Wednesday 6th
August
 |
| Storm! |
Yesterday
was our last day in crazy, lively Lahad Datu.
We went to our favourite corner restaurant and had great big fruit juice
drinks and ordered some takeaways for the night – we had to leave early in the
morning and didn’t want to complicate matters by going back into town in the
evening.
The staff
were THRILLED to see us back again. The
owners put on John’s hat and sunglasses, to pose for a photo. And the waitresses fell about, in fits of
giggles…
I’ll see if
I can do a close-up; they were in hysterics!
Our senior
waitress was delighted to pose, with the owner:
People here
are so very delightful…
While I
waited for my avocado juice (yes!) to arrive, I went for a wander around the
block, to do a quick Lahad Datu Photo Essay.
Firstly, the
footpaths are…
ghastly!
There are
some interesting old wooden buildings – I don’t think Lahad Datu got bombed to
smithereens, like poor dear Sandakan.
Some dear little kiddiwinks followed me, relentlessly chanting, One ringgit!
One ringgit! as they patted gently at my pockets to see if they
could slither any money out . I just
laughed and said TIDAK (NO!) But when I
got to the corner shop I bought three rubber balls and waited till the little
sprites reappeared…Sea Gypsy children… I didn’t take photos… My most persistent
darling little girl was the first to get a ball. She was swiftly followed by a gang of
wild-eyed boys: GIMME!!!! Pete and John
were (as always) way ahead of me, and a Chinese man stopped me, sternly saying,
DON’T give them anything! They will just ask for more! Oh I know…I KNOW!!! But…my darling little girl whirled up to me
as I crossed the road, grabbed me by the hand, and said, with the biggest smile
in the whole world…THANK YOU!!!
Friday 8th August
We have just
left glorious Pulau Gaya lagoon
And now we
are on another raffish little town, Semporna.
John will leave us here; we will miss him. And at 3pm we are picking up Lindsay Gamba
and his girlfriend Emma, fresh off the plane from London…We having; seen
Lindsay since, I think 2007. He and Pete
almost single-handedly built Pete’s house in West Hobart. It was a VERY happy time in Pete’s life. He and Lindsay had fun fun FUN! And…we all loved Lindsay, who is a total
chick magnet by any standards. Lindsay
will enjoy being with Pete, and being on the boat. But will Emma?? For three weeks?? I am going to buy some new pillows in the
hope of making her very much more comfortable than she would be with the festy
old ones. (It doesn’t take very long for
a pillow to get festy in this hot humid climate…)
 |
| Bird ignoring dog very sternly |
We only had
two nights in the Pulau Gaya lagoon. It
was very beautiful, with crystal clear water (we haven’t seen very much crystal
clear water…)
I am
temporarily waterlogged because I have spent many happy hours snorkeling. Yesterday in the late afternoon I was
accompanied by a huge school of tiny fish, which stayed with me all the way
long the reef. And I also saw…a large,
terrified stingray, and an even larger and even more terrified green turtle,
swimming for its life. Bliss!
At 7am about
twenty of us walked to the top of the mountain – 500 metres, very steep. But it was shady and cool in the thick
jungle, with a well-made track. And a
glorious view from the top.
I did very
well on the walk UP, scampering efficiently onward and upward and arriving in
the avant garde. But on the way down…oh
deary me I crept and trembled and clutched at handholds… Falling up isn’t very
scary; falling DOWN is quite another matter.
We have
arrived in Semporna and we are tied up to a jetty right next to a lovely little
café – quelle surprise! Yet another Maritim Malaysia vessel guided us
gently in.
The night
before last we had an armed guard on board.
Fairuz was a delightful young bloke.
He lay on cushions on the deck with his rifle tightly clutched to his manly
chest. Occasionally he left his weapon out
of his sight, where it formed part of the 2XS safety equipment, next to the
fire extinguisher and the container of flares…
More anon…
Emma and Lindsay are here!
We are already enjoying their company.
And we will miss Our John!
Emma and Lindsay are here!
We are already enjoying their company.
And we will miss Our John!
No comments:
Post a Comment