Back to Kota Kinabalu (Kenny Rogers is the man)

Gemma didn't feel nearly as bad the next morning so we were able to get on a bus to Kota Kinabalu. At the bus station they tried to shepherd us onto a minibus, but I insisted on a big bus. We had a wait until enough passengers to make the drivers trip worthwhile turned up. Maybe we should have gone in the minibus. The suspension on the bus was very bouncy which would have made the ride uncomfortable enough by itself. The bounciness was compounded by the lack of a locking mechanism in the reclining seats, so that every time the bus hit a bump, the seat reclined fully. Not the most comfortable ride I've ever had, but mercifully only 2 hours long.

In town we booked into a different hotel on the same street as the previous 2 places we'd stayed, the Malar. The next day we went in search of lunch. I was craving something that wasn't noodle or rice based, as was Gemma. In the end we landed at Kenny Rogers Roasters in a local mall. The thing that pulled us in there was the mention of jacket potatoes on the menu. Gemma couldn't resist. When our meals turned up she got a faraway look in her eyes and as she forked in mouthfuls of bean covered potato, she was gently rocking back and forward, whispering, 'So lovely...nice...so fluffy.' I swear that she told me at least 10 times that it was a proper oven potato with no microwaving. To be fair the food choice has been much more limited here than on the Peninsula. Gemma has mainly eaten either rice with soggy leaves or noodles with soggy leaves. I was impressed with my chicken salad, which was chicken breast slices rather than the usual horrible bits of chopped bone that I have been eating here. Kenny Rogers -you're the man -man!