Life's a Beach: Island Hopping in Sabah

I never bring journals nor notebooks when I travel. And this makes me question myself if I'm really fit to be a writer. Such lazy habit makes me forget essential stuffs like directions coming from and going to certain places, the fare price, and even the exact name of the food I've eaten. But never the experience, I like getting lost anyways and ending up on a real adventure :P

The latest wanderlust I had was in Kota Kinabalu. Me and my bestfriend went to Sabah for a splurge and  to experience the South. And our main destination was Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park named after Malaysia's first Prime Minister. It comprises a group of 5 islands located between 3 to 8 km off Kota Kinabalu. The park is spread over 4,929 hectares, two-thirds of which cover the sea. Before the Ice age, it formed part of the Crocker Range mass of sandstone and sedimentary rock on the mainland. However, about one million years ago, the melting ice brought about changes in the sea level and parts of the mainland were cut off by the sea to form the islands of Gaya, Sapi, Manukan, Mamutik and Sulug. Evidence of this can be seen from the exposed sandstone of the coastline forming the cliffs, caves, honeycombs and deep crevices. 

Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal in downtown Kota Kinabalu is the ferry terminal for those heading to the islands in Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park (Gaya, Sapi, Manukan, Mamutik and Sulug). The terminal was just 10-15 minutes walk away from the famous Gaya street where we stayed at.

This ferry terminal is also the departure point for patrons staying at either Manukan Island Resort, Gayana Resort or Bunga Raya Resort

Inside, you will see a lot of travel agency booths about more than 20 or so ( I couldn't recall the exact count). We first approached the nearest, coming from the entrance and the offer was a bit too high compared to what I've researched over the internet. So we told the lady we'll be back and we'll just check if anyone offers a cheaper price. And the sweet talking lady suddenly turned like a mad dog telling us we'll never find anyone who offers cheaper than her tickets. So 'go.... go', she said driving us away.

We ended up making the right decision 'cos we got the package for two islands cheaper at Island Hop Express booth. And the owner was really friendly he even handed his business card.

Everything looked so pleasant, the blue waters and the sky blue clouds induced an awe-inspiring feeling in me. I really felt I'm on a real vacation. 

We rode a speed boat that jumps like a happy fish over the water. The sea breeze was relaxing, the sun's heat just right and the day was fiesta fine.

I had to pay a one time fee for my entrance at Manukan Island, I asked the lady if there's a discount for students and she answered, 'students below 20 years old only'. I could've lied about my age, I look young anyways but it's always best to be honest.

We weren't really able to to swim. It was too rocky it hurts my feet and Tunku Abdul Rahman is really for snorkeling. There were a lot of unique beautiful fishes there that just don't catch my fancy. 

We were picked up by the speed boat early afternoon and transferred us to Sapi Island where we had our lunch. It was actually cheaper to eat in Manukan Island, but we were so busy dog-swimming we didn't realize it was already time to hop to another island.

Nasi Lemak Rice

Cold coffee in the heat of summer sunshine

The restaurant there has not much local to offer. Their menu is for foreign tongue to please the tourists.

We rented a beach mat and had sun bathing haha while people-watching.

Compared to Palawan, Island Hopping in Sabah is way too cheaper.

The blue-green sea was a sight to behold, a slice of our beautiful world so pristine. A day here was never enough.

While waiting for our boat we spent the remaining lazy hours looking at the fishes and the people feeding them.

After all that beach bumming we had, we returned to Jesselton Point Terminal to buy a ticket to Brunei.

banana nutella rotee in khao san

Khao San Road is my favorite place in Bangkok. The streets of khao san are surrounded by a plethora of  side walk vendors selling souvenir shirts and items, bars and restaurants, backpacker's lodge and the famous local street food.

One famous dish one must try is rotee, an Indian/Thai pancake. I couldn't find at first where the rotee was because of the hubbub of tourists surrounding the vendor, filming how she prepares the dish by slapping the dough around on the metal surface and then dropping it in a hot oil and butter.

Imagine how much money this Aunty makes in a day.

The rotee is usually served with condensed milk and sugar on it-the Thais love it this way.

It is served with a lot of trimmings or toppings to meet your taste, they even added a Western twist by using Nutella to sweeten the pancake.

Hitching in Brunei

We had a day to dedicate to Brunei, so we prepared a list of inexpensive destinations in Bandar Seri Begawan that we could pay a visit, like The Royal Regalia Museum, Kampong Ayer, Sultan Bolkiah Mosque and the famous Imperial Hotel. Brunei is small  and there's not much to see and to go, yet it is truly amazingly weird. But going on your own to the country's famous places is a problem. Brunei's not an easy country to get around via public transport, everyone has a car and the rumors are true! You can count the cabbies in Brunei. So if you are not sure how to go around Bandar Seri Begawan on your own, better prearrange a private car, hire a hotel car or contact a friend residing there to take you around.

