Egypt: could it happen in Taiwan?

Drew and I rode along Pinglin Road from Jhuolan to Dahu in Miaoli today. Lovely rolling hill country, an excellent workout. Highly recommended if you are in the area.

Jon Adams dispatches another excellent piece, this one on the tycoon buffoon handing out money to Taiwan's poor, observing:

Taiwan's per-person wealth may still be far higher than China's, at around $18,500 compared to some $4,300. But growth rates have sagged in Taiwan while soaring to double or high single digits in China. And in the last few decades, the island has seen a growing income gap. (Measured by the Gini coefficient, inequality rose from 0.28 in 1980 to 0.34 in 2006.)

Like other advanced economies, manufacturing jobs have shrunk as factories move to China and elsewhere. Lower-paying, non-unionized service sector jobs have taken their place. The service sector is now nearly 70 percent of the economy, compared to 50 percent 20 years ago. And since the global downturn, Taiwan firms have been increasingly relying on "dispatch" or temp workers, like Japan and South Korea.

The result has been a new legion of "working poor" or "new poor," as they're called here. They may not show up on unemployment statistics. But they struggle to make ends meet with two or even three low-paying jobs, but no job security.

"Those people cannot get help because they're not ill, or victims of a disaster, and they're not poor by the government's standards," said Taiwan sociologist Chiu Hei-yuan. "So they are just helpless — and they hope to get some unexpected help from people like Mr. Chen."

Twelve percent of the workforce now earns less than $700 per month, and average monthly wages are at 1998 levels, according to labor groups.

Meanwhile, highly-skilled workers in the technology and other sectors pull in ever-fatter paychecks, sharpening inequality between the haves and have-nots. "Taiwan's social welfare system cannot solve the problem of the gap between the rich and the poor — especially the 'new poor,'" said Chiu.

There is no capital gains tax and Taiwan's wealthiest can easily avoid taxation. Much of this income inequality is the result of the steady drip of accumulation by the wealthy over time -- in the 1980s the difference between top and bottom wasn't that great, but thirty years of accumulation later....

Since everyone is asking whether China could go the way of Egypt (not China, but I bet India has severe problems this year), I thought I'd have a little fun and ask about Taiwan. Taiwan's worsening inequality is a problem, but food prices will likely be more stable here -- as I posted a couple of months ago, Taiwan imports most of its grains and oils, but staples like eggs, vegetables, fruit and seafood are mostly produced locally. Incomes are high enough that food is affordable, unlike Egypt. Taiwan boasts excellent health insurance, a strong manufacturing sector, and relatively low unemployment by global standards. Moreover, its "inefficient" banking sector with strong state interference has minimized the damaged Wall Street has done here. The population has also become an active participant in the democratic process and is getting used to solving problems that way. Further, Taiwan does not suffer from the kind of right-wing religious insanity that Egypt does.

Still, the changes in the working population, income inequality, and so on are likely to have political effects as voters search for a party that can solve them. Political volatility in Taiwan may well translate into swings from one party to the other from election to election.

UPDATE: Anon writes:

Michael, need a correction/update: there's no capital gains tax, true, but the rich generally aren't very good at investing in stocks and the minimum tax law passed in 2006 requires that gains in shares of private companies be counted towards a minimum tax rate of 20%. In other words, investments in hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, private placement gains, are all taxed at 20%. There may be cheating, but it's exactly that--you're breaking the law, not just merely "avoiding" taxes.

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Daily Links:

• Homebound investment from Taiwan expats reaches new high of US$1.4 billion
• Frank Hsieh explains his constitutional consensus proposal.
• Neil Wade hikes to Snow Mountain. Awesome pics.
• Taiwan launches essay contest for foreigners.
• Rising NT crunching chip maker profits.
  

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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.

Missing Links

During my trip to Sabah this month I finally reached my limit with the Fuji HS10 I purchased earlier this year because (1) it failed due to humidity, leaving me cameraless for 48 hours in Borneo (augh!) and (2) it developed dust on the lens between the lens and the CCD, meaning that every shot now has ghostly spots in it. I had never really been happy with its clunky operation, poorly arranged controls, poor functionality, and gross weight. I spent a couple of days researching cameras and talking with knowledgeable camera types, and finally decided on the Canon Powershot S95 as my next camera. I'd had my eye on it for some time as a second camera, and picked one up yesterday when I dropped off the Fuji to be repaired. As you can see from the macro flower pic above, it takes great shots. In addition to logical and easily operated controls and excellent performance, it also has a large number of fun functions....

