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10 juillet 2011

DAY – NO IDEA! Thursday So here we are in Kota

DAY – NO IDEA! Thursday

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So here we are in Kota Kinabalu the capital of Sabah . The flight was great as it was Malaysian Airlines so we had food! On arrival we got our taxi and headed to the Pantai Hotel . Nice staff and the room is basic but clean and doesn`t smell of smoke. Free safe deposit and free internet access all for 20 euros per night – but not breakfast! Then we wandered to the pier to check out the boats for tomorrows visit to the islands off KK (Kota Kinabalu) It was full of people -Chinese,Malay and lots of women in veils ..the main religion is muslum .The women are really friendly and usually smile and say hello.We grabbed something to eat ..fish ,rice and vegetables from a stall and then went for a fruit juice (not the best I`ve tasted ) by the waterfront where we saw a HUGE lizard ,a monitor lizard , that looked like the Loch Ness Monster from where I was sitting ! Gruesome .Then we headed off to the tourist office.This took ages and it was so hot that I forced Paddy to go into any big shop en route for the AC . Finally we got there and got loads of info from a beautiful Malay girl called Renee ! Pat kept inventing reasons to talk to her but finally I managed to drag him away!Still we do have a detailed account of every train in the vicinity!

FRIDAY

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Well today was fantastic. We got up early and went down to the harbour to catch a boat to a small island off KK...There are five islands in all and it`s a national park- we decided to do two ,Pulau Manukan and Pulau Sapi .Anyway this boat driver had a VERY powerful engine and I have to say I wasn`t totally reassured BUT we got there ( wearing life jackets which I gripped hold of for dear life) The island was amazing -like out of a film with white white sands and lush vegetation. We snorkled there for about three hours before going off to the jetty to move on to another island. Sapi was smaller but had more coral so more fish.I don`t know how many varieties we saw but my faves were the parrot fish which look like I`d imagine the northern lights to be ..AMAZING. Luckily we had our UVBuster T shirts on so could stay out for ages ...I felt like a female Jaques Cousteau ..

My friend the Monitor Lizard seemed to have organised a party and there were loads of them wandering on the ground but not in the water ! They are SO strange – prehistoric looking.

Then we caught a boat back driven by the Mad Max of the seas ...even Patrick was nervous !

Tomorrow we`re going to try and do something away from the city centre as there`s a huge demonstration . If you wear a yellow T shirt you can be arrested as it means you a sympathise with the demonstrators... don`t like yellow T shirts anyway BUT think we`ll head off to the island for the day IN A PINK T-Shirt

Saturday KK 9th July

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Well ,another lovely day despite my worries about the demonstration- AND I do love to worry  !!We got up early and headed towards our favourite fruit seller ladies who cut us HUGE chunks of papaye ,water melon and pineapple to take with us. Then we got our boat ticket – just one island today, and then to our cup of coffee man on the harbour. We have very quickly established a kind of routine as you can see!!!The boat ride to the island was still as scary but when you get there you think it's worth it ( when you get over feeling sick)

 

 

We went snorkelling for a long time and saw the most beautiful fish some tiny ones are a luminous blue. I now have a new favorite,it's a shimmery opal one BUT the parrot fish remains high on the list....there are so many choices. We met a really nice young couple , from Kuala Lumpur who gave us some travel tips ,and we also took photos of a Chinese athlete on the beach who was giving a class ...he was very earnest about his work and body ...and what a body,obviously a man with a mega sized pot of oil too `cos he glistened under the rays of the sun that we were temporarily blinded!!!

 

We went for something to eat at a canteen type place where we met a really friendly young geography teacher teaching at an international school in Bali ! ( a job for Emma?)We decided to work off all the food and have a walk through a small jungle track ( only 3 km) Lots of lush vegetation,huge butterflies and lizards {small ones of lush vegetation, huge butterflies and lizards (small ones)but nothing else – then back for another long snorkel and on to the boat ….I really do not like that boat and the driver looked about the same age as the kids at school - 1st class after primary school !!!! Anyway I tried to distract myself by playing with a lovely little Malay baby called ….Gerard!

There were no signs of any demonstrations so I guess everyone decided to go to the beach. We saw lots of police before we left – always very friendly – I think they got paid for walking the streets. So back to the hotel and our friendly staff and a quick nap before going out to … yes, eat again. This time we went to the seafront where hundreds of tiny restaurants / cafe type places were preparing the most delicious looking fish. You chose the one you wanted and they cooked it in a banana leaf. Service was a bit slow BUT the wait was worth it as the food was delicious AND we had a chat with the lady at the same table who recommended the seaweed which was ,,, interesting !

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We diced with death trying to cross the roads back – they should really look at Singapore `s pedestrian crossings – in fact we should ALL look at Singapore`s respect for pedestrians!and back to the rainforest cafe for a fruit salad and a listened to the girls singing there .Not so good as they were doing rap ..and a girl doing Enimen with a Malay accent sound a bit odd!
 that`s all for  now ......

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