October 1 is National Day in China. The week following is one of China’s “Golden†weeks, where all of China is on Holiday. We decided to make a great escape to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, located on the island of Kalimantan (also known as Borneo) in the eastern part of Malaysia. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. Some new Yanlord friends were going here for holiday, also. It will be fun to meet up with the Szatkowski family on the beach. Betty and Jimmer have two children, Samantha (6) and Jack (4). Samantha is a first grader at Concordia, but in a different class than Emmy.
We decided to stay at the Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort because it has a Nature Reserve, orangutan education center and is ecologically friendly. The resort is about 45 minutes from town, therefore, we would be spending most of our time at the resort.
The pool had a slide, therefore, it was a big hit. We spent many hours playing in the pool.
The slide was the best part of the pool. I would go down with Eleri and she would say, “moreâ€. Elle’s new words for the week were “eat, eat, eat†and “otay†for okay. She must be growing as we heard eat, eat all the time.
The beach was a favorite place to dig in the sand. Both girls were very cautious of the ocean which was a blessing.
Emmy and Jim gave the boogie board “a go”. However, Emmy was done after a few face spray of salty water up the nose and in her eyes.
Of course, Elle had to try if her big sister can do it.
Jim enjoying an afternoon of riding the waves.
The hole is a funny story. Jack found the hole some older kids had left behind when they finished their beach play. Elle was busy playing and didn’t see the hole. When she saw Jack in the hole, she stopped and made a run for the hole.
Jack and Elle had a fun afternoon playing at the beach together. Jack is all boy, but he is very sweet with Elle.
We had one day that it poured hard rain all day. Jack, Emmy and Sam went to kid’s club all day and had a fun time making crafts and playing games. Eleri was not old enough to go to kid’s club. Jim, Elle and I spent the day inside at the lobby lounge.
The pool was closed the next morning due to all the rain. We decided it was a good time to go to the Nature Reserve. The Borneo wilderness begins just outside the resort. The Nature Reserve on the resort has rescued Orangutans, rescued animals who stay for a few years until they can return to the wild and thrive.
I didn’t pack any pants for Emersyn. Therefore, we put my pants on her, rolled the pants many times and gave her a belt. The mosquitos at the resort were bad enough. In the forest area, the little bugs may be able to carry us away! We did buy the best all natural mosquito spray I have ever own at the Reserve.
We don’t have too many photos of the orangutans. It was one of those camera battery issues…oh, no battery!
After the big rains, Emmy and Sam were playing in the sand pit near the pool. They both were doing the Chinese squat in the sand. When it was time to go in for baths, both girls were complaining their hands itched. We looked at their hands, but did see anything. We took our girls home for bath and dinner in as we had adult plans. We arranged babysitters for the kids. We booked the private seaside gazebo for dinner for the four of us – Jimmer, Betty, Jim and I.
To book the private gazebo, we would need to spend 340 ringgit ($90) per person. We told them no problem with food and drinks. During dinner, the babysitter and Emmy and Elle in their pjs came walking down the path to our gazebo. There was a tv issue so Daddy walked back to the room to fix it. About 20 minutes later, Betty started laughing to say, “sorry to tell you, but your kids are back”. This time Eleri was crying as the sitter was having troubles getting her to bed. She didn’t give Elle Pink and the lights were on. We drank and ate…and ate and drank more until our bellies were FULL. At the end of the night, there was an issue with our bill – apparently we didn’t eat and drink enough to meet the minimum amount. We all laughed because this would have been triple the bill in Shanghai. It was a very fun night.
The next morning, Emersyn had little red spots all over her hands. At breakfast, I found Betty to see if Sam had any spots. Samantha’s hands were covered in red spots. She had double the amount of Emmy. We took the girls to the nurse to discover sand fleas had bitten the girls in the sand pit. Sam’s feet were covered also. Emmy must of been standing on a patch of grass because her feet were clear. The girls had complained of itching hands! It took a few weeks for the bites to go away. Hum, maybe we only want a semi-ecologically friendly resort…spray the bugs!!
As we spent more time at the beach, Elle was more willing to go in the shallow ocean. The beach had a nice long sand bar which was perfect for the kids. But, mostly beach time is digging time.
Elle is small enough to go back home in the luggage.
The Disney channel is a treat. We don’t have cable or any American TV in Shanghai. The only TV the girls watch are dvds from the alley. After a full day of playing in the sun, Disney is just right for the end of a day.
The mosquitos are really bad at this time of the year. One night, Emmy and Sam left the door open while they were talking. Jim and I spent the next two hours killing mosquitos. We would spray the all natural spray and they would come flying out. Then, we would swat at them with a towel. Now, we rush in and out of the open door. Elle is allergic to the bites. She has been allergic to the bites since she was a baby.
Emmy got her hair braided one afternoon while Eleri was sleeping. We did the top half of Emmy’s hair, which was 14 braids. She needs more braids due to all that hair. When Eleri woke up, she pointed to her hair and said, “air, air, air.†(Elle has this British accent going with the way she pronounces words) She got 5 braids, also. She was very pleased! She loved to shake her head and have the beads hit her face.
The gang had a fun time together all week.
We were able to stop in Hong Kong and see our friends. Emersyn, Jim and I all enjoyed seeing our dear friends that we shared four years with in Discovery Bay. Notice, Elle had no friends to see!!