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lupestripe) wrote2017-12-18 11:06 am
lupestripe) wrote2017-12-18 11:06 am
Kota Kinabalu
The traffic around Kota Kinabalu, particularly in the evening, is horrendous and we got caught in a queue trying to get to the beach. As a result, we largely missed the sunset, with the pretty colours having subsided a few minutes earlier. I still got some good shots of darkening skies over the rather choppy South China Sea but it was only a shadow of what I could have seen. I vowed to return the next day and see the sunset properly. Meanwhile, a number of furs were waiting for us in Lucy’s Kitchen, a restaurant adjacent to the beach recommended by Gerard. It wasn’t the most authentic in the city but it did offer a fair range of local cuisine, which Leon suggested we shared so I could sample the widest possible range of flavours. This was a good idea and so I got to sample dishes like Nasi Lemak Special with Chicken Randang, Mee Hoon Goreng Special (the anchovy paste mixed with the rice meant i didn’t particularly like this one) and Nasi Goreng Kampung, which was typical Nasi Goreng but with a grilled crispy chicken leg as a side. One of the meals came with delightful pink crackers while I had a Milo Special as a drink, a huge glass of the chocolatey Milo drink with a mountain of undissolved power on top, which could be mixed into the drink as and when the ice started to melt. There were eight of us in total, marking one of the biggest ever furmeets in Kota Kinabalu (I was told the record is twelve), and it was great chilling with friends underneath coconut trees with bulbous bright yellow fruits, listening to the incoming tide lapping at the beach. There was a function going on in the main dining area, which punctuated the pleasantness slightly as there were presentations going on, with the presenter being particularly loud with his microphone. Having said that, it was quite a busy place so I guess that’s to be expected. After dinner, Leon wanted me to try some desserts. We were initially going to go for some durian and pineapple tarts, but three pieces of each was too much for most people to deal with, so instead we got Mango Sago, which was fresh melons mixed with saga and shaved ice. It was incredibly refreshing and juicy, a real palate cleanser and perfect in the tropical heat. The thick unctuous juice at the end was a real pleasure.
Opinion was split on what to do next - head into the city centre or stay on the beaches of Tanjung Aru - but as I wanted to see the night market, it was decided we would make a move. A few of the younger furs needed to go home as they had curfews, with Komo driving them back, while the rest of us headed straight into the heart of town. Alas we had forgotten about the difficult traffic, thus it was quite a crawl, particularly as the night market and bars on the waterfront adjacent to it are huge draws on a Friday evening. Still, we got there eventually and once we had finally found a parking space, Gerard and I met up with Leon and Takeshi, and we headed towards the market. I say market but actually there’s a number of them, most of them centered around Le Méridien hotel. The first was one specializing in clothing and there were racks and racks of saris and cheap jeans, and from memory Gerard and I went here BEFORE meeting with the others. The quality was dubious and I was told to beware of pick pockets, but the place was strangely quiet, almost disturbingly so. I wasn’t particularly hassled though and enjoyed an aimless sojourn through it with Gerard. The main show though was the market by the waterfront, which was incredibly lively. Wondrous Smokey smells and a hubbub of noise was emulating from the hawker restaurants in the Centre, full of locals eating the freshest cuisine. In the far north-eastern corner, there were rows upon rows of fishmongers selling all manner of fish. Some were just piled up in trays while others were just scattered on the tables themselves. These were quite haphazard yet others had more finesse - we saw one which was just selling decapitated fish heads delicately placed on shells. There was a lot of blood here, and quite a few large fish too, while the piscine smell was pervasive. On the water we could also see a number of the boats undoubtedly used to bring in the catches, bobbing about on the black mass. Fishy water was all over the floor too but it was lively and you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. Aiding this of course was that I had picked up a glass of pink pink Bandung in the market too so I was more than pleased, even if this one did contain the gelatinous pieces which I still find a little too lumpy to swallow in a drink.
