Day of rest

Above:  A mountain of shells from consumed seafood. 

Today is my spare day, having shifted it from yesterday.  I had allowed for in case of flight disruption.  So much can happen suddenly with travel arrangements in a pandemic. I intend to make it as restful as possible after yesterday’s cacophony.

Having slept before 2000 last night, I woke before 0500.  I took a pre-breakfast walk before 0700 to explore the changes in Semporna since my last visit four years ago 2017.   Back then, I had been shocked at the development due to international tourism (read mainland Chinese) since my visit before that a further four years back, in 2013 when there had been few changes since my very first visit in 2009.

This growth is despite western government warnings of piracy in the area and westerns travellers are generally not covered by their insurance as a result.

This trip, I see more new high-rise hotels in operation and some stopped in the midst of construction due to the pandemic.

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Last trip, I had sustainability concerns about the number of live seafood restaurants that had sprouted up.  And now I’m constantly pestered by people with live seafood in basins and buckets, in addition to those in the restaurant.  And that’s in addition to the begging kids and a few adults.

I was shocked by the mountain of shells from consumed seafood (such as crabs, clams, giant clams, conch etc) at the end of the waterfront.  Jerry, who had been in the diving business here for about 20 years said, it had been accumulated since 15 years ago.  He seemed to think sustainability was probably OK as they come from a big area with an abundant supply.  That made me feel better.

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It was a lazy day with time on the computer attending to errands, including booking my PCR test for Christmas morning.  Without a desk, I spent a lot of time in bed.

I felt like I should have booked an excursion to Bohey Dulang island which has a hike to a very scenic lookout.  It’s not something I’ve done in Semporna in all my visits.  So, if there’s a next time, I should bear it in mind.  Jerry said that it is often busy with daytrippers.

With the pandemic, I thought it wouldn’t be wise to have a massage, especially when an infection could jeopardise my upcoming return to New Zealand.  The wait for the ATM this morning, in the ATM lobby was a risk already.

While Malaysia has become rather cashless, thanks to e-wallet apps on the mobile phone, Semporna hasn’t caught up yet.  Strangely, Chinese e-wallet payments are accepted by some restaurants, showing how important mainland tourism was pre-pandemic.

The day disappeared quickly despite the early wake-up and not being packed with activity.  I retired early again at around 2000 because I had been notified of an early report at the dive centre by 0600 tomorrow.  The main group which I was joining had requested it.  WTF!