Reflections and Sentiments

Been doing a lot of thinking and reflection these few days.  I attribute this to mid-life crisis, and the fact that I'm hitting a big milestone soon... Real soon.  Emotional.  What did I do?

First off, I choped off my hair, it was short to begin with (shoulder length), but I choped it even shorter, funky loop-sided hair cut, and coloured it RED!  It has been a long time since I last coloured my hair, probably 4 years back.  Suddenly I just had this great urge to do something, to change something.  Didn't like how I looked before, wanted to change, give myself a different style, like chopping off all the burdens and troubles, hopefully bring me a new light, a new luck!  Alot of people say when a woman cuts her hair, something has happened to make her decide on such a big change.  You go figure it out...

 

Then, I had the urge to pull out my history, my past, what made me who I am today, what was I 20 years ago.  I remembered I was this arty, creative person back when I was young, I remembered I kept an art book (ok, not a pro Art book, just a note book) where  started drawing cartoons and pictures based on samples.  I'm not really those who can just create a new drawing, but I can draw good if I have a sample to look at.  After much searching, pulling books out of my pile, I found it!!

Imagine my joy and the emotional feelings I felt, flipping through the pages, trying to relieve the past.  That was from 15 years ago, when I still kept sticker books.  Then I started thinking more.  I used to be good at Arts & crafts, I did origami!  Made thousands of stars and filled up bottles, giving to friends as gifts.  I made origami swans!  And other origamis.  I tied friendship bands, chinese knots, necklaces.  I did all those things when I was young.  I liked those things!  I even remember I was good at moulding clay figurines!  Now, I'm an auditor!  What a change!  But not a conventional auditor, as people have always commented. "You are the most unconventional auditor", "Your hairstyle is too havok", "You dress very unlike auditor".  Honey, think out of the box!  It's 2012, the world may be ending soon, why follow the bandwagon.

 

Sometimes I do regret not living my life earlier.  Exploring, being independent, travelling much younger.  These are some of the things, when you look back, you think "What If".

 

I dug out my old diaries and old letters and greeting cards.  Yes, I'm a hoarder!  But I keep valuable things, like these memories from the past!  I spent a few nights, laying on my bed, reading through my old entries, reading the letters from best friends from my past, greeting cards from friends.  Brought back a lot of old memories, good and sad.  Reading the letters, I realized how much I miss my old friends from different phases of my life.  And how life can just easily dissolve some old ties.  It is sad, but sometimes that is life. 

 

And my diaries, how I have changed in the past 10 years. I started keeping a diary since JC times, writing about things, my feelings, relationships and stuff.  Reading them, I realized I had a lot of anger pent up, only let out through writing in my diary.  Being a teenager, of course the thinking was rather immature.  It was a really interesting read, reading how teenager I was, thinking about small insignificant matters.  A snippet - I used to think about getting myself a boyfriend so much!  Haha, 10 years ago!  Oh man!  Also, entries about my feelings, my relationships or the lack thereoff etc.  The fun times, the happy times, and the sad events.  From then through now. 

 

It was really emotional for me, reading those events that happened.  I smiled, I laughed, I cried.  Yes, I cried.  Surprising isn't it.  Must be age.  Sorry but I am not able to reveal the contents of my diary, or what made me cry or smile.  You can deduce by yourself, make your own guess and keep it to yourself.  Although I did regret stopping my diary for a period of my life, where I didn't get to record down some happy events in my life during that point in life.  I really do regret it now.  And I think I lost some of my diary entries when I scribbled them on other notepads.  Very regretful, cos they are memories, be it good or sad ones.  I vow to keep my diary more up-to-date.  To write more about me, my feelings, what happened.  It is really a good read, 5-10 years down the road.

 

Writing this entry, feeling so tired.  Yes, spent last night reading my diary again.  Old memories made me sentimental and cried.  It is age, must be age that led to this reflection of life, thinking about my life.  But I guess, it is good to do this once in a while.  Makes you think about your entire existence in the world!

