Those two seriously saw it all. As soon as they cleared customs back from Thailand, they rechecked in for a trip with us to Kota Kinabalu in Borneo. It was total R&R after racing around Thailand. Borneo is known for its world-class diving. We didn’t have time to dive, but did some snorkeling. Amanda and I dove down several times and collected some beautiful coral to take home. We later realized that the area has been designated a National Park and we probably committed a serious crime, but we were not discovered at customs. However the deadly stench that permeated our suitcases and everything in them was probably punishment enough.
Here we are standing in front of our hotel – the oldest in all of Kota Kinabalu. What’s hilarious – we asked that doorman to take a picture of us. He hopped right in, thinking we wanted him to be in the picture. We had to ask another guy on the street to take the picture!
Chris and Amanda got a particularly solid taste of the communication and cultural gaps here in Singapore, and we had a lot of laughs. Like when I asked if a salad had “lettuce” on it. When the guy didn’t know I kept saying “lettuce” louder and louder, as if that was going to make him understand. Finally we realized that the only thing he understood was “green leaves”. Remember that when you come to southeast Asia. And then Amanda went swimsuit shopping and asked “is there any other shop in Singapore where I could find a bathing suit?” and the saleswoman said “no.” Oh and how could I forget – the two tour guides in Thailand were named “Poon” and “Rat”. Wow.
