Travelogue: Kota Kinabalu, 26 Sep 06

Prelude

0615 Woke up. Repacked my day’s stuff for jungle trekking whilst watching Shirley
Valentine on Cinemax

0645 Down for breakfast.

0700 it’s as bright as 8:30am in KL

0730 walked to Wisma Merdeka. Stopped by the Pasar Besar to have a peek. Very big,
reminds me of the ones I went to in towns out of Klang valley, huge & multipurpose.
They have a separate building for fish at the back, right next to the mini jetty

0800 Reached Wisma Merdeka & waited for tour operator; quite excited about the trip to
Kinbalu Park. But funnily, no one came yet. Sigh.

Change of plans

0805 called up tour operator. Told me trip is off, they lost my number, hence not calling
me. Fuck. Ok, so what else is there? Island trip. Anything else? Nope. Ok, I’ll take it. Got me back to my hotel, quickly repacked for beach gear … and quickly too
since the next boat is at 8:30am

0830 got to Sutera Harbour. Swell, now I am finally there (killing 2 birds with 1 stone), but
darn, beach trip … no sunblock. I had poor holiday risk management.

Sapi Island

0900 reached Sapi Island, one of the isles in Tunku Abdul Rahman national park. Very
nice, cause the moment I walked to waist level, I am fully surrounded by fish (pls refer
to pics of Sapi Island). But a lot of dead corals, only in deeper waters are there
corals.

0945 decided to get up (although boat pick up is at 1200) cause I have no sunblock & no
intention to get sunburned. The shower was a bit far, but necessary to wash off the
salt enveloping my bod.

1000 walked around, took photos & papa razzed other tourists.

1030 started to write journal. Took more photos as some good looking … erm … ladies
strolled by …

1130 they gave me my lunch, quite a lot of stuff … so saved a cake for later.

Manukan Island

1200 boat arrived on time, off to Manukan Island. Supposed to be a larger place … took
more photos of myself on the boat … oh yes, the boat was riding on choppy waves,
quite a nice feeling (though it made others sick)

1212 arrived at Manukan Island. The jetty seemed to have more fish, who swarmed around
once we got off.

1227 reached the beach (supposedly the part with corals), quite a distance from jetty. But
there’s actually less corals & fish than Sapi. Disappointed.

1246 better get off the water. 1^st, no fish. Then also no sunblock under midday sun is a
critical risk for sunburn. Off to shower.

1310 good feeling to be in nice dry & clean clothes. The shady trees are a good retreat to
listen to music & write my travelogue. Good time to indulge in the choco cake I
saved. Still a long time to the boat at 1500

1400 went to the trail to sunset point, & thought it might be a small reprieve for my
ambitions of jungle trekking. Well, I was rewarded almost instantly by spotting a
monitor lizard in my path, 10 metres ahead. Quickly snapped a picture.

1415 heard a noise, stopped & caught sight of another lizard … so me got another one.

1420 almost there, but the path started to look very deserted, dirty & I had a not so good feeling about the place. Since I was alone, started my path back.

1437 got back to jetty. Well, took photos of the jetty & also the beautiful local girls doing
the reception. Saw a shirt I liked (it sports ‘Beach Bum’), but since they quoted
RM38, I thought why not buy it back at town?

1500 boat arrived, & jolly ho, me going back to Sutera Harbour.

Back in town

1515 back & took more photos of myself at the harbour. Now I have something to post on
my blog.

1530 my ride came & took me back to the hotel. Then went for a walk around the
handicraft centre again, hunting for the shirt I saw earlier, but to no avail.
Disappointed. Sigh.

1620 Got a good shower & watched some TV.

Movie again ...

1700 decided to catch a movie at 6pm, then dinner later … and the movie was … ‘My
super ex-girlfriend’ since nothing else was enticing.

1745 bought the ticket, and this cinema looked more dodgy with no real enclosures as it
melded with the arcade centres on the floor …

1800 the cinema was quite large & was like the old ones with large leather seats … but it
was clean & had no weird odor, which was good enough for me. But this movie had
only 3 people watching, creepy.

2005 done with movie. Not impressed, its just another time burner for me. Sigh.

2015 had dinner at Ang’s again … the other options I had was either fast food, expensive seafood place or bah kut teh. All not enticing. But food here was simple & wholesome.

2040 back to hotel. Hotel guy is very helpful, asked me about my plans for 3^rd day & I
thought of taking a tour with the operator again. But this guy had the ingenious idea
of me me taking a bus to UMS … told me how to get there … so I was challenged …
to see the most beautiful campus in Malaysia. I thought maybe it was exaggerated,
but the idea had merit

2050 a nice shower. Watched EPL highlights. Read Tuesdays again. Too lazy to write
travelogue. Tried some of the Sabah tea, same like Cameronian tea

2310 hit the sack

Observations for the day

1. People are very trusting, I could leave my bag with my tour operator (my camera & mp3 player inside) and the other was, I could rent my snorkels without deposit, and only by paying the fee ... they don't even check with me to return it

2. Locals have this easy going culture, like when I asked for anything, they would oblige & if they cannot provide, they readily provide suggestions ... ready to help all the time. This is something I loved about people there as in KL, it's quite hard to find people like this ...

3. There's a lot of Taiwanese & Japanese tourists at the beach. Few ang mohs.

Comparing Taiwanese & Jap tourists

Taiwanese
Loud, obnoxious, like to hide in the shade, come in big groups, less flesh in swimsuits, more fat, either in water or in the shade (bitching or gambling)

Japanese

Quiet, discreet, love the sun (suntanning), only in bikinis, skinny or nice bod, tanning on the beach or taking photos

Change of plans

Sigh, no point getting angry about the change from hiking to island hopping, might as well anjoy the ride.

When I told WY that this holiday would be a 'go with the flow' type & making plans as I go along, it turned out to be a self fulfilling phrophecy. Ah (wistfully).

The reluctant snorkeller

I don't like sloating too long in the water (my skin can get soggy) ... just as long as i saw the fishes, no point floating so long to see the same one.

Prefer to sit by the beach, enjoy the breeze, a drink & watch the ladies

Speed boat

it's been a while since i took an exciting ride & the boat on choppy waves was cool ... plenty of butterflies in my stomach each time it hits one biggie, but I love the thrill & heart jumping moments.

Why a journal?
some people think this makes a holiday very serious, and very output oriented. Perhaps not. A lot of moments in life can pass away without much meaning, unless digested, viewed on the bigger picture & on alternative dimensions. So by writing, I gauge & digest better my experiences when I write & gets me closer to my feelings ...