Late Saturday afternoon, I left Hong Kong for Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
After a 3 hour flight, it took us only 45 minutes to get to the resort where we feasted on a Asian Buffet dinner at the Shangri La's Rasa Ria Cafe right on the beachfront. The sambal kangkong was cooked fresh for us, while we tucked into cornflake prawns, chicken satays, fried rice with pinches of sambal belachan when desired and washed it all down with calamansi juice. I love Malaysian cuisine.
Right next to the restaurant sat a Live Band neighboring a well-stocked bar facing the ocean, with rattan umbrellas and bar stools. While music serenaded the sky, we sat there drinking our whisky sodas listening to the crash of the waves in the distance. A handsome half moon was out so the stars made their guest appearance too.
With tummies full and happily intoxicated, we adjourned back to our rooms to discover the beauty of our new Ocean Wing suites. Fitted with everything one might need in their personal haven, we sipped vodka shots on our balcony overlooking the glorious pool and glazed out to the sea.
The next afternoon, after a hearty brunch, we lazed by the kidney shaped pool and had foot massages. Swam in the sun and dropped into the spa for a traditional massage before setting our eyes on one of the most beautiful sunsets ever. A
s
we walked along the beach, discovering nature and marveling over the
corpse of a jellyfish, deep oranges, baby blues and all of dusk's
shades filled the heavens. By the time we walked back to our room and
filled the bath tub on the veranda, the Moon showered the waters with
light and we looked into the dark mysterious distance as our muscles
relaxed into the warm bubbles.And once we were ready, room service staff prepared a candle lit dinner for us on the mezzanine and we savoured our local delights with glee.
Then Adrian, our guide, brought us down to the Tambalang river where the Bajao people live, to climb onboard a sampan which took us along the river bed in search of fire flies.
As I looked ahead and saw the tree glow with little freckles of light, I found it hard to contain my excitement and awe. Anil, the boat man cupped a few of them (skillfully and delicately) to show us what they looked like normally and I was surprise to find it reminded me of the tip of a thin red and black matchstick. We were extremely lucky, our guides said, as they had never seen so many fireflies on one night ever. And we felt exhilarated, digesting how fortunate we were to experience Mother Nature's wonder in it's full glory.
After about an hour on the water, we headed back to have fresh coconut juice and local treats in a typical Bajao home. I even tried my hand at making a delicious Bajao fritter on the stove and got to see how the locals live in their kampongs.
We
sat together on the floor to chat and eat and exchange cultures and
jokes. And when he heard thunder in the background, we knew it was time
to head back to call it a night. The drive back featured padi fields
and vast farmland and we talked about adventures of Mount Kinabalu.The following morning started early with Kathy the Orang Utan. We had a private meeting and I got to cradle Kathy, gander at her hands, study her expressions and share some energy with the young ape. It was magical. Then we watched as she fed while swinging and trimming through the trees, scrutinizing the branches and plucking fruit. As we blew her kisses and trekked out of the forest, we headed to the beach where Kimmy and Adrian were waiting for us with 4 ATVs.
After we put on our helmets and went through necessary safety briefings, we revved our engines and sped toward the swamps to ride through jungle. Since it had rained overnight, the ride was very muddy and we got stuck a few times and had to be pulled out of the rut but we braved on and were rewarded with Sabah coffee and banana fritters at the village cafe on the other side. As we washed our faces and braced ourselves for another motor trail, we looked down the river just to admire the view and the mountains by the horizon. East Malaysia is stunning.
We rode our ATVs to the beach where we fishtailed in the sand and raced along the water's edge.
Our need for speed blew wind threw our hair and kissed our faces with warm exhilaration.
And then, we threw off our helmets, peeled off our layers and dived into the cool comfort of the pool. We swam away the mud, the heat, the aches and the stings of the afternoon and quenched our thirst with fresh calamansi juice and ice lemon tea with plum seeds.
We floated in silence, thinking about the events of the day with deep fulfillment and gratitude.
Next, we went for a drive around the base of Mount Kinabalu. Just for the incredible views and to look at local villages and east Malaysian houses. The villages are so multi-racial there that pagans and Christians live right next to each other and Muslim homes can be seen right next to Catholic churches. All flowing alongside harmoniously. Families set up stalls right by the roadsides selling anything from durians to rambutans and whatever fruits their gardens reeped. There are even hot springs in the area but we decided to leave that indulgence for another trip.
I tried a local dish called Hinava which is Sabah's version of markerel carpaccio. It is civeched in lemon juice, ginger, chili, shallots and lemongrass and it is extremely tasty.
And finally, true to Singaporean style, on the way to the airport, we stopped by the Town's Pasar Malam food market and gorged on ikan bakar and udang bakar, accompanied by bbq chicken heart, liver and wings. If we had stayed to discover the rest of the market, it would have set us back another day so we tore ourselves away and dutifully went to the airport.
Our flight was delayed an hour so we sat at the coffee shop, glad to have more time to enjoy KK just by drinking Sabah Milk tea.
As we pulled off the runway, I inhaled deeply and thanked my lucky stars along with the angels and goddesses and higher beings, and bid farewell to KK as the lights of an incredible place faded into the nightsky.
