May 16, 2007

Kota Kinabalu (BORNEO)

Living Like a Local in Kota Kinabalu

At 8am this morning I left my hostel with Arney, one of the women who works at North Borneo Backpacker's Hostel, with a mission to teach her how to swim on a local island. At the ferry terminal we bought a couple tickets to Manukan, grabbed some food from a local shop, and set off in a small 6m boat. The water was choppy and we were soaking wet by the time we arrived at the island, but the day was as perfect as ever and I hardly minded. I could tell Arney was having a tougher time because her knuckles were white against the railing; she is terrified of the water.

But that is what I was hoping to fix. In my mind, there is nothing to fear from the water itself - it is all the damn creatures lurking below the surface that cause problems.

The island was deserted with the sole exception of a few entrepreneurial restaurants and shops renting beach gear, but there were five or so other groups who came to enjoy the weather and a nice swim in what is heralded as shark-free waters - not that I would ever trust such promises.

Despite coming all the way out to Manukan Island, Arney wanted nothing to do with the water. This didn't stop me from running in for a dive, but I had to be careful because there was coral within 15m of shore. I really should have rented a mask and snorkel, but since I didn't feel like paying the extortionist prices I probably took a year away from the lifespan of my eyesight by keeping my eyes open underwater.

There was a buoy floating a good 50 meters offshore, and since I wasn't getting anywhere with convincing Arney to swim I decided to go for it. I swam over to a Japanese man snorkeling near the shore (with a life jacket on, mind you) and recruited him to come along with me. I figured if a shark did happen along I could swim faster than Naka and I wasn't hindered by an awkward life vest - it makes you a bit of a sitting duck, if you ask me.

With his underwater camera tied around his neck and his wife silently observing from shore we fought strong sideward currents to reach the buoy. I would be lying if I said I wasn't concerned with "the damn lurking creatures" I mentioned earlier, but I did manage to swim down for a closer look at the fish and coral. At the very least a mask would have been a godsend. Fortunately, the Japanese man had an underwater camera that he used to snap pictures from the surface, and coupled with my blurry vision I was able to piece together a picturesque reality.

When we swam back to shore I began chatting with an Australian man who came to Borneo to re-trace a death march the Japanese forced on Australian and British troops during WWII. I didn't really know how to respond  when he told me this because I just finished swimming with a Japanese man. I imagine anyone who recently finished reliving a 5-day death march inflicted by the Japanese would not be keen on the "bonding experience" I just took part in.

After a couple hours of swimming about we headed to the other side of the island for lunch, and by 1pm we caught a ferry back to Kota Kinabalu - just before the rain hit.

I holed myself up in a small cafe that offered wi-fi and tolerated the high price of coffee because it guaranteed me several hours of uninterrupted internet access.

I met up with the Canadian-born Cambridge graduate Joy for a dinner at a local Indian restaurant that was recommended by several locals. We each had a layout of five vegetables and white rice served on a banana leaf, along with a curried vegetable roti (crisp, flat bread stuffed with veggies), and masala chicken. After India, there aren't many foods I still find spicy, but a cold bottle of Carslberg is still a good idea.

Three hours blew by while Joy and I chatted, but then I remembered I was going out with several of the girls I met at Kinabalu Park HQ for a birthday celebration. My mobile phone showed seven missed calls and four new messages, so I quickly threw on a pair of jeans and t-shirt before getting picked up. We drove to Island Bar in the neighboring city of Bandusan where we met a group of 25-30 people. All of the music was western - some day I will get around to posting just how real globalization is - but I was still the only westerner in the place.

Even though it is a Malay country, many people in Borneo love to have a drink at the bar on big occasions. I don't normally drink very much, but as the only foreigner there was an endless stream of people buying me a round (they wouldn't allow me to spend a penny all night). Eventually, I had Mariana (the girl who I became friends with) act as my shield so I wouldn't have to keep drinking.

Toward the end of the night I had the DJ play "Leaving on a jet plane" while I did karaoke for the whole bar. It was a great deal of fun, and a perfect fit considering I fly to Manila on Friday.

Here is video of the birthday girl drinking a flaming drink while the bar cheered her on:

I got back to my hostel a little after 2am and I began the long process of sending off emails and working out the logistics of some pressing concerns. I may be somewhere "exotic" like Borneo, but I will never be able to let go of all my commitments and responsibilities.

Nor do I really want to.

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