Travel-Sabah, Island of Borneo

For my husband’s birthday, we decided to venture across the South China Sea to East Malaysia on the Island of Borneo, which is the third largest island in the world.  The Island of Borneo is divided among three countries:  Malaysia (the two states of Sabah and Sarawak), Indonesia and Brunei.  Specifically we flew into Kota Kinabalu, also known as K.K., in Sabah – so we were still in Malaysia, just a different side of it.  Kota Kinabalu is a popular tourist destination and jumping off point to some smaller islands that house some of the most beautiful resorts I have ever seen!  So, we headed to K.K. for some relaxation, some scuba diving and most importantly some time away from the city.

Once arriving in K.K., we quickly boarded a private boat that whisked us away to Gaya Island, only about 15 minutes away.  When the boat turned the corner into a nearby cove, we spotted it, our home for the next 3 nights – Gayana Eco Resort.  It was beautiful!

After getting situated in our ocean view bungalow over the water, we relaxed on the porch and looked out at our backyard…

(This picture may look familiar…it’s the picture used for my “TRAVEL” icon on the main Wrinkled Chiffon page!)

We explored a bit more of the resort…

And then got ready to go to dinner…

See more of these shoes on this trip on my SHOE SIGHTS page!

We got ready and went to dinner, a beautiful, gazebo-shaped restaurant right over the water.  The menu consisted primarily of fish, so walking in to see a bunch of fish tanks wasn’t a complete surprise.  However, the surprise was that once you sat down to order your dinner, you were quickly ushered over to the tanks to pick out THE VERY FISH you wanted to eat.  Much like the little chickie story, I had a hard time with preparing my food for eating and decided I didn’t want to be the one to choose a poor fishy’s fate.  Is this a Malaysian thing or what???  I left the decision making up to my husband.

With one swoop of the net, my husband grasped the fishy and it was on its way to get weighed.  Poor fishy!

Twenty minutes later, that very fishy was on my plate and being served to me for dinner.  I felt very sad at first, but at least it was fresh and believe me, I didn’t let one piece of that little fishy go to waste!

Shortly after we finished dinner, the restaurant surprised my husband with a cake.  The entire restaurant, employees, guests, the chef…all serenaded my husband and sang a distorted version of the American “Happy Birthday”…it was so sweet and thoughtful!

After dinner, we enjoyed the rest of the beautiful evening and walked very slowly through the resort back to our room.  It was so nice enjoying the peaceful sound of the waves crashing and the slow humming of the crickets in the rainforest.

What an amazing first day at Gayana Resort and a fabulous birthday for my husband.  GOOD NIGHT!

Next week stay tuned for the rest of our adventure as we explore Borneo…