17 August 2006 Post 2 - Langkah Syabas Beach Resort

Langkah Syabas Beach Resort - Wow! What an adventure! The airplane arrived at Sabah airport at around 9.30pm and I made my way through the baggage pickup and customs to find no welcoming faces waiting to whisk me off to the resort. OK...

After waiting out the front of the terminal checking all of the signs being held by hotel representatives for other travelers for about half an hour I decided to try my luck with calling the hotel to arrange pickup. Unfortunately the payphone didn't like my Telstra phone card & I had no coinage in the local currency. Right...

Next step - I wandered over to the taxi rank & tried to utilise what little bahasa Malayu I had managed to learn before coming on holiday to tell the taxi driver where I wanted to know. Unfortunately neither of us knew much of the other's language. Still we managed to converse somehow and after he queried another driver about the route to the resort and he managed to explain that I would need to purchase a coupon we were off. Despite the obvious language barrier it was an interesting ride with both of us making attempts to speak using a combination of poor attempts at the other's language & hand gestures. Well that was fun!

I am now sitting very comfortably on my bed in my little chalet which is basic but cosy & comfortable. It's fitted out almost exclusively in a dark timber & perhaps it's only down point is that there isn't a desk & chair. The confusion over the lack of a pick up has been cleared up, apparently they were told that I would be arriving earlier in the day. The night staff were very helpful & organised some rotti bakar (toast) and jam for me as the kitchen had been closed for several hours before I headed off to the chalet.

It's now 12am on the dot & I am starting to finally wind down. Sleep is definitely on the way. What's going to happen tomorrow? Who knows but with the way this holiday has gone so far it's going to be an adventure!

By the way - the hotel has two resident dogs! Not to mention the three ponies of various sizes and the four sheep all left to wander around the property at will with no restraint bar a basic rope tether around their neck that trails along the ground behind them.

This is Lucky, a beautiful & playful girl.