Anyways, getting around the country is helped by the fact that so many locals will stop and offer you rides if they see you walking along the side of the road. There are not many countries in the world where you can regularly hitch, but Brunei is one of them. But be careful who you trust, there are a lot of dangerous people in this world.

I've read over the net that there is a bus stop near the immigration border and a purple bus arrives every 30 minutes to take passengers to BSB. Upon exiting the border, a car stopped in front of us and the woman inside was saying 'Bandar' and signaling we get into her car. But we just stared blankly at her clueless of what she was meaning to say 'til she drove off away from us. We searched for the nearest bus stop but we couldn't find one we almost reached the main street highway feeling like hapless tourists in a deserted area.

Another car across the highway stopped and shouted  if we would like to have a ride. We pretended we didn't hear them and continued walking but the car also slowed its driving waiting for us to decide. Then the driver spoke in Filipino repeating his offer, for a few seconds we stopped looking at the car while quickly making an effort analyzing the situation. Thoughts like, 'what if we get kidnapped by them, and what if they are human traffickers' troubled our minds. Then the man shouted again that it is impossible to get a public transport in the area. That made us cross the street and head towards the car.
We felt a relief when we discovered that inside the car was the same family with a baby we just saw at the immigration border. Unluckily, they are heading to Seria and not BSB, but they made an effort to help us by dropping us off at the nearest bus stop. They advised us that there are cars that would stop and would offer us a ride for one dollar each and that we should follow our instincts. Even in our wavering state, we had to laugh at the situation.

A car stopped with a not so old man in a rock-and-roll get up offering us a free ride to BSB and we declined. (we were practicing our instincts on knowing if its a bad guy or not). Then another one stopped asking two dollars for a BSB ride, so we hopped in. The driver was asking too many questions like was it our first time in Brunei and how long would we be staying and where would we be staying at. My friend answered him that we've been many times to Brunei though we obviously looked lost. I also told the driver my sister is in Seria and she'll meet us in BSB (Lie alert!). This is to safeguard us from any possible danger.

We asked him to drop us off to Royal Regalia Museum which according to him is known locally as  Alat Alat. He was like a tour driver telling us touristy infos about BSB, suddenly he said he needs to drop by at his cousin's house to hand him (meaning the cousin is a male) something. He took a direction away from the main street entering a residential area. 

Heart-dropping paranoia struck me, and I told the driver to stop and we'll just wait for him near the big mall we passed by. But he kept on driving  so I opened the car's door and almost surged myself out like a cork from a champagne bottle. With my left foot already touching the ground while the car was still moving, I felt the friction of my flat shoes rubbing off against the ground, while staring at my friend who was displaying a facade of shock at my hysterics.

When the car finally stopped in front of a house with a front yard, I went off the car and he was looking so irritated at me telling not to come out. Still I hopped off and seen children and one woman come out of the house.

I got momentarily scared fearing I had committed some terrible breach of etiquette. And the driver was already shouting at me in broken english, 'Why you like that? Why you like That?'. I apologized for my reaction and he was too nice to forgive me. I asked my friend if she ever felt the same and she said she only got nervous because I looked like I was gonna jump off from the car.

We was thankful we reached our destination, for the going was tough and the sun was hot.

So stressed I'm having a pimple break out! After roaming around BSB, we tried to find a taxi to take us to airport. 'Twas nearing 6pm and we were already worried because most cars and public transport in the city are only until 6-7pm. Beyond that time you'll find no more cars around, and establishments close very early as well.

Luck stroke one more time when a Filipino Jollibee crew whom we happened to ask for directions helped us and brought us to the nearest bus terminal. He even made sure we get the right  bus heading to the airport. 

Bus rides are a hassle, there are times that they don't really pass by certain points where you're out to go. And it was scary, most passengers were all males, their buses looked the same like India's. A ride costs a dollar each, which is cheap. We were supposed to be dropped off at Time Square but the bus didn't stop and continued driving. The passengers were already shouting at the driver to stop, and telling us we were already too far from our destination, the people's concern for us was so heartwarming. When the bus finally stopped most of everyone else was smiling at us and still complaining at the driver for not dropping us off right exactly to Time Square. 

A woman wearing a hijab spoke to us in Filipino and told us to wait for a colorum taxi at the bus stop. Colorum taxi is the term for private cars that ask for a dollar for ha ride.

And we hitched again, the guy even offered to take us to the Airport but we opted to while away our time at the mall.

We were informed that we could walk from Times Square to the Airport, so we spent our free time buying groceries at Time Square

Our reward for hitching the whole day. 

We asked the yogurt store person in charge who happened to be a Filipino on which direction should we take to get to the airport by walking. And she was shocked saying we have to ride a car and we couldn't just walk, so its better we wait for their closing time and they'll take us to the airport.

You know how this story ended. Thankful we got home alive. Can't wait to be back in a country where serendipity rules.