We had to make a choice, and ultimately decided against visiting the Rainbow Waterfall after hearing just how demanding the journey could be. It involves a 45-minute ride in a 4WD over rugged, bumpy terrain, followed by a 45-minute jungle trek, which includes crossing a stream with water waist-deep - and yes, that’s the only way to get there. While undoubtedly beautiful, we figured it might be a bit too ambitious for us this time around.
Instead, we set our sights on the Panorama Hill sunrise hike - thinking it would be the easier of the two. As it turned out, even this climb was more challenging than we had expected!
Thankfully, the manager of our hotel, a cheerful and helpful Vietnamese lady, kindly offered to accompany us on the hike. We set our alarms for 4:45 a.m., and by 5:30 a.m., we were ready to begin the climb. Luckily, our hotel was just a 2-minute walk from the foothill, so we didn’t have to venture far in the dark to begin our pre-dawn ascent.
Step after step, it felt like a never-ending staircase into the sky. The darkness before dawn, combined with the humid air and steep incline, made it a true test of stamina. We weren’t alone - a crowd of eager early risers had gathered, all hoping to witness the famed Sungai Lembing sunrise.
There was a collective sigh of disappointment among the crowd. But despite the anticlimactic sunrise, there was still something special about being on that hilltop in the early morning stillness, surrounded by mist, mountains, and the quiet energy of people who had made the same climb with the same hope.
Did the climb bring back memories of the time you climb Mt Kinabalu together?
ReplyDeleteYes. It did. Judging my condition during the climb, I commented along the climb that I didn't think I would be able to do the Mt. Kinabalu climb again
ReplyDeletelol. me neither.
ReplyDelete