...like the fisheye emulation (my son as the model)....

...and this interesting function that allows you to isolate one color and turn the rest to B&W. Looks like I'll be having a lot of fun with this camera. Hopefully Fuji can fix my HS10 so I'll still have the big lens when I need it.

On to the links you've been missing! But first, give blood if you can, the banks here are critically short.

BLOGS:

• J Michael on ECFA = Political -- beans are spilled!
• Also J Michael on Taiwan's defense, undermined by the KMT
• Barking Deer on Taroko's trails.
• Nathan Miller rides his favorite loop on the east coast.
• Hear in Taiwan on LGBT education in Taiwan
• Neal Wade with pics from Yehliu Park
• Cycling Satin Cesena on cheap bikes. You can neglect and mistreat them, but they keep on putting out for ya!
• Danshui history blog on the Yuanshan Zoo.
• Portnoy on MYJ's new FB page.
• Ben on the decision to call a momentary halt to the incredibly stupid Kuokuang project in central Taiwan. Portnoy notes that thanks to businessmen, the Dachen wetland isn't listed as a wetland.
  
• Stephane: storing oolong.
• Pat Cowsill: imagine Taiwan without the Philippines
  
• David has last week's links. Good man, David.
• Jerome on King Pu-tsung's resignation.
• ERTC says the CSECC could be the pattern for future political negotiations.
  

MEDIA:

• Hilarious: CCTV uses footage from Top Gun in a news report.
• Northern Marianas passes shark fin ban, even as reports say Taiwan is number 4 catcher of sharks.
• India rejects stapled Chinese visas for Arunachal Pradesh.
• Obama Administration preparing arms sales to Taiwan.
• In China even the toll booths are fake.
• Free until 1/31 -- toxic mix of corrosive elements in China-US relations will lead to conflict if not addressed. D'oh.
• Ma to reshuffle cabinet again.
  
• US -China currency link driving up global commodity prices.
• Review of J-20 fighter development and issues.
• Richard Zalski's excellent commentary in the Taipei Times
• Mark O'Neill on a new book on China annexing Taiwan by force
• CSIS says the pace of CCP-KMT rapproachment has slowed.
• Industrial production growth to hit forty year high
• Head of Tatung questioned on embezzlement charge.
• Somali pirates release Taiwan fishing vessel
  

Had waaaay too much fun with that color accent function that allows you to pick one color out and make the others B&W.

SUPERUSEFUL:

• Drew and Joyce Kerslake have translated the policies and instructions for shipping bikes on trains. Awesome. We all owe you guys a debt!
  

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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.

Some positive noises from the US

AP & the Taipei Times reported that AIT Chairman Raymond Burghardt slammed China's interference in US internal affairs, saying Beijing had hurt the feelings of America's 300 million people ....

American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt on Tuesday said Chinese pressure on Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to cancel a visit to Taiwan was “unacceptable” and inconsistent with Beijing’s claims it sought to improve ties with Taipei.

Nixon last month scrapped plans to visit Taiwan after a Chicago-based Chinese diplomat warned the trip could imperil a project by China to turn St Louis airport into a hub for Chinese cargo in the US.

Over the previous two years, eight US governors have visited Taiwan.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Burghardt called China’s actions “absolutely unacceptable.”

That's a positive note. Burghardt took pains to point out that such actions are not compatible with the "warming relations" that the CCP and KMT are currently experiencing. Meanwhile Kyodo News (behind paywall) reported on another positive development....

The United States refused to issue a joint communique after last week's summit between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao and kept Taiwan's interests in mind during the negotiations for a joint statement, the head of the de facto U.S. mission to Taiwan said Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters in Taipei after being briefed by U.S. officials who took part in the negotiations, Raymond Burghardt said the U.S. side ''purposefully...constructed a document that in no way violates any of Taiwan's interests.''

''We kept Taiwan in mind,'' he said. ''The result is a document that in no way breaks any new ground on any issues that would be of concern to Taiwan.''

Burghardt said that China had wanted a communique loaded with the phrase "core interests" but the US had refused to have any part of such a thing.

