Traveling with a rock star in Malaysia

Greg and I have officially begun our October Break 2010 in Kota Kinabalu (on the Island of Borneo) Malaysia. I am writing from our 7th floor hotel room at the Pacific Sutera; Greg is to my left, slowly waking up from a much needed nap. To my right is a sublime view of an intimate, waterfront harbor, resort gardens and pool, and the open ocean. Sailboats and a few mega yachts dot the docks below while smaller, quicker craft race across the water beyond. There is a storm blowing in with a few requisite thunder claps and lightning bolts announcing its' impending arrival. Through the darkening sky, just like clockwork, large jets make their way from the Eastern sky to the International Airport a mere ten minutes away. The planes look as if they are barely skimming the top of the hotel, so close we are to their flight path.

Our journey began with a 4:20 a.m. Sunday morning pickup outside our UB apartment by Baatar, one of the drivers at ISU. Baatar drove us to the airport festooned with hats, gloves, sweaters and heavy coats as we barely escaped the snowy grip of winter descending upon UB. We left our coats with Baatar who will bring them to the airport when he picks us up upon our return. A quick three-hour flight to Seoul left us hungry and ready for a rest; we deposited our carry-on luggage at the transit hotel before heading back out into Incheon Airport, rated one of the top ten airports in the world, to find some food. Despite the wasted time of an eight-hour layover before truly being able to begin our vacation, we at least had the option to eat good food and sleep.

We meandered up to the food court. I chose Korean, Greg opted for a "Craze Burger". We were both very happy. I ordered Korean BBQ Pork set meal which contained various pickled veggies, a traditional kimchi, some sort of rice noddle-sesame thing that was quite good along with a requisite miso soup. The BBQ pork was tasty but extremely spicy yet somehow I managed (as usual) to get it all down. Greg's ordered a 'semi nude' burger; two juicy patties sans buns, a side salad with a sesame-infused dressing and fresh fries. The burger was covered with two types of cheese so I am assuming that a no cheese, no buns burger must be a completely nude burger. The plate was dressed with ketchup and Hoisin sauce; a nice nod to our Asian location. We slept for a few hours in the transit hotel before continuing our journey.

When we finally arrived at our hotel in KK around 11:30 last night, we were greeted with a cool fruit drink and the sounds of a live band playing in the large foyer. We checked in, then before heading upstairs Greg grabbed my hand and led me towards the band. As soon as the four members of the band (who were quite good by the way) saw Greg they went nuts.

"Oh, my friend, you're back! It's been so long since we've seen you- two years!" exclaimed the lead male singer. The rest of the band member hurried to the edge of the stage to shake Greg's hand, hug and kiss him then me in quick succession. Introductions were made and we were invited to sit down for their last song of the evening which was duly dedicated, "to Greg and his beautiful friend, we're so glad you're here with someone, last time you were alone and now you're here with someone special..." This went on for a few minutes, over the singer's microphone for the entire lobby to hear. Finally, I was asked for a song request and after a quick consultation with Greg we decided on Hero with an option of the Enrique or Mariah Carey version. We chose Enrique and the song began. The band was amazing! They are from the Philipines and sing nightly at the hotel. When Greg was in KK two years ago for his yearly ERACOS conferences, he spent his evenings, after working, listening to and befriending the band. Greg knew about their families, who had just become married and vice versa.

Needless to say, the Italians that were sitting at the chairs next to us seemed somewhat annoyed by our intrusion into their quiet evening with the band, but hey, that's life when you're traveling with a Rock Star. The next morning after a leisurely breakfast, we encountered more of the same rock star treatment; much of the staff remembered Greg from two years ago and enthusiastically pumped his hand while lamenting his long absence from KK.

We took a taxi to one of the local malls to do some shopping; I found a Nike store so I was able to buy replacement running shoes in anticipation of replacing my current pair; I am training for the UB marathon in June so I am faithfully increasing my weekly miles; these will last maybe another four to five months before needing replaced. This is an impossible task in UB so I am quite happy with my find.

I also bought a new wig, that makes three, each from different vacation destinations; Bangkok, Beijing and Kota Kinabalu. I will add a picture of my purchase in the wig shop once uploaded from Greg's camera. I can't really explain the wig thing other than it's just a fun way to temporarily 'try on' various identities without doing anything too drastic, or permanent. We found a Star Bucks and each enjoyed a frappuccino, followed by lunch in a small sushi place; all locals, great food and reasonably priced.

As I have typed this post, the rain has come and gone and it's time to get Greg up for real. Our singers have tonight off but we have a set date with them the rest of the week to sit in the lounge while enjoying their tunes. I'm not quite ready for the culinary adventure dinner is sure to bring but I am eager to wander downstairs to check out what's happening on a Monday night in KK, Malaysia. I'm sure I won't be disappointed.