In the evening, the guide took us to look for "blue tear" or "blue sand" on the beach. These are a kind of seed shrimps that glow blue in the dark, just like fireflies. They get to the shore by riding the tide and survive for no more than 100 seconds.

The peak season of blue tears on the island is from November to February. You are lucky if you get to see the beach dotted with beautiful luminous blue spots, like shining meteors in the sky.

We were disappointed when we arrived at the shore, because it started to rain cats and dogs. But we still wanted to see the blue tears. We turned off the light on our mobile screens and flashlights, because blue tears won't appear if there's light.

Fortunately, we saw a few blue spots sprinkled on the shore, and when we dug our hands into the sand, we saw more hidden blue tears twinkling and disappearing quickly.

The 45-minute speedboat journey back to Kota Kinabalu was like an exciting ride in an amusement park because of the strong wind in the sea. The boat tilted to the right and left from time to time and sea-water washed over us.

Those who want to enjoy parasailing and banana-boat riding can go to the city's ferry terminal and take a boat to nearby small islands such as Sapi or Manukan. You can also go deep diving or snorkeling there and see fishes that are different from those at the Big Mermaid Island. Don't forget to wear water shoes to prevent cuts from the reefs in the sea.