Reunions, Tropical Islands and My Birthday

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It was raining when our boat from Labawan arrived into Jesselton Harbour, Kota Kinabalu, and the downpour only got heavier as we ate our lunch, fruitlessly hoping it would stop. The tropical deluge continued as we traipsed the streets of KK, as it is affectionately known, searching for a decent room and a roof over our heads. After almost two wet hours of hostel trawling we found 'Xplorer's Backpackers' where a giggling young chap named Andrew showed us around. It was the cheapest and nicest of all the rooms we'd seen and the hot showers were a treat.

It was crazy to remember how ten months ago we had made tentative plans to meet up with Jenny in Borneo and now, fifteenth of august at 11pm, we were on the way to the airport to collect her! KK annoyingly has two airport terminals which are quite some distance apart. It was only as the taxi sped to terminal 1 we realised we didn't know which one Jen was due to land at. Excited we waited at the arrivals gate, crossed our fingers that we were at the right place and thankfully...Jenny came strolling through the glass doors looking glamourous as ever even after her 24hr + flight. Hugs and kisses and chatting over homemade cocktails until 4am commenced, it was so wonderful to see each other after such a long while.

With our new traveling partner feeling energized after a good sleep we strolled about the rather empty streets of KK, sourcing BBQ supplies to take to the nearby Tunku Abdul Rahman Islands, where we planned to camp. The fresh market was where all the action was crowds of people trading a plentiful array of fruit, vegetables and fish, which was all very beautifully displayed. Jen and I made our selections and munched some delicious rambutan to make up for the disappointing and decidedly dodgy soup we accidentally ordered for breakfast.

The tent had suffered an injury on it's last outing, and when we by chance bumped into Ali and Caren in a pharmacy (as you do) they gave us some tent poles which they had recently acquired, also very coincidentally. This good fortune meant that on arrival at Mamutik Island we set about fixing the damaged pole. With immense skill and practical ingenuity Jen and I mended the tent and proudly erected it.

Mamutik is a small island with one simple cafe and a pretty stretch of beach along one side. We arrived at 4pm to the sight of boat loads of day-trippers departing, the time between 4pm and 10am would become our favourite time on this island as we then had it practically to ourselves. Deciding where to position our tents was tricky but eventually we found a shaded spot in view of the beach with a BBQ pit beside us and got sorted.

The meal we concocted that evening was spectacular. Six baked potatoes, five Sardines, some leafy green veggies, a huge tuna...and a partridge in a pear tree! hehe. We ate by candlelight looking across our deserted golden shoreline to the sparkling lights of Kota Kinabalu on the horizon. That's the unusual thing about these islands, they are only 15 minutes speedboat ride from the capital city of Sabah, which explains the high volume of day visitors and the proximity of the city skyline to our beautiful beach.

As usual tent living means early to bed early to rise and the next day we were up before the sun. This meant that we saw an absolutely fantastic sunrise, lighting the craggy granite peaks of Mt Kinabalu in all shades of pink and orange. It was a beautiful first sight of the day. By 9am it was shrouded in cloud, so the hoards of tourists who descended on our peaceful oasis at 10am missed the glorious view.

We went for a brief snorkel after breakfast but the crowds of Chinese tourists all learning to snorkel had taken over the waters and their fish feeding had encouraged the fish to nip at you which was rather irritating. We escaped from the now busy beach and went walking along the jungley path to the other side of the island, where it was lovely and secluded. Here we spotted some huge monitor lizards, one over 2 metres long wallowing in the rubbish pile, and went snorkeling off the rocks where the fish were friendlier. Jen sunned herself while Lewi and I went for a longer snorkel around the headland. She laughed when I came gasping from the water yelping that I'd seen not one but two sharks! I was rather scared and yet thrilled at the same time, the two black tip reef sharks were very small, probably babies but nonetheless it was my first shark sighting and I was now a little hyper.

We were all very hungry and our BBQ'd parcels of noodles and vegetables were eaten very fast. As we were about to move onto our pudding of Cadbury's chocolate it started to rain. The clouds that had been ominously gathering all afternoon now let loose their fury upon us. We sheltered under a canopy and watched as the curtain of rain enveloped everything and our visibility was reduced to a mere few metres. Rather concerned for our tents and how they would withstand this deluge we didn't notice that the canopy above us was slowly collapsing from the weight of water falling onto it. Just in time we spotted the sagging roof and ran to another safe spot. Three hours of solid rain fell, the canopy fell and our hope for the dryness of the tents fell too. But we should have had more faith, it was far from dry in Lewi's tent but by no means awash, and Jenny's was totally dry! However despite this relative success an uncomfortable night followed where Jen and I were crammed into her tent with all the damp smelly baggage, and Lewi was alone, cold and desolate in his soggy tent.

So we woke on the eighteenth of august to watch another beautiful sunrise as we hung our damp belongings to dry in the already powerful heat of the sun. Then began my birthday proper; balloons, presents and lots of cards while sat in the intense sunshine on a Bornean beach. What more could you want?! It was idyllic, we swam from our quiet morning beach and then took a boat to neighbouring Manukan island.

Less tourists and a relaxed vibe fitted the birthday bill. We wandered along the rocky coast, climbed 'our' tree and then had a delicious lunch at the upmarket resort. A burger and a bottle of wine courtesy of Jenny was a special treat and I spaced my presents throughout the day so I felt as though I was constantly opening gifts. It was a lovely lovely day, finished off with vodka cocktails, music and a delicious bottle of red wine from Lewi, which we slurped from the safety of a tarpaulin shelter as the rain came again.

We spent another two days in this beautiful place and fell into an island routine. We would wake up for sunrise, take an outdoor shower looking out to sea, discuss life and catch up on all the events of each others lives in the past 10 months, swim, snorkel, spot sharks and escape to the opposite coast when the tour groups descended upon us. It was great, and the dramatic nightly rainstorms just heightened the sense of tropical adventure.

It was almost time for the second reunion of the week but a certain lack of organisation meant we had no idea where to meet Durks, who was flying in from Taiwan where he's been working. By sheer coincidence while we walked the rainy streets of KK checking emails and bus stations in hope of re-establishing contact, Lewi and Durks practically collided with each other outside McDonalds. So, with more than a little luck we were all together, and went for an excellent welcome dinner at the highly recommended Philippino market whose BBQ was as good as they say.

That evening we set about exploring the bar scene in KK. BB's bar was set in a quirky outdoor courtyard, but thankfully it was covered (still raining), where we were serenaded by lung busting ballad singers as we drank our drinks, and played drinking games.

The bars of KK seemed lively and drinks were strangely cheaper than in the shops, however finding a good club was a more difficult affair. Some back routes were taken in the search, where we came across quite an intimidating group of homeless people who appeared to be living in a wheelie bin. This experience reinforced my thoughts that although KK seems to be a thriving city, there are still clearly some elements of the community where poverty and unemployment have a big effect. We also detected quite a large discrimination against Philippino immigrants, a lot of people seem to resent, dislike, and blame them for taking 'their' jobs. All is not well in paradise.

After much searching we chanced upon 'Bed' club where the music was good and got increasingly better as the night progressed. We all danced and were generally merry, it felt funny to be out clubbing with our friends again, something we used to do regularly but not in these past ten months. The drinks were very expensive though and at about 3am we called it a night and ambled back to Xplorer's under a clear sky (for a change). It felt so brilliant to have Jenny and Durks out here with us...let the journey go on!!

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Photos

The aftermath of The Big Storm
clothes hanging all around to dry and the collapsed canopy