Day 4: Monkeys and more fun in the sun

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Today was another sunny day here in Kota Kinabalu.  We know tomorrow will rain, because we cannot be that lucky...  One of the reasons we came to Malaysia was to see some wildlife so we got up at 6am, on our vacation, to make the 7:30 shuttle bus to the other Shangri-la.   Once there we visited the Rasa Ria Nature Reserve.  Here they rehabilitate Orangutans, usually because their mother has been killed and they cannot cope alone in the wild.  There are other animals as well in the wild on the reserve, but unfortunately the rest of the reserve was not accessible today.  The visit to the Reserve started with a video explaining what they do and why we should help Orangutans - informative and it helped to get the group anxious to see the monkeys.  From there was a short hike, of about 10 minutes, through the rainforest to the feeding platform.  Here we got to see four or five orangutans up close, sometimes as close as 10 feet.  In fact, one had playfully rolled down the hill right into the group and fastened his arms around one of the visitor's legs.  A caretaker pried the monkey off and brought him back up the hill.  They are quite playful and we were advised to keep children and small articles close at hand.  We were also told to not get underneath them when they were climbing in the trees or you may get a stick or fruit dropped on you, if you were really lucky, maybe a warm shower!!

Immediately after the feeding was over, a group of 8-10 Macaque monkeys came howling in and picked over the leftovers.  One of those monkeys was even carrying a baby, which the kids found adorable. 

 

For the next 20-25 minutes we were entertained by both groups of monkeys as they went into the trees and did some showboating, obviously trying to impress their visitors.  These Orangutans will be moved from what is considered Stage 1 of their rehabilitation, once they have shown that they can eat on their own.  There are several stages they have to graduate from before they are released.  This process can take years & even then, some Orangutans continue to come back to the Reserve after they graduated.  Even with the rest of the center inaccessible, it was well worth the trip to spend that much time in such close proximity to these animals in the wild.  Certainly a rare opportunity!!

 

After returning to our hotel, we played in the pool and suffered another boringly beautiful sunset.  We ended the day with a great seaside BBQ featuring rock lobster and steak, topped off with a nice Haagen-Daz banana split.  It was rough, but somebody had to eat it before it melted!!  Tomorrow is our last full day here...so sad...here are some other favorite shots of the day.

Day 3: Watersports

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Since we are right next to the sea, we thought it would be a shame not to take advantage of some fun in the water.  This time the fun was going to be using some water toys.  First up was parasailing.  We sent up two groups, the first to lift off was Tanner and Kim, second was Justin and Ron.  Amanda was perfectly content staying in the boat and being an observer.   Never having been parasailing before we thought it would be more of a thrill ride than it was.  Actually, it was a chance to get a bird's eye view of the area and have a nice ride at the same time.  Each tandem got a chance to get wet a couple of times during the ride, only to be quickly swept back up into the sky a few seconds later.  Everyone enjoyed the ride without any moments of fright.  Ron also took some nice shots while up in the air, including a couple of videos (one is on the picasa website).

       

 

Next up was a wilder ride on a jetski.   A change of pace from the tranquil, slow, and smooth parasailing, was the rough, fast, wild action of jetskiing.  Ron took turns taking the kids out one by one.  Tanner even took a turn at driving for a few minutes and did well.  Kim also drove for a little while, taking Justin for a ride.  She was only good for 10 minutes, nerves a little frayed giving the kids rides.  Amanda claimed she did not like the ride, but we have a picture here to prove otherwise.  The water was choppy with the other boat traffic, which made for some good fun!  Justin and Tanner wanted to keep going, but after the hour was over Ron's hands and arms were worn out.

After expending so much energy we had to go back to the hotel and relax by the pool for the rest of the afternoon!!  We got our first rain drops of our trip around 3:30pm and they lasted for about 5 minutes and did not even make us get out of the pool.

The sunset was another beautiful one, very similar to yesterday's great sunset, so we did not bother with any pics, just look at yesterday's if you want to know what it looked like.

Tomorrow we are off to visit some Orangutans near the other Shangri-la, the bus leaves at 7:30am so we are off to bed early...at least so we thought....  As we are typing this, we heard the sound of the door closing.  Thinking housekeeping just came in, we bolted to the other room (the kids are sleeping in the front room where the door is).  Instead, we find Justin not in his bed.  We open the door to find Justin sleep walking in the hall outside of our room.  He was determined to get out as he quietly undid multiple locks.  An Aussie family, who was walking by, noticed Justin leaving the room in his pajamas, in a dazed state, and was redirecting him as we opened the door.  I'm sure tomorrow morning Justin will not remember his 1 minute hiatus in the hallway!!!  Now it is time for bed...