These are both positive moves, the second very important. The US makes a lot of noise about how happy it is that the CCP and the KMT are kissing and making up over the dead body of Taiwan's independent future, but it is carefully avoiding any words that might indicate actual changes in the US stance. In other words, it is possible to interpret all the happy noises the US makes about the KMT sellout as simply meaningless noise -- what else, really, can Washington say? Burghardt is also signaling China while talking to Taipei: our position hasn't changed and we categorically refuse to talk about Taiwan as a core interest of the PRC. Good work, AIT folks.

MEDIA:
Meanwhile, can someone thwack VOA over the head? Beijing already has Xinhua, they don't need VOA to spew this kind of crap:

U.S. support for Taiwan is one of the biggest obstacles to closer relations between the United States and China, which considers the island a breakaway province and claims a right to retake it by force if necessary.

There are two problems with this presentation. First, US support for Taiwan is not an obstacle to closer relations between Washington and Beijing. Rather, it is Beijing's desire to annex Taiwan and its threats to maim and murder Taiwanese in order to do so that are the problem. Second, even if we handed them Taiwan, as Beijing's constant flow of new claims and intensification of old ones shows, they'd simply say some other desired objective was the obstacle to closer relations.

Apropo the status of Taiwan, the LA Times still hasn't corrected its massive error on the US position on the status of Taiwan, dating from 5 days ago now....

Although economic relations between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan are warming, China still insists — and most major nations, including the United States, agree — that there is only one China and that Taiwan (which calls itself the Republic of China) is a part of it.

I wrote them several days ago, and so did others. *sigh* It is not difficult to find this information on the internet. Apparently people get confused since both Beijing and Washington use "One China" to designate their policies even though they are completely different policies. AP's Washington office has twice said the US considers Taiwan to be part of China in the last year alone....
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.

Tycoon Buffoon

All Taiwan is buzzing this week with the tale of Chinese tycoon Chen Guangbao, who arrived in Taiwan this week to hand out money to the poor.

Chinese tycoon and philanthropist Chen Guangbiao (陳光標) arrived in Taiwan last night to begin a controversial “thanksgiving” tour that will see him hand over hundreds of millions of NT dollars.

Chen and a 47-member delegation are set to visit Taipei, and Hsinchu, Nantou and Hualien counties over the next six days, with pledges to give out an estimated NT$500 million (US$17.2 million) to impoverished Taiwanese.

New Taipei City (新北市) and Taoyuan County rejected conditions for the handouts, which reportedly include busing recipients to municipal offices to thank Chen personally for the gifts.

The political slant of the trip was obvious: the red envelopes were embossed with the phrase "the Chinese race is one people". Further, the Taipei Times reported that there was no evidence Chen had contacted any of the DPP-run local governments about making donations in their areas.

People came from all over to wait in line for days to beg him for money. The chaotic scenes drew criticism for making Taiwan look poor and shameful -- painful because Taiwanese consider themselves to be far above the Chinese.

The pro-China propaganda rag WantChina Times editorialized on the difference between charity by Taiwanese and Chinese:

There is really no need for Chen to promote philanthropy in Taiwan however, where the public already embrace the idea that it is better to give than to receive. Many are engaged in charity work because they identify with the suffering and pain of those in need.

In comparison, several Chinese philanthropists engage in charity work purely out of pragmatic considerations.

Such considerations, Chen said, can be divided into two types. First, participation in high-profile charity activities can boost popularity and bring economic benefits. Second, the message of doing good deeds through charity can be spread faster, more effectively and to a wider audience through high-profile charity work.

During the 2008 Sichuan earthquake for example, a large number of Taiwanese businesses donated huge sums of money but this was all done in a low-profile manner. Chinese enterprises meanwhile adopted a completely different approach.

Chinese beverage giant Wang Lao Ji in Guangdong donated 100 million yuan (US$15.2m) but also generated quite a lot of publicity in doing so. Some local media reports even described the massive donation as a good piece of business. By contrast, similar amounts were donated by certain Taiwanese enterprises, though they did it quietly.

If Chen wants to replicate his high-profile approach of doing charity work in Taiwan, it would be no different to building a "fence of money" between the two sides, which would hurt not only the recipients of the donations but also cross-strait ties.

