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| Author : sue_and_nathan | Diary name : yearaway | ||
| 27 Jul 2001 : Sabah - Malaysia | |||
| Happy Holiday! | |||
| The slow, bumpy bus ride back to Kota Kinabalu seemed to last forever. Exhausted, bruised and battered we dreamt of pizza and beer in bed on our return. Unfortunately, we decided to check our e-mails before we went back to the hotel and found out that Nathans folks were due to arrive tomorrow instead of the day after as we'd thought. What followed was a frantic hour of phoning hotels and airlines to verify that this was true. The lazy luxurious day ahead quickly vanished in a puff of smoke! The next morning we delicately limped to the shuttlebus which took us to join the folks at the Rasa Ria Hotel on the coast. The first ascent of a kerb was particularly painful, which made crossing the road an extremely laborious task. We employed the technique of throwing ourselves off of the kerb and hoping that our legs would agree to cooperate for the landing! After a reunion breakfast, at which Sue and I told them just about everything that has happened in the last three months, we showed them the sights, sounds and sometimes pungent smells of Kota Kinabalu. On their second morning we took them in our flashy Proton Saga hirecar (remember that we're used to a beat-up old Rover at home!) to Kinabalu National Park HQ. Being as our legs were still so sore, it was like revisiting the enemy, but the jungle trail and botanical gardens were fun and the cooler climate was again quite welcome. We ventured on from there to the Poring Hot Springs for a jacuzzi in hot sulphurous waters. We relaxed and caught up on the news from home allowing the healing waters to work their way into our sore limbs. The drive back was a little taxing to say the least, as at one point the fog reduced our visibility to less than 5ft. We could see our hirecar deposit rapidly disappearing into every pothole we failed to dodge. One of the highlights of Borneo followed the day at park HQ - a day on a steam train. We arrived at the railway station, home to the North Borneo Railway, armed with a handful of trainspotter magazines. We were greeted by Siva, who agreed to allow Nathan and his dad on the footplate of the 1954 Vulcan Steam Locomotive for the first leg of the journey. The magazines were for Siva. He assured us that he wasn't a trainspotter, but rather was interested in the marketing opportunities these magazines provided. The train had luxurious carriages and all of the guards were dressed in full jungle kit - toppees and all. While the ladies enjoyed a cool nimbu pani (lime juice) the men were up on the hot footplate - no place for the ladies! Up on the footplate the heat was overwhelmingly intense, especially when the doors to the furnace were opened for the driver to throw in more logs. An hour and a half later we got to our destination and my dad was absolutely elated as getting to ride on the footplate had been one of his childhood dreams. The folks went off to a market and Sue and I stood and watched the engine being turned. This was when Sue and I were invited onto the footplate. Neither of us are the trainspotter type, but watching them fill the furnace with logs and feeling the amazing power of this engine throughout our bodies was really something else. In fact, it was enough to turn us into gricers for the day! Sue was especially pleased because she emerged from the engine covered in oil and grease, though I've no idea how this happened as no one else (including the driver!) had any on them!! The North Borneo Railway (http://www.northborneorailway.com.my) was a wonderful day out. We felt that we truly experienced the romance of steam travel. The tiffin lunch, the ride on the footplate, the soot on our faces, all made us feel that this was something of what it must have been like to travel in bygone days. | |||