Sutera Harbour Resort, Kota Kinabalu, Borneo

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December 10th 2013

Published: December 11th 2013

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Haircut in Kaohsiung

Before your haircut, they wash your hair, give you a 15 minute scalp massage, then the haircut, then another wash with mini massage, and finally a styling. Takes an hour and costs about $20

More on Life in Kaohsiung. We enjoy the haircuts. $600 NT or $20 gets you a shampoo followed by a 15-20 minute scalp massage, then a cut, another shampoo with a mini massage, and finally styling. The whole process takes an hour and makes you feel like a hundred bucks. Or, you can opt for a $100NT or $3 quick cut at the Carrefour Malls.

Our scooters get 85 miles a gallon in the city, costs $8 for an oil change every 1000K without an appointment and done in 15 minutes.

Local Health Care: 3 levels of health care (regular -100 -150NT or $5 to see a doctor ), public ( slightly better - 500NT or $16), and then VIP (English treatment, then we pay $1000NT or $33 CAD). We thought we would get to know the procedures, get registered and meet a doctor before we encountered an emergency. In the VIP Offices, they have leather covered sofas in beautifully decorated surroundings, hot tea, television, and magazines for you while you wait. VIP's have the very latest in technology, hospital equipment, and specialists in all disciplines are available immediately, in English of course. Turns out the Kaohsiung Medical University

Scooter Repair Shop

We get 85mpg, $8 engine and gear oil change every 1000 K, done in 15 minutes without an appointment, doesn't get any better than that!

Hospital is about an 8 minute scooter ride from our apartment. Our doctor's children attend Kaohsiung American School. Our doctor is the director of VIP International Services at the KMU Hospital as well as the Head of Surgery. We think we are in good hands. He trained in both the UK and the US, and his English skills are excellent.

Maurice has been subbing more and more, and is now being requested... often. He maintains good classroom control and seems to keep the students on task and interested. He has subbed for the ELL, English Language Learning teacher, teaching from little Grade 1's to Grade 6. Then, he filled in for or the Arts and Japanese teacher. Wow, how does a Canadian end up in a Taiwanese school teaching Japanese? It was a challenge to say the least. Maurice has now subbed for High School pre-calculus, math chemistry as well as Middle School science. His latest assignment was subbing for the Middle School PE. They don't play hockey here! Quite a range.....his favorite was the 4 little grade 1 girls who explained to him that they had to have 3 pages of homework, and they had to circle the

Hospital Waiting Lounge

For an extra $20 per visit, we get VIP treatment. That means service: 1st class, in English at the very best facility in Taiwan. They have all the latest technology, education and equipment. They offer hot tea and more while you wait.

page numbers at the bottom like this!

November 29, 2014 or here in Taiwan November 29, 102

In China and here, it is not 2014, it is the year 102, marked by the years since the end of the Ming Dynasty. All our bills come dated this way.

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia (Near the Equator)

We had a 4 day weekend to celebrate American Thanksgiving. 10 of us decided to visit Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo. Several of the group had been to this resort before because the 2013 EAERCOS conference was held here and the 2015 conference is also scheduled to return. We gathered at the airport around 5PM Wednesday evening, and boarded a plane headed for Hong Kong. We were booked into the Marriott Sky City Airport hotel to spend the night. By over-nighting in HK, we were able to catch an early morning flight and landed in Borneo at 11AM after a 2 and a half hour flight south.

Kota Kinabalu is located in Sabah, Borneo. It is straight South of Hong Kong, and Southwest of the Philippines, quite close to the equator. It was therefore hot when we arrived. We had

School Construction

They are now pouring cement. There were 5 cement trucks there at one time today, with more coming and going.

checked the annual weather report. Because of it's proximity to the equator, the summer highs average 31 and the winter averages 30, night temperature is 23 summer, and 22 winter. In other words, the weather does not fluctuate much, it is always hot and muggy. That's why they have the busy downtown sidewalks covered by canopies. It is just TOO hot to walk in the sun.

Kota Kinabalu is one of the major industrial and commercial centers of East Malaysia as well as a major fishing destination and a popular gateway for travelers visiting Sabah and Borneo. Because of the very heavy fighting between the Japanese and the Allies in WW2, there are no historical building whatsoever. After being bombed by the Japanese to wrestle control from the British, then again by the Allies in 1945, the city was left with only 3 buildings standing. Today, it is a metropolis of about 650,000 people, and is the fastest growing city in Malaysia.

