Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Borneo off the coast of peninsular Malaysia is the world’s third largest island, divided among three nations. The south-eastern region is the Kalimantan province of Indonesia; the remainder contains two states of Malaysia – Sabah in the north and Sarawak in the south, and sandwiched between them the tiny separate country of Brunei.

On Saturday morning after a relaxing two days in Singapore where we enjoyed the best fish head curry ever, prepared by Lee Tuan’s uncle, we flew to Kota Kinabalu, the capital city of Sabah in north Borneo.

KK (as Kota Kinabalu is referred to by the locals) was in pre-World War II days known as Jesselton. Occupied by the Japanese army in the early 1940s, it was later totally destroyed by allied bombing. The only structure left standing was the quaint Atkinson's clock tower that still stands and marks the time, and which we passed on one of our walks around the pleasant, balmy city centre. We also passed the city’s beautiful mosque and spent an hour in the Sabah State Museum. The grounds of the latter contain several traditional communal long houses, and a headhunter house complete with human skulls dangling from the roof. Apparently the headhunters of the past did this to ward off evil spirits. Personally I would probably prefer to encounter an evil spirit rather than a Borneo headhunter but fortunately the only headhunters in Borneo these days appear to be men in suits from Hayes Recruiting.

On Tuesday we took a fast boat to the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine National Park offshore from KK. The boat drivers were friendly young men whose priority seemed to be getting their craft to top speed as quickly as possible and squeezing every possible Joule of energy out of the twin 150 horse power engines mounted at the back. We visited and snorkeled over the coral at three of the Park’s five islands: Sapi, Manukan and Mamutik. Each was idyllic with crystal white sand and crystal clear warm water containing colourful coral and fish just a few flaps of the flippers from the sandy shoreline. We were surprised at how prolific the fish were – many large specimens could be seen cruising lazily around the jetties and over the coral.

Speaking of fish, one of the best things about KK is its large fish market and seafood BBQs at the nearby waterfront night food market. We’ve never seen such a variety of seafood for sale, at very reasonable prices. There were masses of sizzling tuna, snapper, garoupa, mackerel, mullet, coral trout, trevally, squid, cuttlefish, clams, stingray, and prawns bigger than zucchinis. To name just a few. We had dinner there twice, accompanying the fish with seaweed and green mango salads, and milk from fresh whole coconuts for drinks. A seafood lover’s paradise.

For Malaysian Muslims, Ramadan (the holy fasting month) began on 22 August. With the fast not to be broken before sunset, we saw many families sitting at the seafood market tables, some with food at the ready, waiting for the moment to come when they could have their first meal of the day. And what a meal it was going to be.

Shenzhen, Hong Kong & Macau, China

Two hours by bus from Huilai brought us to the huge city of Shenzhen just north of the “border” with Hong Kong. Although the latter has now been reunited with China for many years, for immigration purposes Hong Kong (and nearby Macau) are still treated by the Chinese authorities as separate jurisdictions where passport stamping and visa requirements must be observed when crossing the line.

Shenzhen is a major manufacturing and commercial centre and one of China’s most prosperous cities. Some claim the place to be a soulless spot where the only mantra these days is making money. We spent two nights in the city centre and found it to be a happy, bustling place bursting with shops and goods. Think Shenzhen – think shopping.

On Saturday morning we caught Shenzhen subway Line 1 to the Luo Hu border crossing with Hong Kong and after completing the immigration formalities we crossed the line, and just ahead at the Lo Wu station we boarded the Hong Kong MTR (metro) that very conveniently has a line extending all the way to the Shenzhen crossing. 20 or so stops later, with two line changes along the way, we had whizzed down the length of Kowloon on the mainland, zoomed under the sea, and popped up on Hong Kong Island at the Quarry Bay metro station just a short walk from the apartment where Lee Tuan’s cousin and her husband live. They are both Hong Kong based architects currently working on various projects in Hong Kong and Beijing. We stayed at their apartment for three nights, spending the days whizzing about on the MTR to see different sights around this great city.