"hurt cross-strait ties." Naw, it will just confirm the low opinion of Chinese that Taiwanese already have. It has already created bad feelings -- there was much public complaint that some people had gotten more money than others -- one woman got NT$70,000, another person, just $10,000. Taiwanese are very invested in the idea of "outcome fairness" where everyone gets the same result -- professors get the same pay no matter what school they are at or how good they are, awards in schools are rotated to ensure that everyone gets one irrespective of merit, employees rise through seniority, not merit, etc. Chen was also asked to donate the money through established non-profit channels and local governments, but refused -- since the whole thing was about publicizing himself. Chen's random, senseless acts of flamboyance have simply resulted in more ill will.

Yay!

The Taipei Times reported today that Chen seems to have dialed back his desire for publicity in the wake of all the criticism directed at him.
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.

KMT rising in GVRSC poll on trust, optimism

Global Views Survey Research Center has the public mood on the rise in its latest survey.....

TPMI [Taiwan Public Mood Index] stands at 47.4 this month with PCI [Public Confidence Index] hitting 51.9 and ECI [Economic Confidence Index] 42.8. Compared with the previous month, TPMI climbed one point and reached a record high once again since launch of the survey. PCI edged up by one point and remained in the positive range of winning some public approval. PCI also touches the second high since president Ma took office (the index reached the peak of 54.6 in June 2008 when Ma was just inaugurated for one month). Regardless of the slight increase of only 0.9 point, ECI touched a new high this month since release of the survey. Generally speaking, the new TPMI of the very first month of ROC centenary reflected people's high confidence in the political and economic situation in Taiwan.

The survey identified the key point as a 4 point drop in the Public Trust for DPP Chair Tsai Ing-wen, which it attributed to the flap over the 18 percent interest, which blemished her reputation since the public found her hypocritical for criticizing a benefit that she herself received. Public trust in President Ma and Premier Wu both rose.

This looks like good news but it is likely to be temporary. This year food prices are expected to rise, as they did a few years ago, meaning that the public is going to continue experiencing the scissors of rising prices and stagnant incomes through the rest of the Ma Administration. Economic growth is projected to be lower than the last 18 months of the Chen Administration, at 4.8% (the lies about the Chen period will nevertheless continue unabated), while the unemployment goal is 4.9%. In other words, ordinary people will not see much economic progress. Major complaints, such as the cost of child rearing and housing, are not getting addressed.

Moreover, the KMT has shown itself completely hamfisted when it comes to managing the President's public image and the Party's handling of crises; the current rise is simply the result of nothing in particular happening at the moment, I suspect. Sooner or later something will happen and once again they will look like the indifferent dorks that they are, and public opinion will fall. Too, Tsai Ing-wen is smart and tough and the DPP has been handling itself well. She should recover.
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[Taiwan] Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums! Delenda est, baby.

Sabahtical

A couple of months ago my friend Michael Fahey got back from a company trip to Sabah and told me "it's bikeable." I've always wanted to go to Borneo (it's Borneo, man!) and so without further ado I browbeat my close friend Jeff Miller into coming with me in January. He brought along his friend Kenji Sugata, a professional cameraman and director, divemaster, and all around competent person. And the three of us were off for 11 days in wonderful Sabah.

I chose the photo at the left here as the top photo because this was Sabah for us: super friendly, fun people constantly wanting to interact with us in totally positive ways. We didn't do any of the trekking stuff; instead, we biked around the small towns and roads of western Sabah. A very relaxed and enjoyable experience it was, and I'm already planning to go back in July.

We flew AirAsia direct to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah state, Malaysia, for $7000 NT + $500 NT to ship the bikes. I changed $12,500 NT at the airport in Taoyuan and came back with 10 ringgit (=$100 NT), thus spending $1000 NT a day. Actually I spent less, but we blew a lot on souvenirs and gifts the last couple of days. Total cost of the trip: $21,000 NT. A bargain. Here we are at the left assembling our bikes outside the airport in Kota Kinabalu (KK-town, as the locals call it).


After arriving at the airport, we planned to bike to Tuaran and go over the mountains to the east coast. But we got lost and ended up staying in KK town instead that night. After observing the rain and clouds over the mountains, we decided to give the idea of crossing the mountains a rest for a few days.




KK town (left). The first night we stayed at the Step-In lodge, full of backpackers. It offered dorms for 38 ringgit, but for few more ringgit you can get a low priced hotel in the town's extremely competitive lodging market. Although I admit that I totally got off on the backpackers headed for remote trekking in Borneo calling us "hard core" ("look at that kit!").




