Malaysia - Kota Kinabalu Oct 2009

WE ARE BACK!! It was a short trip for us to Kota Kinabalu with two good friends of ours. At the beginning of the year, we had been planning on a two-week trip to Tasmania with them and another couple of friends from US. Due to some clashes in the dates with work and work VISA application of one of them, that trip had to be shelved. So this 3D2N trip to Shangri-La's Tanjong Aru Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah was our consolation.

We did not pack much at all for this trip. A good book for me and PSP for him. In fact, we were just looking forward to lots of time relaxing at the beach! I have been looking forward to time away from work for a really long time.

Hubs had been talking about scuba-diving even before the trip. When we made our way to the nearby Sapi Island for the second day, he readily signed up for Scuba-diving in the nearby waters. Our friend YW also signed up. Being a first-timer in scuba-diving, he had to read through the basics under the guidance of the instructor while hubs eager waited to jump into the waters.
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We were lucky to arrive at the beach early. Securing a good shady spot under the trees. There was a BBQ Eating Place just behind us where we could order BBQ food for lunch. The smell of BBQ was so strong I felt like a piece of marinated meat after a few hours!

Our good friends YW & J. YW challenged me to conquer my fear of deep waters by constantly pestering me to snorkel further into deeper waters. Thanks to him, I managed to swim as far out as it was allowed and saw the different types of fish, albeit in the rather dirty murky waters. I saw Zebra Fish, Rainbow Fish, ... and found Nemo!!

We tried swimming without the fins and lifevests at the start but found the waters too choppy. It got better with fins but the lifevests were not easy to manage. They kept threatening to float their way up above our heads. As you can see from the picture above, I was literally pulling the lifevest down.

A broken jetty that they used to park Banana Boats. We were not game to try it.
I did not see the point of taking a ride on a boat to be thrown out of it.

I would have loved a longer trip(preferably more than a week) to fully recharge myself, but I had underestimated how getting away from the country for a mere three days could do to unwind and relax.
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Just getting away from the usual routine and busy-ness of our modern life can offer one new perspectives and take a step back from everything. Surprisingly when you come back with a refreshed soul and recharged body, everything look so much more manageable and not worth fretting.
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This, I guess, is the reason why travelling is really so necessary to many in today's world. So what about you? Are you heading out to somewhere, too?