On Sunday we caught the MTR to Central where we boarded a ferry to Lamma, one of Hong Kong’s several smaller outlying islands. There is a nice beach here that was being used by many locals and overseas visitors to frolic in the water and momentarily escape the oppressive humidity. We walked the full length of the island, climbing up over the high lookout in the centre where there were good views of the surrounding ocean and shipping. Near the end of the walk we passed the Kamikaze Grottoes, a series of sea caves that apparently were going to be used by the Japanese in the dying days of World War 2 as bases from which to launch surprise suicide speedboat attacks on allied ships. But fortunately the war ended before the first speedboat could be packed with explosives and sent hurtling out with deadly intent from its grotto mooring. We didn’t have to walk back across the island – there was a ferry dock at both ends, so we were able to board a ferry directly for the hour-long return journey to Hong Kong.

On Monday we rode on the Peak Tram, the historical funicular railway that rises steeply to Victoria Peak overlooking Hong Kong Island’s high-rise commercial and residential districts, and across the water to Kowloon. This must surely be one of the world’s greatest city views. We ended a very pleasant day with dinner at an Italian restaurant in Soho, an atmospheric restaurant neighbourhood and popular meeting and dining spot for expatriates.

There are several ways to leave Hong Kong. One option is by sea - we did that on Tuesday morning when we took a Jetfoil across the bay to the former Portuguese colony of Macau, just one hour away. Last year we visited the excellent World Heritage listed old town centre of Macau – this time we stayed on Taipa Island for two nights, close to several new casinos. We don’t gamble but found it interesting anyway to stroll through these almost unreal establishments and observe all the activities going on within. We spent some time at the multi-billion dollar Venetian, a huge, opulent development modeled on, no surprise, a Venetian theme. In fact it seemed bigger than Venice itself, and with none of the decay (or authenticity either for that matter). But it was hard not to be impressed by the scale and gleaming newness of the place and the hundreds of shiny boutiques and restaurants above and around the huge gaming floor. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cash-flow from the shops exceeds that from the games of chance. Lee Tuan contributed a little to the former on Wednesday when she went hunting for some replacement clothing and I was taken along as a junior fashion advisor of sorts. Given that our joint shopping trips normally end with some tension in the air (due largely to my impatience and dislike of shopping), this was a gamble in itself. But all ended well; she found just what she was looking for and when the advertised Final End of Season 70% Discount was applied, even I had to admit the price wasn't too preposterous.

Huilai & Shantou, Guangdong province, China

The coastal towns of Huilai and Shantou are a few hours south by bus from Xiamen, but years behind in development. Western visitors are few and far between here, and attract much pointing and inquisitive, fascinated stares from the locals. Neither town has any tourist attractions of note but we had a particular reason to visit Huilai. In the mid 1800s many tens of thousands of Chinese people emigrated from southern China to South East Asia, Australia or the Americas. One of them was Lee Tuan’s great grandfather who moved to Penang, Malaysia. Little is known of the event or whether he travelled alone. All we know is that he hailed from Huilai in Guangdong province, so we decided to go there for a look. We found the town on a map and caught a bus there from Xiamen, with an overnight stop on the way in the larger city of Shantou.

Both places have modern town centres, but a walk just a few blocks back turns the clock decades back. Modern town centres anywhere are just variations on a theme, so we struck out to see the older parts of Huilai. There are no car taxis here, just three-wheeled motor trikes whose drivers charge 5 Yuan for a ride anywhere in town. Although old and decaying in parts, the tree-lined winding streets and alleys were pleasant to walk along. We wandered around some very old, small cottages outside of which happy children were playing, and stopped briefly to discreetly watch and listen to a musical Teo Chew funeral procession underway outside a house.

Late in the morning on our second day here we caught a motor trike to the modern Huilai Hotel opposite the bus station in the town centre where we had roast goose with pickled mustard, and whole steamed sea mullet for lunch. Then it was time to collect our bags and board a bus to continue our journey down the Guangdong coast.

