I've fallen behind. That just means I'm having a great time! So Hutch, don't start calling the Malaysian police to look for me -- they all think I'm a local anyway, so it will be hard for them to find me. I've been asked if I'm Thai, Chinese, Taiwanese, Singaporean and mostly Malaysian.
In Kota Kinbalu, Tiffer and I had a fun encounter with Johnny Yong, the owner of a Chinese medicine shop right by our hotel. Tiffer has been sneezing like crazy since he was in Bali, and things were pretty bad on Day 4. He sneezes so hard, he almost knocks himself off his feet. He had everyone in the Islamic Art Museum staring in our direction because it just didn't sound like a normal human sneeze. I suggested asking the Chinese medicine folks if they might be able to help. We wandered into the biggest Chinese herb shop we could find, asking for someone who speaks English. Johnny came to the rescue. After confirming that Tiffer didn't have the flu, he suggested some pills whose characters I disciphered as "nose" and "inflammation" -- fits the bill! Johnny was so funny that I had to get a pic with him and Tiffer together. We then asked for suggestions on where to have lunch, and he recommended a place in a shopping mall (see a trend here?) on the 3rd floor, outside of the food court. He said there are great Malay offerings there, served buffet style. He said there are two, but we'll know which one to go to because one will be packed and the other empty. Johnny was right! The most hilarious thing was that after perusing the buffet, we came to the conclusion that we have no idea what any of the items are, nor how much it is, so we were going to order off the menu. I hadn't tried the fried rice yet, and Tiffer decided to get the mee goreng (stir fried noodles, like lo mein). Then out of nowhere, Johnny appeared, admonished us for ordering boring stuff, and told me to go to the buffet and try some REAL food. He came over to make sure we made it to the right place! I think I confused our server because I went to the buffet and added food, even though everyone else was eating the buffet items with white rice. I got two kinds of green beans, some mystery greens, spicy eggplant, a gooey broiled poultry item and some mystery meat in curry sauce. They were all delicious, especially the broiled chicken (I think) with the gorgeous sweet glaze. I'm thinking that is soy-sugar based BBQ sauce. It seems all the chicken here is smaller (probably not pumped up with hormones like American chicken) and result in lots of tiny bones. Tiffer is anti-bones in his food, now that he's had to pick through so much of it.
After our lunch, we decided to head over to the ferries to see if we can get info on an excursion to one of 5 lovely islands in the area. I had read that some are great beach islands, while some are great for snorkeling. On the weekends, it apparently gets packed with locals trying to get away from the heat of the city. We got lucky and found a boat going to the lovely beach island of Manukan in less than 20 minutes! I would have loved to snorkel on Mamutik, but we didn't have our swimsuits on. 15 short minutes later on a speed boat, and we were on the pristine island of Manukan. There is one large eco-resort here, but it's a tiny island that you can walk all the way around in about 45 minutes. Like Kauai, there are lovely sandy beaches with tree cover only 20 feet from the water. It's super picturesque, and there were some Malaysian kids playing in the water, plus a bunch of Chinese tourists. We walked around a bit, Tiffer went in the water up to his knees, but for the most part, we just hung out looking at the beach and the water for 2 hours. Yes, I was just chillaxing, which is RARE for me! Then, here we go again -- have to find a bathroom. It's so hot so you drink alot, which naturally results in needing to use the restroom. I saw a sign for a hotel up some stairs in the woods, so I went over toward it when I almost tripped over a GIANT lizard, about as thick as my leg and 3 feet long. I think I scared the crap out of the little guy! He scurried away, but let me snap some photos as he panted quickly, his eyes darting left and right waiting for my next move. So yes, we got to see some wildlife on this island, albeit unexpectedly. Oh and there were some little reef fish near the pier, as tourists fed them bread crumbs. Yes, bread crumbs. They sell them in the gift shop, filled in used water bottles. Love the reused bottles, don't love feeding fish things they shouldn't be eating.
We got back on the last boat back to Kota Kinabalu as storm clouds were rolling in -- it appears it rains every evening for a bit, nothing bad. There was a group of Chinese who were VERY late, delaying our departure by 25 minutes. Grrrr.
I mentioned the Filipino BBQ at the Night Market in the blog yesterday. We explored the wet market (that's where the locals buy meat, fish and produce) after we got back to the mainland, and were pretty surprised. There's a ton of merchandise out, but nothing is on ice, and we thought Chicago Health Inspectors would have a field day with violations left and right. My only guess is that because everything is so fresh, things don't go bad as quickly as in the U.S.... even in the heat and humidity. Maybe I'm just telling myself that, so I feel a bit better about what I'm eating. All I can say is that I haven't gotten sick yet!
So the wet market was an eye-opener... The Night Market is as congested and chaotic as any, but the Filipino BBQ area is full of smoke and hot coals burning red with racks of fish and seafood grilling. It feels like Taste of Chicago -- the air temperature is already hot, but the hot coals make it feel even hotter. Plus, the Filipino folks who work here are mostly Muslim, so the ladies are in long pants and wear the scarves on their heads. I have no idea how they don't pass out from the heat, but I guess you get used to it. I went to the only grill that had calamari and pointed to a big one about 8 inches long. The lady said, "just one?" so I ordered a hugemongous prawn (about 5 inches long!) to go with it. The fish looked over done so I skipped that. Lonely Planet explains how this hawker center works. You pick out your food, then go find a seat. They somehow find you, no matter where you go. There are little plastic cups and bowls set up, with a tray of chilies and salt, various condiments, and bags of napkins. No utensils. You take the bowl, fill it a bit with the pitcher of drinking water, and clean your fingers. I had bottled water with me, but you can drink the pitcher water in your cup. While your food is grilling, you custom make your concoction of chiles, salt, condiments to dip your grilled seafood in. There was a group of 3 who sat in front of us, and we exchanged several looks and smiles for a few seconds when the big guy in the middle said, "can we join you for dinner?" to which we said, "of course!" They ordered after us, but got their plates and plates of food first, which was good so I can observe how to eat HOT grilled food with the hands. They just go right at it -- the heat doesn't seem to bother them much. I know I sound awful when I say this, but eating with the hands just looks super messy/icky. They cleaned their plates very well, taking some fish, dipping in their custom sauce, mixing with some rice, and into the mouth. But I just had my grilled calamari and shrimp as is, with the little bit of delicious mystery sauce they put on it for me. I tried not to use my left hand, but I broke down and used it anyway. Tiffer wasn't feeling well, so he just had Burger King before we got to the BBQ -- he never really has fast food in the U.S. but on a long trip, sometimes you crave comfort food. As I was finishing up my meal, it started to rain. It rained hard for a while, but we were protected under some orange tarp pitched over the picnic tables. We just enjoyed the ambiance for a while, watching young girls working hard at the food stalls, cleaning the tables, filling the pitchers and taking out the trash.
On the way home, Tiffer commented that many people must not have TVs and/or cable/satellite at home. There are crowds of people watching TV at casual restaurants, in the mall, at billiard halls. The Malaysians seem to enjoy soccer, professional wrestling, American movies, and Muslim service television (kind of like the Muslim version of ETWN). You'll see 30-40 people all mesmerized by the screen, and they look up for a second as the white guy and I walk by. The pool halls were also packed. It would have been cool if we were decent at pool and tried to get in on the action. It was all men, all in their 30s and 40s. I wonder if there's money on the game.