 

I started some Arts again, with paintings.  Ok not free style paintings but painting with some aid.  And I really enjoyed it.  I can get soo engrossed into it that I will keep on doing it till late hours.  It is hard work but I really like doing it.  I think I do have that artistic seed in me, but not enough creative power to nurture it.  Who knows!  If I had enough willpower, I may have become a famous artist now, or some creative person!  Maybe that's why I'm working in an advertising and marketing industry, although not as a creative.  Keep on dreaming....

Puerto Galera Weekend Dive

Long overdue post on my quick weekend dive getawayto Puerto Galera, Batangas, Philippines. 

If you are ever in Manila, and want to get away for the weekend, like for a dive, Puerto Galera is the place!  It is the nearest place you can get to without having to worry about "Oh no, I can't dive 18H before a flight!"; "Oh no, if I fly in the morning, I don't have enough time to dive"; "Shit, I can't book a flight" etc etc.  It is across the waters from Batangas, which is a 2H drive from Manila.  Buses run throughout the day, which means you can make your way to Batangas even if it's 10pm at night!  Although I really don't recommend that unless 1) You are a Pinoy 2) You have company 3) You know your way around 4) You just don't care about shit! 

Of course, it's not just a 2H ride! You have to take an almost 1H boat ride across to PG, which runs from 730am to 430pm.  Which means YES, you wouldn't be able to set feet int PG if you travel at night to Batangas, but at least you can be the FIRST to cross the water to PG the next day!  Which is precisely what I did!

 

So here's the lowdown.  On Friday night, I made my way to the many bus terminals in Manila.  If you are in Makati, it is at Gil Puyat LRT station.  You WILL NOT miss it.  Or just tell the taxi driver "Bus terminal going to Batangas" they will know which one to take you to.  Different buses depart from different terminals.  My taxi driver took me to JAC Liner.  Ok, I would probably recommend JAM the next time cos I took that on my return and it was alot faster.

 

The moment I got off the taxi, touts came and helped me manuveur the crowd to find the right bus.  Yes, I know I should have done it myself to save the tipping, but oh well, it was late at night and I just couldnt be bothered.  Anyway, just a tip of 20pesos is not much.  The buses run really very frequently.  I missed about 3 buses as they were all filled up and I was across the street buying my dinner, but got on the 4th bus easily.  The buses were packed! I guess people were going home from Manila for the weekend.  The bus made several stops on the way, and they played movie on board!  Wear a jacket, it's COLD!!!

 

After almost 3H, I got to Batangas Pier.  Make sure you get off at Batangas Pier cos the town is a distance away and if you want to catch the first boat, better to stay near to the Pier.  After I got off, the place was dark and almost empty, except for 1 bus taking people further away.  A Pinoy got off at the same place and thank god for him!  Cos I was trying to get my bearing and finding where Traveller's Inn was!  People that were there couldn't speak English.  So he took me to the exit and was about to walk to the Inn with me when the Tricycle rider finally relented on 40pesos to send me there.  They wanted 100! Crazy.  Seeing that it was almost 11pm and the road was deserted, I took it and checked in PRONTO!!  Traveller's Inn is the closest to the Pier, it's about 700PhP per night, and the room is nice!  Air-conditioned, with shower, tv and a HARD HARD bed.  Bed was SOOOO hard I couldn't sleep the whole night!

 

Early next morning, jumped on the first boat to Sabang!  Again, there are touts at the Pier who would help you buy your tickets and all those environment fees thingy.  You can DIY or like me, I just tipped me a little to settle for me :) Added up to about 200Php in total.

 

The boat was surprisingly rather prompt! Though it didn't leave on the dot but not too long after!

 

After a long ride, I finally reached PG!! All sunny and hot!

 

So PG isn't exactly a nice beach.  There isnt really a beach per sey!  The boats were all anchored close to the shore, the shore was full of stones and rocks.. Not really that pleasing a beach for tanning or laying around.  But I was there for the dive! 

 The town of Sabang is really really small, nothing much to walk around with a few eateries here and there.