In the morning we decided to ride north. On the way out we passed by the port and bay outside KK town.






Enjoying a lovely morning by the seaside.









Riding out of KK town.









Navigation was a problem. Roads were poorly marked, and signs did not tell you whether you were headed north or south. Fortunately Jeff and Kenji were infallible navigators. I, on the other hand......






On the left is the main highway headed north. From the cycling standpoint the main roads were mostly dull. They were quite crowded and noisy, but drivers in Malaysia were almost supernaturally polite and well-behaved. Everyone treated us with the utmost courtesy.





"Guys, we're in Borneo!"









Stopping for lunch, Kenji tries the local staple mee goreng, fried noodles. We were quite unimpressed with this dish and soon switched to the heavenly rotis and curries available everywhere.






Once you got off the highways into the local communities, the riding became quite pleasant. And then there were the wonderful local people....







....like these two boys, whom I told to smile. A superfluous command if ever there was one.....







Kenji discovers something unpleasant: he's pulled a muscle in a his thigh and can't bike! He was forced to walk the remaining hills, but we arrived in Kota Belud, some 70 kms from KK town, with plenty of daylight to spare.






Stopping to rest, I picked off an egret, a common sight in Sabah.








Recharging with bananas and water at a roadside stand.









We stopped at a collection of buildings along the road to grab some cold drinks. One drawback of Sabah is that sugarless drinks are nigh on impossible to find. My own theory is that everyone likes Sabah so much because they are buzzing on sugar the whole time there.....





A farm near Kota Belud (left).









On the highway we made an efficient 90 kilometers per joule.









Entering Kota Belud, famed for its magnificent views of Mt. Kinabalu, the highest peak in the region at 4,000+ meters.








A street in Kota Belud.









The mosque at the end of town. It's a useful orientation point. Facing the mosque, the KB Travel Lodge, where we stayed, is to the left about 200 meters away.







The travel books all say that Kota Belud is a boring prosaic town, but we had a great time there hanging out, introducing ourselves to Sabah and talking with and imaging the locals.







In the morning I rose at dawn and went out to photograph Mt. Kinabalu, or "God Mountain" in the local parlance(s), that being the tourist thing to do. I didn't know where to go, and fell to chatting with some early risers who turned out to be local Chinese and were delighted to speak mandarin with me. Chinese are common in Sabah. The men pointed me in the left direction for good pics of the mountain.



Breakfast vendor, Kota Belud.









Granary attached to house, Kota Belud.









A Chinese newspaper vendor in Kota Belud. There are Chinese language papers in both simplified and traditional available everywhere we went.







Jeff and I hit the local market to take pictures. Here's a breakfast vendor on the left.








Dried fish, a local staple.









The morning market in Kota Belud.









Schoolgirls hanging out in the square.









Breakfast vendor display. Yum. I'm already missing the food terribly.








Jeff in our room at the KB lodge. This was 85 ringgits, with attached bath.








In the morning Jeff and I set out on our bikes for a leisurely ride to the beach, while Kenji rested his leg. We climbed past the mosque and then turned toward the ocean. Pleasant riding ahead!






Mt Kinabalu, visible from anywhere around Kota Belud, overlooks an intersection.








Bikes at rest while we photo break.









Jeff navigates around Sabah-style road obstacles.









Farmland outside Kota Belud.









Jeff rides through a village.









A river and stilt village near the sea.









On a bridge overlooking the river mouth and stilt village.









We hit the beach, where waterfowl and sand abounded. After lounging about in the water for an hour, we hopped on the bikes and went back to town.







On the way I shot a few pics of the local housing....









...fellow cyclists....









....and local structures.









Lunch in Kota Belud: rotis and curry. Yum.









In the afternoon we took a minibus back to KK Town to give Kenji more rest. Here we are at the Ruby Hotel in Kota Kinabalu. 129 for the room, but they will discount you to 110 or less if you bargain. Of course, the aircon was a bust and the toilet didn't work. The former problem resulted in high humidity in the room, which killed my Fuji HS10. The next day I had no camera. Aargh!



In every hamlet in Sabah there is a snooker hall, where men stand around for hours watching other people play snooker.








