Time is really passing very fast
The well-planned eight day Sabah trip has come to an end
It takes more than a year to plan it
We are eagerly to wait for the trip
But the happy moment fades faster than expected
It is time to bid farewell and shares the happy moment with the others now
Sabah Trip Day I – Arrival, One Borneo
Arrival – Kota Kinabalu International Airport Terminal 2
Same as KLIA and LCCT, the airport in Kota Kinabalu is divided into two. As you can see, Terminal One is for MAS while another for Air Asia. Cheaper flight terminal usually will have a lower class look building, just like LCCT.
Venue of Staying: X-plorer Backpacker
This lodge has left a slightly negative impression not only on me, but to all my friends as well due to increasing rates of staying for several times. When we first enters, it takes some time to check in. It is really “explorer” style as you can see in the photo post later, a room of six may require 3 of us to climb up the room. Yes, climb up! The special of this lodge is, it makes us feeling warm, just like staying in a house. There is a so-call living room that every night, we spend our time chatting, watching TV and playing cards there.
Pit Stop I: One Borneo
Claiming as the largest shopping premise in Sabah, it is totally letting us down. The GSC there is quite classy but too bad still many shops are not opening yet. It is just like 1st Avenue in Penang, the name will let one to be “wah wah wah”, but when you are there, you will be “ceh ceh ceh”. We check in to one of the moderate restaurant there (I think is Home Restaurant), having dinner of a set of chicken rice. Below will be the rating and review of that restaurant. We also meet Ah Bong there, and he is still talkative as before, hehe! From One Borneo to Wisma Merdeka, there is shuttle bus. The bus service is just as lousy as you can predict. The way back is even worse.
Note:
A (Very delicious, cannot be found at other places, should try), B (Delicious), C (Moderate), D (Improvement is needed), E (Fail)
Review of Home Restaurant
Food Tested: Chicken Rice (Black-Peppered Chicken Rice)
Price: Moderate
Review: I should have order the one Yi Hong orders, the one I eat is quite ok but a bit salty. The service is good and the environment is nice.
Rating: C
Pit Stop II: UMS Aquarium
This is postponed due to the time arrival is late. We take a rest at the lodge after returning from One Borneo.
Sabah Trip Day II – Island of Manukan and Sapi (TAR Reserved Park)
Pit Stop I: Island of Manukan
After having our breakfast, Uncle Chong fetches us to the jetty and we board a speed boat to Island of Manukan. There are several agents with several counters, that each of them will start welcoming you, to get a business. We buy a beach ball so that we can play it on the beach but I can tell you that, the ball is a waste. The morning is a bit cloudy due to rainy day early in the morning. As the boat is extreme speedy, we manage to get sea wind massage, and our eyes are hardly to open. The trip to Island of Manukan takes about half an hour. Perhaps it is long time since I have seen a nice island; I am totally mesmerized by the beach and seaside there. All of us are eager to snorkel since it is the first time. We take our own life jacket and breathing materials, then rushing to the beach. Well, it is first time and some of us do not know to swim, it is an excited experience. However, the sea water is a bit unclear. We need to move deeper to see the coral and also beautiful fish. We (those do not know to swim) try to float and test the equipment for a period of time. Eventually, we make up our mind not to snorkel but to play in the sea. Ah, one more point, many of us got the chance to enjoy the salty sea water as well. I cancel my decision to snorkel as I am easily anxious due to the large wave. I would be dangerous if I am depending on the only three out of fifteen friends that know to swim. For Sok Kuan, she claims that she cannot stabilize herself in the water and would be probably swept away by the wave. Almost the same reason for the others as well. Even though snorkeling does not come to a success, we still enjoy ourselves floating on the sea water, enjoying the windy and cloudy weather with a feel there, “Oh, how many times in life that I can enjoy it?” Around two hours later, we take a break and time for photography session. We are so mad that the travelers beside us are laughing at us. After enjoying the sandwiches that we prepare at 5am in the morning, I walk along the beach to search for some nice shells. Too bad, it ends up with getting two nice stones.
Pit Stop II: Island of Sapi
In the boat trip to a nearby island, Jai is the one that makes the great mood of environment. The boat is shaky and we keep “Wou” until the driver is “high” enough to shake the boat, and we are shocked by his turning of boat. Luckily, the boat is not wrecking. Island of Sapi is much more beautiful than Island of Manukan. The island there has a more soft and white sand. There is only a small wave and crystal clear sea water. I think I take a lot of time in the water and am reluctant to get up. The sea for here does not need much snorkeling and I manage to see nemo fish. Thanks God and at least I am not upset by the failing to snorkel just now. The trips to both islands are a wet trip. Around 2-3pm, we depart back as rain is beginning.
Pit Stop III: Night Market near Water Front
Having a slight eczema on both of our hands, we take a rest before waking up late in the evening. There is an opening ceremony of Pesta Keamatan behind our lodge, and many stalls there are selling souvenirs. The building up of the festival is interesting whereby we can see the traditional dance of the origins there. Plan to watch movie at Suria Sabah is delayed due to short of time.