Having emerged from the market unscathed, we found ourselves in the main bar area which too was on the waterfront. Most of these were party type places selling poor quality beer, with a definite ex-pat feel about them although it did look like there was a number of decent western themed restaurants. There was the ubiquitous Irish bar that was nothing like any bar I’ve ever been to in Ireland, along with others offering cheap drinks which had waiters who tried to entice you in. Some were nightclubs with the associated noise pollution while others had live bands and I could have very happily stayed here. However there were a number of Muslim furs in our party who consequently don’t drink, so I didn’t think it fair to subject them to a bar, even if they were fine with it. As Malaysia is a majority Muslim country, the only lager they have is the fizzy shite anyway, which I very much can take or leave, so I didn’t really have much desire to stay in the area.
We ended up in Starbucks, which wasn’t much better but it was conveniently located for Komo to find us. He had driven the younger furs back home and was on his way to meet us in the city. I grabbed a green tea chai latte - a pleasant creamy drink which got a bit sickly and heavy towards the end (I still wish Starbucks in the UK did this though) - although I wasn’t particularly happy they had misspelled my name as Loupe as I was some kind of melon. The smiley face on the cup just looked like it was taking the piss. We spent a pleasant hour in the coffee shop, just chatting. Initially Takeshi seemed a little upset about some rumours people were spreading about him, resulting in Leon giving him reassurances, while I spoke to Gerard at length before all four of us talked FURUM until Komo arrived. Half an hour after this, and with the time approaching 11:15pm, we decided to call it a night and Komo drove me back to my hotel with the assurance he would pick me up at 9am the following day for my second day of touring in the region.
He was true to this word and the next morning, it was I who was running slightly late, meeting Komo in the rather minimalist lobby of my hotel at 9:20am. Neither of us had eaten breakfast (indeed the hotel didn’t even offer it), so Komo suggested we go to Sugar Bun, which is a popular friend chicken restaurant on Borneo. It was inside a small food market area and was most delicious, even if it did take quite a while to serve. The chicken was hot and incredibly fresh while the rice had currents in it, which surprisingly worked, adding a fruity depth to the starch. It may have been odd eating such food for breakfast but for some reason, it really worked.
After food, our destination was the jetty as we intended to take a boat to the islands off the coast of KK. Leon was working a half day and thus was slated to finish at around 1pm, giving us around three hours. I had hoped we would be able to see two or three islands but the boats were only every half hour, meaning there was a fair amount of waiting time. It was also quite chaotic which didn’t help, what with it being Saturday morning and thus busy. We therefore decided to visit just one island - Sapi - which although one of the smaller ones was one of the more popular destinations. At the jetty there were a number of travel firms from which to choose - eleven overall - but we just went to the first one. I got the quick impression it didn’t really matter, but I was just following Komo’s lead. With tickets purchased, we hung around in the departure hall before being let onto the pier to wait there some more. We were all then given lifejackets, with the attendant making a special note to give me a humungous one before we were let onto the boat. It was about fifteen minutes across the sea but the speed was quite fast and I must admit it was rather exhilarating. Sometimes the boat bottomed out on the water like a belly flop and this perturbed some people, but I quite enjoyed it. Taking pictures over the side of the boat as the wind whipped past us was somewhat fraught though.
Upon arriving at the island we disembarked and were somewhat shocked to discover we had to pay an entrance fee. Once through, we noticed a large number of people on the beach and some huge tents erected, under which barbecued food was being served. As we left the wooden jetty we were approached by a gentleman offering parasailing, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. However, there was nowhere to leave my wallet, phone and passport and I feared they would fall out of my pocket. In another sign of a lack of preparedness on our part, we also forgot to bring our swimming gear. There were a number of different water sports on offer including descending 5m into the sea wearing a special helmet fed with air so you could see the fish. This would have been great fun to do but alas we had to content ourselves by watching the shoals of fish from the pier. Due to all this, there wasn’t actually a great amount to do on the island and we got bored quite quickly. We decided to take on one of the trails but it quickly got boggy and somewhat overgrown, and we were forced into stopping when a huge monitor lizard blocker our path. Seeing him was actually quite a shock as I was turning a corner and he was just there, standing gracefully yet we were clearly in his territory. At 1.5-2m in length, the monitor lizard is the largest lizard after the Komodo dragon and it’s bite is poisonous (although I didn’t know this at the time). We had seen a couple of smaller lizards going into the water ahead of us as we had gotten here but none were quite so big. Our new friend soon became disinterested with us, even sticking his tongue out at us, but turned his back on us and walked along the path, necessitating our retreat. Down here we also saw the end of a zip line between Sapi and another nearby island but we would have to cross over to the other side to use it. I stood on the gantry and took some good shots though and noticed that the parasailing was taking place well out to sea, deeming it a little pointless. Aside from that, I experienced one of the worst toilets I’ve ever endured as someone had taken a shit in one of the changing rooms and just left it (with no way of wiping either) and as we waited to board our boat back I spoke to a nice Korean gentleman who was doing a lot of touring with his partner and we compared notes.