Jeff grabs dinner in KK town. Jeff's quirky good humor and quiet graciousness were a big hit with the locals, while women swooned over his blond good looks and ignored me. I'm definitely not taking him on another trip.






We left KK town in the morning for a 120 kilometer ride down south to Kuala Penyu. The cycling side was dull -- flat road, like riding endlessly through Pingtung -- but the people were great and the small towns lots of fun to visit. Jeff successfully navigated things despite Google maps' presentation of Sabah, which is like a teenager's description of his Saturday night date: a mixture of fact and fantasy, with the important things omitted. Kenji's leg was gimpy but serviceable for flat riding. Since my camera was dead, I have no pics of this ride.

Eventually we turned off the highway and entered the highlight of the ride, speeding through villages and then through some 20 kms of desolate coastal marshland, as lonely and scary a ride as I have ever done. Our only company were herds of water buffalo occupying the road, giving you that beady-eyed stare that asks "should I charge you?" The scary thing is that they have brains made of rock -- even the lizards know to sensibly get out of the road -- so the gods alone know what conclusion they'll come to. I've been gored by cattle before, in Africa, and the buffalo terrified me. Fortunately, they were as scared of me as I was of them, and always got out of my way. Finally we wound up in Kuala Penyu town around 4 after a nifty little ferry ride across the local river. We blitzed out to the place you see in the picture there to the left, the Tempurung Seaside Resort, which at 135 ringgit a person (=1350 NT) was a mite overpriced. So pretty it was practically a cliche, it is not easy to find.

UPDATE: Kenji passed me this pic of the buffalo in the road.









Kenji massages his bad leg. In the morning as Kenji was adjusting his seat the seat clamp broke with an audible crack, rendering his bike hors de combat. The resort drove him and his bike back the 10 kms to town where there was a small bike shop. He found a seat clamp and after much persuasion with tools, got it to fit. We were back on the bikes! Kenji, a professional camera man, suggested that humidity was problem with my camera. He gave me a ziploc bag and told me to put the camera in it with a bag of silica gel desiccant. It turned out that desiccant is not used in anything made in Malaysia, so I scoured every shop in town looking for that little packet in a bag of imported food, much to the amusement of the locals. Finally I found one -- in a bag of WantWant rice crackers made in China.

After Kenji's bike was fixed we headed south down to Menumbok to take the 4:00 pm ferry to Labuan Island, with the idea of going on to Brunei. After leaving Kuala Penyu we rode for 30 kms of up and down road through jungle. But people were always willing to stop for a chat and a photo. Even though the cycling was monotonous, the locals made it totally enjoyable.



Stopping for sugar water.









In Menumbok for a late lunch. We had a good time talking to Nelson, the cashier at the restaurant near the ferry pier.








To kill time we rode around the local byways. I wish Taiwanese would make their homes this colorful.








I had a pinch flat, which fortunately ruptured along the side of the tube, meaning it was fixable. Here the local repair shop takes a stab at it ("I've never seen a tube this thin," said the woman nervously.) There are no parts for 700 cm wheels outside KK town and Labuan Island that we saw, though 26 inch bikes were sold in many places and tires and tubes for that size are available.



At last our ferry arrived.









Stilt village outside Menumbok port.









Chinese temple, Menumbok.









Aboard the ferry. Sabah was filled with children and pregnant women, and from conversations we formed the idea that having children was a powerful sign of womanhood for the local girls. It was such a pleasure to be in a place with tons of kids, after child-starved Taiwan. The local kids treated us with great friendliness and courtesy.




Boat and marshes, near Menumbok.









Jeff makes friends on the ferry.









The two hour ferry ride from Menumbok to Labuan was an amazing experience.









First you pass, in the distance, a large fleet of 20 or so tankers and LNG ships at rest near the oil and gas platforms out to sea. Then, as you enter the port on Labuan Island, there's a fleet of at least 40 rescue ships at anchor. The ferry passes left next to them as night falls. Truly an unforgettable experience.




The fleet stretches over the water.









We crashed in town and then in the morning rode out for a resort on the north side of the island.








The Mysterious Chimney, a relic of UK coal mining operations on Borneo in the 19th century. There's a cute and informative little museum next door.














I know you were anticipating numerous bug shots....so here's one for ya.










Stopping by a local shop for various sugary snacks and drinks.