I booked a room with Blue Ribbon Divers, at Small Laguna, just a 5min walk from the pier at Sabang.  This area is a little nicer, the beach is a little cleaner too!  The rooms are not budget, i.e. backpackers may not find it cheap.  My bungalow ws 1200Php per night, fully air conditioned, TV (cable!), double bed (this is comfy bed), toilet with shower and amenities.  An best of all a PORCH with HAMMOCK!!!!!  Nope, no sea view, but I don't really care! I have a hammock!!!

Pronto, dropped my bag and went to dive! 3 dives on the first day.  Dives are 1,100Php per dive, equipment is 200Php per day, regardless of what you rent, just 1 price. 

 

We went to Hole in the Sea, Giant Clams and Monkey Beach.  Awesome dive! I mean look at PG beach you may think "So ugly, what can this place offer!!", but the dive is really good!  And they are just 5-10mins away from the dive center!  Corals are beautiful and visibility is good!  Of cos, if you are into really MACRO like Sipadan, you may be disappointed, but PG is good!  For a place so close to Manila, worth the trip and money!

 

Hole in the Sea so named because there is a hole about 5m wide and 8m long where you swim through.  That was fun!  And when you get to the other side, the marine life is real great!  We saw gigantic fish, trevalis etc etc..

 

Giant Clams, obviously GIANT CLAMS!! Like half the size of me!!! And loads of them on the floor!  That dive was good as well, we saw throngs of trevalis and really big fish just swim past.  Did Giant Clams twice!

 

Night life was not really much.  THing is, it's the off-season.  Not many backpackers.  I must say, i see alot of locals (weekend getaway) but they don't dive actually, and old westerners.  Old folks.  The atmosphere felt old, and very quiet.  I guess, if people are vacationing in Philippines, they wouldn't choose PG specifically.  I would definitely go Boracay or Bohol for dives.  So wondering around Sabang town for dinner, I passed by lots of local clubs.  Yes, those local clubs with pole dancers, skimpily dressed Pinoy pole dancers gyrating around the poles, with local pinoys sitting up close, and some old FOLKS (i.e. westerners).  WHen i say lots, I mean lots!  Every 5-10 steps, there's one.  And I did notice not many young females walking along the streets, except me.  Made me feel rather conscious....  But if I gota eat, I gota eat!  Parked myself at a local stall eating Pancit Canton.  Then slumped and fell asleep, too tired from the early day and the dives.

 

Sunday did 1 last dive @ Monkey beach.  That was really nice dive! Saw a lot of things, and generally just had a good vibe of the dive!  Saw lots of live and nice corals too!  After 1 dive, I packed my bag and rushed for the boat.  Ok, there may have been a fixed timing for boat departure, but really, you never know!  So I was lucky to make the 1045am departure!  The next departure would have been 1-ish.  Probably no in between, at least that is what the locals said.  But like I said, you never know!  I never knew there was a boat leaving at 1045am, they said 1130am!  So I was lucky to catch it before it departed!  I thought I had to pay for the ride, but I didn't.  Nobody checked for ticket or anything.  So I guess when you buy the ticket to leave for PG, it is a return ticket for you to get back to Batangas!

 

Once I reached Batangas, it was easy peasy to get back to Manila.  Tons of buses just waiting and calling out to you!  Took JAM back to Manila.  167Php (same price) and within 2H I was back in Manila!!

 

Would I go back again?  Well If I were in Manila and only have 1 weekend, I would.  It's close enough and good enough a dive spot for the weekend.  If I were vacationing in Philippines? Nope!  I would definitely choose Bohol for diving.

Tree Top Walk



Time for some exercise, free air and greenery.  So my JC friends and I decided to go the Tree Top walk!  For reasons known amongst us, we decided to opt for the easier route that starts from Venus Drive, and only 2.4km long.  Because of all our busy schedules, we could only meet in the late afternoon, and since the gate closes at 5pm, it means we had no choice but to opt for the shorter walk.  Hey, as long as we reach the destination, the journey is not so important right?!?!

 

So lo and behold, people were late, and we started after 4pm, which made us more worried because it's a 2.4km walk to the gate which closes at 5pm. 

