Oct 7-9, 2010
Kota Kinabalu, Borneo
Kota Kinabalu, Borneo
Morning was upon us faster than I think we'd anticipated, but being the good Guests of Honor that we are, we made our sleepy way to the flag pole for the much-anticipated raising ceremony. It turned out to be quite the spectacle as the entire resort staff came marching in traditional formation and Josie was given the responsibility of raising the flag in pace with the playing of the 
National Anthem. Emily and I tried hard to contain our laughter as Josie was told to slow down and then speed up (having no idea how long the anthem was.) After some publicity photos and the presentation of a Mulu Resort certificate we made our way to another gourmet buffet meal. As we knocked back some omelettes, cheese and bread bread bread we wondered why we hadn't thought to splurge and stay at the resort for our jungle stay--but then again, what's the point of living in the jungle if you eat better food than you get in your own home?!
It was quite sunny and our plane was right on schedule. We went from Mulu to Miri and Miri to Kota Kinabalu, probably the biggest city on the island. It was kind of rainy the day we got there, so we settled into our hostel (we were able to take over the 6 bed female dorm with the
3 of us) and updated everyone back home on our travels. We headed out to some of the nearby malls for some shopping and food court action--hotpot fried rice is the thing to be had, so we indulged whilst overlooking the blue waters of the South China Sea. We then decided to watch one of the movies in the limited hostel selection and were uncomfortably surprised by the extreme inappropriateness of Everybody Loves Mandy Lane (or something to that affect) as we sat in nervous tension with our gracious Muslim hostesses...we shut off the movie and quickly made our way to the famed night market in the rain. The market did not live up to it's Lonely Planet description, so we found ourselves eating some cold street food, getting some snacks and watching a show called The Inbetweeners (hilarious) with some of the Brits back at the hostel.
The next day we woke up refreshed and ready for a day of island hopping. We made our way to the pier and decided on a 2 island trip featuring the best recommendations for snorkelling and beach time. We rocketed through the waves as the wind blew our boat about--people were getting soaked as the maniacal boat driver laughed his way from the port to the islands. The first island had some really nice snorkelling with some very colorful fish, many urchins an
d sea cucumbers and even some bright coral. On our way to the second island, we were cruising along and up ahead I remember seeing what appeared to be a cloud of insects and all of a sudden our driver took us straight through the eye of what turned out to be a sea-bee storm. No joke people were literally being pelted by stinging bees who, for some reason, thought it would be a great a idea to hover in the middle of the ocean. Thankfully I came through unscathed, but I definitely empathized with my fellow boaters who were busy checking for any stragglers under their life vests.
I guess we should have seen the swarm as an omen, because shortly after our black and yellow adventure the weather took a turn for the worse. In the middle of our snorkelling and white sand beach relaxation the sky turned grey, the wind picked up and the rain started to f
all. We weren't supposed to leave the island for another hour, but we stuck very close to a boat handler and somehow swindled our way onto an earlier shuttle boat--I did feel a little guilty sitting there as some of our fellow islanders were left to weather the storm until the next boat arrived. After we arrived back and dried off we made our way to dinner and Happy Hour at a local pub where we ended staying for the night--complete with hookah and free internet on the computers provided at the tables we sat at. I'm still amazed that the 3 of us still had things to talk about after how much time we spent together, but somehow hours passed and it was time for bed again...unfortunately this was my last true day of travelling with the trio as I was going to have to part ways the next day to get back and start work.
Oct. 9 (Happy Birthday Booty) found us at the airport yet again and on a flight to the Clark airport in the Philippines. After we arrived and got sorted, Josie and Emily hopped on a bus to Manila and I spent about 4 hours hanging out at the small, small, small airport. After some convenience store food and some reading I was ready to board...that's when all the fun happened.
I went to go through customs only to realize that I needed to pay an airport departure fee; why wouldn't that be the case when I had spent some of my pesos already and didn't have enough money to exchange (oh, and did I mention that both ATMs at the airport wouldn't accept the mastercard debit card I had brought along for withdrawing $$ at all the other stops we'd made on the trip. The security guards were very helpful in telling me to keep trying over and over again to use the ATM, the suggesting a I take a cab to the nearest ATM (about 20 min away) that may or may not accept my card--meaning I would then owe the taxi driver pesos I didn't have if it didn't work. So, I humbly approached the first person that crossed my path and awkwardly asked him if I could borrow the amount of the departure fee I still needed. Yes, embarassing is the word to describe this situation.
Thankfully I met Chuck, who turned out to be one of the nicest guys I've met. I swore to him over and over that I would pay him back as soon as we got to BKK (as I crossed my fingers that my ATM card wasn't frozen from my multiple attempts to withdraw $$ unsuccessfully) It turns out that he is a professional basketball player in the Philippines and was on his way to visit his girlfriend who was teaching in Thailand. It was his first time leaving his home country and he was as excited about meeting someone who could help him navigate the BKK airport/Thai customs as I was about him lending me some pesos! The flight was uneventful aside from the group trivia games put on by the flight crew throughout the trip (I didn't win) and we landed safe and sound. I paid Chuck what he lent me and then some and helped find his girlfriend before making my way back to my apartment after my final excursion with the original Thailand crew. What an incredible incredible adventure we all got to share!
