Well, we had another long weekend (Malaysia has had a string of holidays lately, the past Friday was the prophet Mohammed’s birthday) and this time we decided to stay in Malaysia but head to a section to which we had never been. East Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Borneo is a huge island (east of Singapore) that is split between three countries: Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. Boreno is famous for it’s beautiful rainforests, gorgeous beaches and marine life, and general natural beauty. We decided to go and enjoy the beach and marine life–we needed to get out of the city!
We left our apartment in KL bright and early on Friday morning. We had a bit of trouble with our taxi. The taxi system in Kuala Lumpur is not very good. There are plenty of cabs and fares are low, but the fares are so low that the drivers cannot make a good living off of them. As a result, they often refuse to go by meter and set inflated prices to get certain places. As you can imagine, at 4:45am going from a hotel to the airport, the problem is exacerbated and the bellmen like to get in on the action. When they told us how much it was going to cost to get to the airport, it was about 40 Ringgit (about US$13) higher than it is supposed to be. I noticed the taxi driver and bellman exchanging something through the window. At that point, I knew exactly what was happening. John managed to negotiate with the driver and get the rate to a reasonable level. Upon arriving at the airport, John asked the driver why he and the bellman exchanged money. The driver said that he doesn’t get jobs if he doesn’t do that. I believe it. Malaysia did raise cab rates once last year but it wasn’t nearly enough to match the increased cost-of-living and the increase in gas prices.
Beautiful Water in Kota Kinabalu
That adventure aside, we got to Kota Kinabalu without incident. We stayed at a resort that was comprised of two hotels and a marina. A marine park consisting of five islands was just off of the coast from the hotel. After a delicious “American style breakfast” we went to our room to take a nap–those early flights really wipe us out! After that, we went to the pool, had dinner, and then turned in. We were anticipating a busy day the next day!
On Saturday, we got up, had breakfast and took off on a ferry to the Marine Park on one of the islands off of the coast of the hotel. We had our snorkel gear and beach mats and were looking forward to a day at the beach! The water felt wonderful–it wasn’t cold at all, yet it was refreshing. I also need to mention that it is jellyfish season and signs are posted everywhere! The water was the clearest we have seen in Asia thus far. Standing on the pier looking into the water, we were able to see to the bottom and all kinds of beautiful tropical fish including the largest sea urchins we had ever seen (some were larger than 8 inches spike tip to spike tip).
After a yummy dinner!!!
We saw the most beautiful fish colored so vibrantly I never knew those colors existed in the animal kingdom! We saw polka dot fish, rainbow fish, and even some fish camouflaged against the sandy bottom. We also saw jellyfish! The jellyfish were clear, but had a glowing purple center so we thought we would see them before they got us. Keyword: thought. John ended up getting stung all over his feet and I got stung three times: once the tentacles wrapped around my arm, once around my leg and the other brushed my shoulder. I know the tentacles wrapped around because when the sting showed up (it affected me more than it did John) it was in distinct lines around my arm and my leg. It felt like lots of bees stinging me all at once. Fortunately, after a few minutes out of the water, my stings felt much better and I was able to continue with the day.
That night we had the most wonderful dinner at a Malaysian/Indian fusion restaurant called “Spice Island.” We had paneer (cottage cheese) in a delicious tomato gravy with cashews and red snapper in a wonderful gravy all over rice. It was so rich but it was so so so good!!!
Beautiful sunset
The next morning, we had our breakfast and then headed off to the Kota Kinabalu Sunday market! We’ve been to lot of markets before, but this one was just a little bit different. There was country music blaring in the background and there were tons of people. They had not only fruits, vegetables, souvenirs, and clothes, but also live animals!
John with the chickens
We saw cages full of five and six puppies. We joked that obviously PETA hadn’t made it to Kota Kinabalu yet. Then, as we left the market, we passed a KFC and standing on the corner was a person in a chicken suit with a crutch and a sling and a picket sign protesting the restaurant. THEY WERE FROM PETA!
Although I love KFC, this photo had to be taken!
After getting my picture with them (as a Kentucky girl, I had to do it. I still love KFC, by the way) John informed them that we were looking for them near the dog cages in the market. 🙂
After leaving the market we went back to the hotel where we ate a fabulous buffet brunch, complete with quesadillas (a rarity at Asian tables). We ate for over an hour, it was so delicious. Our bellies full and trying to avoid the blistering sun, we decided on an indoor activity: bowling!! We got some very stylish socks (see picture) and ending up splitting games. After all of the trash talking I endured from John, I was pretty pleased. 🙂
Check out those killer shoes!!!
Later that afternoon, we headed back to the airport and flew back to Kuala Lumpur to get ready for the work week!!! It was a wonderful RELAXING weekend. Thank for reading everyone!!!
John and CB's Most Excellent Adventure 
was searching for KK and got to your page. thanks for info, will be going there next week. wonder we you guys stayed?
We stayed at the Pacific Harbour at the Sutera Resort. It was very nice!