All geared up and ready to start the walk in the park!  Mei Mei was our 'leader' since she had done the walk before.  It was mainly a walk within the park, trails going up and down.  Quite a nice walk too!

And we made it to the gate before 5pm!!  Because it's a one-way route, you have to enter before 5pm, if not you would have made a wasted trip once they lock the gate.  But once you pass the gate, you have to keep on going forward, no returning back.

View from up there was quite nice!  Can see the MacRitchie reservoir.  But we were not avid bird watchers so we didn't really look for birds or foliage.  I guess our main aim was hit the bridge, walk the bridge, take photo and mission accomplished! 

So we spent some time taking photos as evidence of our presence on the bridge! 

And time for group photos!

All crouching down to get a good angle so Angeline can be seen... It is definitely not easy to half squat while maintaining composure for a nice photo!  That's where all those squats come into good use!

Yes, act CUTE poses are included!  Too bad Angeline was not able to tip toe herself higher!

Look there, it's a bird, no it's a plane, no it's the reservoir!

Just cannot NOT do a jumping pose.  The bridge is pretty sturdy so don't worry! Jump all you want!

Mei Mei and Sa trying to be artistic....

And I decided to do a jump shot with Mei Mei!  The bridge is only wide enough for 2 people to jump and capture the motion.  But it's a nice effort!

Now I have pinned Tree Top Walk as a place I've been to in small yet unexplored Singapore (well for me anyway).  We did the loop in under 2H!  Then it was off to a nice dinner to replenish all those energy we expended during the walk...

 

If you don't have the time, starting fromVenus Drive is good enough!  For those with more energy, drive and time, you can try to walk to MacRitchie.  Probably takes you a good 2-3H one way.

Stone Mountain

Over the weekend in Atlanta, I decided, upon suggestions from colleagues, to make a trip to Stone Mountain State Park.  Since I like nature, hiking an basically some physical activities, it was a good idea!  So on Saturday, I started the train+taxi ride into Stone Mountain State Park.

The day started slightly gloomy with slight drizzle while I was making my way to the Park.

Upon arrival, my room was not ready, so I decided to take a walk around the Park.  Nothing too strenous, or so I thought!

The hotel was conveniently located right in the middle of the Park with easy access to all th points of interest.  Marriott-Stone Mountain Inn is the hotel, and upon arrival they gave me a free 1-day Adventure Pass!  Not that I really needed it but it was handy cos I actually took 2 rides free out of it.

So I decided to walk the 5-mile nature hike while waiting, thinking that it was just a smooth walk in the forest.. So flip flops was alright.  Well I was wrong.  15mins into the walk, it led to stone/rock faces and uphill hike.  Well, I was already there and nothing much else to do, so I perservered.  And lo and behold, it started to rain!  Great!  So I decided to wait out under the cover of the trees.  A little help, not much.

Steep rock face which I walked in flip flops

When the rain started to slow down, I continued on, and very soon I was at the junction of the walk up Stone Mountain.  Well, that was when it really started to pour!! And I had to make my way down mid-hill to seek shelter.  That delayed me for about 30mins. 

And, the sun came out!  Really hot and mightly!  And I decided, well let's just hike up Stone Mountain.  Unplanned for that moment but well since I was already there, might as well!

So with my flip flops and sling bag, I walked up.  It was not tough, just that morale of the story - flip flops are not the best footwear for climbing up.  Yes, you can do it, but not the best option.

And it was VERY HOT!  Sun was sorching down and burning my skin a little...

And I made it up to the top in one piece!  Though drenched in sweat... But the view is amazing!

Was about to walk down, when the sky started clouding again.. And I thought "No way, don't want to be caught in the rain again"  So since I have the 1-day pass, I opted for the skyride!  Short ride but nice view.

I had another hour to spare before I can check into my room, so I wandered around the maingrounds.  Stone Mountain State Park is more for families or groups of friends, cos the activities are oriented around groups rather than individuals.  Like those adventure ropes, or mini gold, it would look/feel weird if you go ahead on your own.  So I didn't, though I had free pass.  But I took the train ride which goes round the Stone Mountain.  Well it's actually a piece of really huge granite rock.

