Malaysia

The hike to Pisang waterfall is a quick and easy excursion that is not too far from the centre of Kuala Lumpur. The hike follows the Pisang river and as a result, has almost no elevation gain. This makes it perfect for beginner hikers or just for those who are looking for an easy weekend getaway. Its accessibility does unfortunately mean that the number of people that are likely to be encountered will be higher than

No matter how early one goes to bed, one can never get enough sleep in Laban Rata (elevation : 3272m). 'Supper', which is a simple and light meal of bread, rice or noodles, is served at 02:00, and the hike to the summit starts in darkness not too long after. I joined a long procession of hikers that were armed with headlamps and bundled in jackets, that made their way up the trail, all of them eager to make the 1.5

We made our way to Timpohon Gate (elevation : 1866m) with perfect weather that morning, and sat in the shuttle van satiated after a heavy breakfast from Balsam Cafe. With both a packed lunch and our climbing permits in hand, we went to the counter to sign-in before we set off down the trail. By then, it was 09:10. The very wide 'trail' was more of a stairwell through the forest than an actual trail. It began

Mount Kinabalu (elevation : 4095 m) is the highest mountain in Malaysia (both by prominence as well as sheer elevation), and is also the highest mountain between the Himalayas and the island of New Guinea. Based on topographic prominence, Mount Kinabalu also happens to be the 20th highest mountain in the world, but only the second highest mountain in South-East Asia behind Puncak Jaya (elevation : 4884 m)

The Bongok Hill plateau where we had spent the previous night turned out to not be the summit of the hill. The actual summit lay more than a kilometre further up the trail, which took us another half an hour to climb up to. A ridge that made its way westward led to the summit, and as we were following it, I felt a sharp piercing sensation on my forearm. As I looked down, a large insect that looked like an Asian

The early part of the day's trail was confusing at best. The water-point from 'Kem Sarsi' was a small stream that could be reached with a five minute downhill walk via at least four left turnings just after the campsite. The trail that continued on from there was through a convoluted mixture of turns that went down the same path, but the 'combination' was left, left, right, then left, instead. We packed up and