You feel as if you are at the top of the world when you’re standing at 4072 m near the summit of Mount Kinabalu in Sabah. We had this marvellous experience last Saturday. It was worth the gruelling climb up over hundreds of uneven steps and huge boulders. We left the base camp of Laban Rata at about 2.30am and made our way in the dark (with the help of headlamps and indispensable, experienced guides) up the steep incline to the top. We didn’t have the glorious sunrise that you see in many photos but the lightening sky streaked with clouds and the grey broodiness of the peaks at the top were spectacular. One has to hold on to those feelings when one is slogging all the way down. I think going down was infinitely more difficult!