Dantruong Travel & Tourism

I only have a one way ticket to Kota Kinabalu and am worried AsianAir will not let me board the plane, I did some googling and some people said they are quite strict on this nowadays, so i was worried sick. I intend to travel overland to Brunei and Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan)and I don’t want to buy plane ticket when am not sure when I am ready to leave. At Manila(Clark) airport the guy on the check in desk did not ask for a RT or ticket out of Malaysia he is most concerned that I exceeded the 15 kgs weight limit for checked in luggage, mine clocked at 17.5 kg, I either have to pay up or lose the weight, so in front of everyone I started taking out things from the big pack, flip flops, towel, matt,deodorant, anything until it is below 16 kgs. then shoved them in to my day pack which is now full and pregnant, surprisingly enough they don’t weigh it(limit is 7kg).

Long wait the plane was half hour delayed, good thing Clark has wifi at the airport and was able to write to Borneo backpackers that I shall be delayed arriving to Kota
Mamutik
Mamutik
Kinabalu. The flight was smooth, full of Pinoys probably working in Malaysia and Brunei. At the immigration desk I did not realize i need to fill in an immigration form so I have to get back and queue up again whilst filling up the form. He took ages paging through my passport, at the back of my head he may be looking for an Israeli stamp though that should not put me into trouble but you never know, anyway he asked how long I will stay, 2 months maybe I said and he gave me 3 months! Captain from the hostel picked me up, they offer free airport pick ups, I first took money from the ATM , having no clue to the exchange rate I just guessed how much should be enough for now. KK looks modern and developed and lots of celebration because it’s Chinese New Year and Valentine’s day as well.

I went for a walk trying to look for dinner I found a nice eatery, paid about $4 for a decent meal of rice and veggies and fish and a big Tiger beer, I thought Philippines I could have had it for $2, yup Malaysia
beer nite out
beer nite out
is more expensive so i shall budget wisely.Went back to the hostel, bunch of Brits hanging out in the lounge a bit loud, told myself have to get used to backpackers again after a month of not meeting a single one in the south of the Philippines. Went out to look for dinner, there were a few fireworks celebrating Chinese New Year, I found a cheap eatery and had dinner there along with Tiger beer. Collapsed in bed very tired from the long trip from Manila.

Woke up, had a shower and asked for directions to get to Signal hill to get a good view of the city. i followed a trail behind Lucy’s GH which is just behind Borneo backpackers, the road splits up hill and went to the right then it splits up some more, I decided to turn left as it goes uphill thinking it will give me a good view of the city, it was a dead end and got barked at by nasty dogs, i tried to ignore them they followed me all the way up and down. Not about to give up I followed a winding road uphill past this taxi stand thing,
Bah Gut Teh
Bah Gut Teh
delish!!!
I found a set of steps that looks as if it’s not been used for awhile, dead leaves litter the stairs, i got up it and its another dead end, bummed I headed down quickly, and just gave up i could not find a way to the observatory, the GH did not give me a good direction. Back in the GH I spoke to Fee who just came from climbing Mt. Kinabalu and gave me tips and where to book it cheap. She walked with me near the office of the adventure company. I booked for 625 ringgit my trek up the mountain on Wednesday.

Having done that i checked out the waterfront, walked the promenade a bit then checked out the wet market, lots of fish and clams and sea snails, some were huge, then found the veggie and fruit stalls, I was so tempted to buy things but wasn’t sure if I can cook at the GH so better check with them first.
I walked around in the searing heat my intention is to see a few museums and the mosque but failed and i did not want to take the taxi, hungry i parked my bum
Huge tree behind Lucy’s backpackers
Huge tree behind Lucy’s backpackers
in one of the cheap eateries near Asia city. Back to the H to take a nap, in the eve walked to the Jesselton port to watch the sunset and bought some food, a tiger beer in cans is 7 ringgits!

The next day i decided to go island hopping, I left at 9am from hostel and bought water and snacks and lanzones fruits. Then walked to the Jesselton port, I saw Su my roommate and he is on his way out, he got overwhelmed by the number of people in queue he left, I persuaded him to come with me but refused. I struggled to find a company that would take me to 2 islands at least, Sapi and Manukan, they only do it if there are at least 2 persons, so i settled for just one, the guy recommended me Mamutik for excellent snorkelling, They were not really that helpful at the front desk, they don’t want to explain about the different islands, the guy said he has no time for that they are trying to get as much customers as possible and keeps hollering to people doing sale pitch and hardly listens to me, annoyed and
Signal Hill road
Signal Hill road
fed up i asked him to just book it! I have to pay 10 rinngits for the snorkel gear and 5 for some park fees.
I met my 2 other roomie from KL in the queue waiting for the boat, they go to Manukan, we ended up in the same boat, the wait was long, we dropped them off at Manukan first then us at Mamutik. it is really crowded wherever you go and I settled for an isolated nook on the right of the island. there is a diving school next to where I camped I left my things unattended and snorkelled, it was safe no one bothered me or even stole my things.

The snorkel was meager in front of the beach but once you get past the barrier ropes and went next to the rocks they have excellent corals there, brown, green oranges, different shapes and sizes and the fish are also incredible, lots of varieties some i have seen there for the 1st time, i saw a puffer fish, different types of angel fish, parrot fish and some barracudas and groupers. I was by myself in that area no on went there to snorkel! I
Signal hill view
Signal hill view
went back to the beach to have some snacks then had a go again when I had my fill I walked to the other end of the island and did some more snorkelling there, not as great as the other side but i get to feed the fish with oysters in the shallows. Among the rocks in the shallow part they have lots of oysters and I simply grabbed some rocks and start pounding at them and the fish came to eat the morsel I presented to them in big groups, i quite enjoyed different types of fish that come to eat my present to them, some green fish could not wait it tries to grab the morsels of oysters while I am still pounding the shell, i tried to shooe it so i dont accidentally hit it. Then 3pm came i have to go and get the boat back to KK.

At the hostel I rested and packed for Kinabalu hike, I hang out with Su and the 2 KL boys and exchanged travel experiences, had dinner with them and then off to bed. Funny thing I realized here is they use “boss” as an expression just like
Signal hill view
Signal hill view
in Philippines to address people say they don’t know your name. There are lots of Pinoys here and they don’t exactly have a good reputation sadly, and a lot had gone through the back door to get here, the farthest islands of the Philippines is not even 40 kms away from Sandakan and same goes on the top end, past few islands on the tip of Borneo and you are already in Palawan.