Finally got to check into my room, rest a bit, slap on more sun screen and headed out for another walk towards the lake.

Then at 930pm, it was time for the laser show!  It was alright.  First few minutes was pretty ok, with pop music..then it got patriotic, which features of american history, national songs etc etc.. Which I'm sorry to say I cannot appreciate.  So I left early to sleep and get ready for another early morning start the next day.

Mission for the 2nd day is to complete te 5-mile hike!  This time, I strapped on my sports shoes!

And it was a lot of slippery rock hills/faces to hike through.  Luckily I didn't do it the day before with my flip flops..  But it was a good hike!  Exercise, what I needed!  But it was a really hot hot day! 

 Attempted to plank... Not easy when timer is set to just 10 sec

Exhausted from the heat after the hike I packed my bags and headed out of stone mountain.  Decided to take the bus to the train station, which involved a 2 mile walk out of the Park to the Stone Mountain Village.  Stupidly, I started walking the opposite direction for 15min before realizing I was going the wrong way!  Had to turn back, re-walked the 15min + another 2 mile.... Geez... But finally made it out and away from the park.

Fun times... And great workout!!

Updates

Been 1 month since my last random post.  Yes I still miss my beanie star, it just itches when he's not there for me to hug and grab.  But I guess that's life!  You win some, you lose some, at the end of the day life still goes on and you have to.

Been to Shanghai in May for work then to Beijing in June for work.  Man, I partied wayyyy too much during these 2 trips!  I must say, the most I partied ever since ages ago.  Too much drinking, but it was fun though.  Nice bars/clubs I went to in both cities

Shanghai

Haven

It's an exclusive club, open like once a month for public while the other days are reserved for privat events.  Lo and Behold, I've always complained that I don't have the luck ever when it come to going to the right place at the right time.  My friend always say I don't have the luck, but lady luck was with me that night we went!  We were trying out luck to see if Haven was open and it was!!!  So we just walked in, overjoyed at 830pm only to discover that it doesn't start until 9pm.  Great!  And it was raining outside so no point heading to another bar.  So we waited and waited and waited.  Until after 10pm when the party really started.  It was just alright, not exactly really fun, music was alright but the crowd was just alright... I guess it will be more fun during the private/themed parties.  But!  We did get a free drink offered to us!  The bartender was saying it was from the boss but he couldn't even pronounce the name correctly.  We politely rejected cos we were too confused by what happened that we just returned the drink.  Now that we think about it, quite stupid to reject a free drink! Haha

Richbaby
2nd stop of the night, we went to Richbaby, a local shanghai club.  My friend wanted to bring me to experience the local club.  So we left Haven around 11pm, and went to Richbaby to join her group of friends.  Wow!  Totally different environment!! It was misty and loud and smoky!  The music was blasting real loud and it was smoky inside.  The night we went, they had an alcohol event so there were dancers.  The music is actually quite good!  So we sat and drank Chivas+green tea while playing dice.  We were supposed to stay for 2H, ended up drinking for 6H!! Yes, from 12 midnight till 6am!  Geez.. I was soooo wasted by the time i walked out and tired..  Those mix was lethal!

MUSE
Friend from Singapore came, so we decided to give MUSE a try, hearing good things about it.  Actually our conclusion was that MUSE 1 was the good one, but it was closed when we went, so we had only MUSE 2 to go to.. As usual, we went at like 930pm, no crowd, and the place seemed dead.  Moral of the story - Never step into a club before 10pm.  So we ordered jugs of vodka+orange.  The drink seriously lacked punch, but we had 2 jugs, and we drank a little fast, which we did not feel at that point in time.  It hit Jason real big after the night!  It was not as fantastic though... 

FYI, MUSE 1 has closed, and have moved to a new location at The Bund.  Recently re-opended.  Check it out!  I will have to check it out the next time I go Shanghai..

