Days 78-80: Kota Kinabalu

After collecting our luggage in the small airport we got a taxi to our hotel which was on Jalan Gaya: a busy bustling road with loads of hostels, restaurants, cafes and banks. Kota Kinabalu is quite a small city, more like a town really, by the sea. I liked it because it had a lot of good Westen food (Finally!!). We basically spent the first day in our hostel as Marc wasn’t feeling too great. We ventured out for some lunch and asked a few tours agents regarding things to do in Sabah. We were quite overwhelmed with all the things there were to do: so many islands, white water rafting, jungle trekking, river jungle cruising, diving, watching turtles hatching, conservation centres, climbing the mountain…

One of the many Tailors that are lined across the outside of the fish market at night.

 

We spent the day discussing which ones we should do and in the evening we met a Swedish guy called Jim, whom we had previously met in Ipoh. We walked down to the Indonesian food market which was basically a massive fish and seafood food court by the sea. Marc and I enjoyed a delicious Sweet and Sour Red Snapper meal and we then went for some drinks at a nearby bar.

Fresh fish.

 

The following day Marc and I caught a ferry to one of the Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park islands. We were told that Sapa was the best for snorkelling so we decided to go there. On passing by Gaya, the biggest of the islands, you could see a completely floating town, stilted houses stacked one next to the other, hundreds of them in total. We were told this was an illegal Filipino area. It was quite shocking to see this and I hoped Sapa wouldn’t be the same.

Heron’s replace seagulls here in KK.

 

Well, it wasn’t full of illegal Filipinos and their houses, but it was full of Chinese in their life jackets and snorkelling gear. There were so many people on the beach and in the water, we were immediately put off and decided to take one of the nature trails in hope of finding a quiet and secluded beach. Next to one of the entrances to the trails we noticed a few massive monitor lizards which were just walking around cooly while tourists snapped photos of them. After about 20 minutes trekking through jungle we came across a small beach with just 3 other people on it: two Americans and one French guy. Although secluded, the beach was still quite dirty with lots of garbage washed up on the beach. After a swim and a chat with the other tourists, we climbed round the beach and over the rocks back to the jetty and headed back to KK. That evening we went for our monthly pizza fix, this time at none other than Pizza Hut.

 

The following day we went white water rafting. We almost crawled out of bed at 5 am as we were to be picked up at 5.30am. Ironically, getting to this river took much longer than actually rafting. After a two hour drive, we waited for 30 minutes at a train station and then caught the train by the river and through the jungle for another hour or so. The train was one of the bumpiest and hottest rides of my life. After changing train at a station in the middle of nowhere we caught another hotter and bumpier train ride to a village where we were briefed and got on a final even hotter and bumpier train ride to the starting point. We actually started rafting at around 11am.

Another rapid complete.

Going through the motions.

 

Rafting was quite fun. It was my third time rafting so I felt a bit more confident, however I was a bit nervous as it was my first time doing Level 4 rapids. And I had good reason to be, as our raft capsized at the very beginning of one of these level 4 rapids and I ended up under the raft unable to get out until it was turned back over by the guides. I body rafted down the rapid for about 30 seconds which felt like an eternity. With the water gushing over me it was actually really hard to breathe and I felt myself gasping for air. Eventually I noticed the raft a few metres behind me and turned over to try get it. I was pulled up by the guide and in the process I must have bashed my knee into a rock as it was bruised and hurting for a while aftewards. Both guides were back in the boat as well as two other girls. Another girl had drifted to the side and was holding on to a branch by the river bank. Marc and another guy were pulled further down the river, past the rapid we capsized in, into calm waters and back into another rapid until they we able to stop at a little sandy area on the bank. Luckily, none of them got hurt. It was quite a scary experience for me and the girls but Marc was captured on camera with a massive smile on his face as the boat was turning over. Capsizing was quite fun but I definitely don’t want to body raft through a level 4 rapid again.

 

Over we go!

I love the expressions!

Happy times.

