I got on my bike again with my cycling shoes and went to Poring Hot Springs. I didn't fall off but the left pedal is really tough to remove so I need to look at it again to make sure I have it on the easiest setting not the hardest! My hand still hurts from the fall when I do my morning stretches and yoga plus doing handstands (which I don't do often because of the hand), so I hope it heals soon!
Poring means bamboo in Kadazandusun language, so there's no surprise that you'll find a lot of bamboo in this area. It's 19km from Ranau and most of that is downhill. However, the last 4km is up some steep hills and past some dogs so it's best to dismount if you're not an experienced cyclist. I find that when I walk with the bike I actually get a calf workout more than when I'm on the bike, so it's a bonus to walk sometimes.
The scenery of this area is incredible. Jungle, mountains, wooden houses, paddy fields, fruit trees, etc breathtaking and beautiful. However, when you travel by bicycle it's hard to pay attention to it all because sometimes the other road users are inconsiderate and there are potholes to look out for.
When I arrived I changed into my normal clothes and shoes and ate my lunch, which were banana date dogs (like a hot dog with the banana being the sausage and the date being the bun). So good, especially after cycling! Surprisingly I didn't eat them all so I kept them in the container for later (and that was a welcome relief!) I have had my dates since leaving the UK, they're my emergency fruit but it's not really that necessary in South East Asia unless you're only transiting between countries, but most of the time there's always fruit at the airports!
I headed to the tropical and orchid gardens. When I got there the man was saying there's not a lot to see. He was really off putting, which was strange because they charge money to see these gardens on top of the conservation fee you pay at the entrance, so I'd have thought they'd want some money! I paid and he was right, but I still saw some amazing greens and a pitcher plant I've never seen before in my life, so it was totally worth it! As the last guests to visit entered the gardens over 11 days ago I walked through so many cobwebs, it was horrible! I wished so much I had my leggings on. The tropical garden had a 700m trail, but after going 250m and through an aviary enclosure I wanted to get out asap! The cobwebs here were just insane! This is one of the reasons I'm reluctant to go into the jungle.
I think I spent an hour here even though it felt really quick, I did take lots of photographs in the orchid garden so that's probably why time disappeared so quickly.
After these gardens I walked to the hot springs entrance and went to the butterfly garden. The same thing happened when I was buying my ticket! As it was raining lightly the man said there's no butterflies, but I wanted to go anyway. The gardens were beautiful and I saw so many butterflies! I think they need to be trained better here to avoid putting tourists off!
There's a room with dried butterflies, some are stunning. The colours are fascinating, pearlescent beauty, it makes me wonder about mother nature. How she produces so many wonderful things. Then there's a room for bugs *shudders* they're gross! After this room is the butterfly enclosure where they vary in size and colour. I think it's quite sad that they're kept in a cage because they just fly up to the sky and want to get out. I think just like zoos this is quite cruel and I do wonder if I should have paid for it, but at the same time they're providing a safe environment for the butterflies to enjoy the plants there. It's one of those vegan issues that I should contemplate.
So the butterflies were amazing and I loved watching them. When I left the enclosure I was treated to more butterflies flying in the open. Wow. I love these creatures.
After the butterfly garden I went to the canopy walk. They charge you money to use your camera! Crazy. So I refused to pay and my time is just recorded in my memories. You'll have to take my word for it that it was incredible! At one point I fantasised about the ropes snapping, what would I do?! I loved looking at the trees above, producing a silhouette of leaves against the sky. Beautiful. Then I looked down and saw the water flowing. It was interesting to look down because I almost got frightened but I seemed to be OK once I accepted it.
Onto the hot springs. It's quite crappy in my opinion. They've built bath tubs to fill up with the water but it's really artificial and not very authentic. You can look at a natural spring but you cannot go in it. In Turkey you can go into numerous pools with rocks and the natural slime and even though some of that is man made (at least to make it usable by people) it still felt authentic. The bonus is I had a whole tub to myself!
I made my tub really hot. Immediately I felt the benefits, my skin was even silkier, I felt so relaxed, even though I was unable to lay completely flat, and my muscles released all their tension. Ahhh bliss. I stayed in for about 30 minutes and then got changed into my cycling gear.
The journey home was more fun as I got to go fast down the hills I climbed on the way, exhilarating. The steady inclines were not too challenging either. I gave myself 2 hours to get back and I did it in 1 hour 30 minutes so I was really pleased.
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