Thursday 9 June
At 6:00am got a taxi to the bus station and then the 7:30 bus to Clark Airport, just a couple of hours away. So I waited at the boring airport for my flight at 4pm. Met a nice Aussie honeymoon couple.
As we flew over the Sulu Sea we could see small islands and coral and on approach you could see the town of Kota Kinabulu (KK), Sabah Province, is so clean and ordered and I started to feel excited about Malaysia. And as we got off the plane under the early evening blue skies, another tourist called 'woo-hoo', and that seemed to set the tone. Everyone I talked to, those who have just arrived, or those who have been here a while, are so enthusiastic about Malaysia and how many great things there are to do here, and I feel the same way.
Shared a taxi with the Aussies into Kota Kinabulu (KK) town, to Australia Place. Stayed at Lucy's Guest House, and went for dinner at The English Tea House with 3 English/Welsh girls. We chatted heaps and they gave me lots of tips about where to go in Malaysia. For dinner, they had pie and mash and beans and I had Laksa, for less than $5.
Friday 10 June
Lucy and her guest house are lovely. She is an older lady and has numerous cute cats for company. The place is homely and clean, although she did tell me off for speaking too loudly at 6:45am this morning in the kitchen!
I walked across town to the Indonesian embassy; I got there before it was open so was first in the visa queue. And glad I knew that they won't let you in in shorts so had my hippy pants on. Have applied for 2 months visa (you only get 1 month if you apply at the border), so fingers crossed they give me two months. Have to go back on Tuesday to collect passport and hopefully visa. So decided to get out of KK until then.
Checked out of Lucy's and got a minivan out to Kota Kinabulu National Park, 2 hours. The scenery was good along the way, lots of green hills and valleys, and fantastic views of the mountain. Many people come here to climb the mighty Kota Kinabulu mountain, but it costs over $250 for two days so I am giving it a miss.
Instead I just walked along a couple of the marked trails around the base of the mountain and will do some more tomorrow. The trails take you through the rainforest. It was fairly muddy but only occasionally steep and slippery; I didn't see much wildlife but it was fun, wandering through the trees and listening to rainforest sounds.
Saturday 11 June
I had thought about moving to the hostel down the road since the woman owner here is grumpy and rude but the other staff are ok so I stayed. We are actually around 1500m above sea level so it was a bit chilly last night, I had to use my down jacket on top of the thin blanket they give you.
Free cooked breakfast was a good start to the day, and while most of the other people in the dorm went to climb the mountain, I planned to go to the Botanical Gardens and also do another hike around the base of the mountain, within the National Park. But after walking 1km to the park it started to rain, torrential downpour. So I sat in a shelter and read my book hoping it would stop raining but it didn't so I came back to the hotel, via the cafe across the road.
I spent the morning sorting out my backpack and being even more pleased that I wasn't climbing the mountain in the driving rain. Anyway, after lunch it stopped raining so I grabbed my poncho and headed back to the park. There are many trails through the rainforest; I chose the longest one, the Liwagu Trail, 6kms, which basically follows the river. It is pretty easy to follow the trails, which is good because the map they give you is rubbish.
Well, this is a real rainforest. I have been to rainforests before but this seemed more dense and remote and was very wet from the morning's downpour. Sometimes the path was narrow with tall trees on both sides, sometimes I was walking in the mud, and sometimes I was walking 'upstream' of tiny brooks snaking their way down the trail, which was along a mustard yellow rock path (I should probably know the type of rock).
Often the wet leaves on the rocks made it a slippery challenge. It was great to be out in the middle of nature and at times walking next to the river, with the mist among the trees. The only downside was that there was no wildlife, just trees. It took 2.5 hours to reach the main road and I was pretty tired by then. I did another short trail that was supposed to have 'rare and secretive birds'; well they were secretive, cos I didn't see anything. Luckily I blagged a lift back down the main road to the Botanical Gardens in the back of a ute. But of course the Gardens were closed by then.
All of this was good training for the more strenuous guided hikes I hope to do in the coming weeks.
Oh, and the food here at the hostel is great. Well, at least compared to the food in the Phillipines anyway. This is only hostel food, I am sure it will be even better when I get to restaurants and street food and night markets.
Sunday 12 June
Slept in, which doesn't happen very often. Walked up to main road and flagged down the big yellow bus back to KK. Bus stops 13kms out of town, then had to get minivan, then walked for a bit, but too hot so got a cab to Lucy's homestay.
Had a wander around town, to the small harbour with colourful fishing boats, and to the jetty, past the English Tea Shop and two red English phone boxes. There were lots of young people about. A few older muslim ladies wear the headscarf but its much more liberal here than other muslim nations.
As i left a shop this afternoon, I noticed a woman surreptitiously grab a black plastic bag from kind of under the pavement and take out what looked like two packets of cigarettes and quickly sell them to another lady. Then she snuck the bag back under the pavement. It looked exactly like a drug deal, the way they behaved. But I can't imagine them dealing drugs in broad daylight, not in this country where drug laws are so strict. But cigarettes aren't illegal here, so don't know what they were up to.
This evening I walked back down to the water and the food markets. Many stalls of fresh fish and seafood, the catch of the day. It looked great, you can choose your own fish and they will bbq it for you. But I'm not too keen on fish, with all the bones etc., so I had Prawn Sambal with Rice (a Malay dish) and it was very tasty, and cheap, albeit a bit of a small serving. And cold banana milk shake. Yum. All for under $3.
On the way back, I passed a restaurant full of local guys glued to the TV. So I popped my head into see what they were so captivated by - Avatar! On the movie channel! The English/Welsh girls, and owner Lucy, are also watching it back here at the hostel. I am so not interested in 'the blue people'.
