I originally planned on taking the ferry to Kota Kinabalu but my laziness got the better of me. I took after my friend who traveled to Kota Kinabalu by bus last year. He boasted of eight passport stamps that made me jealous and so I said goodbye to a three hour ferry ride. :))
I booked the 8 AM bus to Kota Kinabalu via Sipitang Express Bus. It cost me MYR 100 or around Php 1500. The bus is parked at the Waterfront and leaves promptly at 8 AM. Arrival in Kota Kinabalu is around 5 PM depending on traffic. As I mentioned earlier, I had eight passport stamps since we passed by several territories in Brunei, Sarawak and Sabah. It was tiring to go up and down the bus so many times but there will no longer be interruptions at the second leg of the trip.
In the end, I ended up being friends with Doris and Pawel who are from Poland. Doris and I started smiling at each other while in line at the immigration counter until we ended up having lunch together in Labusan. Her smile grew wider when she found out I was from the Philippines. It turns out they visited the country a couple of months back and had nothing but praises on how lovely our country is. Save on a few unfortunate scammer stories, I think they pretty much enjoyed their stay here. I shared to them my desire to visit Europe someday. They told me that Poland is relatively easy to go as it is less visited than the other European nations. 🙂
My first visit to Brunei was memorable at its best. It was my first travel solo in a foreign land and though I am sure I would’ve enjoyed it better with my friend Claire, I did not regret it all. I even started thinking of another solo adventure abroad. Who knows right?
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Helpful Links
www.easybook.com
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