Day 2: Snorkeling and Big Lizards

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Today we decided to try out one of the nearby islands.  The islands have some coral reefs for diving or snorkeling and white sandy beaches.  We just wanted someplace with no jelly fish and I am happy to report that we did not see or feel a single jellyfish.  We went to Sapi Island which is a part of Tunkul Abdul Rahman Park and about a 10 minute ride from our hotel.  Sapi is very small but ended up being a good choice.  The big surprise was the presence of huge monitor lizards.  They enjoy the BBQ's that are done every day for lunch and there were probably over a dozen trying to get close enough to steal some scraps.  Some of the lizards are over 6 feet long and we were about 15-20 feet away from them, taking pictures.  Kinda scary when they start ambling your way.

Next to the lizards, snorkeling was the next best thing.  Despite being stung the day before, Justin shook off any fear and went back into the sea.  All three kids did great and successfully made it from the shore out to the reef, which was about 200 ft. away.  Of course the new camera we bought did not get charged up the night before so we only got a few shots before the battery died and did not get any on the big part of the reef.  Hopefully, we will get some good shots on Thursday when we plan to go back.   The colors of the reef were fairly muted at this location but the sea life was very active and colorful.  The highlight was a couple of clown fish that would swim out from the sea anemone towards your hand when you dove down close enough.  We got some fish food and let Tanner and Justin feed the fish out over the reef while we were snorkeling.  We were quickly swarmed by about 50-100 fish, so many that you could not see anything but fish through your mask.  It was weird as they were trying to take the food, nibbling your fingers.  Justin was a little overwhelmed,  but got a kick out of the experience.  Amanda did great in the open water and all three did well adjusting to the salt water.  They are eager to go try some other locations.  Here are some shots on the way out to the reef before the battery died:

Another great sunset occurred and this time we got some shots from our room, here is one:

Day 1a: Kota Kinabalu Market

On day 1 we also ventured into town to pick up some souvenirs.   We went to the handicraft market and picked up some cool instruments for the kids, a drum and two others made from a coconut.  We also bought a couple of things.  The most interesting part came at the food market outside of the handicraft market.  Here you could buy all kinds of dried seafood.  Here is a picture of a set of shark fins for sale.  Many of these were very expensive going for over 400 Ringgit (over $125 USD) per kilogram.

Next to this was an area where many folks were barbecuing all kinds of different seafood.  There were long tables setup where folks could sit down and eat.  Community dining at its finest.  In case we get tired of the restaurants where we are staying, we have a great backup!

Day 1: Yes...there are jellyfish in Malaysia

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Well, Day 1 in Malaysia started out well as it was a nice sunny day, except for the early wake-up call from the birds in the trees outside...one of the downfalls of many a tropical paradise. Here is the scene from our room in the morning...

We had our breakfast buffet, visited the local travel agent and marina next door to plan out the activities for the week. After that hard work we needed a break and went to the pool for a couple of hours and had lunch poolside. The kids then wanted to go to the small beach that is at the hotel here and build some sand castles. We got diverted doing some beachcombing as there were a number of shells and coral that had washed ashore. A few minutes later Justin came over nearly crying and holding his leg..."Mom, I was stung by a jellyfish." He was obviously in pain, but able to walk. We immediately went to the lifeguard who hopped down and put some cold liquid on the stings. He then went to sit in the shade while another of the hotel staff covered the sting with Calamine lotion. We asked about the jellyfish..."Yes, this is the bad time of the year for them, especially in the isolated coves." Great!! The other spots we are going are in more open water, but the incident served to shake us all up. Well, back to Justin...he sat for a few minutes and then went to the Kids Club since he was supposed to stay out of the sun for at least 1 hour to reduce swelling. In the end, he is doing fine and was even back beachcombing on the same beach at sunset. One hotel staff told us she was suprised how well Justin took the sting. She said, "I have seen grown men cry like babies when stung by a jellyfish." He did handle it like a champ...but can't help to wonder how he will be when we go snorkeling tomorrow on one of the nearby islands (or the rest of us for that matter!). Here are some shots of his wound...ouch! We asked him how it compared to being stung by a hornet (Justin has had two encounters with them) and he said gravely..."This was much much worse".

The kids beachcombing at sunset - it was one of the most relaxing & peaceful sunsets we have seen in awhile!!!! A good way to end a day that had almost been ruined by a jellyfish.....