March 22 2012

Made the short flight (2 hours) from Singapore to Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo this morning, and will be spending the next four nights here. It's warm - 31degrees C apparently - but not so humid as Singapore, and we can see blue sky for the first time on this trip. Frankly, the town doesn't seem to have much to recommend it, but the people, as in Singapore, are very friendly and our hotel is fine. We're staying at the Hyatt Regency (below).

There's no beach in the central part of town, but we have a nice pool and we're told there are some wonderful beaches nearby and also some islands only about a mile offshore with great beaches and snorkelling. We may try some of that on Sunday.

Tomorrow we are taking a 45-minute flight across the island to Sandakan and then being escorted into the rain forest to visit the orang-utan sanctuary at Sepilok, before flying back here tomorrow evening. We've been warned to take plenty of mossie repellent and not to wear anything brightly coloured. Not sure if that's because the apes don't like it or because it attracts bugs!

The quaint bar/cafe on the ground floor of the Hyatt Regency

We had a walk around the town centre this afternoon and were struck by the tattiness of it all - so different from Singapore, which is spotless and beautifully manicured. The photo below shows a typical street scene - you can see the contrast between the local people's homes and the high-end hotel at the end of the street.

It's a 5.30 start tomorrow, so supper and an early night are on the cards. The apes are waiting for us!

Jenny's bit: Kota Kinabalu is quite smelly. Jx