Kinabalu, Borneo: Tanjung Aru Beach

Yay! I'm in Malaysia. It was a long day of travel. I had to connect in Jakarta with a flight delay, almost missing my connecting flight. I fortunately hooked up with a Malaysian woman from the US and her family to guide me through the terminals and gates. It was the first conversation with Americans since I've been traveling. They were relaxed in spite of how late we arrived. With 6 of them, the airline would not leave us. And in their company, I didn't panic. Whew!

Getting off the plane, I noticed it is hotter here. Excessive heat warnings are throughout the country for the next day. Then showers arrive in the weekend to cool things down.

After dropping off my bag, I headed to Tarjung Aru Beach. It is the best beach in Kota Kinabalu. I only booked one night on this side of town, so I must check it out.

The beach has a night market with food stalls and a little souvenir. The beach was filled with hundreds of people there to watch the sunset, too.

So far, I can see there are some things that are cheaper, like rideshare drives, water, and food. I paid $2 for rice and 5 satay sticks. I paid $.25 for a liter of water. I paid $1.5 for a 5 km ride from the airport.

But fresh juice drinks were $5 compared to $2 on Bali. I'm sure I'll be comparing and contrasting in the beginning.

I can already see that Malaysians speak better English. In Bali, it was about a 40% understanding rate. I had to use simple sentences.

It is much cleaner here. Driving is more civilized. And sidewalks are not death hazards.

I'm grateful because I don't think I could have continued with more frenzy and chaos. I know I'll be back in it when I get to Katmandu so this is a nice break.

Day 1 of6 weeks, 5 cities/towns in Malaysia.Read more