M1NT
My shanghai friend called me while we were @ MUSE and told us she had tickets for M1NT, so obviously we had to go!! FYI, M1NT is a VIP only club.  The only time I went in was last year with my shanghai friend when I had to pretend I was sooo into exploring M1NT and I was leaving soon that we were allowed into the VIP club.  Else, you can't really go in if you are not a member or if you have not booked a table (which cost you min spend RMB2K)

M1NT is a great club!!! The music is really good, the dance floor is packed and the people there are, let's just say, eye-candy :-) And the drinks are potent!  Albeit coming at a higher price.  And we danced the night away....  Before long, we made our way out of the club but not before stopping for a short while @ a local bar full of prostitutes...  Then it was way home for us all, and Jason was seriously wasted...  Well, actually I felt kinda wasted on my way back.. It's never good to party so hard on weekdays

Beijing
XIU
My friend highly recommended this bar as one of the best clubs in Beijing.  And so I went with a group of people.  Cool!  I love that place!  It has a really nice outdoor sitting area, and a really good live band playing from 930pm, every half hour.  The music is good and it gets you just dancing straight away!  Surprisingly, the drinks are cheaper than those I have paid in Shanghai (MUSE excluded).  And it was a game of getting the German drunk during the night.  I think we had at least 5-6 cocktails (specifically asked for extra alcohol) and a couple of beers.  That got me really high but not really drunk at that point in time.  Yet, Mission Unaccomplished!  Try Harder next time.  I was fine until I got into my room and passed out...

Elements

Nursing a headache, and vowing not to drink again, you know you can NEVER trust the Germans to help you keep the promise.  But I limited myself to just 2 drinks.  Went to the Elements Club.  See that guy @ bottom right corner of the picture?  I got this picture from the Internet and surprise surprise! He was the one who brought us to the club that night!  Regular!!

Well, that club was very much like Richbaby in Shanghai, loud music blasting away, but it was nicer than Richbaby.  Smaller yes, but less smoky and looks a little more upper class.  Music was nice though but we had to stuff paper into our ear drums to snuff out a bit of the loudness.  Did I forget to mention ladies get in for free?  Gents have to pay RMB100.  Apparently, they just started collecting entrance fees.

So we bunked in with a group of Chinese nationals with a table and apparently the girls were wayyy too drunk that they started dancing with each other, hugging and kissing each other, falling all over each other.  Geez, we just stood here and watch in horror/amusement!  At one point, 2 ladies fell down while kissing each other on the lips!  Cool, that was a little amusing though...

Another nice little chill out place - Migas @ Sanlitun Nali Patio 6th floor.  A nice rooftop bar with sofas and comfy chairs to just chill out and have a great view around.  I will for sure head back again, just like XIU.

R.I.P.

Beanie Bag Star

28.11.2006 - 3.5.2012

Fond Memories through these 5.5 years,

You have been beside me every night (except the ones when I was travelling),

You have travelled across the sea to Chiangmai and Perhentian,

I've hugged you and squeezed you to death all these nights,

Until ultimately you started losing your volume, your vitality,

I didn't even realize you were losing your 'life'

That you were 'bleeding' these past few nights

I had ignorantly brushed off those loose white foams across my body

Thinking where the hell they came from

Until yesterday

When I got ready to sleep and found you missing

And heard the terrible news from my mom

"I threw it away"

The shock, horror and sadness that filled my heart

In Memory of Beanie Bag Star

http://dianshan.blogspot.com/2006/11/happy-birthday-to-me.html

Your first public appearance

You will be missed...

Sabah Adventure - The Last Leg, The End of the Journey

So after the past 10 days of adventure (hiking, trekking, diving) the last 2 days were a little more relaxed.  Was supposed to go for some fun white water rafting at Padas River, who knew Mother Nature decided to create a landslide, hence blocking the train track.  So last minute, we decided to try to make our way to Pulau Tiga, also known as Survivor Borneo Island where they made the 1st Survivor Reality show!  Yes, the one where Richard won.

