Kundasang is a highland town below the huge shoulder of Mount Kinabalu, which at 4,095 metres is the highest mountain in Borneo and one of the most striking in Southeast Asia. The town sits well above a thousand metres, and the climate is a surprise to anyone who has come up from the coast: cool, damp, often wrapped in cloud, with farms of cabbage, carrots and tomatoes on slopes so steep it seems unreasonable. When the mist clears, the peak appears above the town in a long ridge of granite, and for a few minutes everyone stops to look. The mountain and the park around it are a World Heritage Site, recognised for its extraordinary plant life, including a great number of orchids and pitcher plants.
The road up from Tamparuli is a good one for a rider, climbing steadily with real bends, forest on either side, and a sense of ascent that you can feel in your ears. The air cools by the kilometre. Fog and rain are frequent, and the afternoon showers can be heavy, so take rain gear and keep your visor clear. Traffic includes slow trucks full of vegetables and a lot of tourists, so keep your speed down and overtake with care. A cool, dry morning is the best time for the road.
Kundasang also has a more sober place worth visiting: the war memorial, set in quiet gardens facing the mountain, which remembers the Allied prisoners of war who died on the Sandakan death marches in 1945 on their way here. Most of the marchers did not survive. The gardens, laid out in English, Australian and Borneo styles, are peaceful, and a short visit gives the rest of the landscape more weight. There is also a dairy farm in the area that offers fresh milk and a cold-weather feel that is rare in the tropics.
Ranau, ten kilometres away, is the nearest proper town, with fuel, banks and shops, and Kundasang itself has stations and a lot of small restaurants and stalls. Try the hot soups and noodles, which suit the chill, and fresh strawberries and local tea. Bring a warm layer, because the nights can be cold and the wind sharp. The nearby hot springs at Poring are a good reward after the mountain's cool.