Poring Hot Springs

5^th October

Had a 9am taxi pickup to take us to the airport. Not surprising s sedan came to get us – too small, so they had to send for a bigger vehicle. Off to the airport where Peter had organised a hire car for two days. On arrival we discover that of the two cars we were looking to hire, one has already been rented out for an emergency situation, and the other only has 4 seatbelts. The hire company couldn’t understand our reticence in renting this car (safety). So another vehicle is organised but it is back in Kota Kinabalu – could we drive there in the unsafe car? So we wait for the other car to come to the airport. Two hours after our arrival at the airport and we are on our way – with no map and no GPS. Although we do have Peters phone. The guide books say it is 2 hours to Poring hot springs – but the traffic is bad and it takes us 3.  When we arrive and book into our wonderful river cottage (yes – right next to the rushing torrent of the river) we organised a tour to see the rafflesia flower in bloom. This is a very large flower (75dm) which blooms for 5 days once a year and then dies. It was very impressive – although the price of RM30 each (AUD$10) was way too expensive for the small amount of tour we received. Over to the swimming facilities for dinner and then a quiet relax at home watching some tv.