Day 20: Kota Kina Kinabalu to Canggu

We headed to the airport early in the morning. We had been to the airport 3 times already, and now this was the last. After loading all our bags onto one trolley and handing in the keys of our rental car, we entered the airport. We enjoyed a quick breakfast largely consisting of toast and coffee. Then we handed in our luggage quickly, and easily, before arriving at a fork in our road. To one side, were the domestic flights within Malaysia, and to the other, international flights.

This was where Arushi would be flying solo, having adventures, making her own memories with new friends. But it also meant she would be leaving us. And of course, that was a huge step for her, and is. The tearful goodbye was bittersweet. We watched as she disappeared round the corner, and after a second of coming to the full realisation that we wouldn't be seeing her for 6 weeks, and that when we would, it would only be a week before she's off again, we began to walk in the other direction. Moments later, however, mum and Millen saw her one final time for another 5 minutes watching the floor above before she boarded her plane.

We then sat around waiting for our gate to open. And soon we were off to Singapore airport. Often acclaimed as the most beautiful airport in the world, we were all excited to see it. Although, after the uncomfortable plane ride, I was very tired and grumpy and so I couldn't enjoy the airport fully. We only had half an hour before boarding, but on our way, we managed to make time for a visit to the cactus garden, which was filled with all kinds of various cacti that I didn't even realise existed. There were tall ones, and short ones, ones with flowers on top, and ones which curled around one another and even ones made of metal. And of course, they were all very spiky.

With the time ticking closer to boarding, we soon moved on to lunch. After a short look around, we decided it was best to have something quick and simple to take out, and so we landed at Burger King. We ordered, picked it up and left. We got to our gate with not much time left to eat. Then, before I had even begun to eat, the last call for our gate was announced. I hung back as much as possible, barely managing to finish my food and about half a drink before I had to get on the plane. Once on the plane, it was a lot more relaxed and calm. Trying to get some rest, I managed a poor couple of hours of interrupted sleep throughout the plane journey.

Once at Canggu, we called a grab, and waited in the tediously slow queue for border control. Eventually, dad decided to try the e gates, however, his passport was blocked. I decided to give it a go too, just in case, and for some strange reason, managed to get in. As did Millen and mum who then followed, while dad continued to wait in the queue. We waited by the bags. Our bags arrived not too long before dad, and so we once again set off.

Waiting once again, and this time it was for the grab taxi dad had ordered. We finally spotted out guy amongst the crowd of cars, and we made our way to our hotel. Once at the hotel, we dumped our stuff and went to look for a place to eat. Being in such a touristy area does have its perks, as we were overwhelmed with cafes with western style food. We soon decided on a Greek restaurant, and walked through the town to it. On our way we were met with bright lights and speakers. Canggu is known for its beach parties and clubs, and we certainly saw that today. At the restaurant, after flipping through the pages, I was very excited to see all the vegetarian options compared to what had been the case for the majority of the holiday. We all enjoyed our meals, and Millen even got a full coconut to drink from. Finally we returned home after a very long and tiring day.Read more