Day 78: Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia … Borneo Island

Saturday, 25 March 2017
At Sea — South China Sea

Stats @ Ship’s Time 9:30p (MST) … UTC 11:30p (25 March)
Temp: 79.3F (26.3C)
Position: 6.58.99N / 116.28.70E

Experience, travel — these are education in themselves.
~ Euripides~

Today’s port of call in Kota Kinabalu — KK for short — returned us to Malaysia … but this time to the State of Sabah, which is located at the northern tip of Borneo Island.  Unlike our previous visit to Malaysia a few days ago when it was all about culture, and caves, and orangutans, this time we focused our attention on the waters of the South China Sea and went on a boat trip.

Our tour today was one that Sonia and Boris had organized — a snorkeling trip to the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park (TARP), which is located 2-5 miles (~ 3-8 km) offshore … depending on the island.  Rounding out our group of six were Jane and Michael from the UK.

The park, which consists of five islands, is accessible by speed boats that serve as water taxis … they leave from Jesselton Point.  The R/T fare for this service is about USD $5/person.  We paid more than that — USD $71/person including tips — and in return we had a private boat charter for five hours with Jonathan of Borneo Boats & Beaches, cruised amongst the islands, snorkeled and went swimming in deserted coves away from the beach crowds, and enjoyed a simple but very tasty lunch.  It was an excellent day … especially since the sun was out and the rain held off until it was time to return to the ship.  And we had comfortable temps on the water with a light breeze that kept it delightful.

[By the way, Sonia found out why our debit cards did not work at the ATM at our first stop in Malaysia — Visa does not service this country due to high incidences of fraud … or so her bank told her.  With that information in hand, she worked out with Jonathan that we would pay in USD — crisp $50 and $100 bills only.  No small denominations accepted as the exchange rate for those bills are extremely unfavorable.]

Off the ship around 8:30a, the six of us walked through what is essentially a commercial port a short distance from KK.  Jesselton Point wasn’t far — maybe a 10-15 minute walk — but it was already hot and humid, so we took Jonathan’s suggestion to grab a cab for about USD $10.  The number of cabbies that rushed to surround us when we arrived at the taxi rank dispersed as soon as they realized we needed just a short ride.  The driver that remained with us wanted to charge us USD $15, but we held firm at $10.  He gave in and five minutes later we were being dropped off at the pier.  In fact, it took longer to negotiate and get settled in the cab, than it did for us to get to the pier.

We didn’t quite understand what the cabbie meant when he turned us over to another guy at the pier, saying that the guy would take us to the boats.  I had a sneaking suspicion he was working out a kickback for sending business the way of the second guy.  Well, his deal fell through almost immediately when it became apparent the guy was a hawker for one of the water taxis.  We simply told them both we already had a boat lined up — which was true — and started walking.  So, word to the wise — be careful of all the hawkers.

Jesselton Point was a hubbub of activity with all sorts of boats coming and going and tourists and locals vying to get on them for a day at the beach.  It took us a few minutes to find Jonathan’s catamaran in the waiting area past the point where they collect jetty fees … which we didn’t have to pay since Jonathan had already paid them on our behalf.  The catamaran was fairly small.  Anymore than 6 would have been a crowd, so our group size was perfect.  In addition to Jonathan, there were two deckhands — brothers Midz and Rizy.  Midz accompanied the snorkelers whenever someone was in the water, towing a life ring for safety; Rizy doubled as the galley hand, preparing our lunch later.

After putting on the mandatory life jackets, we made ourselves comfortable on the boat and soon we were motoring away from the pier.  As we neared the islands, Jonathan cut the engine and came out with a map that showed the five islands that make up TARP — Pulau [island] Gaya, Pulau Sapi, Pulau Manukan, Pulau Mamutik, and Pulau Sulug — and explained how our day would progress.

Gaya was our first stop.  Seeing the crowds on the beach on this most developed of the five islands, we were glad that this was just an administrative stop to turn in the liability form the park required.  We also completed liability forms that Jonathan needed.  These formalities completed, we left Gaya behind.  We were now free to remove the life jackets — ahhh yes, feel that breeze!

If my recollection is accurate, we focused on the three smallest islands for our cruise.  At our first stop, there was only one other boat charter with just a few Chinese tourists snorkeling in deeper waters.  Jonathan took us closer into shore, anchoring in the sandy bottom where the water was 3-4 feet (1-1.2 m) deep.  The snorkelers were soon off with Midz to explore the coral reef and see what kind of fish they could find.  I climbed down the ladder into the clear water for a dip, enjoying myself immensely.  When the snorkelers returned, they had nothing but good things to say, allowing that while in places the water was murky, it was mostly crystal clear.

Gorgeous colors reminiscent of the French Pacific.

From here, we went for a short cruise that took us near Sulug, the farthest of the islands and the only one that has no facilities on it — big or small.  Jonathan pointed out the long spit of white sand beach and said the island has lots of biting sand flies.  He also explained how the shape of the beach changes as the storms come first from one direction and than the other direction.

After enjoying Sulug from a distance, we moved on to another island — I think it might have been Mamutik.  Here there was no sand bottom to drop anchor.  So, Jonathan took the boat in as close to the reef as he dared to get and let the snorkelers off.  Then, he pulled out into deeper water where he let the boat drift.  He repeated this maneuver several times, all the while keeping a sharp eye on the snorkelers.  When they returned, the four snorkelers had nothing but praise for the quantity and quality of the coral, the number and variety of fish, and the clarity of the water.  Everyone was immensely pleased with their experience.

Our next stop was for lunch.  Jonathan took us to a lovely cove where the sand bottom provided an excellent anchorage.  But before dropping anchor, we went for a short cruise to look for the turtles that he said are sometimes in these waters.  We didn’t see any, but we did spot a stingray as it sped away from us.

Lunch was simple.  Rizy had been putting together the fixings for sandwiches — egg salad and rotisserie chicken — so we helped ourselves to what he had set out.  Jonathan opened a folding table for us to eat on the small aft deck — an al fresco lunch on the water.  Dessert was fruit — small bananas … very tasty; and mangos … the most amazingly luscious ones we’ve ever eaten.  The icebox contained sodas, water, and isotonic water … which we’ve come to enjoy.

As we wrapped up and started heading back towards Kota Kinabalu, the black clouds we’d seen gathering in the distance decided to send some liquid sunshine our way.  At first the rain was light, but by the time we got to the water village for a quick look see from the boat, it was really coming down.  That didn’t stop the villagers — especially the kids — from coming out to wave at us.

Panorama of the water village on a rainy afternoon.

When we arrived at Jesselton Point a short while later the rain was just a drizzle.  A light enough rain that it didn’t bother us when Mui and I decided to stretch our legs and walk back to the ship.

It was a truly great day and we enjoyed our second visit to a Malaysian port as much as we enjoyed our first visit a few days ago.  Tomorrow is a day at sea.

For more photos from today, click here.

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