Day 404: Kota Kinabalu

May 12 - Taking it really easy today. I work on writing, and we get our last clothes washing done, including drying out all of the beach gear from yesterday. All three of us now suit up fully covered, in an effort to defend against sunburn. It just isn’t worth it anymore to sit around in the sun with backs, arms, and legs exposed.

Because we are only going to the airport around midnight, I kept the hotel room for today so we would have somewhere to rest until departure.

Finally retiring these shoes. I am impressed by how long they lasted. I walked an average of over 6 km/day for 400 days, getting them dirty and wet many times. Twice they were repaired, just sewing at the front ends each time. The reason for retiring them is that they insoles are flat, so not really supporting the shape of my foot any more.

COST SUMMARY:

I broke out all travel in Borneo as one cost bracket, combining Sarawak, Brunei, and Sabah:

This is our final day on the island. While Brunei was more expensive in terms of hotels and food, it was only three days and our ‘entertainment’ cost was lower than in Sabah.

Projected daily cost from the pre-planning phase = $125/day

Realized daily average costs for Apr 9 to May 12 = $109/day

The share of this cost apportioned to lodging was 38%, food 21%, and transport 17%. Entry fees for touristic sites came in at 22%, high only because transport and food were so cheap.

Malaysia (Sabah)