Mantanani Islands

Sunset at the Tip of Borneo

We left Ranau on the Sunday  morning of Hari Raya leaving behind a frenzy of excitement and celebration with fireworks going off and the preparation and cooking in full swing which reminded me of Christmas. I felt guilty about not participating and sharing the festivities with my friends in Ranau but it was time to see and explore more of Sabah with my friends. As we drove to the Tip of Borneo (again!) we passed people on their way to the Open Houses, dressed in their shiniest and most glamorous clothes. I think the men in their pink, purple and turquoise satin pyjamas with their hats and short skirts surprised Christine and Valerie the most. My taste has definitely evolved in a year and I now am beginning to think they look attractive.!!

Hari Raya pyjamas

The sisters at the Tip!

 We arrived at Simpang Mengayau and installed ourselves in the longhouse Tampan Do Aman. Our legs were still agony but the swimming in the sea seemed to help those poor muscles recover. It seems strange for me at first to suddenly be among so many tourists after living quite an  isolated existence from the whole tourist scene in Sabah. As in all backpacker places I enjoy meeting people of all ages and having the time to chat and hear about their travels and where they are going. Yes it sometimes gets rather repetitive as most people tend to follow the same circuits especially if they are carrying The Lonely Planet and yes there are a few young blaze travellers who talk about where they got “wasted” but  I met several very interesting people: a teacher from Brunei; a lady who had worked in Afghanistan for five years; a Tasmanian art therapist etc…. We spent a lazy few days, swimming, eating, chatting and getting burnt!  Why do I never learn??

Our chalet

The smallest Mantanani Island

 The  next stage of our holiday was to catch a boat to the Mantanani Islands which are a small group of islands about one hour from the coast of Kota Belud. We had slight difficulty finding the jetty but fortunately got on the boat  and arrived in time on our idyllic island for lunch. There are three islands but only one is inhabited and the main occupation of the villagers is fishing. There is a primary school  and two small villages at each end of a beach about 2 km in length. There is very little tourism except for the “Mari Mari Backpackers” where we are staying although we did pass an abandoned “resort” and another that was semi opened on the beach but had no one there except the caretaker asleep in the hammock! Our "resort" consists of 12 chalets built on the sand, on stilts with a seating area/ hammock under our bedroom. It is basic with shared washing facilities and electricity from 6 pm to 6 am and the staff and people on the island are charming.We have done some snorkelling ( I had the thrill of seeing and swimming with a turtle)  lots of swimming, played cards and even more reading. I finished a book yesterday that I didn’t want to finish and know that whatever I read won’t come up to it’s standard. It was written by an author I have never read before - Amos Oz and was about his childhood memories growing up in Israel in the 1940’s and 50’s A Tale of Love and Darkness. He compares his writing to being a watchmaker – taking each word out in tweezers, looking at it from every angle and placing it carefully back in the correct place. Everything he wrote was so well written I feel ashamed to be using words to tell you about it!

Local children having fun

Mantanani Island sunset

   Today we catch the boat back to the mainland and on to KK for the last night before Christine, Valerie and Marc leave for their journey back to France. I will miss them and they have been wonderful travelling companions..