Borneo

Borneo. Typing the name drums up the feeling of the exotic paradise that we've all read about. Here is a name that is even as fun to say as Kuala Lumpur... Kota Kinabalu. Kota Kinabalu. For those who will be around me after this, I am sorry in advance for just blurting out the name of this bustling city. Kota Kinabalu.

Thanks to the Greyhound of the sky, we arrived safely two nights ago. Vince and the friend he made in Langkawi, Wince (No, no spelling error) made an itinerary and we arrived at the airport to find a couple of guys holding up a sign "Vince Greear and Family" Wow! They whisked us right over to a travel agent who eagerly showed us the tour they arranged for us. Whow! Hello $3500 US!

It looked like a great plan, but wow! $350 hotel rooms? We may be discovering that as we age we enjoy a little comfort and are fortunate enough to be able to afford it, but we have not entirely embraced the Resort concept!

After gracefully exiting the travel agency we got to our hotel, got ourselves a 'family style' room (two interconnected rooms) and struck out on our own for dinner.

Kota Kinabalu is a really nice city. It is all modern since it had been completely leveled to the ground during WW11. I feel safe here. Everyone is super friendly and the prices are reasonable. The food is so much better than Langkawi!

The next day we were picked up early by a dive company and driven to the Northern Tip of Borneo where we struck out for a day of diving and snorkeling. It was an average dive and snorkel trip (after the one in Langkawi pretty boring) but the beach were we rested was wonderful! Amazing! White sand and huge shells washed up on the beach. The kids were enjoying themselves immensely while I sat under an Ironwood tree listening to the very loud bugs in the trees and watching the kids, all while drinking a cup of coffee! Could I have a more perfect moment? Then they served this fantastic buffett lunch and made sure we ate our winter melon soup to fight off the chill! Vince and I were laughing. Chill!? HA!

It was a long beautiful day and so worth it.

Because we declined the travel tour companies itinerary, and because Marina was begging to sleep in, we had no plans for the next day. The morning found us on our own, hiring a taxi and us forging out to see the Rufflisia Flower, the world's biggest flower.

Now, this taxi ride was by far the worst ride we've ever had. The road to the flower winds through the mountains like a snake. The taxi had no shocks. To add to this the driver was in a hurry! He was passing on the curves and we were bumping around like mad! Falcom quickly got car sick and I thought he would certainly puke right on me. Even I was feeling horrible!

Luckily the speed got us there in an hour (instead of two) we didn't crash, and there was a flower blooming!

Unfortunately, the flower that was blooming was another 30 minutes up the road from where we were. Falcom walked around for a few minutes and was passed out in the front seat of the taxi for the remainder of the ride.

We were blessed! The flower blooms infrequently and only for a few days. We were here in time to see three of these flowers, all together on one branch, on it's last day of blooming. There was a naturalist there to teach us about the flower. It takes 5 years for one flower to bloom. Marina was thrilled to figure out that when she was two this flower was planted and it waited until this perfect moment to bloom, for what seems like just for her!

After seeing some monkeys and some birds and vines like Tarzan would swing on we were off, back into that taxi for the ride from hell. It was interesting to have a chance to look out onto the mountain sides, where villagers have cut down the jungle to build their farms. We saw farmers working on these steep hill sides. Our driver stopped at a vegetable stand to buy food for his mother. "She gets mad when I'm here and don't buy vegetables for her. They are cheaper here." He told us his mother cooks for 12.

Then we stopped at a market where we bought Bali trinkets and pineapples. Beautiful ripe pineapples.

And then more taxi from hell. It was good to get back to the hotel.

Today we leave Kota Kinabalu by plane (I had the great idea to drive and see the country side until yesterday) to go to Sempora. We are hoping that Vince will be able to partake in some of the world's best diving. I am hoping to partake in some of the world's best snorkeling. The kids are hoping we have a pool. I don't know how wired the area will be so if you don't hear from me for a couple days... Imagine us in the sun, enjoying the white sandy beaches of Borneo.