Bin Rummagers, Open Sewers, and Paradise Islands

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Kota Kinabalu was not as we had expected, although in retrospect, we weren't really sure what we had expected. We knew that Malaysian Borneo was mostly Muslim, we knew that Sabah was home to was the highest peak in Asia; Mount Kinabalu, and we knew about the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park Islands.

Knowing that KK is the gateway both to the attractions listed above, as well as others such as the world famous Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary, AND one of the worlds best dive sites; Sipidan, we had expected something, well, more.

We had booked into Borneo Global Backpackers for a steal of a deal at 12 ringgit each per night (about £2.50) thinking that location wasn't all that important. We arrived into KK airport in the early evening (the Air Asia flight was fine except for a bout of turbulence, but plus points for the 10 ringgit chicken satays) and were told the price of the taxi to our hostel was 30 ringgit. We had looked up the route online before leaving (good old google maps) and we knew it wasn't that far. As the prices were fixed in a transport cartel we headed off to the roadside just outside the airport, but didn't even have to leave the gates before finding a driver willing to take us for 20.

We arrived to the hostel and were in with a bit of luck as we were given a 6 bed dorm for the two of us, and we had it to ourselves for the three nights we were there. We had hoped to head out for somthing to eat, but realised that we were not in the type of area to go walking around at night in the dark, and in fact the only place open was a mini-mart just behind the hostel. We headed behind the hostel where numerous shady characters were scuttling in and out of wheelie bins. The area was badly lit and smelly and at the side of a canal with shanty houses- this wasn't an issue for us for the mostpart- it was an ok walking distance for getting into town during the day, and for the price it was good, but it wasn't very convenient for night time if you wanted to do anything.

Luke had been feeling pretty ill since we boarded our plane back in Kuala Lumpar, so we ended up not doing much that evening or the following morning. However in the afternoon we were sick of festering in the dorm room (it was ok but not that nice!) so decided to take the long trek into town. Aided with a map from the hostel we walked, it took around 45 minutes to get to the port where we wanted to check out the prices for a trip to Mamutik island the following day. Satisfied with completing our task, we walked back through town again to see what was going on. As we were staying on the north, and the pier was on the south, we had managed to see a lot of the town, taking a different route back from the way we had arrived. We decided to stop by the centre which felt somewhat incomplete without a central plaza that we had become used to back in Latin America. In fact the city seemed absent of any kind central area, apart from the usual giant impersonal mall which stood in centre place. There were a variety of malls in KK, both high end and market type. We had a little look around but weren't really in the mood for shopping, and were pretty worn out as it was so hot. In one of them we were in a chemist minding our own business when we spotted our first ladyboys. They noticed us looking and announed; 'welcome to Borneo daaarlings' we were not sure if they were being friendly or sarcastic! We walked back to the hostel as it was getting dark, wary of the open sewers that ran adjacent to the main highways. We can only hope they contained surface water not sewage! As we were walking back from town we saw many street kids which was quite upsetting- we were shocked to see some were glue sniffing.

The following day was the day we had been waiting for. Our first trip to a beach island in Asia. In the morning it was overcast but we decided to go for it anyway. Down at Jesselton Point we had a variety of about 10 different companies who could take us to one of the three most popular islands. We decided on Mamutik as we were told it is quieter than the other two, and we wanted to relax. We selected a boat company recommended by a tourist information guy, as we had no other way of telling which was the safest. We had headed down the pier to check out the boats but hardly any had their company logos on them, and when we asked around everybody seemed to not have any idea what we were saying. We got roped into paying for a lifejacket which we were told were mandatory for the journey across, which we had no problems with, but when we got on the boat and the driver started handing out life jackets free of charge to the other guests we were not very happy, especially as it meant that we were stuck lugging lifejackets round with us on the island. Obviously when we returned to the pier later on we complained and were given our money back without having to argue which was nice.

The sea was a bit choppy possibly due to the weather. The boat was very fast and quite an exciting (and bumpy) ride across. When we arrived the island was beautiful, and would have been amazing if it was sunny. The sea was clear and Luke managed to do some snorkelling. There were little huts and tents where you could stay, but the island was really small and cute. We spent the morning lying on the beach but it started to get really cold because of the wind so we moved round just about 50m and we were back in baking weather. It was so bizarre how there could be such a change in such a short space, but then it is a very small island exposed to the elements. Around lunchtime it began to rain so we caught the 2pm boat back to Kota Kinabalu, and went for lunch in a mall. We would have liked a few more days to explore more of the islands as we were really impressed with Mamutik, and with the trip only costing around £8 for transport and national park admission it was pretty good. After lunch we headed back to the hostel to pack our bags for our flight to the Philippines the following day.

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