Mount Kinabalu

Mount Kinabalu holds a special place in the Sabahan psyche. It’s on the state flag and was Malaysia’s first world heritage site. It’s easy to understand why, it's a magical place, lush and green and full of life. At 1400 meters, it is the highest peak in Southeast Asia and an international draw for adventurers. There are more orchid species in Borneo than anywhere else in the world, in fact, twice as many orchid species can be found on Mt. Kinabalu than in all of Africa. The mountain is just outside of KK and can be seen from any part of the city.

Our entire group of 50 went there together on a big chartered bus, which was a lot of fun. It was like a luxury field trip. The entire ride took less than two hours. Considering how close it is, it’s surprising how few of the kids had actually been there. The mountain can be climbed and back down in one day but they do require you have a guide, which has to be scheduled ahead of time, unless you negotiate a bribe. Because there were so many of us climbing together, of varying ability and whininess, we didn’t get very far. The small part we did see was stunning,orchids everywhere. Not an inch of space was left unoccupied, the plants have other plants living on them. The funny thing is that about half the Sabahan kids ended up with leeches and only one of the foreigners did. I guess even the parasites here dislike tourists.