More Sabah

After our excursion to Mt. Kinabalu, we headed back to Kota Kinabalu to regroup. Vacationing in the tropics wouldn't be complete without some beach action, so we decided to take a boat to the nearby islands. We decided to go to Mamutik island because it had the best reviews from most people we talked to. To get to the island, we had to take a boat along with about ten other people. The weather was beautiful and the boat ride was really fun. It felt good to be on the water again.

When we arrived at Mamutik, the beach was packed with people. We were planning on camping out and we were a bit disappointed, but at 4PM when the last boat left for the mainland, we were the only people left on the island. Aside from five local staff, we had the run of the entire island to ourselves. The snorkeling was simply amazing. This part of Borneo is world famous for the quality of it's coral, but having never snorkeled in the tropics, I had nothing to compare it to. I don't have an underwater camera, but it was beautiful. My favorite part was bringing bread out into the coral and letting it go. Hundreds of fish would swarm all around you, trying to get their share of the food. It was a wonderful experience.

We went back to KK the next day in the early afternoon. The week was starting to wind up, so we decided that we had to go out to the bar at least one night. In case you don't know, because of the large Muslim population, alcohol is highly taxed in Malaysia. Borneo is nothing like the party free for all that can be found in Thailand. With that being said, there are some bars to be found. We first went to a place called The Cock & Bull...It was easily one of the worst bars I've been to in my life. It didn't take long for us to try another spot, Cocoon, and this one was much more fun. We stayed out late, drinking Johnny Walker with some local students, listening to a live band playing every cliched cover you've ever heard.

With that, I had one more day in KK. Tyler and I bummed around town for most of the day, catching a movie (for only $1.25) and spending lots of time at the arcade. Tyler is machine when it comes to Tekken. My flight back to Taipei left at 7AM, so another English teacher from Taiwan who was staying at our hostel and I shared a cab to the airport.

Overall, the trip was awesome and I couldn't have asked for more, except for some decent weather on the mountain. While the party scene is much more scaled back than other southeast Asian countries, the outside activities were top notch. Most people spoke English, and those that didn't spoke some Chinese, so communicating wasn't a problem.