At 6:00am got a taxi to the bus station and then the 7:30 bus to Clark Airport, just a couple of hours away. So I waited at the boring airport for my flight at 4pm. Met a nice Aussie honeymoon couple.
As we flew over the Sulu Sea we could see small islands and coral and on approach you could see the town of Kota Kinabulu (KK), Sabah Province, is so clean and ordered and I started to feel excited about Malaysia. And as we got off the plane under the early evening blue skies, another tourist called 'woo-hoo', and that seemed to set the tone. Everyone I talked to, those who have just arrived, or those who have been here a while, are so enthusiastic about Malaysia and how many great things there are to do here, and I feel the same way.
Shared a taxi with the Aussies into Kota Kinabulu (KK) town, to Australia Place. Stayed at Lucy's Guest House, and went for dinner at The English Tea House with 3 English/Welsh girls. We chatted heaps and they gave me lots of tips about where to go in Malaysia. For dinner, they had pie and mash and beans and I had Laksa, for less than $5.
Friday 10 June
Lucy and her guest house are lovely. She is an older lady and has numerous cute cats for company. The place is homely and clean, although she did tell me off for speaking too loudly at 6:45am this morning in the kitchen!
I walked across town to the Indonesian embassy; I got there before it was open so was first in the visa queue. And glad I knew that they won't let you in in shorts so had my hippy pants on. Have applied for 2 months visa (you only get 1 month if you apply at the border), so fingers crossed they give me two months. Have to go back on Tuesday to collect passport and hopefully visa. So decided to get out of KK until then.
Checked out of Lucy's and got a minivan out to Kota Kinabulu National Park, 2 hours. The scenery was good along the way, lots of green hills and valleys, and fantastic views of the mountain. Many people come here to climb the mighty Kota Kinabulu mountain, but it costs over $250 for two days so I am giving it a miss.
Instead I just walked along a couple of the marked trails around the base of the mountain and will do some more tomorrow. The trails take you through the rainforest. It was fairly muddy but only occasionally steep and slippery; I didn't see much wildlife but it was fun, wandering through the trees and listening to rainforest sounds.
Saturday 11 June
I had thought about moving to the hostel down the road since the woman owner here is grumpy and rude but the other staff are ok so I stayed. We are actually around 1500m above sea level so it was a bit chilly last night, I had to use my down jacket on top of the thin blanket they give you.
Free cooked breakfast was a good start to the day, and while most of the other people in the dorm went to climb the mountain, I planned to go to the Botanical Gardens and also do another hike around the base of the mountain, within the National Park. But after walking 1km to the park it started to rain, torrential downpour. So I sat in a shelter and read my book hoping it would stop raining but it didn't so I came back to the hotel, via the cafe across the road.
I spent the morning sorting out my backpack and being even more pleased that I wasn't climbing the mountain in the driving rain. Anyway, after lunch it stopped raining so I grabbed my poncho and headed back to the park. There are many trails through the rainforest; I chose the longest one, the Liwagu Trail, 6kms, which basically follows the river. It is pretty easy to follow the trails, which is good because the map they give you is rubbish.
Well, this is a real rainforest. I have been to rainforests before but this seemed more dense and remote and was very wet from the morning's downpour. Sometimes the path was narrow with tall trees on both sides, sometimes I was walking in the mud, and sometimes I was walking 'upstream' of tiny brooks snaking their way down the trail, which was along a mustard yellow rock path (I should probably know the type of rock).
Often the wet leaves on the rocks made it a slippery challenge. It was great to be out in the middle of nature and at times walking next to the river, with the mist among the trees. The only downside was that there was no wildlife, just trees. It took 2.5 hours to reach the main road and I was pretty tired by then. I did another short trail that was supposed to have 'rare and secretive birds'; well they were secretive, cos I didn't see anything. Luckily I blagged a lift back down the main road to the Botanical Gardens in the back of a ute. But of course the Gardens were closed by then.
All of this was good training for the more strenuous guided hikes I hope to do in the coming weeks.
Oh, and the food here at the hostel is great. Well, at least compared to the food in the Phillipines anyway. This is only hostel food, I am sure it will be even better when I get to restaurants and street food and night markets.
Sunday 12 June
Slept in, which doesn't happen very often. Walked up to main road and flagged down the big yellow bus back to KK. Bus stops 13kms out of town, then had to get minivan, then walked for a bit, but too hot so got a cab to Lucy's homestay.
Had a wander around town, to the small harbour with colourful fishing boats, and to the jetty, past the English Tea Shop and two red English phone boxes. There were lots of young people about. A few older muslim ladies wear the headscarf but its much more liberal here than other muslim nations.
As i left a shop this afternoon, I noticed a woman surreptitiously grab a black plastic bag from kind of under the pavement and take out what looked like two packets of cigarettes and quickly sell them to another lady. Then she snuck the bag back under the pavement. It looked exactly like a drug deal, the way they behaved. But I can't imagine them dealing drugs in broad daylight, not in this country where drug laws are so strict. But cigarettes aren't illegal here, so don't know what they were up to.
This evening I walked back down to the water and the food markets. Many stalls of fresh fish and seafood, the catch of the day. It looked great, you can choose your own fish and they will bbq it for you. But I'm not too keen on fish, with all the bones etc., so I had Prawn Sambal with Rice (a Malay dish) and it was very tasty, and cheap, albeit a bit of a small serving. And cold banana milk shake. Yum. All for under $3.
On the way back, I passed a restaurant full of local guys glued to the TV. So I popped my head into see what they were so captivated by - Avatar! On the movie channel! The English/Welsh girls, and owner Lucy, are also watching it back here at the hostel. I am so not interested in 'the blue people'.
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