August 14,

We were up and about by 0630. I realized I did not hear the call to prayer again! Second day in a row!!👍🏻 Anyway we had our Javas on our balcony and went inside for our breakfast of Muesli and yogurt. The skies looked good so we decided to go for a drive.

By 1000 we were out and about in our little Perodua Axia. It is a cute, but under powered car. At 1015, we were going up steep 10% grades. It was managing, but it was getting nerve racking on some climbs. About this time we started seeing monkeys on the side and scrambling across the road. They are probably being fed as they don’t seem afraid of vehicles too much. We arrived at the Crocker Range National Park and Crocker Range Biosphere Reserve. We paid an entry fee of 20 RM each ($4.75) as foreigners- locals pay 6 RM each ($1.42). Anyway, a couple from Denmark was here wanting to camp, but camping was not available- booked up I think. They looked frustrated, as they were walking about without a car. We offered them a ride into town once we finished inside the park. We took their WhatsApp number.

We went on into the park to the visitor center. It was a small place, but we went inside to check it out. We signed in and the staff lady took it upon herself to lead us around- a personal guided tour. It had small displays, not worthy of needing a guide, but it was nice nonetheless. Jeff thought maybe they don’t get many foreigners in the center. When we completed we thanked the lady, then we walked through some of the outdoor insectarium. We only saw a small lizard and a couple of butterflies. We tried to go to the fernery next, but could not find it. So we left the park area, as we didn’t want to do mountain trails. We looked for the couple but didn’t see them. We went to lunch at a local place called – fittingly- Crocker Range Cafe. We had Nasi Lemon Chicken and Nasi Goreng. (Nasi just means rice.) I had mango juice, Jeff had apple juice. The whole meal cost 44 RM or $10.44. Around 1240 we tried sending a WhatsApp to the Danish couple, but they never received our first message – they must not have internet. So we left, hoping they had already figured something out.

Next we drove to Mahua Waterfalls. We finally heard back from the Danish couple – they had obtained a ride. We arrived at the waterfalls and paid that same fate of 20 RM each. It was an easy 500 m (546 yards, almost two football fields length, or 1640 feet) walk back to the falls. It was a pleasant little walk and the falls were set in a curved rock face coming over the edge in one major spot and trickling over a couple of other areas. A sign said the falls were a 17 m or 55.7 feet drop. We appreciated the falls and we had the site all to ourselves! We snapped our pictures and headed back out. As we were going out, we met around five different couples coming in… we timed that well! We left here around 1430.

As we were driving back at 1457 hit some rain,but thankfully it was brief. Most of the way back was snaking and downhill. Jeff was having too much fun driving – especially when he was following a delivery driver who knew the road! I had my feet pushing into the floorboard to “help” with braking, as if I were Fred Flintstone and that worked! 🤣😂

Once we made it into town, we stopped at a mall that had a bakery. Jeff dropped me off while he tried to find parking. I walked but couldn’t find the bakery, but I found the restroom and made a pit stop. When I came out I saw a different bakery and got a garlic bread loaf. Bread in hand I went back to the entrance where Jeff was waiting, he had found a parking place. We left and came back to our place. But we had trouble with parking here as well. Our apartment does not have a parking place included like our Sandakan apartment did and the “free” parking spaces are limited (there is a paid parking garage under the complex). So we parked on the street outside of the K Avenue towers.

Anyway, we had supper of a lettuce salad, garlic bread with blue cheese, and a South African Shiraz wine. We finished the wine out on our balcony watching more Air Asian planes coming and going as sunset did not pan out.