Kickin' it in Kota Kinabalu

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I'll admit that before we booked the tickets to Kota Kinabalu, I really had no idea where Borneo was. I also thought that Borneo was its own country. Well...it turns out that Borneo is an island with a country and parts of two other countries. KK is the capital of Sabah, which is a semi-autonomous state of Malaysia. After pristine, modern Singapore, it was a nice change to spend a few days in gritty, relaxed Kota Kinabalu.

Our first welcome to the island was the budget terminal of the KK airport. We stepped off the plane and had to walk across the tarmac for about five minutes before being herded into a building that was essentially a warehouse. We purchased a taxi voucher and got into the most ridiculous cab ever. The entire vehicle was blinged out to the max. Fake crystals dangled from the rear-view mirror, the stereo, the seat backs - plastic rhinestones were glued to just about every other surface. Chris and I had barely stopped staring in amazement at the decorations when we got dropped off at the super swanky Le Meridien.

I'm not one for spending a lot of money on nice hotels, but I got a great deal and figured it'd be nice to stay in a 5-star hotel on our honeymoon. We had a great view of the South China Sea, and there was a great pool (with delicious drinks!) We didn't spend much time in the room, though, since I had booked some tours for us. (Ed.: Her idea of staying at fancy hotels essentially means "stay in them as little as possible.")

We spent an afternoon in the Klias wetlands on a boat looking for monkeys. In addition to being absolutely hideous-looking (seriously - go Google them now), the proboscis monkeys are only found on the island of Borneo. We cruised the river looking for these rare monkeys and managed to find a few groups of them. We saw several other types of monkeys and some lizards and poisonous fruit. We also learned a very important lesson on this boat: monkey-spotting will not be a future hobby for us. Not only are we terrible at it, but it's pretty boring.

After a dinner of traditional Malaysian food (yup, you guessed it, chicken and rice.) we piled back in the boat and went out to look for fireflies. Chris and I weren't nearly as impressed as everyone else since we had grown up with fireflies in the backyard. The Aussies and Brits, though, were in awe. Granted, they were pretty cool because they were a different species of firefly. They gathered in massive groups in trees and blinked very quickly, making it look like someone had strung up Christmas lights in the jungle. Again, we quickly realized that searching for insects in the dark is not all that much fun. (Ed.: I was basically falling asleep at this point, and only roused myself when someone mentioned there was a crocodile in the water.)

After promising Chris that I would never make him sit through a wildlife river cruise again, we got up early the next morning to go rafting. Somehow we lucked out and got a private rafting experience. Just the two of us...and our ridiculous guide, Jack. We drove over an hour to a river, put on some ill-fitting life jackets and helmets and got into a little red raft. (Ed.: Kate forgets to mention that we had to sign a covenant not to sue/liability release form before they'd hand over the raft and life jackets. I don't even think it was written in English, and Jack basically said, "Sign, sign! I took out 6 people yesterday and came back with 5. Good odds!")

There weren't many rapids (Chris made me sign up for the beginning rafting instead of the much more exciting sounding advanced option...boo), but we still had a great time paddling and splashing the rafts full of Chinese tourists. After telling us about the snakes and crocodiles, Jack says, "Okay, now you swim!" So we jumped in the water and swam and body-surfed through baby rapids. We managed to escape with just a few bruises from the rocks at the bottom of the river, but I'll take that over a run-in with a croc any day. We had some more traditional Malaysian food for lunch (this time, it was hot dogs, rice, and fish with giant, scary teeth) and headed back to Kota Kinabalu.

While trying to find a place for dinner, we came across something I didn't even know existed anymore: a Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurant. Turns out the chain went bust in America, but it is still alive and kicking in Asia. We had mediocre macaroni and cheese, but they served it with a muffin on the side, which made up for a lot. The walls were lined with photos of Kenny Rogers himself, as well as some of him with Dolly Parton. We grabbed some of the strangest crêpes ever (they were crunchy and Chris' had chocolate powder and cheese! ew!) and set off to expore the night market.

We only had two short days in Malaysian Borneo, so unfortunately there wasn't enough time to see the orang-utans or the sea turtles. This means a return trip is definitely required at some point.

We got a taxi back to the warehouse/airport, had a quick lunch of chicken rice (of course) at KFC and jumped on a plane for the 20 minute flight to Brunei.

(Final update from Chris: The Air Force finally told us where I'm going next. Well, first off, it's Afghanistan for six months, and provided that goes well, by the end of July, Kate and I should be moving to Dayton, Ohio. She's absolutely thrilled to be moving back to the state she thought she escaped forever only a short time ago! But I'm excited, since it's actually close to family, friends, and Wal-Mart.)

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Comments

[Chris]

Scary Fish/BIG TEETH
Hi Kate and Chris, Again, I enjoyed your Blog and the photos. It looks like you're having an Amazing time & more Adventures! Glad YOU had to eat/look at That FISH and Not ME!! No Way I'd let that thing near me....even if he was Cooked!! Funny how some "taste of home" [Kenny Rogers] is a Welcome Sight when you're Far Away...Same CRAPPY food though!! Enjoy your time away from Ohio! Nice that you'll be back in "The area" sometime relatively soon....bet your parents are Thrilled.....NOT SURE YOU WILL BE THOUGH KATE!!! Take Care! Chris

[Karin aka:Mom]

Love the picture with the orange life vests. You're so brave or crazy. Which is it?

[Aunt Marie]

You seem to be having lots of fun. Keep it up and enjoy each other as much as you can. Enjoyed the pictures Love you -aunt marie