After only 3 days in Sabah I felt like the real adventurous part of our holiday had begun. Climbing Mount Kinabalu proved to be even more of an adventure, and a very challenging one too. But I will tell you all about that soon 🙂

 

-Vanessa-

 

 

Days 69-77: Singapore

Lined with bunk beds and partitioned with curtains, our 15 hour sleeper train experience from Kota Bharu to Singapore was pretty amazing and I slept like a baby through most of the ride.

Marc has a cousin who lives in Sinagapore and although he had never actually met her before (she had been living there for around 25 years), she was kind enough to welcome us into her home while we were in Singapore. Although located close to the city centre, her house was set in a quiet and pretty residential area surrounded my trees. After settling into our room -which I have to admit felt so luxurious with its TV and ensuite after living in basic beach huts for two weeks- we got talking to Marcelle (Marc’s cousin). We found out that her husband works in the city and they have 3 children, two teenage girls and a boy.

Anyway, that day we stayed lazying around and settling in until around 6pm when we walked to the nearby town centre for a yummy Chinese meal and just a walk around the shops. The next day we were spoilt to an amazing bacon and egg sandwich. Being a primairly Muslim country it was almost impossible to find bacon in Malaysia so we devoured our sandwiches.

The Young’s residence, we had hot water!!!

We ended up staying in that day enjoying the luxury of strong wifi and a clean toilet. At about 6pm we decided to head down to the famous Marina Bay Sands to see what all the Singapore fuss is all about- and that is when I started to understand. Singapore is no ordinary Asian city. It is no ordinary city in general. Just riding the underground you can feel the cleanliess, the organisation and the multiculturalism. Not one chocolate wrapping paper on the floor, not one thing out of place. “The Shoppes” of Marina Bay Sands was the most unique shopping mall I’ve ever been to, with a pool like a river running through the centre with paddling boat rides that can take you from one area to another, ending in a little round pool surrounded by a cafe, all inside the complex! As soon as we stepped outside on the Helix Bridge I felt like I had stepped 100 years into the future. The city landscape was just fascinating. Beautifully lit up modern skyscrappers, colourful bridges, and other uniquely shaped modern structures all dominated the skyline. We spent about an hour just walking along the bridge, taking photos and just enjoying the view before heading back to the Shoppes for a quick bite and then home for an early night.

 

View of the high rises from Clarke’s Quay.

Massive Marina Sands shopping complex, you can fit the Titanic in here.

Millions of photos are taken every year from this location.

The tulip designed Museum on the bay.

Marina Bay, South side.

The ultra futuristic bridge that goes across the bay.

River front facing Raffles Hotel at Marina Bay.

Marina bay skyline close up.

The following day was supposed to be fun day: we were heading to Sentosa island- which is basically one giant theme park. The 7 year old in me was so excited, I couldn’t stop bouncing around as we caught the monorail over to the island. Although there were so many activies to do, we had decided that Ziplining and Surfing in a wave pool were our priorities. So as soon as we arrived we headed straight for the Zipline. Basically you climb a hill and then a small tower where you get strapped up to a seated harness hanging down from a cable, and before you even have time to get nervous, something pops and you are suddenly gliding down the cable over treetop canopies then over the beach and finally over the sea until you reach an islet where you start slowing down and land on a net. My first time ziplining and I’m sure it won’t be my last as it was quite an awesome experience!

 

Getting psyched up.

Last quarter.

View from the zip.

Feeling comfortable.

Off she goes!

After that we decided to head to the wavepool to try some surfing. I had expected a massive pool and everyone sort of doing their own thing at attempting to surf. Instead we found a small pool divided into two with a queue of people on each side watching the two people in the pool attempt to surf, only most of the time to fall down and go to the back of the queue to wait for a second attempt. We weren’t quite sure if it was worth the money so we decided to have some lunch at the restaurant in front of the pool while we decided if we were going to try it out or not. After we cheated our way into a 2 for 1 pizza (or as the Singaporeans call it 1 for 1) by putting on a complete act that we are residents of Singapore but haven’t received our work card yet- Marc said he was going to go closer to the pool to have a better look. Only he came back 2 minutes later practically hopping on one foot and when he sat down he showed me that he had stepped on a nail. It seemed wedged in pretty deep and after pulling at it for a while it finally came out slightly bent. It was about a centimetre long and completely rusty. To cut a long story short, that was the end of our fun day and we ended up at a clinic in Holland Village for a Tetanus shot.

