Planning Travel in Borneo

Tuesday, May 20, 2009--Kota Kinabalu

I slept from 21:00 until 8:30 this morning! I guess it is a combination of the heat, my diet, and the time change that is making me tired. To be able to sleep, however, I had to use earplugs. It sounds as if there are no police on duty downtown during the night. Car drivers, who are so often in traffic jams during the daytime, seem to want to drag race down the streets all night long!

I feel so much better after getting my hair cut yesterday. I look better, too. I no longer have those hairs curling around at the back of my neck and tickling my ears!!

I went to the Tourist Office and made travel plans for the next few days. I adjusted what I had originally intended to do because of the upcoming 2-day Harvest Festival Holidays (May 30-31). Instead of going far away to Sandakan which is known for its Orang-Utan sanctuary (among with caves and with diving that do not interest me), I have decided to go to a nearby national park for two days and then return for the Harvest Festival. I have seen Orang-Utans in zoos, and I began to think about it; a sanctuary wouldn't be like seeing them in the wild. It just wasn't worth an 8-hour bus trip (each way) to go there.

I went to a Chinese restaurant recommended by the owner of my hotel. I had sweet and sour pork with rice and Chinese tea. A couple of the pieces of pork were boney, but 2/3 of it was boneless and delicious!

In the evening, I walked to the pier where the boats leave for the nearby islands which are part of a national park. Then I walked along the seawall where there is a sunset view. I found another mall being built! Guess that means more failure at the 4-5 malls that already exist in this city of only about 400,000 people!

Wednesday, May 27--Kota Kinabalu to Mt. Kinabalu National Park

I rushed to leave the hotel this morning. The tourist office had told me where to catch the bus I needed, but they had neglected to tell me there were only 2 buses per day. In reading my guidebook last night, I realized that I had to leave at 8:00 or 12:30; well, the latter would be too late.

I packed my backpack with supplies for two days and put everything else in my suitcase to leave at the hotel. As I rushed out of the hotel, I discovered two blocks away that I had left my pocket cash in my dirty pants in the suitcase. I rushed back. The lady at the hotel wanted to call me a taxi, but I refused. Rushing, I made it to the bus stop about 8 blocks away at 7:56! Later, I realized that in the rush I forgot to switch my flashlight and a snack bar to my backpack in case I needed them. Oh, well.

The trip into the mountains was wonderful. It's two hours from KK to the national park. At first, we traveled along the coast and saw much nicer parts of KK, including the university here, than the area downtown where I have been. Then we twisted and winded up mountain roads. A few other tourists--two French people and two native English speakers--were on the bus. The rest of the passengers were natives.

The driver left us tourists off at the entrance to the park. I had picked up a brochure at the tourist office for a place that sounded new. It was not in my guidebook. The lady at my hotel had telephoned and made a reservation for me. The bus driver and attendant knew nothing about a place with that name. It was supposed to be about 1 km south of the entrance to the park, so I walked looking for it. When I was sure I had gone more than 1 km, I stopped at a nice looking place and asked about the place I wanted. No one new there knew it, and they told me I was already 2 km from the park entrance. They showed me a room they had and gave me their rate (about 86 ringgets). I told them I would consider coming back, but I felt I should try to find the other place due to my reservation there. I walked back toward the park. I asked 2-3 places along the way. No one knew it. When I got to the park, a man at a restaurant told me it was beside the car wash just around the curve and pointed back int he direction from which I had come. I walked back again. When I got there, it was a shack. The room was depressing with a horrible looking mattress on the bed. I told the man that I thought I would go elsewhere. I started walking back toward the better place I had seen. But there was a nice place about 1.5 km from the park, so I looked there. It was only 73.50 ringgets and was just as nice as, if not nicer than, the other place. So I checked in there.

The name of my place is the Fairy Garden Resort. My room is big with clean, beautiful, wooden floors. There is a TV, but all the places here have only local TV. The best feature is a balcony overlooking layers of green mountains.

One thing that sold me on this hotel was the restaurant. It smelled so good and was filled with a busload of people when I checked in. After putting my things in the room, I went down for lunch and had one of the best meals I have had since arriving in Borneo--Dry Curry Chicken Rice. It was slices of white meat in a curry sauce with onions, garlic, and hot red peppers with a portion of rice on the side. I drank Chinese tea with the meal. (Chinese tea is very good and is much cheaper than any other drink. A hot glass of Chinese tea costs about 6 cents U.S., whereas canned soft drinks and bottles of water cost about 60-75 cents U.S.)

Being tired and knowing that I had the next day to see the park, I sat on the balcony and read from my book for a while. That was a wise decision, because soon clouds appeared and it began to rain. I was nodding by then, anyway, so I went inside for a deep sleep--my first nap which I hope won't cause me to want one every day.

In the evening, I went back downstairs to the restaurant and ate Roasted Chicken Rice. It was a quarter of a chicken which had been roasted and then maybe fried to give it a crispy exterior. It had been chopped into several pieces with the bones still there. A brown sauce was poured over the top. Rice was on the side. It was another great meal.

Thursday, May 28, 2009--Kinabalu National Park

It was sunny when I got up this morning. I had a great view of the scraggly-toothed top of Mt. Kinabalu and got a photo. I'm so glad I did, because soon clouds were hovering around the top and remained there for the rest of the day.

Again, I faced the fact that foreigners must pay more than locals in Malaysia now. The admission charge for me was 5 times that for Malaysian citizens. Since I was here, I paid the price, but I have decided there is no need to visit Malaysia again considering this policy which I find objectionable.

After viewing exhibits relating to the history of the park and the natural resources found within the park, I spent 2 hours hiking trails. They were a bit sloppy from the rain from the night before. It wasn't bad, though. In most areas, the water had run off or had soaked enough for the ground to be only spongy. There were a few areas with standing water, however, that made me have to be creative in finding ways down the path without getting my shoes wet. Because I was in the mountains, the temperatures were nice. There was lush, green growth everywhere, water dripping everywhere, insects and butterflies everywhere, and the smell of rotting greenery. During the entire 2 hours of hiking, I did not see anyone. I did see one fresh shoe print from someone who had also been on the trail earlier. My last trail was one that was steep. That one tired me out and caused me to breathe heavily and perspire. It also caused a couple of insects to fall in love with the smell of the gel on my hair. I got rid of the first one rather easily because of being on a level area and being able to run while waiving my hands around my head. The second one was more persistent, and I couldn't run because of the steepness of the trail.

I returned to the hotel around noon. I had seen enough of the park. I had another great lunch--this time beef with spring onions, ginger slices, and garlic served with rice.

It was good that I returned, for the clouds and the rain also returned. I sat on the balcony with the rain falling and read more from my book. Unfortunately, I became sleepy again and eventually went inside for another nap. It's becoming a habit!

For dinner, I returned to my favorite dish of the past two days--Dry Curry Chicken Rice. I have to use Google to see if I can find a recipe for that one!