Discomfort rising, its time to get up. Very little sleep. A sumo wrestler must have slept in this bed previously as the dip in the middle has a small gravitational pull. Something you find when budgeting on travels is less sleep but its never a concern. Breakfast consists of toast buttered with a spoon and coffee with small bits floating in it. The only part of the lonely planets recommendation that is correct, is the staff are indeed friendly. Stepping out onto the streets of the busy town, we walk through a market with more bananas than seem feasible to buy. Heading to the waterside I take the token photo of the islands in the distance. There is not a lot to do here and in the powerful heat we meander back to the hostel. I start talking to several girls travelling. A Canadian, 2 Aussies and 2 English girls. They provide valuable info, from the tough climb of Mount Kinabulu to the Sipadan area with the Orangutans and jungle trips.
Monica has a stomach bug in Thailand so we book to get out of this town and will meet further along the road. Making our way to the local shopping centre we find a food court. A couple of cheap dishes consisting of rice and noodles provides some sustenance for the afternoon. A nice view overlooking the harbour, a retreat from the sun. We watch some traditional dancing whilst eating an ice cream in the shopping centre. Craig's sunglasses fall from our viewpoint but no dancers are injured.
Back to the hostel. I am well and truly finished with KK. The rest of the afternoon is spent catching up on sleep, before we leave the cell for sunset. Sitting on the water front, a welcome breeze cools the skin. Our taxi to the bus station will pick us up at 6:15am before our 10 hour journey starts.
Whilst we sit 4 students interview Craig on his thoughts on transgender. Priceless (LT). Whilst being filmed on a go pro for their final project I enjoy the show. After the interview we head to the night market. Some of the largest tiger prawns I've seen on offer. Unfortunately the smell from the docks is off putting and we find a local variation on Vietnamese near the hostel. Once back we meet our new roommate from Spain. She is escaping the lack of work in her country and volunteering for work in the East. Fair play to her as a cheap way of travelling.
Sit in the common room chatting with travellers for awhile. Reminds me of some of the hostels I stayed at in the past.