We arrived at the resort, checked in and headed straight for the pool restaurant. The resort is surrounded by a 27 hole signature golf course on one side and the South China Sea on the other.

Sutera Harbour Resort, Kota Kinabalu, Borneo

The pool by the ocean

This resort challenges any we have ever seen for beauty. It shares the Sutera Harbour and Marina with it's sister hotel, the Sutera Magellan. We had use of both hotels' restaurants and pools. We spent the afternoon getting acclimatized by the pool and enjoying "Happy Hour", relaxing and reading. 6 of us headed for supper to the "Al Fresco" restaurant and then retired for the night. Friday dawned clear and sunny after the previous night's rain. After our buffet breakfast, we again lounged by the pool, but also made arrangements to hit the golf course at 3PM for "twilight golfing". However, the clouds rolled in and it began to rain around 2PM, just time for a nap. Then, around 3PM, the rain let up so Claire and Maurice decided to try the course, their collared shirts got them on the course. They rented clubs, were outfitted with a cart, and were ready to tee off by 4PM. Both Claire and Maurice are infrequent golfers averaging maybe a round a year. They were able to enjoy the afternoon while marveling at the shots that succeeded. By the 5th hole, they started to wonder if a dozen golf balls was going to

The Marina at the Sutera Resort

That's our resort in the background.

be sufficient. After that, they seemed to be able to avoid the ponds and the ocean. Maurice missed a 5 foot putt for par on the 8th, but redeemed himself by parring the 9th! They were able to get their 9 holes in comfortably, and returned clubs and cart just as the sun was setting.

That morning, a card had been deposited under everyone's door inviting all hotel guests to the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony being held next door in the Sutera Magellan lobby. The 10 of us met in the lobby of our hotel at 6:30, and walked around the marina to the Magellan. When we arrived, we were greeted by tuxedoed waiters carrying trays of wines and various cocktails. Drinks and a huge array of hors d' oeuvres were being offered to all guests, compliments of the resorts. Music played in the background as several hundred people sampled all the various delicacies and drinks. Around 8PM, the general manager thanked us, the Sutera guests for attending, and explained that Sutera was involved in a lot of charitable works in the Sabah area, especially with orphanages. After playing a clip of Jackie Evancho, the 10 year old

Downtown Boardwalk

We walked a couple of miles to get some exercise and do some shopping downtown.

soprano wonder, singing a very touching Christmas carol, the tree lit up and a group of orphan children from rural Sabah sang Christmas carols as we all lit our small handheld candles from one another. It was an extremely touching ceremony, after which the Manager once again thanked us and asked if we could provide donations. All the money raised was to be used to buy the orphans Christmas gifts. After such an extravagant feast, it was the least we could do to show our appreciation and admiration for what the resort was doing.

Saturday, Jenn, Lin, Tai and Claire decided to remain at the hotel while Les, Linda, Amy, and Kevin headed out to the mountains for white water rafting. Linda and I chose instead to take a ride on the historic "North Borneo Railway", an old authentic wood fired steam train that travels about 45K out into the country and back. The train only runs on Wednesdays and Saturdays and so we felt fortunate to be able to learn and relive a bit of that area's history. After our breakfast, we were bussed to the train station where we were greeted and given a "Passport" in which

Golf Course View, 7th floor

At the heart of this complex lies Sutera Harbour Marina Golf & Country Club, incorporating the 27-hole Graham Marsh-designed golf course, a 104-berth marina, internationally renowned Mandara Spa and a host of recreational facilities.

to record our travels along the railway. We were shown to our dining car and were served coffee and croissants as the train pulled out of the station. We slowly rolled out of Kota Kinabalu into the countryside where the poverty of the area was soon apparent. Dwellings constructed of tin roofs and scrap boards provides shelter for the inhabitants, and garbage was everywhere. We soon passed through a village, and the porter came along and stamped our passport. The passport contained a history of the area and the railroad as well as a map so we could track our progress. About an hour after leaving, the train stopped in a village where we were able to disembark and stroll through the town market. It was very hot and humid out, and we appreciated the shade provided by the awnings covering the sidewalk in front of the shops displaying various local handicrafts. We were soon back on the train to our final destination Papar, where we once again disembarked, strolled around a park and through a permanent market before returning to the station and watching the locomotive switch to the other end of the train for the return trip. Once

Golfing, November 29, 2013

Nice! Fore!!! November, Borneo, Golf....what more can I say. Just enjoying the moment.

on board and under way, we were served an elaborate traditional hot meal which we enjoyed while watching the countryside slide by. We found it very pleasant in the rail-car with the window open and the breeze coming through. We were even able to smell a bit of woodsmoke coming from the engine, though it was not overpowering. We arrived back at KK around 3PM, and were bussed back to the resort in time to once again enjoy Happy Hour. Saturday night, we again gathered at the "Al Fresco" for our final evening meal. We appreciated the ocean breeze, the fine food and the live band playing 70's music in the background. And then, we slowly meandered back to our hotel, strolling along the Marina boardwalk admiring the lights glistening off the still water and the yachts.

