Hello readers,

We have jumped on a plane from KL for what feels like the hundredth time, I now know the staff of the airports McDonalds parents names, and this time landed in Kota Kinabalu the capital of Sabah in Malaysian Borneo.

We spent a night in the capital watching the beginning of the Chinese new year celebrations before heading for Mount Kinabalu National Park to attempt to climb Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South East Asia. The climb involved first of all being ripped off for every penny we had by the company that organise the climb. They have made it into an exclusive activity for annoying Europeans who act like they own the mountain and rich Asians. Anyway we were pretty sure it would be worth every penny so were still happy to do the climb. This attitude soon changed half way into the first days climb after walking up steps for 3 KM without a single break in the direction. We made it the 6KM to our accommodation just about alive but feeling very scared about what was to come. The next day involved getting up at 2am to start climbing by 2.30am. In the pitch black with the use of a torch, we climbed a further 2.7KM straight upwards to the peak of the mountain at around 4000 metres. Because of the altitude it was incredibly hard and we were stopping every 20 metres to get our breath. It must of looked like Hardie during the 12 minute run at school! (Sorry only a few will get that one). We finally made it to the top just before sunrise and waited for the light before heading back down. It was well worth all the hassle as the views at the top were amazing and the mountain is like nothing we had seen before. We are now paying the price though and the walk back down has left us unable to walk or even stand up without screaming. We are getting a rep as the two wierd Brits who walk like John Wayne.

We spent the next day trying to ease the pain with a trip to the Poring hotsprings. That didn't work and we are now in the town of Tawau in eastern Sabah still in a lot pain. Off to the coast tomorrow to book a trip snorkelling and diving off the island of Sipadan which has a reputation as one of the best sites in the world. Should be good as long as cramp doesn't kick in during a dive and I end up screaming in agony in front of a shark. Probably not a good idea.

Cheers for now,

Michael and Nicola