I understood how lucky am I listening to the heavy rainstorm in the last night. So far on Borneo I had no rain! Fortunately around 7 am it cleared up and I was happy to go to the Kota Kinabalu Sunday market. It takes place just two blocks from the Backpackers Street – on Jalan Gaya. Wow! So many stalls! Exotic fruits and handicrafts. Records and T-shirts (3 for 20 r) live animals in cages (cats,dogs, rabbits, turtles…) and a crowd crawling along. Place definitely worth to see!
After two hours I took my pack and I went to the Inanam bus station. Bus to Sandakan was waiting for me – just pay 43 ringgits for the ticket and jump on! They declared that it will take us 6,5 hours to reach the destination.
It is worth to make this bus trip because it will give you the great look into the interior of Borneo. I passed again Mt Kinabalu (in clouds today) then there were lush green mountains covered by jungle. Then little farms with timber houses on the poles and huge palmoil plantations.
We made one stop for lunch and two maintenance stops in the middle of nowhere – something was wrong with the engine and transmission. It was junk bus – by the way the name of company was SIDA (do you know what does it mean in French?).
I reached Sandakan at dusk. Taxi driver left me at the Seaview Hotel instead Seafront Hotel. It is better to check twice before he will disappear. Sandakan in the colonial period was a capital of British North Borneo. It is famous for the cruel Japanese POW camp and… orang-utans living in the jungle not far from the town. I do hope to see them tomorrow!
