Malaysian Borneo Part II: Kota Kinabalu, Semporna, and Kuching
I’m currently in the 2nd largest city in Taiwan, Kaohsuing, resting after our 4 day 180km biking extravaganza of the east coast. You can catch up on the rest of my stories here.
Kota Kinabalu
After our adventure in Mulu, we headed to the capital of the Malaysian state of Sabah: Kota Kinabalu. (fun fact — Kota means city in Malay). To be blunt, it was a lot less adventurous than Mulu. Malaysia suffers from a car problem; that is, too many cars, big roads, parking lots, congestion, and places that are unfun to walk around or be in (I’ve written about something similar before regarding Kuala Lumpur). The place was mobbed with hotels and malls to serve Chinese tourists, and there wasn’t much of the way of culture or things to do in the area.
We mainly used our time in KK for some good R&R, but we did make a day trip to neighboring Gaya Island, one of several islands a short boat ride away from KK. We went to the chaotic, buzzing ferry terminal, ran into one of the many companies who sold boat tickets, got some snorkeling gear, and headed on our way.
Sadly, it was kind of a bust. While it was my first time snorkeling, there was nothing in the way or corals or wildlife underwater near the beach. We had heard of a cooler beach, but it was a 3-hour hike away. I did go do 250m zipline to the neighboring island, which killed some of the boredom. I’m glad I got to see a city that not many people visit, and perhaps a glimpse into the burgeoning Chinese middle class life, but it was not a place for me.
Tawau — Driving to Semporna
We then caught a flight to Tawau en route to Mabul island to learn to scuba dive. (side note: I will combine our scuba adventures into a separate post). To get to Mabul, we had to take a 100km taxi from Tawau airport to the fishing city of Semporna, and the drive was equal parts astounding and depressing. For 95+% of the journey, we could see palm oil as far as the horizon; it was destruction of the environment and the ecosystem on a massive scale. Replacing the plant life to a monocultural one removes any and all food for the fauna, so thousands and thousands of acres becomes uninhabitable. I found it to be a tragic consequence of Malaysia’s lift from a lower-income economy.
Semporna
Semporna was quite a peculiar place. First off, it was a dirty, messy port town, and it reeked of fish. Having not grown up near the water, and only recently finding a taste for seafood, it was not my favorite place to be. We stayed right adjacent to the pier, in a Chinese-run guesthouse smashed in between a restaurant and another store. Frequently we would have a food prepping woman preparing food right at the hotel entrance. And immediately when we were dropped off, two boys happily assisted us with our bags, and we obliged, thinking he was the hotel staff. Hindsight is 20/20, and he soon asked for 20 Ringgit Malaysia (~$5). I laughed him off, scolding myself for falling for a scam, and then decided that I would compromise, and give him 5 RM instead. They boys said no and scoffed at me, so I walked away. They quickly reverse course, practically pleading for the money, and we finalized our deal.
After resting, I went out to find the laundromat, and when I step outside and around the food prepping lady, I see the boy, who waves me down excitedly. It turned out our deal had also come with a happy consequence: he saw my laundry and happily escorted me to the laundromat. Apparently, I had made a friend in Semporna! I start to do my laundry, and another young girl comes up and insists on doing my laundry, and I said okay, if only out of exhaustion. In an incredible and 100% unexpected turn of events, she asks for a couple ringgit herself, and a couple for her friend, saying “poor baby, poor baby”. We go back and forth, getting nowhere, as I fail to explain that I will pay the girl for her service, but will not pay her friend as the friend didn’t do anything at all. Thankfully, a woman also doing laundry gets involved, and chastises the girl, seemingly explaining to her what I could not get across. I thank her and ask her what’s the deal with these kids.
Her answer caught me by surprise. It turns out these kids are the children of undocumented migrants from neighboring Philippines. Since they don’t have an ID card, nor any other sort of documentation (along with their parents), they aren’t able to go to school. The parents also only get low-wage work, with little rights or security. So the kids just hustle for money by day and sniff glue by night. It reminds me of one of my anthropology classes strongly. The class was on violences (not the physical kind), and one way to be very violent is to prevent someone from being recognized by the government. That is, if the government does not say you legally exist, then you are effectively dead. There is no way to go to school, get welfare benefits, get a job, get an apartment, have rights, and numerous other things. While it will not solve any problem long term, it made me glad that I was able to give these kids two short jobs to do.
Kuching
Man, were we excited to head to Kuching. After Mabul, it was our next, and final, stop in Malaysia. See, my friend, Kuching means cat in Malay, and if you’re reading this blog, then you know how much I love cats. Sadly, like KK, it also did not live up to my expectations, but thankfully it was not the letdown that KK was.
First off, there were no cats. Sure, I had no right to expect a magical land of cats, but I did and was let down. There were a smattering of cat statues and murals, but not enough for my liking.
Kuching Cat Museum
The big exception was the Kuching Cat Museum, the first cat museum in the world (there are now about 10 or so). It was a fun and silly tribute to cats, featuring explanations for cat-related phrasing “who let the cat out of the bag”, an exhibit of cat food, various pictures of cats in pop culture attire, the prominence of cats in Japanese culture, an art exhibit of local artists doing cat-themed paintings, and even a taxidermied cat (for some reason). I think the museum did a really good job, and I’m glad I got the chance to go.
Bako National Park
A popular day trip from Kuching is to Bako National Park, and I’m happy I got to go. Lots of beautiful rainforest lined beaches, tame monkeys, and some good hikes populated the area. You even have to take a boat to the park, which added to the adventure. I got into a standoff with some wild monkeys en route to the beach, who hissed and snarled at me, but slipped by. The nearby couple freaked out and decided to head back. Thankfully the monkeys did not pose a threat on my way back.
Ola Bola
Our hotel graciously offered us tickets to see the famed Malaysian movie-turned-musical, Ola Bola, which seems to be one of Malaysia’s most internationally recognized works of film. It was a family-friendly, engergizing performance, following the Malaysian Olympic Soccer team after they were disqualified, and their 4-year path to redemption led by their most famous and outspoken player. While most all of it was in Bahasa Malaysia, tiny pieces were in English and the story was easy enough to follow along. The president of Sarawak (the state of which Kuching is the capital of), even was there for the show.
And that wraps up our three-week stint in Malaysia. Looking back, it was not one of my favorite countries to go travel. The sense of adventure and excitement was not there in the same way it was for Vietnam and Thailand, and the cities were generally unpleasant to navigate and do things in. I’m glad I got to go, but I can’t see myself returning anywhere except to KL or to scuba dive again.
