Above: Scenery on my short flight from Kota Kinabalu to Tawau.
My favourite Malaysian city
I take sleep for granted because I normally sleep very well. My few nights in Kuching before this sub-trip hadn’t been so. So, my second night of awesome sleep in Kota Kinabalu was very welcome.
The weather had cleared up. My plan to stay indoors until check-out seemed a bit too slothful. Heading out about 0915, the weather was un-humid and the temperature pleasant. I don’t have many such experiences in Malaysia.
I walked along the waterfront and back slightly more inland. This is possibly my favourite city in Malaysia after Penang (it used to be a tie). It is along a narrow strip of land. Development came really late. So high-rise instead of ugly shophouses like in Kuching. KK is possibly my favourite city in Malaysia after Penang. It is along a narrow strip of land. Development came really late. So high-rise instead of ugly shophouses like in Kuching.
Traffic is unfortunately concentrated along the narrow strip and once all the high-rises are occupied, it will be even worse. I hope they’re planning for good public transport.
As a Sarawakian I cannot live permanently in Sabah but I can in Penang. The two Borneo states of Malaysia have separate immigration control and people from the peninsular can’t live in either of these states. But us Borneans can live over in the peninsular.
It was hot and sweaty by the time I returned to my room some 45 mins later.
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- On Kota Kinabalu’s waterfront.
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- On Kota Kinabalu’s waterfront.
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- Safety at construction site includes a Chinese shrine. Muslim lady tidying the shrine.
I checked out after 1100 and went to the Jesselton Duty Free which wasn’t open on my last visit. It turned out to be just a duty-free store rather than a mall with them as an anchor tenant. So my plan for lunch there didn’t eventuate.
The weather was pleasant enough for a walk to Bamboo Nasi Lemak which I saw yesterday. I ordered a Mee Siam and an iced lime tea. The latter was in a sealed plastic cup which broke when I poked the straw into it. I had splashes on myself and the liquid on the floor eventually soaked into my backpack unnoticed. Arrggghhh! I hate it when things like this happen.
Flying to Tawau and onwards to Semporna
I found a Grab vehicle from the restaurant to the airport about 2h before my 1505 flight to Tawau. Bag-drop was long for both airlines which made me pleased I was travelling without a checked-in bag this trip. We left about 10 mins early for the 50 min flight (40 min airborne). It was quite a scenic route with the Sutera Harbour resorts, the sea, the city centre, Mount Kinabalu, pristine rainforest, mangroves and finally palm oil plantations. See picture above.
The dive centre had arranged transport to Semporna for me. I had to wait for more passengers but after a few minutes they put me in another van which was headed to Semporna empty. We added an extra passenger en route and I got to Semporna about 90 mins later around 1800.
Evening in Semporna
My first stop was Scuba Gen’s dive centre where I met Evon to try my gear for size. Due to the pandemic I had to buy my own mouthpiece at MYR35.
I walked to the Pacific Inn hotel nearby. I had been warned of a room change mid-stay but it turned out to be two room changes mid-stay. From a queen to a twin and back to a queen. But when I told them I didn’t care which bedding configuration I had but would prefer not to change, they managed to place me in a queen for the whole five nights. In any case, I was lucky that the dive centre had upgraded me to from a bunk room to a hotel room.
The hotel is located in the newer part of town not present when I visited in 2013 but already there in 2017 when it was booming with mainland Chinese tourists. Now, there are even more high-rise hotels completed or in progress but on hold due to the pandemic.
This dive trip was booked last year but had to be put on ice for nearly a year due to Covid-19 lockdowns and then my return to New Zealand. For the last three times I had used Jerry’s company which he no longer owns. Reviews of their operations have gone downhill. Jerry recommended Scuba Gen, operated by a young local team who seem passionate. One of the team, Evon, used to work for Jerry.
I walked around looking for somewhere that appealed to me for dinner. Many had live fish in tanks and as a solo traveller, such meals are too big. I kept being accosted by people carrying basins of live fish, crabs or lobsters. The prices kept coming down when I showed disinterest but I wasn’t sure restaurants would cook them for me if I had bought them from itinerant salesmen.
I settled for a simple soto (beehoon noodle soup) with assorted seafood, by the sea. It was very delicious. I went to the supermarket to get some water, snacks and fruit before settling into my room.
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- Dinner on the waterfront.
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- Seafood soto with avocado shake.
Diving
The reason I’m in Semporna again is for its awesome diving. The norm here is for three days, with one day at Sipadan and two at other places. I upgraded by an extra day at Sipadan in lieu of one of the other sites.