Once we had arrived back to the mainland, we made our way back to Komo’s car. As part of an in-joke, I wanted to buy Leon some chocolate syrup as a gift before we met up with him, but everywhere we tried (including the appropriately named ‘Giant’ supermarket) did not stock any. Sadly an opportunity wasted but we did see some scary inflatable bouncy toys for kids in th shape of animals. Due to this and some more atrocious traffic, we didn’t pick up Leon until around 2:30pm, at which time we headed to a suburb to pick up some lunch. Alas this too proved to be a bust as the place we went, Kedai Kopi Fook Yuen, was only serving a buffet and not its regular offering. Alas Komo had already ordered an ABC from the stall further down so he wolfed this down when he got it and we all drove to Tanjung Aru as Leon now fancied satay. Alas this was when we had to say goodbye to Komo as he had to drive south to visit his family. It was quite sad as he had been a great help driving us around and his smutty humour complemented my own. I had a great two days touring with him.
The advantage of going down to the beach early was that we had time to prepare for the sunset. The only problem was that at 4pm, we were incredibly early but this gave Leon and I time to amble aimlessly along the first two beaches (of three) that make up Tanjung Aru. Everywhere was quite busy but not horrendously so, and at many points it was just Leon and I. It also gave Leon the opportunity to reminisce over the times he came here as a kid, and to point out the things that had changed. As we walked, he received a number of updates from Takeshi, who was also going to join us. We agreed to meet at the massive hawker stand and once he arrived, in far better spirits than he had been the night before, the three of us ordered satay. We opted for a mix - lamb, beef and chicken - with Leon saying these were more authentic than the higher class satay we had enjoyed at Lucy’s Kitchen the night before. They were certainly smaller, coming with square chunks of rice and a lake of peanut sauce all contained in a styrofoam container. Certainly they were more basic and down to earth, but I probably preferred the posher version in all honesty.
With the sunset approaching, Takeshi and I headed down to the sea, leaving Leon to play games back at the hawker area. We had to wait a good half hour for the sun to drop so it was great getting to know Takeshi better, particularly as we could share FURUM experiences. Unfortunately the sunset was somewhat obscured by a huge bank of clouds, meaning many of the pretty colours were not able to be seen. Indeed the view towards the five islands was more akin to a Scandinavian winter scene of dark blues and greys, which became ever darker in the fading light. This was no less magical than the pretty colours would have been and it was a great privilege to see it. From our viewing spot near the edge of the beachcomber we could largely see everything aktigy on occasion some Chinese tourists obscured our view, which was somewhat frustrating.
As I had to be up at 4am for a 6:45am flight to Hong Kong, the rest of the evening was pretty chill. We headed to one of the famous shopping malls and just aimlessly wandered about. En route, Takeshi talked about is new boyfriend Wesley and how tremendous he is, resulting in Leon and I deciding a series of children’s books called Tremendous Wesley. These stories - based around stuff we were seeing in the mall - became the basis of a meme between ourselves and was highly amusing. I also got to buy some presents for Wolfie in Daito, a Japanese discount store, and was sad to see cartoon animals in distress on packages of rat and snake loisom, and items designed to keep cats away from your garden. I guess the Japanese will put a cartoon character on anything. I also bought Leon some pizza flavoured Pringles in the mall as he had never tried them before. We shared them as we walked around. The only other thing to note here was the public toilet which had a urinal which was a glass wall down which a waterfall ran. There were plants in the background, making it feel like you were pissing in the jungle.
