak, dawn has broken.

But day break or not, an overwhelming sense of joy engulfed me the moment I set foot on the platform at the peak. Yay! I've reached Low's Peak!!! Finally.


This is the signage and there were loads of people taking shots against it - proof that they've made it to the top.

Spent some time taking in the magnificent view.

In this shot, you can see the shadow of the clouds across the valley. And if you look really closely, you can see the sunrays streaming through the clouds.



The photos don't do justice to the real thing. (Speaking of which, I'd have to invest in a better camera next time, with wide-angle lens preferrably)



View from the peak


This is Faungin, our guide. Doesn't he look cool?


Coming down was very difficult and slippery.
My muscles ached for a couple of days after the climb. But it's well worth it.
I'd like to climb Mt Kinabalu again. This time, without any rain.

This posting is dedicated to the following people, without which the climb wouldn't have been a possibility for me
- Mum: Happy Birthday!
- Sis: Your voice kept ringing in my ears - It's all mental!!!
- Pauller: Yes, i've gambate-d
- Daren: You're right it's all in the mind
- Faungin: Thanks for all the times you've caught me

Last but not least, LK. Am glad we made it together... :)