Gulangyu Isle, Xiamen, Fujian province, China

Xiamen on China’s south-east coast is a modern, green, harbor city, the recipient of several recent international environmental awards and considered by many to be China’s most livable city. It was one of the first five ports forcibly opened to international trade following the 1st Opium War in the 1840s. Wealthy foreign traders and missionaries flocked in, forever changing the character of the place that reached its colonial heyday in the early 20th Century when the winding, undulating streets were walked by prosperous merchants and their lackeys, and lined with high-walled colonial mansions set in neatly manicured sub-tropical gardens.

Just 700 metres across the water from Xiamen city sits the small island of Gulangyu, aptly described by one visitor as an amalgam of several faraway places. The 19th century missionaries brought with them a love of music that flourished, and Gulangyu is still often referred to as Piano Isle, having the highest per capita ownership of pianos in Asia. There are no cars on Gulangyu, enhancing its already peaceful atmosphere. On Friday we walked up and down and around many of the island’s winding, balmy, tree-shaded alleyways, and it wasn’t hard to see past the decaying mansions and conjure up a mental image of the colonial splendor that once existed here, albeit on the back of the infamous opium trade forced onto China. What a strange, quaint place.

We walked on the island’s southern beach and stopped for dinner at a beachside café. It was dark when we made it back to the dock on the other side of the island to take the return ferry to Xiamen; we had tarried on the way to sit under a sprawling fig tree and listen to piano music that wafted down on the humid breeze from an open lit window above. We also stopped briefly to chat with the pastor of one of Gulangyu’s several protestant churches. He spoke good English and introduced himself when we poked our noses through the open front doors for a look inside. He was born in Inner Mongolia but has been a Xiamen resident now for many years. He was just about to lead a seminar on parenting and a few attendees were already seated inside. We took our leave and continued down to the dock to join the large crowd about to surge on to the next ferry that was coming alongside.

Just two kilometres further out to sea, and visible from Xiamen, sits the larger island of Jinmen that has a very surprising administration. Xiamen of course sits on the Chinese side of the Taiwan Straits; 180 km across the water is Taiwan. Relations between the two have warmed noticeably in recent times and hopefully the issues between them will be resolved peacefully. If not, Xiamen wouldn’t be the comfortable place to visit it is today. Jinmen Island’s surprise is that although it is practically in Xiamen Harbour, and 180 km distant from Taiwan, it is occupied and controlled by the Taiwanese! It seems surprising (to someone admittedly ignorant of all the political realities) that China has not taken control of this island before now. These days it’s possible to take a short ferry ride to Jinmen from Xiamen, but according to some traveler reports it’s not particularly interesting apart from the presence of several thousand Taiwanese troops and steel spikes along the beach to hinder any possible invasion. We eschewed Jinmen in favour of another day on Gulangyu but when we got to the ferry dock we learned that all ferries were suspended due to approaching Typhoon Morakot. We returned to our room in the Spring Sunlight Hotel across the road from the dock and the maid knocked on our door soon after to tell us to secure our windows as wet and wild weather was expected overnight.

Sunday we were confined to quarters as the storm howled around the streets but come Monday the waters had calmed and we joined the large crowd surging back over to Gulangyu. We explored the remaining section of the isle and walked along the swimming beaches where the swimmers were far outnumbered by the tour group day-trippers gathered along the shore, dipping their toes in the water.

Shanghai, China

From Yangshuo we flew north back to Shanghai from where Dick was due to fly out on 6 August to return home. We checked into the Oriental Riverside Hotel in the Pudong new economic zone and spent the afternoon walking amongst the Pudong skyscrapers and along the Huangpu Riverside walkway. The Pudong high-rise is proof that modern architecture can be interesting as well as functional. The current Kings of Pudong are certainly the Jin Mao building (that contains the highest hotel in the world, the Grand Hyatt that stretches from Level 55 to Level 87), and the adjacent Shanghai World Financial Centre building, nicknamed The Magnet, that at 1,600 feet is currently the world’s tallest occupied building. But not for much longer. Due for completion in late 2009, the Burj Dubai will eclipse anything else on the planet by a large margin, at a dizzy 2,700 feet! Even in Pudong, within a year or so The Magnet will be eclipsed by a building going up right next door that judging from the billboard photographs around the building site, can best be described as a humungous blue whirl.

