My Sabah Discovery Holiday | Day #2

Wheeeeee! Finally have the time to sit down and blog. Can’t believe I was in the car for 70% of my entire day today. Delivering CDs of event photos to a few clients and so on. Oh and it doesn’t help that I got lost in Cheras! Argh.

Anyway
FML cases aside, Imma share with you my 2nd day of my travel escapade to Sabah!
1st day – [here]

Before I continue, I would like to acknowledge my sponsors Mayflower Holidays and Discovery Travel River Lodge. Without them, I wouldn’t have been thrown out to venture the unknown and this trip wouldn’t be made possible!

The day began with my waking up early in the morning – I’m so not a morning person!

My guest and good friend Jacque and I quickly got up and headed towards the main lobby of the lodge to have our breakfast. Yummy! It was prepared ala American breakfast set.

We set out for our morning river cruise, to spot the early birds and other wildlife on the speedboat again with our lifeguard Gary Solacito. This time round, we took the Teneggang Creek detour

And managed to see a Great Egret and the Oriental Pied Hornbill! They were flying really swiftly and looked really regal perched up high above. Sorry, it was incredibly faaaaaarrrr and impossible to catch them in a solitary position so this is (unfortunately) the only picture of the latter yeah.

So much for bird spotting!
Hee.

Anyway, we kept seeing so many birds and some of them were really huge! Whoa I wonder what they feed on in the wild. Hmm… that’s not all. Here’s some really beautiful flower buds and full-bloomed flowers :

before

after!

The cruise along Teneggang Creek took some time and we finally arrived at another detour to the Ox-Bow Lake. Check out the “entrance” to it!

Looks like 2 pillars guarding or marking the territory

And here we are!

As we kept going deeper and deeper into the depths of the lake, we stopped by something that really is a wonder in the wild. It’s really pretty, no? The lake was almost crystal clear and freezing cold! Yeah I dipped my finger inside for the fun of it 🙂

Such a scenic view!

We continued cruising the creek and lake for more flora and fauna. Hmm truthfully, I never regretted setting off so early in the morning. Should we have not, we wouldn’t have managed to see certain animals which are only active in the morning as well as the fresh morning dew on the lush greeneries.

Couldn’t resist shooting the lil spider!

Such beauty should be shared! 🙂

As we c
ontinued the cruise, Gary Solacito suggested that we go jungle trekking in the mangrove. I was initially very interested but alas, he mentioned that our shoes weren’t suitable to withstand the insanely thick mud and if we did go ahead, we would have to leave Sabah with one pair of shoes less.

AND I WASN’T GONNA
SACRIFICE MY PAIR
OF CROCS!
Hee.

To make up for it, Gary and our speedboat captain then stopped by the river bank and dropped us off at a slightly-less-muddy ground to check out some insects and other creepy-crawlies.

Yes, creepy-crawlie Exhibit A.

I tell you, I reckon I’ve woken up the entire Borneo rainforest with my loud shrieks of revolt when I volunteered to place that wriggling leech on my hand.

God knows how hard I had to hold a straight face
It was literally inching its way all over my arm!
Dammit hahaha 🙂

Then again – an experience well endured. First was the giant roaches now the leeches! What next? LOL. Anyhoozers, after a few hours out in the early morning, we decided to head back to the lodge as it was beginning to get very sunny.

Teenaged boys catching fish for a living
Man you should see their well sculpted bodies at such a young age!
Totally beats our overweight Michellin young kids here in the city

Here’s one very interesting catch I spotted! It’s a silverish looking prawn with extremely pink eyes! No need for coloured contact lenses yo. But ermm.. it looks really angry in the picture.

Like, GTFO kinda angry.
Okay prawn, I shall leave you in your crummy old cage in peace.

Ahhhh home as last! When our speedboat arrived at the makeshift jetty to our lodge, we jumped off, thanked Gary & the captain and made a dash to our rooms for a much needed rest – and more sun block lotion!

Doesn’t our cabin look really cosy here?
It is just as comfy inside too 🙂

Okay, I gotta admit. I didn’t exactly get much sleep. Like, who on earth can still sleep after being out for almost 5 hours exploring the wilderness in the morning sun? Totally gets your adreanalin going bonkers already!

