Day 143: Sandakan

This morning I got up really early, packed my bag, and headed to the mountain for an amazing hike. My plan is to stay on the mountain for the night and be at the peak by sunrise the following day. When I got to the base of the mountain, I learned that hiking the mountain was much more difficult that I expected. The room on the mountain costs ~$400, the permit, insurance, and guide, which are all required, cost ~$300. For a hike that takes four to five hours to summit, it seems ridiculous that it costs this much! Many people book this trip months in advance in order to get the cheap room ($150 dorm room). So I caught a taxi back to my hostel and looked for an alternative. I am very upset that it costs this much to go up the mountain, I am even more upset that I flew out here, expecting to just be able to walk up the mountain, and did no research into the cost before hand. Who would expect it would cost $700 just to hike a mountain, you'd think the fountain of youth was at the top!

Back at the hostel, I found a brochure for a 4 day snorkeling trip to multiple reefs and islands around Sandakan. I called up the company... They were booked solid for the next week. With no wifi at the hostel and an incompetent staff, I decided to catch a bus down to Sandakan, in an attempt to find an alternative snorkeling company. I have decided against scuba diving so I don't get water stuck behind my earn drum, again!

Since the staff had no clue what was going on beyond their front door, I had no idea how long it was going to take to get to Sandakan. Once I got on the bus, I learned it was a six hour bus ride! As soon as I learned that, I regretted getting on the bus; I should have gone back to Kota Kinabalu so I could get to Gunung National Park faster and easier. Gunung is the other park that I want to visit that is home to one of the world's largest caves, Deer Cave.

The ride to Sandakan was not as bad as it would seem. A mix between lush green mountains and rolling palm tree forests kept the bus windows company. About halfway through, the bus stopped at a police security check point and a police officer with a machine gun over his shoulder checked everyone's ID's. Of course, the guy sitting next to me got pulled out of the bus. I could tell he was with his family because about six people from grandma to kids were glued to the window, wondering what was going on. When he got back on, I asked him what happened. He shook his head and said, "I pay" "why," I asked. He molded his hand into the shape of a pistol and said, "because he say so... It no good."

Once wet got to the bus station in Sandakan, the guy who was sitting next to me showed me where the minibus stop was that goes into the center of town, waving me on my way, "good luck!" I was expecting Sandakan to be similar to Kota Kinabalu in that hostels would be plentiful in the city center. This was not the case. Malaysians are notorious for being terrible at giving directions. After I walked up and down the same street three times, chasing a restaurant that had wifi called Bistro, I became a victim of their pitfall. After about the sixth person, I began to narrow down the location and couldn't have been happier when I actually found it. I sat down right by the ocean and ordered up some dinner and booked a hostels as the large container ships slowly cruised by in the distance.

I checked into the hostel and began to talk to some of the other backpackers, everyone's first description of Sandakan, "RUN." Apparently, this place is not as good as I was hopping; nearby Turtle Island doesn't even have many turtles on it and the snorkeling close by isn't even good because the town has grown to a large port that produces a lot of water pollution. I spent the night reading up on Gunung. Turns out it is just like Kinabalu Mountain; people book early in advance. The only company that I could find that had available spaces, only booked in twos or threes, so I would be paying double or triple just to go into the park. Needless to say, I am pretty upset that the only two things I wanted to see in Malaysia are both way too expensive and over booked...

I stayed that night, booking my flight to Bali, Indonesia. I need a beer, a beautiful beach, blue water, and a palm tree to clear my mind. I hope that I won't run into the same unsurmountable hurdles that I have come across in Malaysia.

Only time will tell and anything is possible!