Day 16: 12/4/23 - Island Hopping by KK!

Our full day tour included a pick up at the hotel, lunch, two islands with beaches and snorkeling, and a drop off back at our hotel, for only $50/person!

The first island (Manukan) was quite crowded, with water murky from the upkicking of fine sand, but the water was warm and there were plenty of fish. Lunch was an interesting blend of east and west, and we spoke with the father-daughter duo that was on our tour with us. In from Singapore, they were quite fond of KK and recommended a seafood spot for dinner. A monitor lizard tried to join us for lunch, but we only had boxes for 4. 

Our guide, Yul, gracefully maneuvered us through a hectic dock of tourists waiting to depart and we took a shorter ride to Sapi Island. Much less busy, the water was significantly clearer, and again there were many fish. My favorite were the bottom-feeders: at first glance they look like any other fish, but, looking closer, two appendages that sprout from their chin like a misplaced french moustache furiously dig at the top layer of sand, presumably exposing whatever orts said mustachio's owner desires. 

There was fauna to see above the sea as well. Timid macaques skirted the boundary between the beach and the surrounding forest. Cicadas chirped individually throughout the day, but then, in one ten-minute period towards the end of our stay, filled the air with a ceaseless hissing, calling to mind stories of the spirits in the mountains... We also heard a bird that honked like a monkey, and though we only saw it's unexpectedly large shadow through the trees, while it hurts no one to do so, I will insist it was a rhinocerous hornbill. 

After our return journey to the hotel, we showered, napped, and headed out to a large seafood dinner at KK garden before falling asleep early on our final night in Kota Kinabalu.