Sunday, September 28, 2003
Day 7 in Malaysia, Day 2 in KK
We had a great day! It started with getting up late and having a simple breakfast of toast and fresh Papaya. Next we booked the tickets and accommodation in Mt Kinabalu National Park. We were tempted to try to climb it after hearing stories from other people staying at the hostel but have decided against it. Instead we will explore the foothills and surrounding area.
We rushed to the Ferry Terminal at around 12 hoping we could get a boat to the islands off the coast of KK. We had heard that there is really good snorkeling to be had, again from others at the hostel. We were greeted by a man who rushed us inside, told us what ticket to buy then rushed us to his boat. Usually we are put off by pushy people over here (of which there are many) but this turned out to be a good thing. We found the tickets were to visit 2 islands each for 2 hours. We had no idea which islands they were or which were the best.
The first was Manukan which had damaged coral, minimal fish and over priced food, 14.50 Ringit for chippies (usually about 5 Ringit) and a buffet lunch for 60 Ringit (a meal is also usually 5 ringit) naturally we passed on these. Most of the people on our boat stayed on this island. We went on to the next island with a very nice Malaysian couple on holiday from KL.
Sapi island was on another level. The beach was much nicer (not so much rubbish floating around) there was live coral and heaps of fish. There were all kinds, some black and white striped, some with blue and yellow and one type would change to all the colours of the rainbow depending on the light. It was kinda spooky when a school would surround you. A brown type of fish was more inquisitive than the rest and would swim right up to you, quite unsettling if you aren't ready for it. The water is so warm it is like walking into a tepid bath, you could stay in it all day.
On our way back to the hostel from the ferry terminal we came across people selling durian, we decided that it had to be done. The smell was not nearly as offensive as we had been lead to believe although we were outside. The durian has spikey green skin and inside is mostly white pith. Within the pith there are about 6 cavities each one contains one or more egg shaped things that look like embryos complete with a thin outer skin. The flesh is a mustard colour and the texture of custard. Inside this is a large stone so the edible part is quite small. How to describe the taste? I can't really, but we found it unpleasant but not as bad as we expected.
Got an early start tomorrow so we are off to bed now.
We had a great day! It started with getting up late and having a simple breakfast of toast and fresh Papaya. Next we booked the tickets and accommodation in Mt Kinabalu National Park. We were tempted to try to climb it after hearing stories from other people staying at the hostel but have decided against it. Instead we will explore the foothills and surrounding area.
We rushed to the Ferry Terminal at around 12 hoping we could get a boat to the islands off the coast of KK. We had heard that there is really good snorkeling to be had, again from others at the hostel. We were greeted by a man who rushed us inside, told us what ticket to buy then rushed us to his boat. Usually we are put off by pushy people over here (of which there are many) but this turned out to be a good thing. We found the tickets were to visit 2 islands each for 2 hours. We had no idea which islands they were or which were the best.
The first was Manukan which had damaged coral, minimal fish and over priced food, 14.50 Ringit for chippies (usually about 5 Ringit) and a buffet lunch for 60 Ringit (a meal is also usually 5 ringit) naturally we passed on these. Most of the people on our boat stayed on this island. We went on to the next island with a very nice Malaysian couple on holiday from KL.
Sapi island was on another level. The beach was much nicer (not so much rubbish floating around) there was live coral and heaps of fish. There were all kinds, some black and white striped, some with blue and yellow and one type would change to all the colours of the rainbow depending on the light. It was kinda spooky when a school would surround you. A brown type of fish was more inquisitive than the rest and would swim right up to you, quite unsettling if you aren't ready for it. The water is so warm it is like walking into a tepid bath, you could stay in it all day.
On our way back to the hostel from the ferry terminal we came across people selling durian, we decided that it had to be done. The smell was not nearly as offensive as we had been lead to believe although we were outside. The durian has spikey green skin and inside is mostly white pith. Within the pith there are about 6 cavities each one contains one or more egg shaped things that look like embryos complete with a thin outer skin. The flesh is a mustard colour and the texture of custard. Inside this is a large stone so the edible part is quite small. How to describe the taste? I can't really, but we found it unpleasant but not as bad as we expected.
Got an early start tomorrow so we are off to bed now.
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