Kota Kinbalu and Sandakan- our entry to Borneo
We had an easy, almost three-hour flight from Singapore to Malaysia. We landed in Kota Kinabalu and checked into our next comfy hotel, where we would stay for the next two nights. We arrived late and, since we had already eaten on the plane, decided to call it a night. Our hotel room had a great view of the fisherman’s wharf and the ocean, with a beautiful vista right over the water.
The next morning, we were looking forward to another much-anticipated breakfast. It was quite the experience—let’s just say, some of the tourists here put Americans to shame at an all-you-can-eat buffet. People were throwing elbows just to get to the freshly cut pineapple. And some folks were so absorbed in their own world that they had no qualms about blaring TikTok videos for the whole restaurant to hear. No shame whatsoever. But I digress. We both enjoyed another soup for breakfast, and I loaded up on yogurt and fruit. I took my first antibiotic the night before and actually felt a little better that morning—fingers crossed it works on whatever protozoa is causing the issue. Andy, however, didn’t take an antibiotic, so he’s still in the same boat he’s been in for the last seven or eight days.
We needed to figure out what to do with our time in Malaysia, as we had no pre-booked activities. We weren’t sure if this area was like Central or South America, where you can just show up and book a trip, often cheaper through lesser-known agencies. Turns out, that’s not how things work here. So we went back to our room and started searching, inquiring, and WhatsApp-ing various travel agencies. The first one told us they were fully booked until October. After juggling agencies, we managed to book a 3D2N river tour and then separately, a 5D4N river and jungle tour. Booking the Danum Valley jungle lodge was a true Christmas miracle, so we jumped on it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t work in a Turtle Island tour unless something magically opens up tomorrow. Still, I’m just happy we found a jungle tour, making this trip to Malaysia worthwhile.
With our tours booked, we finally secured our last flight and planned our trip back home. We scheduled four days in South Korea and booked our flight home for September 10. Andy didn’t have enough premium points to upgrade both of us to business class, and since I’m worth it, he upgraded himself with points, and I used miles and paid extra for the 11 or 12-hour flight back home. Might as well end the trip on a high note.
By early afternoon, it was time to get out of the hotel. The skies were dark, but it’s Malaysia, so you just deal with it. We decided to walk to the “floating mosque.” These roads were not made for pedestrians. Sometimes we were lucky enough to have a sidewalk or somewhere to walk, but there were no crosswalks, so it was like playing a game of Frogger to get across the streets. The Borneans, so far, have been pretty nice to tourists running across their highways.
The “floating mosque” turned out to be just a mosque with water on two sides—not one of the more impressive ones we’ve seen. Plus, they didn’t allow non-Muslims into the area, so we got kicked out when we tried to walk around the backside. The walk there wasn’t great, and we still had to get back. I hoped to find a taxi since this is a big tourist spot, but either they’re well-disguised, or they all operate through an app, so there were none for us to hail. Andy was still feeling pretty sick, and to top it off, it started raining. Not our best outing.
Back at the hotel, we headed up to the club lounge to escape the common area and enjoy a bit of quiet. They had free cocktails, so I tried a simple gin and tonic. This was only my third alcoholic drink of the trip, and honestly, it wasn’t something I was really craving—exhaustion and dehydration will do that to you. The lounge provided enough food to sustain us for the evening, and we retreated to our room as the rain really started to pour. We saw outside the window dozens of cranes nestled in the tree top during the downpour. We had already walked through the market, which was mostly food and dried fish, so there was no need to do that again.
The next day, we left for Sandakan to start our jungle adventures. Luckily, finding flights here isn’t an issue with various Air Asia options throughout the day. Upon arrival in this smaller city, we walked into town to grab some food. We had fried chicken and pizza, and I enjoyed a refreshing beer on a rooftop. Afterward, we tried our luck with a dessert called cincau susu. This was as close to a milkshake as we were going to get. I was nervous it would be overly sweet, like my dessert in the Philippines, but it was surprisingly mild. Andy thinks it was beetroot with condensed milk on top and some ice shavings—not to forget the tapioca chunks. Just don’t drink it too quickly. Unfortunately one of those health foods awakened the baby protozoa in my belly and it was angry. At least we are back in the land of bidets, Singapore as too good for them apparently.
The next day was spent lounging by the pool, with the hotel lizard keeping us company. I looked into some last-minute tours to Turtle Island, but the only one available was absurdly priced at $200 per person. Alas, the baby turtles will have to wait until our next visit.
We took another walk into town for lunch and indulged in fruit yogurt drinks, softshell crab salad, and fish and chips. We also bought a bundle of bananas for $0.7 to help w the stomach. The sun was blazing today, and it was hot, so we spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool, cooling off with some refreshing drinks to close out the day. Tomorrow, we finally start our river and jungle tour—can’t wait! We’ll be back in 3 days.