National Anthem. Emily and I tried hard to contain our laughter as Josie was told to slow down and then speed up (having no idea how long the anthem was.) After some publicity photos and the presentation of a Mulu Resort certificate we made our way to another gourmet buffet meal. As we knocked back some omelettes, cheese and bread bread bread we wondered why we hadn't thought to splurge and stay at the resort for our jungle stay--but then again, what's the point of living in the jungle if you eat better food than you get in your own home?! It was quite sunny and our plane was right on schedule. We went from Mulu to Miri and Miri to Kota Kinabalu, probably the biggest city on the island. It was kind of rainy the day we got there, so we settled into our hostel (we were able to take over the 6 bed female dorm with the
3 of us) and updated everyone back home on our travels. We headed out to some of the nearby malls for some shopping and food court action--hotpot fried rice is the thing to be had, so we indulged whilst overlooking the blue waters of the South China Sea. We then decided to watch one of the movies in the limited hostel selection and were uncomfortably surprised by the extreme inappropriateness of Everybody Loves Mandy Lane (or something to that affect) as we sat in nervous tension with our gracious Muslim hostesses...we shut off the movie and quickly made our way to the famed night market in the rain. The market did not live up to it's Lonely Planet description, so we found ourselves eating some cold street food, getting some snacks and watching a show called The Inbetweeners (hilarious) with some of the Brits back at the hostel. The next day we woke up refreshed and ready for a day of island hopping. We made our way to the pier and decided on a 2 island trip featuring the best recommendations for snorkelling and beach time. We rocketed through the waves as the wind blew our boat about--people were getting soaked as the maniacal boat driver laughed his way from the port to the islands. The first island had some really nice snorkelling with some very colorful fish, many urchins an
d sea cucumbers and even some bright coral. On our way to the second island, we were cruising along and up ahead I remember seeing what appeared to be a cloud of insects and all of a sudden our driver took us straight through the eye of what turned out to be a sea-bee storm. No joke people were literally being pelted by stinging bees who, for some reason, thought it would be a great a idea to hover in the middle of the ocean. Thankfully I came through unscathed, but I definitely empathized with my fellow boaters who were busy checking for any stragglers under their life vests. I guess we should have seen the swarm as an omen, because shortly after our black and yellow adventure the weather took a turn for the worse. In the middle of our snorkelling and white sand beach relaxation the sky turned grey, the wind picked up and the rain started to f
all. We weren't supposed to leave the island for another hour, but we stuck very close to a boat handler and somehow swindled our way onto an earlier shuttle boat--I did feel a little guilty sitting there as some of our fellow islanders were left to weather the storm until the next boat arrived. After we arrived back and dried off we made our way to dinner and Happy Hour at a local pub where we ended staying for the night--complete with hookah and free internet on the computers provided at the tables we sat at. I'm still amazed that the 3 of us still had things to talk about after how much time we spent together, but somehow hours passed and it was time for bed again...unfortunately this was my last true day of travelling with the trio as I was going to have to part ways the next day to get back and start work. Oct. 9 (Happy Birthday Booty) found us at the airport yet again and on a flight to the Clark airport in the Philippines. After we arrived and got sorted, Josie and Emily hopped on a bus to Manila and I spent about 4 hours hanging out at the small, small, small airport. After some convenience store food and some reading I was ready to board...that's when all the fun happened.
I went to go through customs only to realize that I needed to pay an airport departure fee; why wouldn't that be the case when I had spent some of my pesos already and didn't have enough money to exchange (oh, and did I mention that both ATMs at the airport wouldn't accept the mastercard debit card I had brought along for withdrawing $$ at all the other stops we'd made on the trip. The security guards were very helpful in telling me to keep trying over and over again to use the ATM, the suggesting a I take a cab to the nearest ATM (about 20 min away) that may or may not accept my card--meaning I would then owe the taxi driver pesos I didn't have if it didn't work. So, I humbly approached the first person that crossed my path and awkwardly asked him if I could borrow the amount of the departure fee I still needed. Yes, embarassing is the word to describe this situation.
Thankfully I met Chuck, who turned out to be one of the nicest guys I've met. I swore to him over and over that I would pay him back as soon as we got to BKK (as I crossed my fingers that my ATM card wasn't frozen from my multiple attempts to withdraw $$ unsuccessfully) It turns out that he is a professional basketball player in the Philippines and was on his way to visit his girlfriend who was teaching in Thailand. It was his first time leaving his home country and he was as excited about meeting someone who could help him navigate the BKK airport/Thai customs as I was about him lending me some pesos! The flight was uneventful aside from the group trivia games put on by the flight crew throughout the trip (I didn't win) and we landed safe and sound. I paid Chuck what he lent me and then some and helped find his girlfriend before making my way back to my apartment after my final excursion with the original Thailand crew. What an incredible incredible adventure we all got to share!
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