Sabah, Land Below The Wind (part 4)

Readers can breath a sigh of relief at long last as this will be the last post in my Sabahan escapade. I know, I update at a sluggish rate, but hey, i'm a lazy jerk. So sue me. =D

Day three of our stay in Sabah saw us heading out to one of the islands that Sabah is renown for. Manukan Island; that's where I was gonna spend half of the day there.

Ah...imagine the possibilities! For that one, special day, I made a list of 'Things To Do While In Manukan Island'.

1. Go swimming in the crystal clear waters
2. Do a little bit of snorkelling
   
3. Explore the island
4. Oogle at hot babes in bikinis
5. Strike up a conversation with them
6. Get invited to their hotel rooms
7. Have a hot, make-out session with them
8. Dump them after a one night stand

But, seeing as I only have time to cross out the first four in my wishlist, there will be no hot, steamy photos of any exotic babes. Yep, you read that right, NO PHOTOS OF SEXY, BIKINI-CLAD WOMAN =P

At the crack of dawn, our tour headed out to the Jesselton Jetty, a 5-minute drive from the hotel where a boat will charter us off to Manukan Island.

The view at Jesselton Jetty.


The tickets were soon bought without much hassle, despite the fact that there was a long queue of foreigners at the ticketing counter. After a short 10 minutes wait (of which I passed the time by camwhoring with my buddy, Julius) we headed out to the docks where our chartered boat awaited us.


Sure, it's no Titanic, but I'd settle for anything that can stay afloat

Me and my buddy, Julius. He's 20 btw and still single! =P

The boat ride to Manukan Island took us all about 20 minutes at optimum speed, considering the fact that the weather was perfect and that the seas were calm. The whole trip was rather uneventful till we hit open waters.

Oh My Gawd. I'll guarantee you, you'd be wishing why these small boats didn't come equipped with shock absorbers or the very least; cushioned seats. The friggin' boat bounced and bounced as it traversed over small columns of waves once we hit open waters.

Adding insult to injury, the adults would think it the appropriate time to crack some dirty jokes while they were at it. Pshh, as if great minds like mine didn't know enough about the human anatomy in Hokkien. =P

Finally, Manukan Island drifted closer and closer until we docked at the jetty. It was indeed a sight to behold. The island was covered in lush greenery and the waters were of a beautiful prism blue.

Manukan Island.......

Wendy, I totally ripped-off that trademarked pose of yours. My bad XD

The higher reaches of the island provided a splendid view of the ocean

La dee da, with all the hiking and the exploring out of the way, time to hit the waters! (and recreate that famous Baywatch scene while I'm at it)

Oh my, you don't get to see this very often now, do you?

Pay close attention, you could spot a David Hasselhoff look-a-like

Oh my goodness, the view underwater was spectacular! Especially when you snorkel off into the deeper parts of the ocean. However, inexperienced swimmers be warned, there are steep inclines where the ocean floors suddenly plummets off into nothingness.

The azure blue hue of the clear ocean waters was unlike anything I've ever seen before. But, to submerge your head beneath these waters, was totally akin to walking into another realm. The feeling of weightlessness, the rays of sunlight breaking through the waters, the schools of fishes that swam about, I felt like a 7 year old again reliving my dreams of Alice In Wonderland. Indeed, it was really beautiful. Words can do me no justice, I urge you all to experience it first-hand.

Apart from the fishes in the ocean, I, too, managed to catch a glimpse of a mermaid. No, seriously, I did! Honest!

Hehe...told ya so!

And with all good things, they must come to an end sometime. After departing Manukan Island shortly after lunch, we headed back to the mainland. By then, it was nearly 3 p.m. With nothing much left to do, we chanced upon the Phillipino Market to buy some souvenirs. Later, we went back to the hotel for a good rest before venturing out into Centre Point Shopping Complex at night.

Nothing much to see nor do there, seeing as we had limited financial supplies XD. But, the size of the shopping mall was enough to dwarf Kuching's Parkson into nothing more than a microorganism.

The following day, we travelled to the airport to catch our flight back to Kuching, thus ending my Sabahan escapade.

Sabah truly found its way into my heart and it left me pondering; should I come back? Without hesitation, I would indeed wind up here again sometime. There are just so many things to see and do here! As for my next trip, I'm placing high hopes into conquering the highest peak of South-East Asia; Mount Kinabalu!

Cheerio~