After a week of full on activities we decided it was time for a rest (and also time to do some washing!!!) The guys from Nature Lodge very kindly drove us right up to the front door of a hostel in Sandakan located on the waterfront so we didn't even have to think about finding somewhere to stay. We decided to splash out and opt for a seaview room which at 2pm had really pleasant views at 8am the next morning however it was a completely different story as the tide...

Despite visiting 3 ATM's there was no cash in Semporna. This would not normally be an issue but as we are heading for a 3 day, 2 night trip to Nature Lodge on the River Kinabatangan and we have to pay for the trip on arrival we kind of need the cash! We had instructions to get on a bus heading for Sandakan or KK and ask to be dropped off at a cafe called Medan Selera in Bukit Garam where we would be picked up by our guide at 1.30pm. This all went very smoothly bu...

How to describe Mabul Island? A very hot paradise for scuba divers! To get here we caught the bus from KK which took about 10 hours and then stayed one night in Semporna. Semporna is not the best as it's really just a gateway to the islands - I think they're really missing a trick here but never mind! The following day we caught the 'Billabong' boat out to Mabul Island which took about 1/2 hour. I was a bit worried that we might be classed as the poor cousins a...

Having left a really modern airport in Singapore we arrived at 1am in Kita Kinabalu (KK) in Borneo to what can best be descibed as a shed in comparison. For some reason David and I both had real concerns that our hostel in KK had not received our booking with hostelworld so we decided to be resourceful and ask the women at the information desk at the airport to ring the hostel and confirm our reservation for us. At first she denied knowledge of our accommodation...

Singapore is usually a place that people spend just 1 day in as a stopover to somewhere else - but why-o-why? It is a great place with so much history - we spent 4 days there, had a brilliant time and walked for miles. Our first port of call in Singapore was the Qantas offices to sort out the flights for the remainder of our journey. Initially we just wanted to change the date of our Oz flight, despite the fact that the lady dealing with us did ask us if we want...