Happy Malaysia Day or Independence day. We arrived at the airport far too early and had several hours to kill before we took off for a 30 minute flight. No problems anywhere, we got a taxi easy but when he turned into a building site I was beginning to doubt Claire’s choice of hotel.
We were shown to a spectacular suite, really nice; its just where it is. One day it will be nice here but that day is yet to arrive. We have a lovely tv that swivels around so you can adjust the viewing angle; you can even turn it right around and watch it from the Queen bed.
Its just when you go outside that the trouble starts. The whole area is under development with building work all around us. Worst thing is, there is nothing else anywhere near us so we have lost our independence, Taxi’s everywhere.
The view from our so called balcony is a pile of rubble.
Never mind, we only have two days, we will just have to make the most of it and as I said our room is wonderful.
We ordered a taxi and headed downtown which is about 4 miles away. We passed the Sabah hotel which was closer but still out in the middle of nowhere but at least everything is finished there.
Once we arrived Sandakan we passed the Sandakan Hotel, right in the middle of town and we wished we were staying there. Our taxi dropped us off and we walked along the sea front looking for a place to get a cold beer. No bars, only cafe places full of locals eating awful food. We settled on one where we could see that they had beer in the fridge and had a couple to regroup over. Claire didn’t look amused.
We were starving as all we had eaten was a dreadful, cold Malaysian vegetarian breakfast. It only cost about a pound for both, but believe me, it wasn’t worth it. They may have been edible at some point in the past, but that time had long gone. Just as we thought that nothing could get any worse, it did. A thunderstorm. It hammered it down and all the people around the edges moved in to huddle near us. Sandakan is a real dump.
We found a little supermarket and bought supplies (drinks and Scooby snacks) and headed off in search of food. We walked up to the Sandakan hotel and once inside we could see that we would have been disappointed there as well. Trouble is on Malaysia day, they have a holiday so not much normal fresh food is available. The hotel had a buffet but it didn’t start for 90 minutes and our needs were more immediate. We opted for a cafe across the road but the unrecognizable food was cold and dreadful.
Taxi home to enjoy our purchases was the order of the day. Trouble was, nobody has heard of the Best Western Hotel in the middle of nowhere that only just opened this month. We got terribly lost and the driver asked several people before someone had heard of it. In actual fact, the place he took us to was the best spot that we had seen and it turned out not that far from here, where we are now. We were pleased to be back in our little sanctuary in the middle of nowhere. Claire turned the lights down low, and I put our shopping in the fridge. I have no idea how we will get to the Orangoutang Sanctuary tomorrow; but at least it wont be non-Independence Day.
Hold the cigar for Jimmy's Birthday! Happy Birthday Jim!
No comments:
Post a Comment