Sabah Tea Plantation & Fish Spa

SABAH TEA GARDENS AND FISH `SPA` - 24^th July

I think we managed to sleep four hours between the two of us last night mainly because Pat felt sick and I shared his pain ! I`m being a bit mean there because I was getting a bit anxious about creepy crawlies falling through the cracks in the ceiling , walls and floor ( house made of wood)Then at about 3 am the dogs outside started barking like mad ...however , it could just have been the effect of the `bad trip` bedsheets ( with `love` written on them ) - optimistic I`d say !

However , a new day dawned and I had a great breakfast of fried egg , toast and sausage at the local cafe. Pat still couldn`t manage any more than a weak tea poor soul. We then met up with Jaylise our nice taxi man who was driving us around today as there`s no public transport here. We are paying the equivalent of 25euros for two which is pretty darned good value.

First of all we realized we had run out of money and had to return to Ranau ( 14 kms away) to get some . He thought we should do this first because sometimes the distributors run out of money on Sundays.At the same time he drove us to the public bus depot about transport to Tenom ..our next stop . Our plan is to go to a `gardens` there , and then somehow get to Beaufort (Borneo , not France) and then catch a train through the jungle ! So , he got that organized OK -he has great organizational skills ! Incidentally he is smaller than me and just as bossy!

The countryside is gorgeous , giant ferns , giant bamboo, giant leaves ..obviously all the giant stuff got allotted to the vegetation and not to Jaylise. Anyway off we drove to the Sabah Tea Gardens which is a tea plantation that doesn't use insecticides . It`s a beautiful place and there weren't many people because it is Sunday and there were no tours of the factory ( a bit of a pity BUT on the bright side , no crowds) A group of Malaysian girls queued up to have their pictures taken with us ...instead of saying `cheese` we all shouted `tea!`. We then went up to another memorial for an Australian soldier who had been shot by the Japanese there – haven't seen many Japanese in Borneo at all .

He then drove us to a `fish spa` - We thought this was going to be a European style spa but no , it was much better. You buy a ticket and wait until your number comes up , like queuing for the butcher at Carrefour.We were all shapes and sizes and all religions tho` Pat and I were the only Europeans which made us the focal point of many cameras. When we were called ( in English for us )which was a nice touch)

we went down in the river with little bags of fish food, You threw this around you and within seconds hundreds of fish ,BIG FISH, zoomed in and started eating both the fish food and your dead skin, bunions , athletes foot etc you name it they ate it. It felt HORRIBLE but after a while you started to get used to it and our feet were as smooth as smooth afterwords ( tho` I won't be eating fish from these parts)

We then crossed yet another suspension bridge over the river and watched everyone laughing and laughing as their feet got nibbled!

Jaylis then drove us back `the long way home` to show us the countryside , stilt houses and fruit such as coconuts,bananas,mangoes, dorian, pineapples , paddy fields , coco nuts (for chocolate) We also met his grandchildren who were very well behaved . Pat then had a siesta `cos he was still feeling fragile and afterwards we went to a waterfall and also around some spooky gardens. I was nervous about snakes , coconuts (falling ) and a lonesome orangutan that's been spotted up to no good. It was also getting dark so when Paddy suggested going to some bat caves I said NO WAY HOSE EH! We then went to an internet cafe managed by a seven year old world of war craft addict. He could barely take his eyes off the screen to show us which computer to use ..in fact he didn't , he just pointed ( with his thumb as it`s rude to point with your forefinger here – the equivalent of flicking a V sign ..)

We have just learned that Amy Winehouse has died which is a shock though not really. What a waste .

We are now back in our Technicoloured abode – we've had showers – more of a challenge than at 71 ,Locks Rd ! We`re on the move again tomorrow but we've got the packing down to a fine art now -ready for a good sleep!