Borneo 2019

The man from Myne Travel came round as promised at 10.00 and we set off, with me his sole passenger in the transit van for 12 or so. The journey of around two and a half hours passed easily enough but I was struck by the monotonous boredom of passing through the endless palm tree oil plantations. Anyway we turned onto increasingly minor roads until passing through the town of Kinabatangan and, after a further roughly thirty minutes, finding ourselves on the road to the river and resort. This led to the reort itself where it was about to be the 13.00 lunch time. I was greeted and given a table alongside a large group of somewhat animated and very friendly locals from Sandakan. The dropping of the flag for lunch was cue for something of a feeding frenzy for the buffet and there was a reaonable wisdom of being on time. It was a nice and substantial meal and due to be followed by a boat trip at 16.00. This gave me a chance to unpack and sort myself out before we set off. ...

It was good to wake up to the incredible views from my room, overlooking a sunny harbour, including a naval base. I was keen to sort out the final two days during which I had plannned to go to Kinabatangan. The problem was choosing the resort and package. Every time I hit upon one, the mixed reviews sowed doubt! However, one that seemed OK was Myne and I'd emailed the night before. Reassuringly they had replied first thing in the morning and after breakfast I went down to their offices and clinched it. Hopefully, a good choice. The rest of the day I wandered around Sandakan, taking in the statue in the square near the hotel as well as the market area by the sea. I then walked down to what Google label Banana Village @ Kampung Pisang. These are a large development of wooden shacks on stilts from the shoreline - essentially reclaimed land. They have a poor feel to them and  I didn't want to poke around as if they were a tourist attraction. ...

I packed my bags and left them with the hotel before having breakfast and taking a stroll to Jesselton Point and along the front to where the fishing boats dock. On the way, I went into Jesselton Mall which is a bit like Selfridges with all the big brands. My taxi driver to the airport later told me that the Chinese love visiting the Malls - more than the wildlife. By way of contrast, I passed a barber's on the way back to the hotel that seemed more downmarket After a quick luch at the same self-service opposite the hotel as I had had breakfast (The Fook Yuen), I ordered my Grab and quickly got to the Airport. Here, I got a reasonable view and appreciation of Kinabalu in the clouds in the distance. It looked very formidable Everything at the Airport pwas plain sailing and at about 15.45 we were on our way with the short flight to Sandakan. Unfortunately, it was very cloudy and little was to be seen on the way - particularly Kinabalu. Arrival at Sandakan was a...