When I first asked Tasha if it was ok to visit for 2 weeks she told me she would be away on a school trip for part of it, but that we could still come and stay. So on Wednesday morning we dropped her off at the airport to meet the 22 students she was taking to an international competition in Bangkok for 4 nights.
Then we headed off the drop her car in for a service. On route we noticed a group of police officers in the middle of the road stopping cars. Nathan turned to me and said 'Do you have your license on you?' To which I replied 'No! Do you'. So now we were driving Tasha's car which is overdue for a service so she was unsure if the insurance is valid if she is late with the service and we had no drivers licenses on us and no form of ID at all as neither of us were carrying a passport. Great!
We slowly approached the group of police and several cars at random were pulled over and then then two in front of us were let through, we tried to look relaxed and carried on driving and breathed a sign of relief when we were not pulled over. 'We are not going back that way!' Nathan said. The service was an hour and I got quoted 3 different prices while in there, none of which were the price quoted to Tasha on the phone! Finally the car was ready and we pulled out into the Kota Kinabalu lunchtime rush which then took us an hour to navigate through and safely back to the apartment and to put drivers licences and passports into our bags for future trips.
After a swim we headed to the city to walk along side the water villages. Tasha had explained a little about these when we arrived. A lot were originally built by people seeking refuge but were not granted it so remain in houses on the water, unable to rent a house on land.
The government will not recognise them as citizens so the refuse collectors do not visit them so all their rubbish lays in the water around the stilts of their houses.
We headed back to Grace Gardens for our dinner and shared 2 dishes. One was an amazing crispy noodle dish in a gravy with an egg and vegetables and we had the chicken rice Malaysian style this time.
On the way home we passed the State mosque which is a really impressive building.
Ever since I started teaching I have planned to make a display on my wall of religious buildings around the world! I have even purchased the world map to pin them to it. But as every teacher knows, as soon as the school term begins the time consuming effort to make a display goes out of the window. Maybe this summer I will finally complete it!
Thursday, Friday and Saturday were a mixture of swimming, reading 'The Railway Man' (which I would highly recommend), walking around Kota Kinabalu city centre and of course experiencing more good food.
The White Tom Yam Soup served with rice was one of my highlights.
Nathan has fallen in love with Thai food and is eager to try much more as we travel closer to and into Thailand.
Sweet and sour dishes served on banana leaves are also delicious.
We also tried a coconut pudding which was like a jelly made of the coconut water and flesh.
We also made a friend in Tasha's building who we spent 2 lovely afternoons chatting to about life and travels as she works for the British Council and has lived all over the world. She was a really interesting lady.
Sunday evening came and it was time to pick up Tasha from KK airport. Her plane was delayed by 2 and a half hours and as I stood at the arrivals gate I realised that we had been in KK for one week and already I felt like a local. It's funny how travelling for a length of time has allowed me settle into a new routine and a new place a lot quicker than it usually does when I take a 2 week holiday. I guess that is the traveller lifestyle and something that I have slowly adapted to.