The final stop of the evening was the suburb where Gerard lives. He was able to meet us for a final drink, so we went to the Old Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf where I grabbed a Moroccan mint tea latte which really needed more mint flavored. Gerard joined us about fifteen minutes after we had arrived and we shared a pleasant half hour together before I anointed my bed to hear back to the hotel and get some rest. At this point the heavens had opened quite cataclismically and the rain was torrential but I did need to go and get some sleep. It was hard saying goodbye to everyone - both Gerard at the coffee shop and Leon/Takeshi at the hotel as they dropped me off but we already have a plan to do a possible road trip around Sabah I’m gutted and it would be great to see them sheik. They were fantastic hosts and I’ll definitely be visiting again as I think I barely scratched the surface of Borneo during my short stay there. And now I have access to a car, there’s a lot more we could do.
Opinion was split on what to do next - head into the city centre or stay on the beaches of Tanjung Aru - but as I wanted to see the night market, it was decided we would make a move. A few of the younger furs needed to go home as they had curfews, with Komo driving them back, while the rest of us headed straight into the heart of town. Alas we had forgotten about the difficult traffic, thus it was quite a crawl, particularly as the night market and bars on the waterfront adjacent to it are huge draws on a Friday evening. Still, we got there eventually and once we had finally found a parking space, Gerard and I met up with Leon and Takeshi, and we headed towards the market. I say market but actually there’s a number of them, most of them centered around Le Méridien hotel. The first was one specializing in clothing and there were racks and racks of saris and cheap jeans, and from memory Gerard and I went here BEFORE meeting with the others. The quality was dubious and I was told to beware of pick pockets, but the place was strangely quiet, almost disturbingly so. I wasn’t particularly hassled though and enjoyed an aimless sojourn through it with Gerard. The main show though was the market by the waterfront, which was incredibly lively. Wondrous Smokey smells and a hubbub of noise was emulating from the hawker restaurants in the Centre, full of locals eating the freshest cuisine. In the far north-eastern corner, there were rows upon rows of fishmongers selling all manner of fish. Some were just piled up in trays while others were just scattered on the tables themselves. These were quite haphazard yet others had more finesse - we saw one which was just selling decapitated fish heads delicately placed on shells. There was a lot of blood here, and quite a few large fish too, while the piscine smell was pervasive. On the water we could also see a number of the boats undoubtedly used to bring in the catches, bobbing about on the black mass. Fishy water was all over the floor too but it was lively and you couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. Aiding this of course was that I had picked up a glass of pink pink Bandung in the market too so I was more than pleased, even if this one did contain the gelatinous pieces which I still find a little too lumpy to swallow in a drink.
Having emerged from the market unscathed, we found ourselves in the main bar area which too was on the waterfront. Most of these were party type places selling poor quality beer, with a definite ex-pat feel about them although it did look like there was a number of decent western themed restaurants. There was the ubiquitous Irish bar that was nothing like any bar I’ve ever been to in Ireland, along with others offering cheap drinks which had waiters who tried to entice you in. Some were nightclubs with the associated noise pollution while others had live bands and I could have very happily stayed here. However there were a number of Muslim furs in our party who consequently don’t drink, so I didn’t think it fair to subject them to a bar, even if they were fine with it. As Malaysia is a majority Muslim country, the only lager they have is the fizzy shite anyway, which I very much can take or leave, so I didn’t really have much desire to stay in the area.
We ended up in Starbucks, which wasn’t much better but it was conveniently located for Komo to find us. He had driven the younger furs back home and was on his way to meet us in the city. I grabbed a green tea chai latte - a pleasant creamy drink which got a bit sickly and heavy towards the end (I still wish Starbucks in the UK did this though) - although I wasn’t particularly happy they had misspelled my name as Loupe as I was some kind of melon. The smiley face on the cup just looked like it was taking the piss. We spent a pleasant hour in the coffee shop, just chatting. Initially Takeshi seemed a little upset about some rumours people were spreading about him, resulting in Leon giving him reassurances, while I spoke to Gerard at length before all four of us talked FURUM until Komo arrived. Half an hour after this, and with the time approaching 11:15pm, we decided to call it a night and Komo drove me back to my hotel with the assurance he would pick me up at 9am the following day for my second day of touring in the region.