So I took more pichas for you! Wheeee
This is the lovely view from our cabin balcony

After we slapped on some mozzie repellant (thanks Jacque dearie!) and sunblock, it was time for lunch already. Wonder what Chef M made for us today?

Simple yet mad-tasty!
Technically, if you’re hungry EVERYTHING tastes amazing.
Human are psychotic like that 🙂

After lunch, I spent some time with the adorable tabby cats around the cabin. Both of them were extremely tame! I wonder if they have names but I’m just gonna call them Mufasa and Aura.

Don’t ask me why I named them so, because if I named them Mickey and Minnie you would ask the same thing 😛

Meet MY PETS for the day!

I was madly in love with these beautiful yet tame felines. Jacque can totally vouch for that. I was practically sprawled all over the wooden flooring just to play,romp and take pictures with them.

Now, it’s quite obvious why I’d get a black cat tattoo-ed on my shoulder blade ey?
I adore cats. And even that is an understatement.

But they don’t adore me as much.
Se
e? They fell asleep in my arms.
🙁

But too bad, I don’t need reciprocal love from cats! Muahahahaha so here’s more of these meows. Just because I love them so.

I bet right now mom will already be puking her gall out
She hates cates LOL

One day mom, just one day
Imma have 9 cats and you’re still gonna have to live with me!
^_____^
I know you love meeeee. Kakakaka

Next on our itinerary was mountain biking! Dammit, I don’t even remember the last time I rode a bike. Oh wait scratch that, I think I was chased by stray dogs the last time I did. Gahh.

THIS TIME AROUND
I WAS CHASED BY A CHILD

Ohmy so terrified
Im shaking in my shoes.
-_-

Okay mebbe kids ain’t so bad after all. Provided they don’t wail or whine nor crap in their pants and make a huge scene after that. They are actually adorable – and fast learners! *cough*

I TAUGHT THEM THIS!
WOOTS ROCK ON KIDDOS m/

We then went exploring past the main trunk road and riding all the way towards another village altogether. Needless to say, I almost fell off the bike countless times so yeah.

Spotted a colony!

But it was a long endurance mountain bike ride as certain parts of the roads have a very steep inclination so lets work out those thigh muscles yo! We rode past farms, plantations, deers (yes I swear I spotted one walking aimlessly by the roadside), cemeteries, wooden houses, brick houses, construction sites, schools and eventually pulled over by the river.

Hand crafted toys are such fun too!
In your face, Toys R’ Us

With the locals

I was very fascinated by the likes of the children diving in one by one into the river, completely fearless of the murky waters deep down below and the existance of crocodiles or so I’ve heard.

No this is not a picture of me robbing the child of his candy

Did I mention that the logs and planks laid to float were extremely mossy and slippery? Better watch your step lest you fall straight into the river!

This was the last picha taken before I slipped right into the river!
Arghh I was muddy all the way home 🙁

Back at the cabin, we took our showers and chit-chatted. I soon set out to lie in the middle of the grassy riverbanks admist the glowing rays of the evening sunset. Who could miss that? I certainly never would.

Evening sunlight is love

Yup, I began frolicking in the grass enjoying the breezy atmosphere of Borneo. Never had sucha relaxing evening in the city. This is just mad awesome here in Sukau Village

For a second there, I think I fell asleep right in the middle of the grassy field. I suppose if we did that here in the city, it would be far too dangerous. Soon, the sun began to set and I did some photography by the makeshift jetty with a very hunky young English gentleman which Jaque and I thought was reeeeeeeeelly cute!

Yes, the picturesque scene of the evening
No pichas of the dude! 😛

Dinner buffer was served and the batch of tourists from the United Kingdom joined us for the meal. We made
friends and I got to know that they were on a 3 week trip around Malaysia. Pretty cool 🙂 Makes me think of my bff there in UK! Miss her much.

M then cleared up the tables after dinner
just before I took a picture 🙂

Somehow, Jacque was yearning to go fishing all afternoon. I never really took the interest… until, nightfall. *cough cough*

I wonder why.
HAHA!

Stay tuned for Episode 3 the finale!
Hope you’ve enjoyed Sabah today with meeee