First let me say, I do not think January is the best time to visit. Still lots of rain. Which means closed roads, leeches, and poor visibility for diving.
I arrived at the airport in Kota Kinabalu around 8:30 pm. The airport bus finished at 7pm. I knew nothing of area nor where to stay. Thankfully the tourist information office was still open. I got a map plus some brochures of different sites to see. I realized by the map there was an area full of backpacker hotels called Australia Place. I decided to head there and chance my fate of a good, cheap guesthouse. I paid 30 for a taxi to take me to the area.
My first thing after getting dropped was to try to organize my bags. I left KL in a bit of a confused luggage load. (My bags were locked in car of a friend who lot his keys NYE.) As I was sorting my bags, I saw a couple come out of a guesthouse. I asked about it but it had a midnight curfew. Not sure i would like that.
A few steps later brought me to Bunibon Guesthouse. Open 24 hours. Seemed good. I agreed to a dorm without seeing it. I was tired. But it seemed good. First night a 3 bed dorm and one other female. They moved me to second room next next with 4 beds and 2 roommates. I will post final review later..
About Kerri Kat
I am a NICU nurse based in the United States and a world traveler when not working. I used to work "travel nurse" contracts, which meant working in a different hospitals around the country for 8 to 13 week contracts. In between those contracts, I tried to explore new countries. I have been based in the same location for the last five years while I pursued my Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, which I finally achieved in May 2019. Now my feet and backpack are itching to become nomadic again and return to adventuring the world.
My first passport was obtained in 2004. At the time, I was a nurse for only a few years and felt I could not afford travel. I had a lot of debt from being a irresponsible twenty-something that put a lot of charges on credit card. I kept thinking "I will wait until my debts are paid off and then I will travel." I already experienced some foreign voyages with the Navy in the late 1990s and got to see some of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Those exploits gave me a taste for new lands.
Then in 2004, my father was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was given 6 months to live and the doctors predicted right; he died 6 months after the diagnose. I spent those 6 months getting to know more about my dad than I ever knew in my whole life. (He was not a sociable or lovable father.) As the only nurse in the family, it was my job to go to all his appointments. I sat with him in the hospital when he recovered from surgeries. I had to empty his drainage system in my sister's home after he had a lung removed. This gave us time to get to know each other. And I will always remember the discussion we had when he told me he worked his whole life just to retire comfortably and now he will not get that chance. He realized he missed out on a lot of opportunities. He told me not to wait for the things I wanted; not to wait until I was old to relax. He told me if I wanted to travel, I should go get a passport and go somewhere. Debts will always be there but chances won't.
The next week, I applied for my passport. My first trip was to London and Paris. I stayed with people I met online to save money. It was the beginning of my lessons in traveling on a budget. I bought my dad some mints in London to try to encourage him to quit smoking. (He never did quit but just hid it from me.) He died a month after my trip.
I met guy on that trip to London, who I began communicating with daily via instant messenger. Few months later, he came to visit me. We began a relationship and it began many trips to London for me. I was able to find flights for $400 back then. He and I visited Ireland for my 30th birthday and spent a Valentines weekend in Paris. Our relationship did not last, but my wanderlust did.
A year later, I got my first travel nurse contract. Without having to pay rent (the company gave me free housing) nor utilities, I was able to start paying off my debts. I received money after my dad died that I used to buy a Saturn Vue without a loan. This small SUV helped me get from assignment to assignment. Not having a car payment was a great help to paying off debts and saving money. I extended my 1st travel nurse contract and after 6 months, I was able to afford a two week vacation to Egypt. I added in a layover in Germany. Then back to the US for another contract that lasted 9 months, then I went to New Zealand and Australia for two months. For 9 years, I worked a two to six months in a few states and then went overseas for a few weeks to months. I parked my Vue at my mom's for most of the trips and kept my stuff stored in her attic.
In 2014, I decided I wanted to settle down. I was tired of living out of bags and I missed some of the things I kept in my mom's attic. I bought a lot of souvenirs while I traveled that went right up to her attic. I wanted a home to display all my "treasures". I also wanted to go back to school to get my BSN. (In the USA, registered nurses need to have at least a diploma in nursing or associates in nursing degree, but it is getting harder to be hired without a BSN.) I found a job that reimbursed me for most of my RN-BSN program. Now I feel ready to use this degree to find a job overseas or to secure more contracts in the USA.
So please enjoy my stories of my travels. Please comment. And don't wait to enjoy life!
Kerri Kat's Adventures and Travels 