Swimming with the fishes

The itinerary had us catching a boat to Manukan Island and swimming and hanging around. I didn't expect much from the day.

Bus to the jetty, pick up goggles and snorkel and into the speedboat we went. The Editor was not impressed with the bumpy ride at the front of the boat. 

At the island we saw a 2m shark at the jetty and lots of fish. After Flo our guide paid and got us through the entry point, we walked a couple of hundred metres and claimed a couple of tables on the beach. Flo told us there had been crocodiles in the nearby mangroves but we should be ok. Excellent.

Five hours on a beach seemed too much so we did the 1.6km walk on mostly paved path through the forest to Sunset Point.

There was a sign warning that the path was under maintenance and to proceed at your own risk.

At the beginning of the walk we disturbed a massive black monitor lizard that scurried off before we could take a pic. I had my camera in my hand but didn't put 1 and 1 together. Sunset point at sunset is probably very nice. We were about 8 hours early.

An hour later we returned and went all Aqua Man with our gear. I spent forever floating and taking pics with a waterproof camera I have had for a long time. The first time I tested the casing was 5 minutes before I started using it. There were lots of fish, but seeing what I was taking was impossible so I just aimed randomly and clicked away. The results will have to wait until I get home.

Another buffet lunch (that was advertised as a BBQ) and back to the beach just hanging around for an hour.

One of the joys of holidays (and please do not target me as racist) is watching Asians taking photos  of themselves. A young couple came and sat in front of us. She lay down and pretended to sleep while he took pics from all angles. Creepy or funny? I'm not sure. 

Of course when this behaviour is presented to us, we will take pics of it happening. Creepy or funny? Still not sure.

Back to the mainland, at the back of the boat this time to protect frail backs, onto the bus and back to the Hilton.

With our free arvo we fought the humidity, looked into some fabric shops and made our way to Suria Sabah shopping centre. So nice and air conditioned. 

There was lots of cheap stuff, expensive stuff and even familiar stores.

The only purchases were 2 bags of coffee (from a shop on the way) a Portuguese tart and Maccas ice cream.

We walked the 30 minutes back, got ready and off to our farewell dinner, as recommended by Adam, our bus driver. Adam is pronounced Adam and not Adam, as is the spelling. 

Annette was dropped off with a lot of the group at an Irish bar while I returned to the 8th floor of the Hilton to start up my Malaysian branch of Dad bank. 

At the island today, a family of 4 expecting to pay for parasailing on card were told cash only. They had to pay our guide that night. Coincidentally, we had overestimated our spending and figured we could exchange 2,000 ringgit with our undercashed group. 2,000, or half of what we came with, was changed for Aussie dollars. $185 is still outstanding as they had to wait until they got back home. Here is where you find out if you can trust people you have known for 9 days.

Our other joy on holidays is taking pics of weird, usually platform, shoes being worn. I'm starting to worry about us.