3rd May 2012

The day began with a bang, or more precisely, a rumble of thunder at 4 am. Sue, entirely unbothered, slept straight through it. My second “alarm” came at 9:50 am when I realised, with a jolt of panic, that our hire car was due to arrive at 10 am. What followed was a blur of half-dressed chaos as I hurtled downstairs, leaving Sue to enjoy her unbroken sleep.

The car turned up fashionably late at 10:15 am. Paperwork was signed, a map purchased from the hotel shop, and by 10:40 am, I was back in the room. By 11:15 am, we were on the road, starting with a scenic loop through the golf course that seemed to wrap protectively around the hotel. Reception’s directions proved impeccable, within ten minutes we were at a petrol station, filling three-quarters of a tank for the princely sum of £15.

Our target for the day was Mount Kinabalu. The climb up its flanks began gently, accompanied by a polite drizzle. By the time we reached the Ranger Headquarters, however, the rain had upgraded itself to full monsoon mode, smothering the views entirely. Undeterred, parked the car and donned our raincoats and set off on foot, pushing higher up the mountain road, but hiking became a soggy, squelchy ordeal. The park seemed full of drenched hikers wandering aimlessly along the trails, each looking as though they’d misplaced both their route and their will to live.

We sensibly retreated to the Ranger Station for a warming drink and a hearty Malaysian lunch. Here we met a lone female British backpacker, equally grateful for a dry seat and a hot meal. Once she’d dashed off to catch a bus to her hostel, we headed in the car to the Botanical Gardens. Officially, the gates to the gardens were closed, but we arrived just as a Japanese family also turned up, and the staff obligingly let us in. Inside, a friendly ranger led us through the dripping foliage, explaining the exotic flora with the enthusiasm of a man who wasn’t fazed by a bit of tropical rain.

Our descent down the mountain brought better fortune. We detoured to peruse some local craft shops, where I treated myself to a souvenir T-shirt, and as we descended further, the views opened up spectacularly, mountains rolling into lush valleys under a bright blue sky. By the time we reached the coast, the sun was blazing and the rain felt like a distant rumour.