Kenji and Jeff rock Labuan Island.









After a leisurely ride along the small roads by the ocean, we reached the Manikar Beach Resort. The rooms were 150 ringgit each, or 50/person. Cheap. It was totally deserted, except for us, and we had the run of the place to ourselves. Despite the large staff service was indefensible and the food was inedible. We loved it. We ended up staying two days and eating our meals back at the port.



Jeff finds a shot.









In the evening we went out to the beach to take sunset photos.








Far out to sea, the oil platforms were sending off flares of burning natural gas.







In the morning we decided to circumnavigate the island, a pleasant ride about 40 kms along the ocean. Here Kenji takes photos of the lovely tree-lined streets.







Chinese temple.









There are some really gorgeous homes in the area.









Islam is omnipresent but somehow manages to be low key. Lots of small mosques about.








Taking a break at a local bus stop.









Going into town, some local students ran out to yell at us and exchange high-fives.








In the port town we ate many meals at the excellent Restoran Dinnie, which we selected because it was packed at mealtimes and busy all the time. Obviously excellent food....







Rotis: the center of our lives in Sabah. The Dinnie did them well.








Lunch at the Dinnie: beef curry, a spicy salad (every restoran had its own version, all delicious), and a couple of plain rotis. Yum.







Not all rotis were flat.












We went out to the port to take pictures and hang out. A bunch of local kids came out to ooh and ah over our bikes.








Eat your heart out, Kerslake.









The Hobby Mix, near the ferry terminal, carries a variety of bike parts. Kenji found a quick release seat clamp that fit his bike. There is a limited supply of Maxxis 700 x 25 tires with appropriate tubes. One of the workers said they get a lot of cyclists from Brunei who come up on the weekend to ride the island.




A little ferry boat crosses the harbor under gathering skies.








Then it was time for an afternoon beer. Vacation sure is heartbreaking.








These nectar feeders hover around flowers in the cities.











In the afternoon I rode out to the memorial for British Commonwealth WWII dead.








I stopped at the beach to photo the waiting fleet of rescue ships.








Then it was the Aladdin Restaurant for tea madras, a heart attack in a glass (tea powder plus fake creamer plus palm oil plus sugar).







The next day we took the ferry shown here on the left back to Kota Kinabalu town, about 3 1/2 hours for just 39 ringgit for Business Class.







Sabah has the world's most awesome cats. They always let you pet and hold them, even the street cats. Really great for my necessary cat fix now and then.







They wouldn't let us out of the ferry to take pictures, so this was the best shot I could get of the awesome scenery of the coast as we came into KK Town port.







We stayed at the Stay Inn next to the big Chinese seafood food court. At 25/person, it was cheap, clean, and conveniently located.







Kota Kinabalu from Signal Hill.









Stilt villages across from KK town.









Shaving coconut meat in a local market.









We spent the next couple of days racking our brains for souvenirs to buy our teenagers. Here we enter the souvenir market, where each stall offers the same totally unique souvenirs.






We did a lot of photography of people....
















....children....









...fruit markets....









....Dry markets....









...vegetable markets...









....night markets....









....local scenes....









...nightlife...









...sunsets....









....and more people....









...and BBQ....









...and bugs...









...and then one day, just as dawn was breaking in Sabah, we hopped on our flight back home, vacation over, our bags filled with souvenirs, our cameras crammed with images, and our hearts full of the amazing experiences and people of Sabah. I'll be back soon!












REMARKS: We had no trouble with our various bikes on the local roads. Pavements are in good condition, but shoulders are found only outside larger towns. Drivers are excessively polite. In case you are wondering, I took my road bike with 700 x 25 Continental Ultra Race tires; had no trouble on the road (pinch flat was caused by improper packing on a vehicle). We only cycled the west coast, so I can't say anything about the east, but cycling was a totally different and very lazy and enjoyable way to see Sabah and experience its life. It also saved tons of transportation expenses, and enabled us to work off all the beer we were drinking. So I lost weight despite constant consumption of beer and rotis. Aren't bike vacations great?

Daily food expenses were about rm 20-30 and for accommodations, we paid 25-50. It was more expensive than I had anticipated.

We didn't do any treks, because they were out of our budget. But it didn't matter. The people of Sabah are so friendly and positive that the vacation was a total success. They created a wonderful time for us, and I can't wait to see them again.
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