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Kota Kinabalu
Spending time with Flora & Amelia in KK After our trip to Flores and Komodo Islands, we spent our last week as a traveling family in Bali before the kids flew home to Canada. We definitely missed our house and our cook, but enjoyed staying at a guest- house and trying the various restaurants around Ubud. We celebrated Gemma’s 14
th birthday that week with an afternoon at the spa and out for sushi. On May 1
stLucas and Gemma left for Singapore then flew back to Canada. Jeff and I had a few more days in Ubud saying tearful good-byes to good friends and reflecting on our six months in Indonesia.
We’ve heard good things about the Philippines (countless isolated beaches, reefs, mountains and islands) from friends and fellow travelers, so we decided to spend our last 5 weeks in Asia visiting this enigmatic country.
In the hope of avoiding flying into Manila, Jeff went to a travel agent in Bali requesting a flight to Cebu, Philippines. A few days later, we got on a plane to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and then after a 7-hour wait transferred to another flight to Cebu. To our surprise upon landing, the immigration desk said, “Welcome to Sibu, Sarawak!” We couldn’t believe
it; we weren’t in the Philippines; we were in a small town in the middle of nowhere in Borneo! We were tired and hungry from traveling all day. Jeff ended up telling our story to the security guard (Simon) at the airport and he invited us to stay at his house for the night. After his shift, he took us out for dinner and then to a smoky karaoke bar with disco lights and inebriated Malaysian men. Simon has a great voice and entertained us with Louis Armstrong songs. What a night to remember!
There wasn’t a flight to the Philippines from Sibu, so the next day we flew to the capital of Sabah – Kota Kinabalu. We were there in September and made some local friends. We gave our friends a call and spent a couple of days with them before flying to our destination. Once again, local people graciously hosted us - they drove us around site seeing, tasting the delicious local food and we learned about the culture. We felt blessed to have this time with our friends and to meet new members of their family. We hope we can reciprocate their hospitality someday in Canada.
We’ve been in the Philippines for a week now, and I like the Lonely Planet’s quote, “Describing the country is like trying to pick up a bar of soap in the bath: you may come close to grasping it, but it always seems to elude you.” We spent 2 days in Cebu City and 5 days on a small beautiful island off the north coast of Cebu island – Malapascua. Here are some of our observations and first impressions: shopping malls; US fast-food chains and lots of sex workers in the city; a big gap between the rich and the poor which we see throughout the world; lots of homeless people on the streets - even whole families; all the security guards and police officers carry guns. Lots of Catholic churches and big families; resilient carefree people who seem to take life one day at a time. Jeepneys everywhere – vehicles for public transportation splashed with color and laden with religious icons. The food mostly consists of rice and meat/fish – so I am always on the hunt for vegetables. There doesn’t seem to be much for vegetables or spices, but lots of fresh fruit.
Malapascua Island has
no vehicles – just foot traffic, bicycles and a few motorcycles. We arrived here on a festival day (which we didn’t know about), but it was fun to see the parade of kids dressed up and doing traditional dances. The white sandy beaches and crystal clear aqua waters are stunning. Jeff has been doing some diving and was thrilled to see thresher sharks in one of his dives yesterday.
We’re off to another island today (Bohol Island) where we plan to rent motorcycles to tour around. Lucas and Gemma are back in Canada adjusting to life at home and re-uniting with family and friends. Lucas broke his arm skateboarding the other day, so that is a bit of a harsh welcome back. Jeff and I are enjoying our time together as our 10 months abroad comes to an end….however, we have a few adventures ahead, so will keep you posted!
Sending love, Kevi
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Monika
non-member comment
What a trip!!
These are fantasic photos of what appears to be a colorful country! Travelling without the kids must be a very different experience now...That is a great story of how you ended up in Borneo, I read a story about Sarawak once. I believe it was one of Wade Davis's masterpieces of a culture that is fading. Treasure these moments, I love the JeJe Jeff bus!! All the best from Rossland mountains. Love Monika