Say Hello to Flying Speedboats

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We were supposed to go to Sapi Island yesterday because Alice, my roommate was there but we bumped unto a Malaysian-born (w/ Filipino parents), tagalog speaking guy who was able to convince us to go to Mamutik instead, so we were like "Sure, fine". It was about 15 minutes ride from the Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal to Mamutik Island. It was an exciting ride, the speedboat would go bounce bounce bounce then it would slam back down hard unto the water. If these things go the same way everyday, then these must be very strong pieces of boats. I wasn't expecting it that way, it felt like white water rafting again, only worse. The rain caught up with us on our way back and you know how the raindrops feel when you're on a speedboat; they feel like small needles peircing through your skin. Three hours after getting off the speedboat, the ground still felt like swaying! I think my brain had been shaken up too much in the past two days. It was a quiet time at the Island though. There weren't too many people when we got there and I got to snorkel for an hour. There were huge fishes that weren't so shy at all. I spotted a group of huge ones having a meal ... so I swam away from them because they might decide that I am more tasty than what they were eating. There was also this kind of fish which wasn't too big but was mean. I think it was some sort of a territorial kind because it would wiggle its tail and swim zooming towards me like it was gonna attack me or something. Aside from the flying speedboat, it was a relaxing time yesterday.

My brother isn't so keen on eating unfamiliar food but I was able to pursuade him yesterday to eat lunch at Sri Rahmat, a Malay Resto near our hostel (i.e. "we will eat Malay whether you like it or not ). It was a challenge ordering the food because the staff don't speak english except for this teenage girl who they called later on to tend to us. During the food ordering process though, we were saved by a guy standing next in the line by translating for us and we eventually got our oily-ish Malay food (very Filipino). Our dinner was finally something my brother fancied, chinese food (I believe) at Syarikat Yu Kee, a small resto along Gaya Street.

Say Hello to Sandakan

Our Uncle Tan Wildlife Adventure still isn't looking good. The guys from the hostel have been very helpful and had been calling them on our behalf but we're still getting the same thing, "the river is still flooded". I was leaning on just staying in KK and to just find something else to do but on the other hand, I thought we should make use of our pre-booked plane ticket and just figure out what to do when we get there, so Sandakan, here we go!

The first thing I did when we arrived this morning was call Uncle Tan's again (you can tell I'M NOT VEEERY VERY INTERESTED on staying with them). Guess what?! Yes, the river is still flooded and we still can't go to the camp, but I just cannot NOT try for the very last time so it's official now, I'm giving up on the idea. We eventually stayed at Winho Lodge which is located within the town then we were able to go to the Orangutan Rehabilitation Center in Sepilok just on time for the first feeding schedule at 10:00. There wasn't much to do so we got back on the 12:30 bus and head back to Sandakan and made very good use of our spare time and SLEPT! We woke up at around 06:00ish in the evening and noticed that most establishments were already closing so we hurried up worried there might not be any resto open for dinner anymore. There was this Restaurant called Hawaii right infront of our hostel which we originally thought only serves American Food but apparently, they serve a mix of everything. It was a really good dinner.

Sandakan reminds us of Baguio City, not as cold but it just reminds us of it. I've also noticed that like in KK and in Tenom, there are lots of birds flying around specially at night, which is definitely not a usual sight in PI. Back in our hostel in KK, I would sleep at night with the sound of the birds outside my room and wake up in the morning with the sound of everything else. It's fascinating.

We've met alot of Filipinos around who had been living (if not born) in Malaysia but can still speak Tagalog. All of those we met were either from Zamboange or Jolo which is located in the Mindanao Area, the nearest Philippine islands to Sabah Malaysia.

We've also just realized that we have a room with a double bunk, a queen size bed, an AC, a cable TV, and our own toilet & bath for 55 Ringgit ... could it be that they made a mistake? We were waiting for someone to tell us they've given us the wrong room but no one came so far.

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Photos

Quiet Time
Mamutik Island

Food
Sri Rahmat Restoran

Filipino Workers
... on the bus to Sepilok

... closing time for most establishments
Sandakan

Comments

[deleted_49612]

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