Fishing Fleet, Kota Kinabalu

The cute daughter of the luggage guy at Survivor Island.

The modern skyline of Kota Kinabalu.

Fishing boats.

Sorting and packing the catch.

Pulling fish from the hold.

Products at the local market.

Fish tanks full of seafood outside a seafood restaurant.

Monday, June 18^th.

We were packed and checked out by 8:00 to catch our return boat by 9:00. It took about a half hour to get back to the mainland where we were divided up into three 4x4’s for the two-hour drive back to Kota Kinabalu. When we arrived about noon we checked into the Shangri-la Hotel again. I shared a room with Ed again.

This is a very weird tour and not as advertised on the website. We are back here because some of us are going to fly to Kuching tomorrow to meet up with some other people and a new guide. The rest are staying here with Donny and welcoming another bunch of people before they continue on at this end of the island. So, it is not a cohesive group with one guide.

I spent a couple of hours in the lobby updating the blog and catching up on e-mails. Then I decided to go for a walk to make some use of the day. I wandered around a few shopping areas before stumbling on local market where they sold fruit and vegetables and just past that I discovered the local fishing fleet. There is something about fishing boats which I find intriguing. There were a couple of dozen boats and on the wharf was a place where they were sorting and weighing their catch. It was a very dirty, smelly place and the ground was wet and littered with fish guts and pieces which made for slippery walking. I am amazed at the tight quarters the crew has on board. They have very little living space and most sleep in hammocks or right on the floor. It is a totally foreign lifestyle and very different from the rest of the city. For example, I had a drink at the Starbuck’s right across the street after my exploration.

Then I walked back to the hotel where I met up with the rest of the group for our last dinner. We went to a local Chinese Malay fusion restaurant. I had squid and sweet corn soup. We said our goodbyes to the people who are staying and then I headed back to the Shangri-la for the night.