Road Trippin'

Published February 2008


The humble road trip. It's not just another vernacular expression but is truly an experience. Wikipedia defines the term as "a journey via automobile, sometimes unplanned or impromptu". 

I doubt that your daily errand-running or grocery shopping excursions qualify. However given the amount of time drivers spend stuck in traffic these days, one may as well have driven out of the city to do a little sightseeing. 

My interpretation of a road trip concurs heavily with the Wikipedia definition. Road trips that are planned on the day itself usually turn out to be the most memorable. And this is exactly what happened to me very recently. I woke up with an appetite for a little travel. A good drive was the order of the day and I was more than happy to give in to it. 
By the time I had packed a bag full of basic essentials and had secured a co-pilot for the last minute journey, what had begun as a general hankering for a day away from the city had festered into a gentle frenzy. It was time to say goodbye to Kota Kinabalu for a few hours.

I fetched the travel buddy from his place of residence, adjusted the iPod playlists accordingly, hooked the Hilux up with a full tank of gas, and we were on our way up to the Sabah highlands. Taking into account that Kinabalu Park is a World Heritage Site (as designated by UNESCO, making it Malaysia's first) and is less than a two hour drive from the capital city, it is no wonder that around 20,000 visitors make their way up there every month.

Located approximately 88 kilometers from Kota Kinabalu, we reached Kundasang roughly one and a half hours later. This is a town synonymous with anything pertaining to Mount Kinabalu as it is quite possibly the closest community area to the mountain itself, Kinabalu Park notwithstanding.
If you're in vicinity and passing through (say, en route to or from the Poring Hot Springs, Ranau or even Sandakan) you'd be hard pressed to miss the small "tamu" or roadside stalls which offer fresh local vegetable produce, honey, plants, souvenirs and the like. 

The reason why you'd be made aware of these stalls is due to the large number of tour buses parked alongside them waiting for tourists to make their purchases. A good thing for the local economy, but a little vexing for drivers navigating the traffic, especially along particularly tight  stretches of road. 

What made this trip truly unique for us was the unusually adverse wind conditions we encountered as soon as we reached the town. Granted Kundasang is around 1,500 meters above sea level but this was something new even for the locals, who by the looks of things appeared to be having a little difficulty acclimatizing to the gusts themselves.

We turned off at the Kundasang stalls and drove for another ten minutes until we reached the Mesilau Nature Resort for lunch. Mesilau is an ecofriendly vacation stay complete with chalets, an abundance of greenery and for those seeking an alternative approach to summiting Mount Kinabalu, the Mesilau Trail for climbers. 

Located at around 2,000 meters above sea level this is quite possibly the highest resort in and around the Kundasang valley and the surrounding range. Taking that into account, the winds became slightly more volatile, slamming into us from different directions and disappearing as quickly as they had appeared. I suppose that given the current weather conditions around South East Asia at the moment this should have been expected.

The best thing about these winds is that they made the eastern ridge of Mount Kinabalu visible, something I had never seen up close. The mountain itself was heavily shrouded but just being able to view these rocky, rugged side peaks made this road trip all that much more rewarding.

After lunch and a long, lazy caffeine induced verbal acclamation of the very welcome drop in temperature - we guesstimated around 18 degrees Celsius given the wind chill factor - we drove back to Kundasang town and spent a good half an hour taking note of ubiquitous motels, lodges and chalets in the vicinity, all with something different to offer. 
The Kinabalu Pine Resort for example, has been a consistent industry leader for its category with numerous awards under its belt. We also noticed that there were a few up-and-coming developments currently under construction. 
There were sadly a couple that were bordering on dilapidation. A disappointing fact given the amazing vistas that are everywhere you look.

Our journey back down was pleasant enough and uneventful except for the antics of a driver of a large bus who was firmly in an F-1 state of mind. His lane-cutting tactics around blind corners had me nervous as I expected the inevitable oncoming accident from the opposite lane. Thankfully nothing of the sort happened and after overtaking a succession of cars the bus sped off, no doubt to terrify the occupants of other vehicles further along. 

We got back to the city after dark and drove straight into a heavy rainstorm which gravitated us towards a lovely steamboat dinner, to warm the bones. 
A perfect way to end a truly memorable day. Road trips are definitely the way to go. We're planning our next one already.