We got up at 5:30 again for our very last river cruise.
What we saw on the cruise:
- A sleeping macaque
- I don’t know how they don’t fall off the branches when they’re sleeping!
- King fisher
- All the birds here are super colorful, it’s amazing
We didn’t see much, but it was ok because the ride was really beautiful. It was sunny for the first time, which made the trees look different. They were so much brighter and greener. It was truly breathtaking.
Short video from the boat trip…
We left the lodge at 8 am and were in Sandakan by 10. Back to civilization!
The next bus to Kota Kinabalu was at noon, so I hung out at the hostel that I had stored my big backpack at while I was away doing the river cruise.
I couldn’t find anything to eat for lunch– most of the restaurants are closed until 6 pm for Ramadan. There was a women selling fried noodles at a food stall, so I asked for some. She thought I was Malay and started speaking to me in Malay… yet again I am perceived to be a local! She didn’t have any non-meat toppings, so I just got it plain and ate it back at the hostel before going to the bus station.
The bus left at noon sharp. The ride was long and boring as hell.
I got to the KK bus terminal at 6:30 and couldn’t find WiFi anywhere to call a Grab. The taxis were charging 25 ringgit and I knew I could get one cheaper than that. I walked into a motel and asked if I could use their WiFi to call a Grab. The guy was super nice and wrote down the password for me, and I was able to get one right away. Grab is quite expensive here because they only have cars, not bikes, so it still cost me 17 ($4). Oh well.
I checked into my hostel and immediately got changed to go for a run. I just needed to move my body after sitting down all day.
About a half mile away from my hostel, as I was running along the river, a bike/running path appeared. Wow! This city is so pedestrian/runner-friendly, I love it. I ran for 1.5 miles and then turned back around to make it a 3-mile run. It felt really good to run, and I was able to do a couple 9-minute miles.
I stopped by a restaurant near my hostel called City Food Corner and ordered nasi goreng with vegetables and a watermelon juice. The “vegetables” were just frozen peas and carrots… so sad.
I got back to my hostel, showered, changed into my PJs, and talked to Adrian on the phone for a bit before going to bed.