So,we woke up that day (me with an upset stomach), and decided to rent a car to go to Kuala Penyu and try to hire a fishing boat to take us over!  After some walking around, we decided to go back to Borneo Ultimate and rented the same Viva car for our day adventure.

It was a smooth 1hr drive towards the correct direction initially.  Without the proper map, we made our way based on the previous day's bus ride.  Basically we were to drive back the same direction.  However, we drove towards the wrong destination and had to make a U-Turn, which wasted maybe 40minutes or so.  Basically, drive towards Beaufort and you will see direction to Kuala Penyu.

It took us a good 3hr to get to Kuala Penyu, almost 2pm when we reached.  And there were no fishing boat readily available for hire!!  Turned out, if you were there at 11am, when the scheduled boat to Pulau Tiga departs, you will find loads of fishing boat by the side to ferry any overflow of passengers.  So now we know...

Just when we were about to give up, Edric managed to talk a fishing boat into ferrying us across to Survivor Island.  For RM350 per boat, it was a good enough bargain.  So we departed close to 4pm for Tiga!

They weren't exactly that leisurely sitting...

Bumpy couldn't even really describe the ride!  It was roller coaster to the max!  The ride was wild!  Edric and JJ sat at the front and experienced the brunt of the bump!  Not long after, maybe 20min or longer, we arrived!

Pulau Tiga is a HUGE island.  To fully walk the entire island, you really need at least 1 full day.  And we thought it would be easily accomplished in a short time.  So no time to wander around, we headed straight to the mud pool.  The so-called highlight of the island.

Lest you associate mud pool with thermal, bubbling pool, soothing and comforting dip in the mineral mud resulting in smooth porcelin skin..Well, this is not like that.  In the middle of the forest, with not much maintaince, it was just 2 pools which looked rather unappealing, infested with mozzies and what have yous..

But well, since we were already there, heck all and jumped in!  Ok, best if you wear unwanted bikinis/swim trunks cos they will stain...  

 It doesn't quite smell nice in the mud pool, and it is bloody thick! In the small pool especially.  So it is quite hard to move once you are deep in it.  In the bigger pool, the mud is thinner, and you literally float on top.

 Luckily, there was a student there when we arrived, so with his help, we took pictures!  And yours truly came up with interesting ideas!!

Edric, the thinking man

Yours truly, The Mermaid

JJ, the Running Man

 After the mud bath, we had to walk the 1.2KM back to the beach to wash off.  Yes it was a terrible walk, especially for me, with the bag and all.  Had to stop every now and then to adjust the weight and position the bag so that mud did not splash all over.  And it was hard work getting all the mud washed off..

After the mud bath, we asked the fishing boat to take us to the other side where one of the Survivor Tribes were based, just to take pictures of the place and say "We have been to Survivor Camp".  Although there was no longer any camp left...

 Took the boat back at around sunset time, and witnessed an amazing sunset over the sea horizon...

The last day, we decided to do another day of relaxing! So we opted to go Taman Abdul Rahman Park - A group of islands near KK for a day of sun, sand, sea, and some snorkelling...

 Paid for a scheduled boat and some departure taxes and off we were to3 islands.  Just head to the Jesselton Jetty and you can choose from any of the operators!  Cheaper way to do the island hop.  Unless you have more people, you can consider hiring a private boat (about RM300/boat) for the entire day and you have flexbility to visit wherever you want.  Means you can get the boatman to anchor in the middle of the sea and jump in for snorkelling etc etc..  We paid probably half that amount for the 3 of us on scheduled boat.  Mamotil, Manukan and Sapi Islands (I hope i get the names right).

Let's just say, the islands were not really that fantastic, and really crowded with people.  And the snorkelling is frankly speaking, a little shitty... Still at least something to do before our flight back to JB then Singapore..

The best thing I saw was Nemo hahaha...So you can only imagine.......And then the day ended, we returned back to KK, had a late lunch and off to the airport.  By the time we reached JB City Square, it was 9pm.  Dinner @ Nandos and off home tired...  And that was the end of the adventure in Sabah.  It was fun while it lasted....