Tanjung Aru’s
beach is not the cleanest one you’ll encounter in this lifetime. Locals and
foreigners would tell you that if you’re looking for an awesome beach experience,
you should ride a jetty and go to one of KK’s many islands. Tanjung Aru?
Laughable. Well, not for me. Now let me defend my favorite Sabah beach.
While you would
see cars coming in and people swimming, I think what they are really after is
the vibrancy of the area: the social activities, the night life. With a lively
bar and some resorts that double as golf clubs or videoke bars, there’s too
much to observe or experience. The promenade makes up for the so-so brown sand.
The muddy water smells a bit, but the kids don’t care. Just some ten minutes of
walking from the airport and half of that from my guest house, this beach
proved to be very accessible. In fact, I was wondering why I did not go there
earlier during my stay. Perhaps, this is also the reason why people tend to
frequent this beach. Besides, who would shell out 17 ringgit each time for a
daily dose of Gaya or Manukan, right? Not to mention that jetties to those
islands have some sort of curfew Tanjung Aru is open to everyone who wants to
come, and the bar does not close until 2 in the morning.
It was at that bar
where I had my first taste of alcohol in a very long time. Out of curiosity I
ordered a cocktail called Screwdriver, which is just a stylish nickname for a
rather bitter orange juice. Wikipedia would tell you that it is 1/3 alcohol and
2/3 orange drink. In short, Tang na may tama. Whatever, I don’t like it, and I
don’t get why people would pay that much for it. Those people would also
probably think that me eating Tang Grape Powder straight from the sachet
without water is weird, or that Cry Baby and Sour Skittles are inedible. The
feeling is mutual. Let’s weird each other out, but to each his own.
What I like about
beaches is the calm that it brings you despite the chaos happening everywhere.
You have the noisy kids, their equally noisy parents, the smooching couples,
the resident weirdos, the stereotypical tourists. I don’t know why, but when I
sit on a log by a beach all sounds seem muted, and what’s left are the gentle
clap of waves against the shore, accompanied by a magnificent sunset that my
eyes would definitely capture if it had a memory card embedded in it. At
Tanjung Aru I did nothing but sit on that log, look at the horizon, and reflect
on a lot of things. In fact, the creative juices were just flowing in my brain
all the time while I was there and I could have written a beautiful short story
altogether, but recording my thoughts would have interrupted the free flow of
thoughts running around my head, so I decided against it. I promised Tanjung
Aru, though, that if and when I write my first novel or screenplay, I’ll write
one chapter while relaxing on her shores.
I guess that would
explain why in my Budget and Itinerary article for Sabah I had a lot of “Tambay
at Tanjung Aru Beach” entries. Beaches make me feel this way, regardless of
their cleanliness or appeal (unless they truly stink, which would be plain
distracting). But Tanjung Aru was accessible, so very accessible and I would
like to thank her for sparing me some space where I could organize my thoughts,
clear my head, and just relax. And so I don’t give a rat’s ass if your favorite
Sabah beach is in Sipadan, Pulau Tiga, or Manukan. Tanjung Aru is mine.
KOTA KINABALU: 02 - You, Beach!
