Kota Kinabalu on the north coast of Sabah in Malaysia is often a gateway for travellers heading off to climb the famous Mt Kinabalu. We'd already decided that the three-day trek to the summit was something we were happy to miss. The town initially appeared more run down than we'd expected. Lots of residents appear to live in dirty conditions in tenement style dwellings between the various hotels. We'd noticed on the town map that there were a large number of malls here, but on closer inspection, although there were some Brand names most of the malls were populated with kiosk-style shop units housing fashion-less clothes, tour operators, opticians or food stalls. The harbour front provided an interesting mix of local markets, and a high-end mall, Oceana, which seemed to be 50% unoccupied, but it has to be said that it was worth splashing out on a Starbucks coffee or Fruit shake for the view alone.

A walk along the front away from the centre of the town took us to Jesselton pier, the departure point for ferries heading to the islands forming the Taman Abdul Rahman marine park. The other direction took us out towards the airport past a village of stilt houses, wooden homes built over the water. It was quite depressing to see the amount of plastic and other rubbish floating in the water alongside the path. Debris comes inland each day with the tide. Despite this, the water seemed to be teeming with wildlife. We saw numerous monitor lizards swimming in the water, as well as fish, egrets and other birds along the water's edge.

One morning we decided to take a ferry out to Manukan island. The promise of snorkelling from the beach enticed us to don our swimsuits again. We made our way to the booking offices on the pier to find the place swarming with more tourists than we had seen all trip. Not deterred we bought our tickets for the next available sailing and hired a couple of snorkel sets before joining the melee waiting for the boat. The speedboat bounced over the waves drenching us in copious amounts of water at the same time until we pulled in at the small island of Sapi. The small beach looked busy and we were pleased we'd made the decision to go to Manukan instead. Some of the group climbed out and after being replaced by a small group of other new travellers, and we were off again. This leg of the trip proved a little smoother, and about ten minutes later we were climbing out onto the beach at Manukan.

The beach was noticeably quieter so having changed into our swim gear we found a spot of sand, and John headed into the water- like Daniel Craig in James Bond. He had to pick his way carefully over the pieces of broken coral which had been washed up onto the surface under his feet, but once he'd lowered his mask and adjusted his snorkel he was away. Alternately floating and kicking his way around the shallows he eventually returned to his towel a few minutes later to report that the visibility was really poor and he couldn't see anything. As the wind blew across the top of the water it was doing a great job of agitating the sand and debris below. Undaunted I took my mask and snorkel and took my turn in the water. The water was indeed full of sand, leaves, and pieces of dead palm trees, so every few minutes I would jump with surprise as something brushed against me. We'd also seen the notice advising the possibility of stinging jellyfish so anything remotely resembling a white or opaque shapeless blob became something to dodge. With my nerves in tatters, I swam over to the legs of the pier where the water wasn't as disturbed and I was able to spot some of the stripey fish which swim around here. There were also lots of crabs climbing up the posts trying to avoid the waves and enjoy some dry time.

It seemed much scarier to swim about in semi visibility, especially when large shoals were swimming beneath you in the shallow water. When we'd snorkelled in deeper waters off Thailand and Vietnam the fish had been able to swim deeper as they passed beneath us. Eventually, I climbed out and picked my way across the broken coral to where John sat on the beach. He was a bit put out when he found out I'd seen fish., but as the water was still quite rough he decided to concentrate on his tan as a consolation until he could get some comfort food at one of the food stalls. As we returned to the jetty after lunch we were able to see many of the fish as the water was significantly calmer and the waves had subsided, enabling John to see for himself the variety of fish there before we returned to the mainland.

The more time we spent in Kota Kinabalu the more we grew to like it, and when we returned after our five-night excursion to Sandakan, it was like returning home, as things were becoming familiar and we could easily find our way around. We were even acting as online travel guides for a couple of young German explorers who we'd originally met in Laos, and were now heading in our direction.

Our last day was spent taking a long hike down to Tanjung Aru beach. Edged with palm trees it was a lovely setting for the sweeping bay. Despite running alongside the airport it seemed quiet and peaceful, and apart from another couple, and a small group of beach cleaners it was devoid of activity. Neither of us had brought swimsuits but we did roll up our trousers and venture into the shallows. It was like paddling in a warm bath, as the water was so warm. A lovely end to our time in Kota Kinabalu.