After dark we returned to the riverside to admire the illuminated colonial-era buildings along the Bund across the river, then moved on to the Cloud 9 Bar at the top of the Grand Hyatt, and then the 97th floor of The Magnet next door, to survey the Shanghai night skyline from a perspective that one normally only gets from the seat of an aircraft. We ended the evening with beers in the ballroom of our own hotel where a Chinese singer was crooning to a crowd of about eight. She was quite good – her voice was smoky and her accent added fascination to the renditions. There was only one couple dancing – an enthusiastic older guy and his wife. He appeared to be enjoying himself enormously and he chatted cordially with the singer between songs. But then something happened between him and the singer that caused him to fly into an instant rage and he began shouting angrily before rushing out to get the manager. The manager came and the music stopped while the threesome thrashed out their issues. Then the wife led the man off to his room where he had some cooling off, and quite possibly also a lot of sobering up, to do. It was a humiliating exit for a guy who only a few minutes before had been prancing around masterfully like Fred Astaire but was now being led away like a donkey. We decided to call it a night too.

Thursday morning came, and with it the end of Dick’s time in China. We went with him by taxi to the Pudong International Airport where we said our goodbyes and he disappeared from view through the security checkpoint to begin his long journey back across the Pacific to San Francisco. Dick's a couple of decades older than us but he continues to be a keen traveller with a deep interest in the natural world. We can only hope we have his level of energy and drive in 20 years' time.

Not having the appetite for another ride with the stupidly dangerous taxi drivers who ply the Pudong Airport run, we caught an airport bus back to the hotel where we collected our things and headed on to the Hongqiao domestic airport where we had our own flight to catch, back to the south of China. But bad weather had closed in and all flights out of Hongqiao were delayed, with the result that it was well after the scheduled departure time when Xiamen Airlines Flight MF8506 lifted off from a drenched runway.

Yangshuo, Guangxi province, China

The funky tourist town of Yangshuo about 90 minutes by road south of Guilin is located deep in karst country. Yangshuo is certainly not representative of China but is a fun place to visit for a few days and to enjoy a change of food. It’s a foreign backpackers’ mecca and magnet to Chinese tourists wishing to see a “western-themed” town. It also has some of the best natural scenery in the whole country.

Millennia ago the whole region was seabed, covered with a thick limestone deposit. Then about 250 million years ago, the Indian and Asian tectonic plates that meet here collided, causing a massive up-thrust that lifted the land above the ocean. Since then, selective weathering and erosion by percolating acidic groundwater has created the bizarrely-shaped limestone karsts that cover the countryside in all directions to the horizon.

We checked into the Paradesa Hotel in the main tourist street, West Street, and booked some tours for the following days. The heat and humidity were still punishing and we restricted our outdoor activities to the mornings and late afternoons, using the midday hours to shelter in our air-conditioned room and sharpen our Shanghai Rummy skills.

Dick and I went on an early morning bamboo raft trip down the peaceful Yulong River 15 km west of Yangshuo. The Yulong is a small tributary of the River Li and gently winds its way through stunning karst scenery that has the appearance of a “middle-earth” fantasy land. The only hazardous part of the trip was at the beginning when we had to clamber over many bamboo rafts tied up at the water’s edge to get to ours. Within an hour or two, all these rafts would be floating serenely down the Yulong.

That evening, Lee Tuan and Dick attended the nightly performance of Impression Liu Sanjie, a theatrical extravaganza set on the River Li itself with literally a cast of hundreds – 500 singers and dancers in fact. Several surrounding limestone karsts are illuminated with floodlights to provide an impressive, eerie backdrop to this unique show.

Dick also went on a morning boat trip on the River Li, downstream from Xinping. A young Belgian woman travelling alone through China was the only other westerner on his boat. The River Li is a big river surrounded by towering karsts and its scenery is grander than that along the Yulong, but the latter is more other-worldly and atmospheric we think.

Yangshuo is less well-known than Guilin, but has much more to offer to visitors who like the outdoors. A day in Guilin is enough; several days in Yangshuo can easily be occupied doing different, interesting things. Certainly, our four days here passed quickly, and with Dick’s time in China drawing to a close, it was time to be on the move again.