Part 48: Borneo.....
My no fuss, and certainly no frills budget flight to Kota Kinabalu, Borneo was first thing in the morning from Manila's tiny domestic airport.
No cafe's, no food, just a waiting lounge, with the flight numbers written by hand on a board inside.
Yes, this was just about as budget as you could possibly get. Not that it bothered me anymore like it used too in the past, the cheaper the better now.
In the distance the grey cloudy sky looked angry, with this forecasted typhoon coming in fast from the north. Luckily for me, I was heading south, although it was still a bit of a race against time to not get caught up in the storm - I sincerely hoped the plane was not delayed.
Weary from sadness at leaving the Philippines, and missing my friends still on my mind, I forgot to exchange some Malaysian currency.
The immigration staff here advised me to change my money out side the airport, even though I had checked my luggage in already and was waiting in the departure lounge, but they still let me out of the airport across the busy street to the money changer.
Seems like no one was that bothered and one less thing to worry about when I landed in Borneo. Luckily for me they had some Malaysian Ringgit.
My flight took off precisely on time, leaving the Philippines and its angry typhoon behind. Still a little tainted with sadness, I tried to take my mind off it by thinking of all the places of interest on my list of things to do when I landed. Having said that my best experiences were when I did not know to much about the destinations. With no lonely planet book to guide me, It was much more fun and exciting to find out discovering things for myself.
Its famous dense tropical jungles and high mountains to my right, and blue sea to my left were clearly visible from the sky - it looked pretty incredible from up here.
Now finally, I was starting to feel the buzz and getting really excited as we approached to land.
There were huge Malaysian military cargo planes sharing the runway here, dwarfing my Air Asia jet.
The giant propellers sounded like rumbling thunder, vibrating the ground beneath my feet. It was deafening.
looking all around at the green mountains from the ground was just as incredible, totally visible when walking across the loud runway to the arrivals and immigration.
They granted me a 1 month travellers visa with no problem and I proceeded to the taxi.
You have to pay the airport in advance for the taxi to avoid the illegal unlicensed cabs - a little more expensive but safe in the knowledge that you would at least reach your destination with out a scenic detour!
My budget £6 a night hostel was 5 minutes walk from Kota Kinabalu centre, amongst a small scattering of other cheaper hotels and more hostels. There were quite a few backpackers on the streets, so easily distinguishable from one traveller to the next now - for example the seasoned traveller, or daddy's little rich kid, 'gap year flashpackers' in Tiva sandals stereotypes. The accents are a dead giveaway - I was neither seasoned nor rich, but there seemed to be a awful lot of the latter here.
Then that brief moment of anticipation on approaching the hostel hit me.
Like if my choice was a good or bad one to stay here - I would find out soon enough.
The two smiling young girls on reception greeted me nicely, then gave me the keys to my dorm.
They had a strict no shoes rule in place which was perfectly cool.
The general rule of thumb for me was as long as the wifi and air con were in a reasonable working condition, then I could live with the rest of all the little inconveniences thrown at me.
Namely smelly feet, cramped dorms, uncomfortable beds, messy guests and zero privacy. But thankfully this particular hostel looked ok, with a great lounge area an added bonus.
After a very quick pit stop and freshen up, It was time for a walk out side.
Kota Kinabalu (pronounced koh-tah ki-nah-bah-loo) has a predominantly muslim population, and with the city being a week into Ramadan - people were fasting.
KK is situated on the west side of this tropical island, and the capital of the Malaysian state Sabah. The location of the city is absolutely perfect to see the rest of Borneo.
My first impressions of this modern capital that stood out, was the warm hospitality - everyone was super friendly.
Just around the corner you have long sandy beaches on paradise islands, virgin coral reefs, tropical rain forests, and the magnificent Mount Kinabalu (more on that later) is only 90 minutes away - I could not wait to explore.
Though only a few months prior, this region was considered unsafe to travel to by the British government who issued warnings to stay well away.
Tensions were apparently running high in the eastern region of Borneo as 21 people, including police officers were reported killed, and several tourist hostages taken. Fighting then escalated over a historic claim to the area by a religious group from the southern Philippines.
Tourism was briefly effected, but this didn't put me off travelling here what so ever.
I found a Malaysian night food market, goodness me the smells were quite amazing
The vendors were organised according to what they sell, each section consists of cooked food to be served on the spot, exquisite seafood, barbecued chicken wings, flame grilled red snapper, stuffed squid, prawns, wraps, deep fried and battered vegetables, racks of lamb, crispy chicken, kebabs, cakes, sweets, soups, stews, curries, rice, noodles and much more, the variety was staggering - and so cheap too. Again my eyes were bigger than my stomach and I couldn't resist eating my way around.
The vendors were so friendly, smiling away, and atmosphere was so much more laid back than what I'd been used to recently.
This place was open every evening and 5 mins from my hostel meaning I could save a fortune on food. Talk about perfect!
Like I mentioned before in previous blogs, when it comes to street food in Southeast Asia, people can feel sometimes intimidated by the poor food handling practices, but by restricting yourself to hotel restaurants and established touristy eateries, it will put you off one of the main highlights of traveling in the first place. This explains why adventurous travellers are the main customers or like me, poor ones.
Continuing my walk along the seafront, the busy night market was full of mainly locals and awesome sculptures, carpets, Arabic craft and ornaments - I absolutely loved this place, sewing machinists lined the bay extending along the seafront, it went on for quiet a while. With a back drop of fishing boats gently bobbing up and down on the water. They faced the night market in a neat row. Places like this never fail to amaze me.
Steering away from the food stalls, I ventured further into the walkways where there were tonnes of freshly caught yellowfin tuna for sale under dozens of makeshift blue tents.
They had Sharks, stingray, porcupine, puffer fish, the biggest prawns I have ever seen in my life, spanner crab and a myriad of bizarre looking seafood - trust me this was not your average fish market!
It was a massive bonus that my hostel was so close too.
So far, the backpackers where not the most talkative bunch this time round. No one spoke to me in the lounge, and my dorm was not much better either.
Finally one odd chap made some interesting conversation, telling me he was on the run trying to avoid the authorities. You are normally guaranteed to meet all kinds of personalities but this guy was of a whole new level.
In his early 50's and originally from Quebec, he went on to explain he'd. had been travelling, or on the run as he put it, for nearly 20 years and been moving without a passport, relying on unconventional means of transport to avoid detection.
Fascinating, if not slightly unbelievable circumstances, this guy was funny.
I retired for the night to my packed, cramped, and stuffy dorm, where one inconsiderate young girl carried on like she was the only one in the room. Switching off the air-con with out one single moments consideration for any of the other guests.
Her designer back pack and its entire contents were led out in a huge mess all over the floor, her soggy towel was hanging on my bunk bed ladder, as was her underwear!
I'm not sure what surprised me more - this incredibly annoying messy girl, or the fact no one else in the room seemed at all bothered by it.
When she spoke her posh accent confirmed my suspicions. She was definitely a flash-packer!
This was going to be fun......