Sunday morning, we ate our buffet breakfast out on the balcony of the restaurant, and sipped our coffee while reading the local paper, listening to the birds singing and watching the occasional boat pull out of the marina. We packed up, checked out and headed for the airport to catch our 11AM flight back to Kaohsiung. We arrived at our apartment Sunday

Claire Ellis Teeing Off

Claire and I had a great time because our golfing skills match.

evening around 7, rested and relaxed and prepared for another week at school. Maurice had been called to sub on Monday, so we had to be up and at-em on Monday morning!

Paradise, if only for a 4 day long week-end.

The following Saturday, Ponn and Lena invited us to join them for a day in Taitung where they were running a marathon. We boarded the local train at 9AM and arrived in Taitung on the Pacific side of Taiwan around 11AM. The marathon starting area was right in front of the train station. The girls registered, and we hung out while the organizers prepared the crowd for the 2PM start. They had booths and a stage set up, the music was playing, and we all danced "Gangnam Style". We saw the girls off on their 10K run at 2PM, and then headed up the street to see what we could find in Jinlun, which is a small town just outside the city of Taitung. We walked the streets looking for a little cafe where we could find some snacks and enjoy a cold beer. After walking 5 or 6 blocks, we passed by a location that had

Very Pretty Course

We only golfed 9 out of the 27 hole Graham Marsh designed course.

several tables in it, and a group of 7 or 8 people sitting around visiting. One of the gentlemen noticed us, and came to the sidewalk and in his broken English, invited us in for a beer. Naturally, we obliged and were soon seated with a Taiwan Gold in front of us. The group of men turned out to be retired army soldiers enjoying the stories of old along with a few of their women. After a few minutes, the host jumped up and disappeared into the back. He returned a minute later with a bowl filled with canned pork hacks, which Maurice devoured. Soon he was back in the kitchen again, returning this time with garlic pickled duck! Both went good with beer. He then brought us a one liter bottle of Kirin, a Japanese beer. He insisted all of this was free. Soon another Taiwanese couple wandered in, and by that time we had the iPad out and were showing pictures of Canada. First thing we knew, an hour had flown by, and we had to rush off to be at the finish line when the girls arrived. We placed some cash on the table, and left. To

Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

We were fortunate to be able to attend the annual event. We were treated to an evening of free drinks and hors d" ouevres, watched the tree lighting, and enjoyed the Orphanage's musical presentation.

this day, we are not sure if this was a restaurant. We think it was just someone's home that we got invited into. The Taiwanese are extremely friendly and welcoming.

We made it back in time to take Pon and Lena's pictures as they crossed the finish line. Pon was the first to finish She was excited to have been able to finish ahead of Lena, who is a regular marathon runner. The girls caught their breath, ate oranges, drank water, and had their photos taken. They gathered their stuff and we climbed into a cab for a short ride part way up the the mountain to a hot spring pool. The complex was open sided and consisted of 4 pools under a roof. There were change rooms with showers as well as private baths for those who didn't want to soak in the big public pools. There was a regular 20 X 40 regular pool, then one with mineral water at 41 degrees, a third with mineral water at 44 degrees and one was empty. We soaked for an hour, then grabbed a poolside table to share our snacks. The people at the next table insisted we try

Sutera"s Charitable Work

All donations at the end of the evening go to purchase Christmas presents for the children that fill the orphanages.

some of their food. That's what the people are like, even if they don't speak a word of English, they still welcome you and attempt to interact. They tell their small children to say "Hello" to us all the time. We shared our cashews with them. They practiced their 3-5 words of English and we practice our 3-5 words of Chinese.

It was soon time to get back to the train for the ride home. The girls stopped at 7-11 to grab some food and a few hours later, we were back in Kaohsuing. We scootered back at the apartment around 10PM after a very interesting and fun day.

Additional photos below

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