He was true to this word and the next morning, it was I who was running slightly late, meeting Komo in the rather minimalist lobby of my hotel at 9:20am. Neither of us had eaten breakfast (indeed the hotel didn’t even offer it), so Komo suggested we go to Sugar Bun, which is a popular friend chicken restaurant on Borneo. It was inside a small food market area and was most delicious, even if it did take quite a while to serve. The chicken was hot and incredibly fresh while the rice had currents in it, which surprisingly worked, adding a fruity depth to the starch. It may have been odd eating such food for breakfast but for some reason, it really worked.
After food, our destination was the jetty as we intended to take a boat to the islands off the coast of KK. Leon was working a half day and thus was slated to finish at around 1pm, giving us around three hours. I had hoped we would be able to see two or three islands but the boats were only every half hour, meaning there was a fair amount of waiting time. It was also quite chaotic which didn’t help, what with it being Saturday morning and thus busy. We therefore decided to visit just one island - Sapi - which although one of the smaller ones was one of the more popular destinations. At the jetty there were a number of travel firms from which to choose - eleven overall - but we just went to the first one. I got the quick impression it didn’t really matter, but I was just following Komo’s lead. With tickets purchased, we hung around in the departure hall before being let onto the pier to wait there some more. We were all then given lifejackets, with the attendant making a special note to give me a humungous one before we were let onto the boat. It was about fifteen minutes across the sea but the speed was quite fast and I must admit it was rather exhilarating. Sometimes the boat bottomed out on the water like a belly flop and this perturbed some people, but I quite enjoyed it. Taking pictures over the side of the boat as the wind whipped past us was somewhat fraught though.
Upon arriving at the island we disembarked and were somewhat shocked to discover we had to pay an entrance fee. Once through, we noticed a large number of people on the beach and some huge tents erected, under which barbecued food was being served. As we left the wooden jetty we were approached by a gentleman offering parasailing, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. However, there was nowhere to leave my wallet, phone and passport and I feared they would fall out of my pocket. In another sign of a lack of preparedness on our part, we also forgot to bring our swimming gear. There were a number of different water sports on offer including descending 5m into the sea wearing a special helmet fed with air so you could see the fish. This would have been great fun to do but alas we had to content ourselves by watching the shoals of fish from the pier. Due to all this, there wasn’t actually a great amount to do on the island and we got bored quite quickly. We decided to take on one of the trails but it quickly got boggy and somewhat overgrown, and we were forced into stopping when a huge monitor lizard blocker our path. Seeing him was actually quite a shock as I was turning a corner and he was just there, standing gracefully yet we were clearly in his territory. At 1.5-2m in length, the monitor lizard is the largest lizard after the Komodo dragon and it’s bite is poisonous (although I didn’t know this at the time). We had seen a couple of smaller lizards going into the water ahead of us as we had gotten here but none were quite so big. Our new friend soon became disinterested with us, even sticking his tongue out at us, but turned his back on us and walked along the path, necessitating our retreat. Down here we also saw the end of a zip line between Sapi and another nearby island but we would have to cross over to the other side to use it. I stood on the gantry and took some good shots though and noticed that the parasailing was taking place well out to sea, deeming it a little pointless. Aside from that, I experienced one of the worst toilets I’ve ever endured as someone had taken a shit in one of the changing rooms and just left it (with no way of wiping either) and as we waited to board our boat back I spoke to a nice Korean gentleman who was doing a lot of touring with his partner and we compared notes.
