Arriving in Kota Kinabulu, Borneo

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We took a two and a half hour direct flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to the city of Kota Kinabulu, in Saba province, Borneo, it being the nearest fly in destination to a number of places we planned to visit in this part of the country.

We spent three nights in the seaside city of Kota Kinabulu, arriving on Friday afternoon, then using much of the next day to plan the first segment of our time in Borneo. This is often the case when we first arrive in a new country or region. We have a big picture idea of where we want to go, but we don't plan the details until we arrive in the area, and we have discovered a couple of patterns which consistently prove to be true. One of those discoveries is that long distance travel days are always exhausting, and invariably require a follow up rest day. This is true even if we are taking a mere two and a half hour flight, because that short haul flight typically requires an hour of travel to the airport, three hours checking in and waiting for your flight at the airport, and often another hour travel to your hotel from the airport. The other discovery was that every time we arrive in a new location, it always takes two to three days to adjust to the new area: that is, to get familiar with the new environment and begin to appreciate it.

Once settled in our hotel, we found ourselves a great restaurant where many locals were lined up for a table. We ate a great meal, then called it a day, and spent most of the next day putting together our travel plans for the northeastern segment of our visit to Borneo, which would take us soon to the world famous Sipelok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre (SORC), the Labuk Bay Probiscus Monkey Reserve, the Rainforest Discovery Centre, and the Borneo Sun Bear Conservation Centre. All of these points of interest would necessitate a seven hour bus ride to the city of Sandakan on Sunday morning, so that we could get all of them in before heading into the jungle on Tuesday for four days of river cruises and hikes, after which we would be returning to Kota Kinabulu to take an old school steam engine ride before leaving the province of Saba and heading into northwest Borneo to check out its World Heritage caves and limestone spire land formations.

We celebrated Stan's birthday eating some phenomenal Chinese food - a seafood hot pot and stir-fried veggies, complimented by a big Tiger Beer - at the street restaurant which we came across the the first night we arrived, where the incredibly friendly staff immediately remembered us and all came to our table to serve us once more. This is one of the many reasons we keep returning to Asia!

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Photos

Marlin by the Seaside
This statue graced the seaside esplanade, where a number of seafood market stalls and restaurants could be found.

Parking Enforcement
Asians - and Asian women in particular - do not like the sun, and often go to great lengths to protect their skin from its rays, as exemplified by this lady giving out parking tickets. This was not a uniform requirement, but her personal choice, as we saw other meter maids that dressed far more casually.

Friendly Service With a Smile
Although only one of these three could speak English, they all made us feel instantly welcome he moment we stepped into their restaurant, and by the time we paid them a second visit, we felt we had met some new friends.

Happy Birthday Stan!
Bon appetit!