Kelly & Ross: Shangri La Rasa Ria

June 12 & 13, 2018

While Matt & Nash made their way to Kinabalu National Park,  Ross & I made our way to a beachfront resort on the South China Sea at Pantai Dalit Beach.
It was almost a 2 hour drive from our resort but we had a view of the  mountain that Matt & Nash would climb.

Greeted by the calming sounds of gongs

To the beach with a good book!
*Notice the white capped waves & red flag...no watersports today.

All that reading works up an appetite that can only be satisfied with an oreo milkshake-

Our best guess is some sort of crab made this beautiful sand art...
These perfectly rounded little balls made pictures all over the sand...many looked like angels's wings.

Sunset Celebration-
complete with drums, warriors and a toddler Malaysian princess

Beautiful night sky-

On our trip we have really enjoyed the Asian cuisine that offers rice & noodles at every meal.
However, Ross was thrilled to see donuts on the breakfast buffet!
*There was also a chocolate fountain & ice cream...

After a sugar-filled meal, Ross was ready to try parasailing for the 1st time-
The sea was still a little wild but they assured us it would be ok-

Up...up...we go!

Ross did so well that the crew let him drive us back to shore!

Walking along the beach we noticed all these "tracks" in the sand...

Turns out they were sand dollars...
when the sea is rough, it washes them up onto the beach & they "walk" back to the water & bury themselves.
It was fascinating to walk along & see literally hundreds of these tracks & live sand dollars.

Tiny little sand crab, reminded us of our years of crab hunting on 30A

Evening fun at the Game Center-
Ross beat me at chess so I had to smash him in Jenga :)

Cultural dinner show with dancing, fire eating & ....

...warriors!

Our time at the Rasa Ria was filled with pure leisure and hourly prayers for our guys on the mountain... we anxiously awaited their return the next afternoon...

Pulau Gaya- Bunga Raya Island Resort

June 9-11, 2018

We have an early morning departure from the rainforest back to Lahad Datu for a flight that takes us to the capital city of Sabah- Kota Kinabalu (known by the locals as KK).  It is a coastal city and the gateway to Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park and Borneo's highest peak, Mount Kinabalu.

One of the five islands in the marine park is our first stop- Pulau Gaya.  We will spend the next 3 nights at the Bunga Raya resort enjoying the beach and going for our first open water dive!
This post encompasses the entirety of our time at this tiny tropical island paradise.

**The humidity in the rainforest wreaked havoc on the "good" camera so all of the photos going forward are from our underwater snapshot...

Good-bye to our excellent guide Ali

Good-bye from "Man of the Forest"

Local airport servicing only flights to/from Kota Kinabalu- 

Jesselton Point-
waterfront district of KK & where we catch our ferry to Gaya Island

Ready to board the boat to Bunga Raya resort-

The boys hit the water as soon as our bags are dropped in the room-
*the two little dots in the water...those are the boys!

Clouds in the sky don't thwart the fun of stand-up paddle boarding!

Prize sighting by Matt while snorkeling-
Green Sea Turtle

The island is actually a tropical virgin forest in the middle of the sea surrounded by a white beach-
There were dozens of hornbills in the trees all over the resort- we saw more here on the island than while at the rainforest lodge.

 Bunga Raya translated from Malay is "hibiscus".  The island is covered with these beautiful flowers- in all colors.  Matt likes to get up close & watch the bees at work.  Here are some of his shots:

DAY 2:  DIVING!!

Just across the bay is the sister resort to Bunga Raya that has a Marine Research Center and a Dive Center. We enjoyed both amenities. This is our first open water dive in the sea (our certification dive was in the murky cold waters of Pelham, AL)!  Nervous anticipation all around...

Geared up and ready to go

Nash is the first one overboard-

The visibility isn't great but eons better than Pelham!
We stayed around 12m (just shy of 30 feet) for about 35 minutes for our first dive.  

Blue Linkia-
reminded us of our time on the Great Barrier Reef

L to R: Matt, Ross, Kelly & Nash

I think this is called a barrel sponge

Two different types of coral- the one on the left looks like a bunch of grapes-

Two boys enjoying the weighlessness & playing with their bubbles-
We were more comfortable on our second dive & stayed a little longer & went a little deeper. 

Mother Son underwater dance-
*fun way to pass the time during our safety stop

Back on dry land- We made it!!

Heading to dinner just around the bay-

At this resturant you pick out your meal from the tank!

Delicious!

My favorite tree at Bunga Raya-

Peaceful morning departure-

** The next 2 days are something new for our family travels... We are splitting up 2 & 2.
Ross & I are traveling to another beach location (less remote) while Matt and Nash are tackling the mountain- Mount Kinabalu.

Birthday in Borneo

June 8, 2018

I have had the great fortune for the last 5 years to celebrate my birthday in different places around the world.  On this day, I celebrate by 50th here in Borneo- me & my 3 guys & all the critters!

Special wake up birthday greeting!

Headed out for our early am hike-

Fresh civet scat with seeds-
Our guide, Ali explained to us that there is a very expensive Indonesian coffee, Kopi Luwak, that is made only with coffee beans that have been first digested by the civet.  It is also known as cat poop coffee.
Look it up- it's a real thing.

Tiger leech waiting for it's next meal-

More pill millipedes-

Evidence of an orangutan's recent passing- fresh chewed leaves

Strangler fig tree estimated to be 10X older than me

The pattern on this feather was so intricate, it looked hand-painted- 

Our afternoon hike-

Red-naped Trogan

Gift to me by Ross

Rainforest orchids

Our excellent guide- Ali

Birthday dinner celebration on the Jungle Terrace

The kitchen copied my name from my passport...
we thought it really funny that my maiden name ended up on the plate!

Even by skipping the night safari, I could not escape the creepy-crawly things- ugh!
(At least it flew onto Matt instead of me)

We closed the day & our time at the Borneo Lodge with an intense game of Vocable, which is very much like our Scrabble but with a few combined letters and a little different scoring...
No one gave mom any slack just because it was her birthday! :)