My decision to go back and spend a month in Kota Kinabalu (KK, Malaysian Borneo) ended up being a good one; it was exactly what I needed to refocus. I had my own room in an apartment with decent wifi, a kitchen, and washing machine; such luxury! There was even a pool and (gnarly) fitness room on site. I could unpack and spread out. I could go to the gym (X45 Fitness / Crossfit Kinabalu) regularly and just focus on my goals instead of worrying about flights, buses, accommodation, and all the various details of traveling around everywhere. I was also able to grow friendships there and get to know the area and cultures better.
I was super lucky to be invited to a handful of various cultural celebrations. Before I had even arrived in KK I was invited to a Full Moon party for my landlord’s daughter. This is kind of like a Chinese version of a baby shower; but it takes place after the birth. A group of gorgeous and decked-out girls picked me up from the apartment, making me feel quite underdressed in my cotton shirt, dumpy brown skirt, and dripping wet hair. Not having a nice outfit or hair dryer for this long really can start wearing on a girl’s self-esteem.
Michael, my host, had placed me at a table with a pair of Korean martial arts masters (can’t remember which martial art, sorry), and people from his gym, Core Fitness, which is owned by the same people that own the X45 box. We enjoyed our several-course feast while discussing fitness and the difficulty of the dating scene in KK. Apparently all the men are too passive. No wonder I never got a date while there!
Here's the happy parents with their newborn:
I was also invited to a huge birthday party for Cahya Nara, the daughter of my friend Carliff. Because it was also during Ramadan, the party included a huge banquet to break the fast. There was so much food! There were at least 4 different cuisines, party favors for everyone, a photographer, an ice cream man . . . Whew! It was the fanciest 1st birthday party I’ve seen in my life. I'm so sad I didn't get a picture with Carliff and his wife, Niney.
I was also invited to join a bunch of people from the gym to celebrate Hari Raya (end of Ramadan) at the home of our friend Syaz’s parent’s house out in the country traditional-style. On the way, we took two different cars and communicated via radios. I think it was to help navigate around traffic faster, but mostly it was used to make fun of one another (Johnny). I enjoyed the long drive because I got to just stare out the window and take in the beautiful country scenery. Once we found the place, we were treated to a generous feast of different dishes and candies and drinks and tons of cute kids running around. My favorite dish was Beef Rendang. It kinda reminded me of Mole.
Speaking of Hari Raya/Ramadan . . . It wasn’t as difficult to find food during the day as I expected (because the muslims fast during the day during this holiday). In fact, many days of the week I would pick up lunch and coffee from a muslim family that still kept their stand open during the day. It must’ve been so hard to cook and serve food all day while hungry.
“Kuat” means “strong”
Training again at X45 was awesome. Most afternoons during the week I would do open gym and then sometimes a Crossfit class later in the day. My focus was on the following weaknesses (and I have so many more!): squats, pull-ups, double-unders, and handstands. I would squat 3-4 times a week (front squat & back squat) and do several sets of pull-up negatives any day I was in the gym (thanks for the suggestion, Sam Tan!) with a goal of getting my first pull-up.
Pull-up negatives are where you jump to get your head over the top of the bar and then “slowlyslowly” let yourself down to build the strength to eventually be able to pull yourself UP instead. I also worked on my handstands and double-unders 10 mins each a few times a week. After about a week of the above volume I was able to do a few traditional Crossfit classes in addition to this per week after an hour or so of rest. I definitely had to work up to it. A heavy lifting session can sometimes put me out for the rest of the day! I can seriously fall asleep on the ground with music blasting and barbells being dropped a few feet from my head when I feel like that.
I hate pull-up negatives. They really tire me out and hurt my hands and let’s face it; they just ain’t fun. However, after 5 or 6 weeks doing 3 sets of 8 a few times a week (they say to do at least 3 or 4 sets of 10 but I’m a woman and also I started out way too weak to even hold myself at the top), I got my first strict pull up! Progress.
My friend Kevin and his sister Sarah took me out one day to experience some local food and see a nice beach a little outside of Kota Kinabalu.
We went to a stall in Tuaran on the side of a sort of highway where they barbecued oysters (called “Lokan”) they got out of the river. I was a little concerned about the safety of these, but Kevin said no one he had taken there had gotten sick, so I had a few. I’m still alive.
What I really liked was the coconut pudding:
We then went to the fancy resort called Nexus @ Karambunai. We toured the spa and bathrooms (I am told that this is a very Chinese thing to do) and then went out to relax at their private beach which was indeed very nice. It reminded me a little of the beaches I saw in Sarawak that impressed me so much. There were several monitor lizards on the premises as well . . . The sign was more interesting than the lizards.
We also did some shopping at a 5 ringgit store (it's like the dollar store in the States except has a lot of amazing stuff!) and had some very expensive Starbucks (I admit it was my idea!). Here’s a fabulous sign we saw . . .
One of the my favorite days was when the gym held a BBQ out back at the pool. When they pulled out the grill I almost lost my mind. The thing was LEGIT!
People brought all sorts of food, we played games and even did some pool workouts (well a handful of us did them). I enjoyed throwing a football around, I admit it.
Someone also brought a big basket of durian, which of course I had to try, especially since my stomach was empty and wouldn’t have much to dispel if I was compelled to purge. I had been told that it was the most disgusting smelling and tasting fruit one could ever imagine, so I was braced for something quite awful. You see signs all over Asia warning people that durian is not allowed on the premises (usually public places like hotels and restaurants).
Andrew sliced ‘em open for us and Jo joined me in solidarity for my tasting. Yeah, durian smells pretty strange. I think it’s like a combination of gasoline, garlic, onions and a faint sweet smell. The taste is a similar mixture, but I honestly didn’t mind it. I wouldn’t seek it out, but I was able to tolerate it to the point where I almost finished my piece.
After most people had left and it was dark, it began to rain, so we quickly packed everything up and spent the rest of the evening drying off and hanging out in the gym.
Another treat during my stay was all the fresh local fruit. I had so many yellow watermelons, rambutans, papayas, oranges, and mangosteens!
So as far as some of the government-run services in KK, I’ve decided I’m not too impressed. The transit system is not published online and/or accurate when information is found at bus stops or random websites that may or may not load. It’s definitely not fed into Google Maps. Buses don’t run on any schedule as far as I can tell other than just going when the bus or van is full. I am usually given the wrong information about where buses go by the drivers. I usually have to try at least 2 different buses until I get the right one. Also, the buses and vans are in terrible shape. Here’s a photo of one of the public transport vans:
And here’s something else that’s totally lame . . . Most of the trees along the nicest road (Gaya Street) in downtown KK were hacked supposedly because people were complaining of all the bird poop on their cars . . .
So sad. AND IDIOTIC. It would’ve been better if they’d just cut them down.
Malaysia is a pretty advanced country in some ways in comparison to its neighbors, but it still has a long way to go on some of these types of things, especially if it wants to keep pollution down, lessen traffic, and get more tourist dollars coming in.
I still love you lots, though, Malaysia! I can’t stay away . . .
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