A survival journey to Sabah ~ conspicuous klux

12 May 2007

A survival journey to Sabah

1:33 AM kluxorious No comments

May 6 - Alhamdulillah I have arrived safely at Tawau Airport, Sabah at approximately 1530 hours. The weather was not ideal for flying thus I got a terrible jet lag. I’ve been trying to suppress the urge to puke since the plane took off.

I went straight to my aunt’s house at Taman Wawasan, Tawau. My first outing was to Tawau CityClub for dinner. By the way, the tour for the rest of the town took less than 15 minutes.

May 7 - I was feeling under the weather on my second day in Tawau. Probably I miss the people back home more than I thought I would. I did not go anywhere since my stomach flipped every time I tried to get up. I spent my day finishing the book I brought from home: Sleepers. Yep, the true story from Lorenzo Carcaterra which by the way had been adapted to the big screen to become one of my favorite movies of all time. But I’ll save the review for later.

My theme song for the journey: Bila Engkau Jauh by Shanon.

sedapnya hati tidak jemu tak sabar bermanja
hanya sehari tak bertemu macam selamanya
rindukan tawamu yang menyegarkan ku

aku terseksa dengan sendu bila engkau jauh
bila terasa sentuhanmu aku terus sembuh

aku bermimpi riang terbang pagi sampai senja
cinta dihati sudah kembang untuk engkau saja
tidur atau jaga rindu sentiasa

aku tak pernah bercinta sampai terbalik seluruh duniaku
hanya satu yang ku pinta, jangan tinggalkan aku

aku merayu oh kekasih belailah hatiku
bila ku layu lagi sedih curahlah kasihmu
kau dakaplah aku sembuhkan pilu ku

jika kau rasa sepertiku bila aku jauh
biarlah dua jadi satu bersama selalu
hanya kau dan aku

May 8 – This is my third day in Sabah. Alhamdulillah no more weak stomach.

I checked in to Heritage Hotel at noon since my aunt and her husband were going back to Semenanjung. Starting from today, it is going to be an adventure for me, being alone in a place where I had never been before. Let see if I have the survival skills or not.

I am already halfway through my second book: The Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke. Since I am going to Semporna tomorrow, I thought of buying new books for my two days stay there, just in case if I get bored. So I went looking for a bookstore at the Tawau town. Believe it or not, I found none! It is kind of frustrating to actually know that reading is almost a non-existence habit to the Tawaunian. Luckily I am just visiting otherwise I probably could have died from boredom. If I had known, I would have brought more than two books with me for the journey. Thank god I brought my laptop along though.

As expected, there are few entertainments you can find in the town of Tawau. I am not talking about the club/pub/disco since you can find plenty of such places here. I am talking about a decent place to hang out. Like the bookstore, it is also almost non-existence.

I went to Pasar Gantung (all the merchandise kena gantung hence the name). The place took less than 5 minutes walk from the hotel. I am not so confident to venture deeper since I was alone so I only visited the outer layer of it stalls. I bought a complete set of pearl jewellery for my mom. Happy mother’s day, ma!

Next to Pasar Gantung is Parkwell, the most well-known shopping complex in Tawau. Hehe, I think Parkson kat Pontian dulu tu pun canggih. Parkwell ni kira standard Econsave la kalau kat JB.

Before I went back to Heritage, I stopped by Marco Polo hotel to try out their famous steamboat not knowing that they only served them on Wednesday. To compensate, I stuff myself with black pepper lamb chop instead. I was so damn full that it made me feel bloated for the rest of the rainy night.

The fact that someone completely disregards my phone calls did not make my mood any better...

May 9 – Day two of my survival journal.

Finish reading Dragon Rider as well. The review coming up soon insyaAllah.

I checked out from Heritage Hotel at noon and climbed on board kereta sewa (should really be called a rented van). Apparently I am not the only person who wants to go to Semporna. Besides me, there were four guys and a honeymoon couple.

I make new friends on my way to Semporna. I met Eddy, Zul, Faizal and Syed (from Pahang), the four guys I mentioned earlier. They were on their way for their annual vacation, this year it is to Pulau Sipadan. They’ll stay in Semporna for the night before continuing their journey to the island tomorrow. Eddy and Faizal are married, Zul is engaged and Syed is as free as his bird (oops, I mean free as a bird. lol). Coincidentally the four of them will also be staying at the floating Dragon Inn. I couldn’t be more grateful.

If it was not for Leah who was adamant that I should wear my bikini, and took pictures as a proof that I went to Semporna, I probably will not have the courage to be friends with these guys. I braved myself since I notice Syed got a camera with him (the things I do for you Leah!). He (obviously only the single man is allowed to bring camera) has no qualm to take pictures for you. Looks like my bikini was working on it charms with full steams ahead! Hakhak!

It took almost 2 and a half hour from Tawau to Semporna. Once we reached the Dragon Inn, they helped me settled in. After that the photography session started. Masa ni la air banyak tumpah. Wakakakaka!!

I went back to my cabin and was planning to get some sleep since I barely get a wink of sleep last night but after isyak, I got a dinner invitation from the four guys. Who does not want a free dinner right? Layan… at last dapat gak makan steamboat. I excused myself at around 8.30pm. Risau jugak since I just get to know them. Bukannya aku tak cayakan diorang, diorang yang tak cayakan aku, takut diapa2kan. Huahahaha!

I can barely open my eyelids while I am writing this.

So see you tomorrow. Good night.

May 10 – Happy birthday Nick Heidfeld!

I just got back from sending them to the dock. It is 10.08am. They have gone to Sipadan, a one hour journey from Semporna. I do not know if I ever going to meet them again… they are good guys and it is liberating to see them still bonding after so many years being buddies. I wish I had that kind of lasting friendship with my friends.

I thought of going skinny dipping - I mean diving - today but think better of it. I do not need to go far to see the fish. I can see them clearly from my cabin. The water is crystal clear.

Instead I will be spending my afternoon checking out their floating pasar. After that I am going to finish the Trinity Blood anime series on my laptop. I still have two other Gundam series as a backup to entertain me for the entire day.