Wednesday 25th February, Kota Kinabalu

I still had not recovered quite from the exertions of the weekend, and, being warned of the threat of pirates - oooarrrr - in the island paradise we had thought to travel to in order to do some diving, we agreed to use Sabah as a stopover rather than a destination. You have to take government advice seriously, even if the risks described are years out of date. And I didn't need to 'do' Mount Kinabalu, although I had thought I might, nor do the 'see the amazing sort-of-wild-even-if-they-live-close-to-human-habitation-and-can-access-food-tiwce-daily-animals' trip, which Sabah is famous for. Orang Utan, proboscis monkeys, etc etc. Vicarious Attenborough-eyes are enough for me!

I really liked the city, and the hubbub, and the really lived-in energy: this is not a tourist city, really, bursting with 'must-sees', but it is teeming with life. Daytime, and especially nighttime: streets, malls, markets, mini-shops, mega-shops, massage parlours, eateries indoors and under tent roofs or stable roofs. There are new types of faces here, different skin colours, facial features and build. More different clothing types; more feeling of free-to-dress-as-you-will, perhaps because there are fewer hijab-ladies in the balance, so wearing 'normal' clothes with bare arms and legs feels less conspicuous. Some of the ways westerners dress in more conservative areas feels blatant and provocative to me, and I have not worn my short shorts or skirt at all yet.

The fish market stalls and cookeries were amaaaazing. No pics, soz, but the meat, fruit and veg stalls were as chocka and colourful as the fish here. Stand after stand of identical offerings: how to choose what and where to buy?! The most pushy sellers are off-putting with their insistent invitations, but at some stage a kindly face tempts me to stop and make my choice. Or just that I'm tired and hungry by then, so I give in to the offer in front of me. Delicious grilled jumbo prawn (me), and lobster (Luca), with garlicy wild fern on the side (my Malaysian favourite, choose it every time).

It's Ramadan, which means that Muslims may not eat or drink in daylight hours (under threat of punishment by (civil) law!), so late afternoon the vibrant open air market is packed with people preparing food, and purchasing food, but no-one is eating anything until dark has fallen. It must be agonising to be a muslim in the UK in the summer, when there is so much daylight and the dusk is long! I remember the summer exam weeks at university, feeling very sorry for the students who had to slog out their guts all day in the hot sun without even a sip of water. We eat listening to a busker duo (first electric mouth organ I have ever seen!); today the best food I tasted was an avocado smoothie - how do they make it so light and refreshing?! I need to find out; same with the carrot smoothie the other day, all frothy and fresh - and go back to the room, before Luca dives out for more night life and I indulge in the Pottery Throwdown for some comforting home-familiarity before sleep.

The Sabah-stepping-stone proves to have a proper bounce, if you get my meaning, and tomorrow we are heading for Cambodia! We chose the quickest flights, although the most expensive option, and are heading for Siem Reap in two legs, via KL Only 6 hours travel, instead of all sorts of options for half the price and double or triple the time and the stopovers required! There we have found a 6 day retreat we both want to attend - just to do something very different again - which will be the longest duration in any one place since leaving the UK.

And we have in effect started the homeward arc, counting back the days from our home-bound flight booking in mid March. with a flight booked to Singapore at the end of these couple of weeks in Cambodia. Then it will be one last journey, to KL before home. I am feeling the distance and absence at this point. tbh.Read more