Island Hopping will never be the same again (Kota Kinabalu, Part V)

L-R: Auz, Kush, me, Pozi & Sahidin

After all the hoo-ha of the wedding reception, we found ourselves going for island hopping the next day. Unlike others who may have gotten tired of island hopping or had better things to do, we were looking forward to visit the islands of Mamutik, Sulug and Manukan. I for one, were keen to do some snorkelling.

Wan took the picture above right before we boarded the boat. Notice the shorts belonging to Sahidin (the one with striped tee) and Kush (the one in red)? Unlike the rest of us who settled on conventional black shorts, the 2 guys actually bought those colourful shorts just for island hopping. And to our chagrin, they bragged about the shorts being super cheap. Heh.

First island on our list was Mamutik.

Think we took more shots here than the other 2 islands.

One of those rare pictures with Wan actually in front of the camera lenses

I clearly did not know what was going on between Kush and Sahidin with Pozi looking on

And what was to become the first 'incident' of the day was the 'Prraaakkk' incident.

Hint: Look at the picture below carefully. Look closely. Can you see it? You can't? It's there. Spot the tear, haha.

Wan taking a picture of the 'unwilling' models. And the guys posed next a signboard which reads "Kawasan Tanah Perkuburan". One wonders whether was there no better background than this?

If the tear was a lil bit higher, it would have been indecent exposure! Probably this is the main reason why one shouldn't be too happy in buying an RM10 shorts...

And yet, it didn't stop us from taking more pictures...and consciously directing our eyes to anywhere but the tear. Well, one happy note is that I actually did some snorkelling. Then, I discovered that it's actually a bit scary to have fishes swim so close to me. I especially hated the fact that I grazed my feet thanks to the corals. Damn painful.

Hmm...looking at the picture below...the words on the signboard seemed to be prophetic...hinting at things to come. 'SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK!'


Next was Sulug.

This was where we got to do some deep sea snorkelling. Pozi took to snorkelling like a duck to water, literally. Before we knew it, he jumped off the boat and went straight into the sea as soon as the boat stopped. You may not believe it but unlike Mamutik, I suddenly had a very uneasy feeling bout the waters. And remembering what my dad would often say, to trust my gut feeling, I opted to stay on the boat with Auz and Sahidin. Wan snorkelled later but ended up being stung by jellyfish.

We took a shot while Pozi & Kush were getting ready to snorkel

Kush was the next one to leave the boat. He glanced at the sea and to my horror, coolly said (or what I could remember of it) something along the lines that the water ain't that deep and there's no need for a life jacket. The rest of us finally persuaded him to wear his life jacket because one would never know the things that may happen next.

He jumped into the water wearing the life jacket and it was a while before he bobbed up again. We thought he was pulling a stunt but it soon became something real, scary when he began grasping at the sides of the boat.

I don't think I should elaborate further. Let the pictures do the talking.

The boatmen trying to pull Kush up the boat. They were panicking like the rest of us as well

It was bad of us but the episode, after the initial heart attacks, was really funny. Upon Auz's 'brilliant' idea, Kush began putting on his second life jacket.

The man in red and turquoise. See the boatman's expression. Could it be relief or disbelief?

Deep sea snorkelling....finally

Lessons of the day were thanks to Kush.
One - not to talk big.
Two - wear your life jacket.
Three - wear 2 life jackets if you must!

As if we were not already entertained by Mamutik & Sulug, we moved on to Manukan.

And yet again, another episode waiting to happen.

Having a rest following a well-deserved lunch

We did nothing much in Manukan. Probably due to fatigue and too much excitement from previous islands, I napped most of the time in Manukan.

But one funny incident did take place when we were on the boat leaving Manukan. Again, Kush was the centre of attention. Wan, Pozi and I were completely clueless when we saw Kush beginning to frantically search his bag. Before we knew it and while the boat was going full speed ahead, Kush turned his attention away from his bag and yelled for the boat driver to stop.

Apparently, Kush had left his wallet on Manukan and wanted to retrieve his wallet. Unknown to all of us, his wallet was safe and sound...in the hands of Auz and Sahidin who wanted to scare Kush. With friends like these, who needs enemies eh?

Tired from the island hopping, we ended the day (and technically, the vacation) with a seafood dinner at Tg. Aru. I owe my thanks to my charming (yes, you guys are) and hospitable sabahan friends who graciously footed the bill and made my time in Sabah something to be cherished.

To sum it up, great company, great dinner and yes, great performance from Auz and Pozi who were game to try out one of the bamboo dance (sorry, I soooo do not know the name so bamboo dance it is).

Ariel and me while waiting for the food to arrive

The non-sabahans of the group taking a picture with the dancers

The first complete shot of everyone including the groom who came to say goodbye

The final shot outside Tg. Aru Restaurant. Hmm...it does look like a football team

I had a really great time in Kota Kinabalu, no doubt about that.

But as a closing to this chapter, I need to quote a conversation which I had with my (now ex) colleague following my return from KK. I was sipping my iced Milo when she innocently remarked that she saw my Sabah pictures and commented "Raja, my eyes could be playing tricks on me but I could have sworn that you're the only girl in the group pictures!"

Well my friend, you're spot-on. And in a way, that fact made the trip unforgettable.