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Apa Khabar?
It was very sad to say goodbye to all my new friends in Nepal (in Agonda, they know what I mean), and travelling alone for 26 hours made it even worse.. But luckily I made it to Malaysia in one piece, although really tired and hungry! BJ came to pick me up from the airport which was great because I was in no mood to start fighting with taxi drivers about the fare.BJ and Yuin, the owners of the hostel are extremely nice people and so incredibly hepful!They organized my PADI course and accomodation in Semporna, confirmed my booking at Uncle Tan and even took me to the bank and sorted out my deposit..And get this, even gave me a bowl to mix my hair colour in!! Anyone going to Kota Kinabalu, stay in Kinabalu backpacker's lodge!
I was surprised to find KK (and Malaysia in general) to be very western, or maybe it just feels that way after India..
Anyway, I welcomed the western toilets, Burger King, KFC and big shopping malls where they leave you (relatively) alone to shop in peace, with open arms!!! Unfortunately the shopping here is so good that I already had to send a 5kg package to Finland.. Hopefully I can limit my shopping spree to KK and concentrate on adventures for the rest of my time here in Borneo!
It is extremely cheap to go to the cinema here, which makes me really happy! In Finland a ticket costs up to 460MYR, whereas here I get to see a film for 7MYR! Score! I already went to see Marley & Me, and tonight is Benjamin Button's turn.
Yesterday I went to Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park, to a small island called Mamutik. I rented snorkeling gear and had a really good time! The fish are really colourful here, and even though I'm sure I'll find even better coral spots in the very near future, it was brilliant for a first-timer! The fish are not scared of people (you can feed them if you wish) which sometimes made me scared of the fish. I know they were very small, but I had an incident with some blood-thirsty perch when I was younger (my family might remember this,it was in Bjorko in the crater lake?They really came at me!)
Anyway, because the fish here are used to being fed by humans, it is not advisable to squiggle your finger in front of them.Because they bite, as I found out the hard way..But still I had a blast swimming with the fish and exploring the seabead filled with huge lumps of coral.I also saw these hilarious sausage-type things, they were everywhere and quite big too! Unfortunately I still didn't own waterproof sunlotion (I do now, I can tell you!!!) and although my time in the water was fun, the feeling I got afterwards was not. I managed to burn my ENTIRE backside, from head to toes and arms too. I was fighting back the tears while desperately applying layers and layers of after-sun..
And I thought I had it bad when I burned the backs of my knees in Agonda! Now, I had some good advice from Karo to buy 100% aloe vera gel, which I did today.Why I didn't get it after my last sunburn is a mystery..I also invested in some waterproof sunlotion, as I really want to learn from my mistakes (plural..)
But all in all I have really enjoyed Kota Kinabalu, even though it gets horribly sweaty during the day. Monsoon season is coming to an end, but still lingers around. Tomorrow i bid farewell to KK and make my way to Mount Kinabalu where I will climb to the summit known as Low's Peak(4095m).Now anyone who knows me is probably thinking I can't do it,even I feel that way, but since this trip is about trying new things I thought why not!? (on holiday, hahaha that still gets me every time!!) It's gonna be a tough job, I'll let you know how I managed!
After the mountain I'm heading straight to the jungle, I hope there won't be any tigers there as I'll be too stiff to run..
I hear the distant call of my favourite shopping mall again so I have to run (metaphorically) but I'll keep you all posted on my latest adventures!!!
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