17/3 – Paradise

Up at 6am. The flight to Kota Kinabalu leaves at 8:30. Frank and I take the taxi to the airport, and it’s off to KK. We arrive 45 minutes later. Then it’s off to our hotel, the luxurous Sutera Pacific Resort.



Our plan is to spend the afternoon on one of the islands on the coast of KK, so we head down to the jetty on the other side of town. We pick a ride to the most remote of the islands, Sapi.





The islands at KK are the real thing; blue waters filled with coral, white beaches, coconut trees overhanging the water, sunny weather. Bounty Island. The beach on Sapi is more crowded than we hope, so we decide to see what’s around the corner. The next beach has only three or four people on it. Frank perseveres and peeks around the corner, and yes, we find a stretch of about 50 meters of unspoiled beach without a soul on it, except the big lizard which scurries over the rocks. Swimiing is wonderful here; the water is as warm as the air, about 30 degrees and it’s clear, clear, clear…the weather is a bit cloudy though, and it looks like rain. It’s very quiet, the silence is only broken by the occasional boat passing by and the planes transporting tourist to and from KK.





As the afternoon passes, the dark clouds approach and finally it starts to rain a little. We head back to the main beach, where we spend the time waiting for the boat by playing football with four local guys and discussing the relative merits of three very well-built tourist girls. Paradise indeed.



After taking the boat back to Borneo, we have some dinner in Little Italy, the best restaurant in town according to Lonely Planet. The pizza is very good indeed, as is the calamari. By then we’re both quite tired. The shopping malls hold little interesting stuff, apart from a Starbucks, so we take the bus back to the resort. A quick dive in the pool, a nice cocktail and it’s lights out.