Kinabalu

Mention the word Mounjaro and you're likely to conjure images of blockbuster drug glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist with global prescription growing at 38 percent annually. To me, the brand name resembles Kilimanjaro, or, for that matter, Kinabalu. 

One good reason is my chance to climb Mt Kinabalu this week. I tried to make the ascent almost 30 years ago, but failed without the legally required mountain guide and climbing permit. My wife and I have longed to return. 

After my planning of the climb with my wife and daughter, I read about a German who is interested in tropical ecology and brought his family to Borneo. His son and niece were young and as animated as dogs on a road trip, metaphorical heads struck out the figurative car window, tongues flapping in the wind. As time goes on, it is getting more difficult to stay composed when we are no longer kids. Not anymore. My daughter is more prudent. We made a list of all the ingredients for survival we would need for the ascent of Borneo's highest mountain – from water filter bottle and energy bar to walking poles. With a hefty dose of luck, we told ourselves, the odds of ever surviving the climb are higher than the sea turtle hatchlings returning to the sea. 

Step after step after step. The knee-jarring ascent from start to finish, according to the estimates of the Lonely Planet author, is like scaling seven Eiffel Towers or six Empire State Buildings.

I still remember the engineering maxim, "Good, fast, cheap. Choose two – you can't have all three", mentioned by the German visitor who was buying car after moving to Borneo. Even we're not having project management, the "good, fast, cheap" triangle seems to apply to our Mt Kinabalu climb. 

The fee is not too costly (unless you're comparing dorm bed to dorm bed). The box “cheap” is checked.

The magical sunrise at the summit is hard to beat. We were literally on cloud nine with its majestic crown of wild granite spires. The box “good” is checked.

But let's be honest, the trek to the summit at Low's Peak is never meant to be fast. We can never forget the unforgiving steps uphill and the gruelling descent. And that kind of exercise, I guarantee, would be much more effective than Mounjaro.