Berjaya Palace Hotel Kota Kinabalu

... I am off today to an island for a day of relaxing ...i will write more later!<br><br><br><br>Ok ...well now it is Wednesday and yesterday didnt quite pan out the way i was hoping it would ... i walked around town for a couple of hours and then went to the Jetty but it was windy and it looked like a storm was coming so the boats were not going out ... so disappointed i trundled around town in the heat for a bit longer before heading ...

... was required. It was a bit of a shock to the system after weeks of sedentary game viewing, but we got into our stride, enjoying the exertion, and made good progress. <br><br> Initially we were grateful for the cloud cover that shielded the heat of the sun, but we&#8217;re fickle creatures and soon changed our minds around midday when we felt the first drops of rain. Reaching a shelter just in time (or so we thought) we huddled there with ...

... on her oesophagus, which is why she is in pain when she eats. Dr Look (Melvin to Erin) suggests that Erin can go home today with a regime of acid inhibitors and antacid tablets plus some relatively strong painkillers to assist her to consume food. No spicy food to be eaten. He needs to see her again in 4 to 5 days and he will set up a referral for a travel doctor to get some other anti-malarials for Erin. So begins our 10 days in Singapore eating Middle Eastern food. <br><br>

... our own way out to our hotel near the airport. We had to stop first for - wait for it - roti! and then a guy took us out for RM10 in his flash new ute, he worked for the transport department but I am sure he was a taxi driver (we have had this happen a few times but if the price is cheap like NZ$5 for us to get to our hotel we are not complaining...... The hotel was recommended by some people we met in Sandakan and it is great, we have a room with 5 beds ...

... else are foreigners supposed to do when it's pouring? Anyway, the McD's was really tasty, better than the US or Korea, I thought. Flying to Langkawi Island KL has two airports. The international is a comfortable 20 minute train ride from downtown, while the domestic is an hour bus ride outside the city. We were lucky enough to be the last passengers on the bus, so it left right away. Running late, we were feeling good until the delays started happening. The ...

... for the 2am wake up! I basically got no sleep that night, mostly due to the cold and excitement of the summit hike. I was no doubt ready to go at 3am, albeit very tired, cold and aware that for the first time in my hiking history, that i was totally under equipped in regards to warm gear! It was pitch dark and i was unprepared, but happily we looked up and saw a fabulous array of stars! Hurray, a perfect clear night, which normally meant a ...

... great! Watching the sun go down from above the clouds was beautiful, we went to bed pretty early that night as the next morning we were to rise at 3am to get to the summit for sunrise. We didn't sleep much that night, there was quite a bit of noise, it was cold and we were also getting used to the air being thinner which doesn't inspire much sleep! We got up at 2:30 and wore our warmest clothes for the summit, as well as our head torches, gloves, hat and scarf! As we ...

... under your feet and whatever. Then the big boys come out to play, and the Orangutans come swinging out, which was amazing. We were lucky enough to find the perfect spot where they came out from the trees, climbing down literally next to us and walking past us, after checking us out. It was pretty damn cool being so close we could even touch them! We also paid vist to a crocodile farm, where Andy met his hero - a huge Croc, 17 feet long, 800kg and he'd ...

... who suffer from vertigo as it's quite high up and sways a little when you walk on it!<br><br> From there we drove to the Poring hot springs. I was a trifle disappointed as I had expected a natural mountain spring but here it all consisted of man-made white-tiled pools. Seems the Japanese made them during the War. Anyway, there were quite a number of people bathing there. <br><br> That ...