Day 3: Kinabalu Park, Kundasang & Rumah Terbalik, Tuaran

Date: 29 June, 2013 (Saturday)

The first thing that I checked after waking up is the Peak; whether the clouds are there or not. Upon seeing that the sky was clear, we checked out of Kiram around 7.45am. The journey

6^th stop: Kinabalu Park.

Unfortunately, along the way from Kundasang Town, I could see the clouds started to move in. By the time we reached Kinabalu Park at 8.30am, the peak can no longer be seen. Hoping that the clouds will move soon, we drove around the park to Timpohon Gate, the starting of Summit Trail to Kinabalu Peak.

At the gate, a group of climbers was stretching prior to their climb. Some snapshots here were all we took (u can’t see the peak from her) and I saw that it’s only another 8km trail to reach the peak from here. I actually thought that the trail is somewhere around 20-30km up (but when I think again, Mt. Kinabalu is only about 4km up, so 30km doesn’t make much sense hahaha!). Then I thought, maybe 8km climb is possible for me too??? My cousin is very pumped and has officially added Mt. Kinabalu climb as one of her things-to-do list.

When we arrive back to the viewing platform at the reception office, the clouds has lessened but we can’t still see the Peak constantly. So we went up to the Kinabalu Conservation Center for a bit of Kinabalu history and profile.

Alhamdulillah, by the end of our visit to the center, the clouds has moved and we finally got a chance for a picture of Mt. Kinabalu peak from Kinabalu Park Viewing point. Satisfied, we departed for KK at 10.45am.

On our way down to KK, we stopped by the viewing area near Nabalu Town. Our last glimpse of Mt. Kinabalu for the trip..

7^th stop: Rumah Terbalik, Tuaran.

This time, the mission is to find Rumah Terbalik. We were curious as to why we didn’t see the house at all on our way to Kundasang. The note clearly said it’s on the way to Tamparuli so why the heck didn’t we see it?

An hour later, once we reach the Tuaran road near Tamparuli, we decided to stop by Shell petrol station. To do so, we need to make a u-turn. Walla! There is the house just nearby!! No wonder we missed it. The signboard saying “rumah terbalik” was dull but the restaurant and restroom stop signages were more eye catching. I guess I quickly dismissed it as rest stop when we first passed through there.

Anyways, we didn’t plan on going into the house itself. I have read in few blogs that the entrance just around the house is free but WTH, turned out that we need to pay RM5 for it (RM10 for full access). Worst is that we weren’t even allowed to go around the house; just the toilet, café and shop. What a bummer and cheating way to make money.