19/05/2026
Throwback Tuesday to Malaysia last year. 3 weeks with some of the best experiences of my life. Mainly because it was a celebration of the engagement to my soul mate 💍
Malaysia has turned into one of my favourite countries. The people are so humble and friendly. I felt like it was a better version of Thailand.
One of the highlights was climbing Mount Kinabalu. The climbing expedition was sort of a spur-of-the moment decision so it made a dent in my bank account. But, the experience was well worth it! The climb is more of an endurance challenge than mountaineering, which suited me perfectly.
Climbing with a guide is a requirement for this experience. And, you have the option to choose between a 2 or 3 day climb. I chose the 2 day option. This gave me ~15 hours to adjust to the altitude after arriving at the hostel. Which was located 3272 m above sea level. The 15h hostel-stay gave some needed rest after the first section, which also helped acclimatize my aching head. We left shortly after 2 am for the final push towards the summit. Ideally you want to arrive at the top just before the sunrise. It was a steep section and the altitude made breathing difficult. Watching the sunrise from the top with the other climbers was priceless!
My guide Zeeron had been doing this for the last 10 years and had ~1000 trips up the mountain. I thought he was one of the more experienced guides. I was surprised to learn that 90% of the other guides had more trips than him 🤯
I'm forever grateful for this trip and the people I got to share and experience Malaysia with ❤️
