It was the day after our conquest of Mount Kinabalu. Full of jubilance, we wanted to celebrate the achievement. Our friend Mr. Loh, who joined us in the climb, works in Ranau and drives a Toyota Hi-Lux. He recommended us a restaurant situated along the trunk road in Kundasang, which is about 10 minutes drive from Kinabalu Pines Resort where we were staying.We set off for the restaurant after a wonderful afternoon of soaking our aching muscles at Poring Hot Springs. From the hot springs, we took the taxis to the restaurant.
Dinner was delicious and by the time we finished, it was way past 10pm. We tried calling the previous taxi driver for the journey back but were unsuccessful, so we thought we will go to the main road and try to wave down any cab that may pass by. But as we stepped out of the
restaurant, the air that hit us smacked on the face caught us by surprise – it was freezing cold!!! It was easily 10C or below, made worse by the strong wind which added to the chill factor. It was something we were all totally unprepared for, with only our T-shirts and short pants on us as we came directly from the hot springs. After just a few seconds of waiting, we realised there was no way we could wait by the road side with the billowing wind as the kids were already shivering with cold. Bear in mind we were in the outskirt of a small village along a rural trunk road late at night so not many vehicles actually passes by.So it looks like we all have to depend on Mr. Loh and his Toyota Hilux. He offered to take the children first with one or two adults to take care of them and, if we still couldn’t get a cab by then, he will come back for a second or even third round if necessary. So we loaded up the back of the pick-up first - up went the kids, one by one by one by one. We got them to squat down (or rather half-squat!) and packed them like sardines, for 2 reasons – no. 1, because of space and no. 2, more importantly, to shield from the wind and to keep each other warm. Before we knew it, we found that we could actually fit all the kids into the back with 2 adults sitting precariously at the edge to watch over them! By then, everybody were so cold, nobody wanted to stay back, so we decided to cram as many as we could. Amazingly, in the end all of us managed to cram inside the vehicle (with my 6-ft husband, myself and the driver on the front seats and 6 adults in the back cabin)! When we reached Pines Resort, there were a few other house-guests chit-chatting outside and when they saw us arrived and got down from the car, piling out one by one, the incredulous look on their faces was hilarious!! Because all in all, there were 21 of us!!!!
Top right pic: Kundasang trunk road, in front of Kinabalu Pine Resorts.
Top left pic: Waiting by the roadside for taxis to Kundasang.
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