Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak in Southeast Asia

Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak in Southeast Asia that I happened to come across.

When I was 20 years old, I was wandering around Southeast Asia by myself, with no particular destination.

I didn't have any particular place to go, I just visited the places I liked, met people and enjoyed talking to them.I was a backpacker.

I was in a town called Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, waiting for my flight to the Philippines.My flight was a week later, so I was looking for something interesting to do nearby.

At the guesthouse I was staying at, I met a young man from Taiwan.He was very kind and talked to me, who could not speak English.I was listening to him explain in English as hard as I could.

And I was told by him that there is the highest mountain in Southeast Asia about two hours from here.

I love a challenge.I couldn't resist the urge to go.I was desperate to ask how I was going to get there.

This was my first time climbing abroad, so I had no idea what to expect.They say you have to get a written permission from the government to go alone.I had to find a guide or join a tour.

This is when I learned the words "government" and "join".I was such a terrible English speaker at the time.lol. 

Then I repeated the words "I want to climb Mount Kinabalu" all over town, gathering information that I could understand from the English that came back, bit by bit.

I got a bus to take and the contact information for the guide.My Taiwanese friends seemed to be surprised at my spirit of challenge.When I'm excited, I can't stop.

I left the guesthouse and got on the bus.There were many other climbers, but my English was not good enough at the time to get good information.

I arrived safely in the mountains and met up with my guide.As the departure was the day after tomorrow, I decided to relax at a small inn at the foot of the mountain.

And then there was something to worry about.It is already cold here at the inn.I was traveling in Malaysia in the middle of summer, so I only have summer clothes.

Mount Kinabalu is 4,095m above sea level.The temperature is well below freezing.And I don't even have climbing shoes.I'd have to wear sandals or sneakers.There were all sorts of problems.

The night before we left, a miracle happened.A Japanese guy came to stay at the inn I was staying at.He was cycling around the world.It would be a long story to introduce him, so I'll tell you about him another time.

He lent me some great climbing equipment that had endured the harshest conditions around the world.If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have been able to climb this mountain.And I was able to enjoy the Malaysian wilderness and the first time I had ever been at an altitude of over 4000 meters.

It was a very wonderful experience.

If you are ever in Malaysia, you should try Mount Kinabalu.