Mt. Kinabalu Nas Park – Telupid – 115km ^81
I flew the twenty kilometres downhill to Ranau. All I needed was a red cape and I
could've been Superwoman, an image that kept me giggling the rest of the way. I
swept past settlements, clinging precariously to the mountainside; each house with
its piece of land, forming a pretty patchwork of lines and colours. The jagged peaks
of Mt. Kinabalu slowly faded in the distance.
Soon, the road started snaking up yet one more mountain, and it proceeded in that
vein for the rest of the day. There isn’t a great deal one could do but put your head
down and get the ride over and done with. The weather was sweltering and water
was the biggest problem - I stopped at every conceivable watering hole to fill the
bottles and rehydrate myself.
In the meantime, and for no apparent reason, I had my eye set on Telupid, almost
one hundred and twenty kilometres from Mt. Kinabalu. Determined, I tackled hill
upon hill, and the kilometres to Telupid became fewer and fewer. Finally, my mood
lifted when a signboard announced four kilometres to Telupid. I was nearly there. At
the same time, a significant climb came into sight - bloody hell! Thank goodness, so
did a sign to the Golden Star Hotel. There and then I decided to tackle the
remaining distance in the morning.
The hotel was unusual, as it looked relatively new and practically everything
worked. The air-con was icy cold, the shower nice and warm, and the bed firm.
Heaven. The downstairs restaurant was popular, taking its remote location.
By evening, I sat on the veranda, beer in hand, watching the large trucks battle up
the hill in the dreadful weather. I had a distinct feeling staff had to draw straws to
see who would serve the foreigner. A fair amount of giggling could be heard before
one shyly emerged, asking what I would like to eat by pointing her fingers to her
mouth. I was quite content sitting there enjoying a massive plate of fried rice. Later,
I giggled as I crawled into bed listening to the rain pouring down as it can only do in
the tropics.