If you have been reading this blog in chronological order, you would have picked up on how impressed we were with Kurakura Homestay.
If not, then you need to read (in order) this entry, this one, and of course this one.
And then you need to book a holiday to Malaysia Borneo, stay at Kurakura Homestay, and send me a thank-you postcard that I can vent my jealous rage at.
As excited as we were to continue our adventures, we knew it was going to be hard to beat the experience shared with Liza, Lars and Froya.
For the next leg, we flew with Air Asia from Kuching to Kota Kinabalu.
Standard flight, though we had to go through customs again.
Because KK is in Sabah, and we were travelling from Sarawak; and because it was an International Airport; and because of something else…
To be honest, I never quite knew why but it is the way it was done.
Be prepared with passports when travelling from Sarawak to Sabah, and vice versa.
Going from Kurakura to KK was a bit of a culture shock.
Where Kurakura was tranquil, and even Kuching had an old charm to it – KK (as it is better known) was definitely a tourist hub for Sabah.
It seemed to ooze that feel of touristy-resort with islands-on-the-side.
A cross between Gold Coast and Townville – maybe a bit like Cairns (Qld, Australia).
Anyway, it just smells of tourists and the price difference reflected it.
As friendly as the locals were, you had the feeling off them that they were a little immune to the charm of tourism itself.
Down at the esplanade markets, there is far more genuine cheer.
The people there are just getting on with their day – if you want to share a few minutes with them, great.
Otherwise, they’ll just move on.
Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: In the Shadow of the Mountain
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