We waited in the baking heat for at least an hour by the side of a dusty main road, before a bus finally turned up to take us the six hours to Kota Kinabalu aka KK.
Although feeling like we'd entered Arctic conditions when boarding the bus, the six hour journey was fairly comfortable.
Not far from KK is South East Asia's biggest mountain - the famous Mount Kinabalu. As we passed the recently 'shaken' mountain we hoped to catch a glimpse of the iconic peak. But we were unsuccessful, the mountain was covered from base to peak in thick white cloud. The mountain was on our 'hit list' to conquer, but unfortunately because of the recent disaster, the mountain and surrounding national park were closed to the public for the foreseeable future.
Typically the bus dropped us at a station just outside the city centre, but with a little help from trusty iPhones we managed to suss out the local transport and catch a bus to within walking distance of a guesthouse we'd found on the internet called 'Lavender Lodge'.
The 'lodge' was a basic hotel and located perfectly in the centre of the city which is small enough to be tackled on foot.
After a wander around the seafront city, which included dropping a few kilos of dirty washing off at a nearby laundrette, we ended up at one of the many shopping malls. Amelia and Beth quickly found their way to 'Cotton On' and a few other shops, before I managed to lead them in the direction of the food court to have a bite to eat.
The shopping mall also had a cinema, which much to Amelia's delight, was showing the new 'Minions' film. At just 12 ringgit each (£2) and 8 ringgit for a large caramel popcorn there were no disputes from Beth and I. Malaysia has to be one of the cheapest places in the world to go to the cinema!

For Amelia's recent birthday her mum had generously arranged a surprise full day snorkelling trip for us to take part in.
We were picked up at just after 8 in the morning (by minivan) which took us to a nearby pier. From the pier we signed a waiver and boarded a speedboat to a nearby island called 'Gaya Island'. Gaya Island is the biggest of five tropical islands off KK. Being just half an hour from the capital of Sabah we were quite surprised to see the island was fairly underdeveloped.
The company was called 'Down Below' and had an office based on the island. Amelia's mum Jo actually knew one of the employees called Paul. Paul introduced us to our own private guide, speedboat and boatman for the day.
We had possibly the most professional and in-depth (excuse the pun) briefing we've ever experienced for a snorkelling trip - it almost felt more detailed than a scuba diving brief!
During our first snorkel, just off the tip of the island, we saw much more than I was expecting! Although Amelia and I snorkel a lot, and are able to spot and recognise most of the common reef fish, it definitely helps having a guide with local knowledge. One of the first things our guide spotted was a type of 'Flounder'. Flounder are a group of flatfish species found on sandy seabeds, and when covered in sand are virtually impossible to spot! We also saw pufferfish, razorfish, a family of batfish and a lonely crab crawling up our guide's back.
The first snorkelling session lasted just over an hour, so we were happy to return and clamber aboard the boat back to Down Below's resort for a nice cup of coffee and biscuits.
Our introduction to the second site, which again was highly informative, showed us that we would have to travel a little further on our private charter to reach a submerged rocky outcrop located in shallow waters - a breeding ground for black-tip reef sharks.
Luckily Paul was able to escape the office and join us for our second trip to 'Shark Point'. Paul was a very easy going, friendly, knowledgeable guy who was keen to help. With another set of keen eyes I think we saw all there was to see that day. Besides the numerous baby black-tip reef sharks we also got to see the 'Nemo Village' - we've never seen so many clownfish aka Nemo in one place! Paul even managed to spot a hiding moray eel too.
It was now just after midday, so once we were back on Gaya Island the staff laid out a big spread of local food for lunch. We indulged in chicken curry, butternut squash mash, rice and fresh fruit for dessert.
Once our food had digested, our local guide, once again, fully detailed our third and final snorkelling session for the day. It was the furthest away and located next to one of the other islands.
Our first two sessions were brilliant, we were spoilt with activity and saw way more than we ever anticipated. But the third session, by comparison, was a little quieter. We did however get to see some of the biggest and unusual triggerfish we've ever seen. Amelia being scared of the sometimes aggressive triggerfish kept a wide berth, whilst Beth and I went and checked them out.
For Amelia's belated birthday meal and to finish off an awesome day out, we headed to one of KK's highly recommended Mexican restaurants - 'El Centro'. We thoroughly enjoyed their delicious food and more importantly the drinks - the jug of mojito slipped down far too quickly, but was happily replaced with some nice red wine!

Unsurprisingly we had a fairly sluggish and weary day after our full day of snorkelling and evening of indulgence at 'El Centro'.
After our slow start and collecting our clean laundry, we spent the day wandering around the various shopping malls. Which of course meant more than just window shopping for some!
That evening we went to the seafront to explore the local night market, and for a cheap bite to eat at one of the many street food vendors.

Finding maggots in my avocado I'd bought from the market wasn't the best start to my day, but luckily our accommodation provided a 'free breakfast' of toast and fruit so I didn't go hungry.
After a lazy day in the shopping malls, we decided to venture a little further afield and take a walk to the city mosque. The mosque was only just over five kilometres away, but in the mid-morning heat it felt like more than twice that distance. When we finally arrived dripping in sweat, we were told by a local lady that the mosque was closed for prayers. Not really wanting to hang around, we decided to just look from afar and then head off.
The mosque was nothing spectacular, even with its surrounding water - meant to give the illusion of a 'floating mosque'.
To get back, we really didn't fancy walking the five odd kilometres in the now even hotter midday heat! So we slowly strolled down the road until we managed to flag down a local bus heading back to the city centre. At only a few pennies each, it was money well spent!
Later that day, after a tasty bargain priced seafood dinner at the harbour side, we went back to the cinema. As it wasn't a brand new film ('Jurassic World') or a weekend, the cost was even cheaper than before. It feels very bizarre shelling out next to nothing for the cinema, when we are so used to spending a fortune back home.

For our last full day on Borneo, we decided it'd be nice to visit another island, the supposed quiet one called 'Mamutik Island'.
To get there, we took a boat which left hourly from Jesselton Pier. The boat was fairly priced and took roughly one hour to reach the island, which was slightly longer than predicted due to the choppy seas that day. We were joined by a Malay family on board, who seemed to be loving the boatman's full throttle approach to the oncoming waves. As they were screaming to go faster, Amelia and Beth were clinging on for dear life and far from enjoying the white knuckle ride.
Even the normally straightforward task of disembarking was a little testing! The boat was pitching and rolling all over the place, smashing into the pristine private speedboat docked next to us. I think it goes without saying that we were all pretty happy to step on the firm wooden jetty and stroll on to the crisp white sands of Mamutik Island.
Unfortunately the island was far from quiet and deserted, the dreaded orange life jackets and screaming kids were everywhere! However with a little patience and searching, down from the beach and away from the main area, we managed to find a nice quiet patch for a day of relaxing and sunbathing. Our only company during the afternoon was two giant monitor lizards scavenging through the bins.
We caught the last boat back to shore at just after 4pm, by which time the seas had calmed enough for the boatman to decide on race against the nearest boat back to shore.
The delicious feast we'd gorged on at El Centro was enough to tempt us into a return on our last night. We enjoyed some more tasty fulfilling Mexican food, but this time without the mojitos.

The next day, after exchanging our Ringgit for Rupiah, we took a bus to the airport and boarded a flight to Indonesia..