We passed through Dubai on our way to Singapore and although many friends had either left for good or the Christmas holidays we were lucky enough to see Mike and spend the evening with Jim, Kate and Mari-Ann. Dubai was nice and cool and no fuller or emptier than usual. JB and Fred – thank you again for looking after us.
The overnight flight to Singapore was horrible and we were very happy to fall into bed at a nice hotel that evening. The following day we spent a couple of hours shopping Changi, given we had managed to lose Chris and Lones’ Xmas present from South Africa in Dubai before our flight to Kota Kinabalu (the capital of Sabah, Borneo; pop 300,000).
We stayed at The Jesselton Hotel a friendly neo colonial hotel located in the middle of the town. Dinner was a simple affair as we headed for the central market and sampled chicken satay and mee goring from the food stalls for a mere USD 1 each. The KK market was a hive of activity with Filipino BBQ stalls where you could buy fresh grilled snapper, tiger prawns, tuna, calamari and crab accompanied with seaweed and rice. The wet fish stalls were just a stone’s throw away so we were pretty impressed with the supply chain. The vegetable and fruit stalls were just a 10 second walk further.
The next day was devoted to trip planning before we headed off to the Shangri-la Rasa Ria resort some 30 kms away. The date was 23 December. Luxurious towels, full pressure shower and a soft bed. We lounged on the edge of the beach and swam in the sea....within minutes I had been subjected to an unprovoked attack by sand flies...no bigger than a grain of sand they pack a mighty bite which only becomes apparent after an hour or so. I looked like the elephant man covered in large red welts which itched like fury....sympathy from Nikki but a secret relief they had chosen me not her. This favouritism has been a constant theme throughout Borneo, much to her amusement.
Much excitement that evening on the arrival of Chris and Ilona, we celebrated with an Indian curry.
The hotel has a Nature Reserve which works together with Sepilok (the world famous Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre). We were fortunate enough to witness the feeding of a couple of young O’tans. They are such a fascinating sight with their curiously expressive faces. It was horrendously hot so after a short while we sought refuge in the pool.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent quietly; it is just not the same being in a resort hotel in the tropics despite the Filipino cries of ‘Santa is coming!! Santa is coming!! However given we were in an essentially muslim country you had to applaud their efforts, especially those of Marwin who ensured our Xmas dinner table looked more festive than anyone else’s.
On Boxing Day we returned to the Jesselton in KK so explore the local area. We had been told (and had extensively read) about a wonderful regional market held each Sunday in a town about 70km away. Keen as beans off we went to find the minibus station in KK – nearly one hour later, rather hotter and more frustrated, we were still looking for it, having been passed from pillar to post by the locals. Eventually we caught the local KK bus only to end up at the minibus station a stone’s throw away from our hotel – the joys of foreign travel. We piled into the local minibus, paid our fares and when the bus was full it trundled its way, the hour to Kota Belud, passing by roadside shacks, chickens and cows under bus shelters.
We arrived to find a bit of a dump, but spirits still high we continued to look for the “tamu”...and of we went, down the road, up the hill, down the hill...to find a pretty ordinary market that sold clothes, some fish and fruit and was pretty much packing up. Now hot and bothered we returned up the hill, down the hill and up the road to the bus stop and, with Mission Tamu now firmly aborted, we hired a whole bus to take us back to KK, and the nice cold air-conditioning of an Italian restaurant!
The following day we attempted round 2 of side trips and got a boat across the bay to the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, a small group of protected islands where there is some good snorkelling and diving. Upon a local’s recommendation we chose Manukan Island. Underwater it was alive with many reef fish of all sizes, but little live coral, on the water it was awash with bobbing locals and Japanese tourists snorkelling with life vests on. We settled down on the beach and enjoyed the day sunbathing and playing with the fish. It was sad to see that local efforts to protect the area had not paid off, with too much dead coral, too many visitors (something that they should limit) and snorkelers using fins in shallow water.
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