Once we had arrived back to the mainland, we made our way back to Komo’s car. As part of an in-joke, I wanted to buy Leon some chocolate syrup as a gift before we met up with him, but everywhere we tried (including the appropriately named ‘Giant’ supermarket) did not stock any. Sadly an opportunity wasted but we did see some scary inflatable bouncy toys for kids in th shape of animals. Due to this and some more atrocious traffic, we didn’t pick up Leon until around 2:30pm, at which time we headed to a suburb to pick up some lunch. Alas this too proved to be a bust as the place we went, Kedai Kopi Fook Yuen, was only serving a buffet and not its regular offering. Alas Komo had already ordered an ABC from the stall further down so he wolfed this down when he got it and we all drove to Tanjung Aru as Leon now fancied satay. Alas this was when we had to say goodbye to Komo as he had to drive south to visit his family. It was quite sad as he had been a great help driving us around and his smutty humour complemented my own. I had a great two days touring with him.
The advantage of going down to the beach early was that we had time to prepare for the sunset. The only problem was that at 4pm, we were incredibly early but this gave Leon and I time to amble aimlessly along the first two beaches (of three) that make up Tanjung Aru. Everywhere was quite busy but not horrendously so, and at many points it was just Leon and I. It also gave Leon the opportunity to reminisce over the times he came here as a kid, and to point out the things that had changed. As we walked, he received a number of updates from Takeshi, who was also going to join us. We agreed to meet at the massive hawker stand and once he arrived, in far better spirits than he had been the night before, the three of us ordered satay. We opted for a mix - lamb, beef and chicken - with Leon saying these were more authentic than the higher class satay we had enjoyed at Lucy’s Kitchen the night before. They were certainly smaller, coming with square chunks of rice and a lake of peanut sauce all contained in a styrofoam container. Certainly they were more basic and down to earth, but I probably preferred the posher version in all honesty.
With the sunset approaching, Takeshi and I headed down to the sea, leaving Leon to play games back at the hawker area. We had to wait a good half hour for the sun to drop so it was great getting to know Takeshi better, particularly as we could share FURUM experiences. Unfortunately the sunset was somewhat obscured by a huge bank of clouds, meaning many of the pretty colours were not able to be seen. Indeed the view towards the five islands was more akin to a Scandinavian winter scene of dark blues and greys, which became ever darker in the fading light. This was no less magical than the pretty colours would have been and it was a great privilege to see it. From our viewing spot near the edge of the beachcomber we could largely see everything aktigy on occasion some Chinese tourists obscured our view, which was somewhat frustrating.
As I had to be up at 4am for a 6:45am flight to Hong Kong, the rest of the evening was pretty chill. We headed to one of the famous shopping malls and just aimlessly wandered about. En route, Takeshi talked about is new boyfriend Wesley and how tremendous he is, resulting in Leon and I deciding a series of children’s books called Tremendous Wesley. These stories - based around stuff we were seeing in the mall - became the basis of a meme between ourselves and was highly amusing. I also got to buy some presents for Wolfie in Daito, a Japanese discount store, and was sad to see cartoon animals in distress on packages of rat and snake loisom, and items designed to keep cats away from your garden. I guess the Japanese will put a cartoon character on anything. I also bought Leon some pizza flavoured Pringles in the mall as he had never tried them before. We shared them as we walked around. The only other thing to note here was the public toilet which had a urinal which was a glass wall down which a waterfall ran. There were plants in the background, making it feel like you were pissing in the jungle.
The final stop of the evening was the suburb where Gerard lives. He was able to meet us for a final drink, so we went to the Old Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf where I grabbed a Moroccan mint tea latte which really needed more mint flavored. Gerard joined us about fifteen minutes after we had arrived and we shared a pleasant half hour together before I anointed my bed to hear back to the hotel and get some rest. At this point the heavens had opened quite cataclismically and the rain was torrential but I did need to go and get some sleep. It was hard saying goodbye to everyone - both Gerard at the coffee shop and Leon/Takeshi at the hotel as they dropped me off but we already have a plan to do a possible road trip around Sabah I’m gutted and it would be great to see them sheik. They were fantastic hosts and I’ll definitely be visiting again as I think I barely scratched the surface of Borneo during my short stay there. And now I have access to a car, there’s a lot more we could do.