 

That evening we had planned to meet some German people whom we had met at the Perhentians. After getting the tube and then ending up lost and wandering around the streets of the city for over an hour, we finally found the place we had to meet them at. We stayed at a funky bar just behind Arab street and afterwards walked through the street that was full of typical Arabic architecture, Arab souvenir shops, bars and cafes with shisha and at the end of the street a massive beautiful mosque.

 

Dust free MRT.

The following day we went wakeboarding (or in my case – wakefalling). Ski360 was located on a man made lagoon in the middle of a park. The lagoon basically had a cable that ran 360 degees around the lagoon and pulled wakeboarders around (therefore not really WAKEboarding but simply LAGOONboarding). It’s not as easy as it sounds. You wait on the side sitting down over the lagoon, holding on the cable which suddenly pulls you up and into the lagoon. I spent over an hour attempting to stand up only to fall face first into the water after about one second. My arms and legs were killing me the next day. On the plus side, I did serve as a form of entertainment to the onlookers who were probably placing bets on when and if I would manage to stand up and actually wakeboard. Marc, with his wakeboarding experience, found it easier than I did, but nonetheless he did fall in a couple of times too.

 

…..and then this.

Had to pose for one shot in this place of beauty.

Orchid orchids orchids.

One of many hybrids named after famous people.

Orchid bliss.

The chart.

Orchid hybrid lab.

On our 5th day in Singapore we visited the Botanic gardens that are famous for their cloning and collection of orchids. Very pretty but quite boring after a while, especially since – as usual- I had to stare at Marc taking a photo of each and every flower for almost two hours. After we went to Little India for some amazing Indian food. In the evening, we went for another amazing Indian meal with Marcelle, her husband Iain and a friend of theirs.

 

Men at work at one of the many restaurants found in Little India.

Waiting.

Side street in Little India.

Shoe time in Little India.

Little India.

On the 6th day we decided to head up to the chic bar/club on the roof of Marina Bay Sands. The view up there was spectacular and we went early enough to be able to see the transition from daylight through sunset to night time. We enjoyed some extremely overpriced drinks (around 15 euro per glass of wine and 12 euro per bottle of Corona) and chatted along to some British and American people sharing our table while enjoying the fascinating view of Singapore. After that we had a short walk around the futuristic and fascinatingly beautiful Gardens by the Bay.

 

Marina Bay night shot from Marina Sands Hotel.

Marina Bays 8pm light show.

Even more so with her glass of good wine.

She’s happy!

Marina Bay at sunset.

Our final day in Singapore was Sunday. Sunday, fun day. Although the weather had been cloudy and rainy throughout most of the week, Sunday was beautifully hot and sunny. So we spent the day relaxing by the pool, swimming and reading. Marc and I then cooked Aglio Olio for the family and some of their friends. We washed down our yummy Italian lunch with some delicious wine. Marc and I ended the day with a Singaporean Sling cocktail and a beer, this time on top of the highest building in Singapore- One Raffles Place.

 

Pool area from Marina Sands overlooking Marina Bay.

Gardens by the Bay, one of the many fascinating plant like structures.

Gardens by the Bay.

The tulip designed Museum on the bay.

Marina Bay, South side.

Millions of photos are taken every year from this location.

The ultra futuristic bridge that goes across the bay.

Monday was spent packing and preparing for our flight. Singapore is definitely the best city I have ever visited and I am sure I will go there again. Marcelle and her family couldn’t have been more lovely and hospitable and we look forward to hopefully seeing them again some time soon.

 

Singapore alive at night.

View of UOB financial base.

Light show in Marina Bay from Raffles Place.

View of the bar area and Marina Bay from Raffles Place.

View from Raffles Place.

From urban city to dense jungle, we jetted off to our next destination, which so far has proven to be the most adventurous part of our holiday.

 

-Vanessa-