Pulau Manukan

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Pulau Manukan is a small island off the coast of Kota Kinabalu where we spent a day. It's where I had my first para-sailing experience. (feels like floating; not scary at all) Others jet skied and snorkeled.

The island off in the distance. Jason filmed most of our trip. I've yet to locate the footage.

Arriving on the island

This was our little reserved spot on the beach.

I really dug the table centerpieces

This shot is for cat-lover Kristin.

I went for a run in my flip flops along a cobblestone trail in the jungle. This lookout point wasn't the sweet destination I hoped it would be.

A couple scenes from lunch

Shangri-La

Our event was held at the Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort in Kota Kinabalu, on the Malaysian side of Borneo. It's a tropical island, very humid, and apparently in the rainy season, since it rained almost every day we were there. The grounds of our resort were beautiful.

The beach, not so much. Kind of a death trap, according to this sign.

The spa, where I received an amazing massage.

Relaxing on the balcony of my room

View from my balcony

Me with the girl who greets guests with music as they arrive

Malaysian Food

I ate a lot of delicious meals on my trip, some photographed, some not. Here's a sampling:

I believe this was a lamb curry with a vinegar salad. I ate A LOT of curry on this trip, almost daily. I never get tired of a good curry.

This fruit and cheese sampler was waiting in my room the first night.

This is the famous Mangosteen fruit, of which my companies product is derived from. They are quite good in their natural state too.

So this meal wasn't that great, but it was still interesting. I missed the 'before' show, when everything looked prettier. This is the 'after', which shows you how big of a hit it was at our table.

While I'm not a regular fan of Coke, or Coke products in my regular life, when traveling, I subscribe to that old wives tale about Coke having the capacity to kill off any bacteria or scary germs that 3rd world food might contain. It's not so bad when served in a frosty glass with lime.

This was my favorite dish of the trip. A seafood trio comprised of ahi tuna, salmon, and a scallop. The fresh mango salsa was to die for.

The beef tenderloin was cooked to perfection, but the lobster tail tasted more like a crawfish.

This dangerous looking dessert was scrumptious.