Tropical Winter, Sat, 26 Aug 2017 | written by Simon
Simon at a City, Sea in Asia, Malaysia

Despite the noise from the street, I slept really well today. The earplugs work wonders. Plus the dorm room I booked ended up being a single, as nobody else booked the other beds. The night was a bit colder though, just 23°C…

The hostel I stay in, Lucy’s Homestay, is really small, cute and old-school. Super basic stuff, kitchen is on the back balcony, the shower is just a showerhead over the sink, breakfast is toast with jam, cats wonder about, rooms have no AC, and the owners hang out in the tiny common area with their baby. I like it a lot, especially since room is just 25RM a night.

I decided to leave the city behind and go to the islands, so after breakfast I went back to the marina hoping to find the guy who sold it so well yesterday. He wasn’t there, so I just went to the main jetty and booked it with Sunny Rainbow Tours, taking some snorkeling equipment with it. The ticket hall was very confusing – some 15 different companies had their little stands and it was difficult to know which one to choose and why. But Sunny Rainbow it is, and at 10:40 I boarded a speedboat to Sapi Island. And speedy it is! Took us just 15 mins to get there and I got wind in my hair and splashed water in my face all right.

Sapi is quite small, but very close to a much bigger Gaya Island. As soon as I got out, I heard my name – the guy from the marina from yesterday was there, happy I made it. I packed my phone and money in two plastic bags, put them in my bum bag, left the backpack with the lifeguard, and went straight to the snorkeling. Alas, the coral here is even deader than the one we’ve seen by Low Island. The fact that the beach is really full of (mostly Chinese) tourists, and there is some rubbish floating in the water, might have something to do with it. But there were still bits that were really nice, and both the coral and the fish were different to those I saw in Oz.

Soon it was time to board the boat to Manukin Island, the smallest of the islands around KK. It was less crowded, but still quite busy. I decided to make the most of the fact that there is at least some rainforest in here, so I abandoned the beach to go for a short walk. It was so nice that I ended up finding a quiet spot where I spent pretty much all afternoon there, reading. When it was time to go back, it turned out that someone nicked the snorkel I left with the lifeguard – only the life jacket and fins were there. Searching brought nothing, the guards shrugged their shoulders, and I ended up having to pay a 75RM fine.

Back in the jetty, I heard my name called again – it was Ayr, the snake expert from Mulu! He stopped me to say he checked the snake and it was most likely a Malcolm pit viper, not thought extinct, but literally never before sighted in this area or anywhere below 1000m altitude. Mulu is at some 30m. So yeah, I accidentally a herpetologic discovery.

Being quite hungry, I went to the Filipino Market where I emerged the land of delicious smells. I got some chicken skewers and a shish of squids, chargrilled on the spot, and then lots of sweets – not even sure what they were, but they were tasty, if not very sweet.

From there, I climbed the sunset observation spot – it’s been cloudy all day today, but it still offered some nice views of the city and beautifully backlit clouds. Now chilling back in the hostel and getting ready to pack and go home tomorrow. I managed to borrow some shampoo from the hostel owner and wash my hair for the first time since Miri. The little kitty joined me for cuddles again.