Review of Chicken Rice Restaurant behind X-plorer
Food Tested: Chicken Rice (again)
Price: Moderate
Review: The chicken rice there has the style of Penang. The chili sauce is as nice as Penang as well. I also tried the Tomyam mee that Yi Hong calls; he puts a lot of chili that the lady boss keeps looking at him. The tomyam is nice and spicy.
Rating: B-
Pit Stop IV: Ikan Panggang Stall
After returning from Suria Sabah (description of SS later), we walk along the market near the sea side. Many stalls are selling fish, chicken, sotong panggang until you are unable to choose which stall you would want to eat. The style of the stalls is just like Hatyai in which the whole row is selling the same stuff. We try fish and squid panggang. Too bad to say that, there are more onions than squids in the dish, and the sauce is salty, ended up with a rating of C-.
Pit Stop V: Bar and Grill Café
It is the morning of the third day that we go for a pub that is nearby out lodge. It is a positive pub (do not worry ya). Each of us calls a type of alcoholic beverages. Jia Shen and I share a set of large bottle of Heneiken that at the end, we do not end up drunk, but a bit dizzy that makes us sleep better. I tell Jia Shen that we would be probably drunk if we end up another bottle of same size.
Sabah Trip Day III – Kundasang
Review of Restaurant at Ranau
Food Tested: Tuaran Mee
Price: Reasonable
Review: Tuaran Mee that we call is fried type. It is almost the same as Wantan Mee. The noodles are nice due to the nice sauce provided. It is mix with some Char Siu and vegetables.
Ratings: B-
Pit Stop I – Souvenir Shops
Again, I would like to stress that the style of souvenirs shop in Sabah is just the same of Hatyai. Uncle Chong leads us to the shop that is cheapest. There is a rule while buying stuffs with them. When bargaining and talking on price, you cannot speak it out but to click on the calculator. Fong Sim is the big shopper here as he surpasses Yi Hong to buy more. The row of souvenir shops locates on the mountain. We can see the breathtaking scenery of the mountain but not the Mount Kinabalu yet.
Review of Restaurant in front of Poring Hot Spring
Food Tested: Hot Sambal Fish with Rice
Price: Moderate
Review: The Sambal Fish is nice with fragrant onions. However, the service is slow and the fish is not fresh. The lychee tea has no lychee flavor at all.
Ratings: C-
Pit Stop II – Poring Hot Spring and Jungle Walk
Prior to hot spring, we check in to the Jungle Walk first. The jungle walk takes about an hour before we proceed to the waterfall. If you are a nature lover like me, you would be enjoying the whole journey there. There is totally 100% contact with fresh oxygen from the tree and you can see a wide range of flora and fauna there. The most amazing part should be the 4 bridges that we trek through. It can only accommodate 6 persons at one time. All of us walk in an excited mood, where we also take a solo photo here. Then we head for Kipungit waterfall. The journey from the jungle walk to there is around 315 metres. Halfway, Michelle runs towards us as she sees a snake. Luckily, it is only a green snake. Upon arrival, we can clearly here the splashing of the waterfall. We put our legs into the waterfall and it is damn cool. The water is clearer and clean than our drinking water. We also enjoy the foot massage by the fish for free. Many fish surround and “eat” your leg skin and we are just screaming there. Due to running time, we only enjoy the hot spring with our leg for a few moments. It is damn hot if you forget to add cold water.
Pit Stop III – Desa Cow Farm
I should regard this as the best part of the whole trip. We are just in New Zealand – The house, and a Greenland with cow. You would be able to taste the smell of cow when you step into the office. All of us are eager to get the milk directly from the cow but too sad to say that we are forbidden to, as the time is late and most of the procedures use machines. The cows are queuing up to provide milk. Michelle would want to get a fresh milk to drink but it is sold out. The cow farm is located 5,000 feet from the sea and you can see clearly Mount Kinabalu from the farm. Most of the activities are just photographing. The farm also contains some big stones and what I can say is, it is totally New Zealand. Ah, we also manage to see a cow “making cake” on the spot. We take some time here as we are waiting the cloud to clear, so that we can snap some photos of Mount Kinabalu there. You can also spot some rainbow there. When the time is almost 6pm, more clouds are arriving and covering the whole area that makes you to be unable to see anything clearly. This is the reason that makes Mount Kinabalu to be claims as the Heaven Mountain.
Pit Stop IV – Mount Kinabalu Park
This is the venue that most of the climber registers and starts their trip of climbing the peak of Mount Kinabalu. There is a board showing the competition in 2010 with the champion takes approximately 2 hours and 53 minutes to reach. The hotel there contains an information centre that tells you about Mount Kinabalu. It is surprising to know that Mount Kinabalu is growing 5mm per year.
Venue of Staying (For Kundasang) – Heaven Garden Hotel
This is not a nice hotel I would say. The bed sheet contains a lot of long hair. Ivan and Lily are in the room when we are chatting with Uncle Chong at around 8pm downstairs. At that time, they notice that the room is going wrong. The door is automatically open by itself. They claim that the room is haunted. However, nothing happens throughout the whole night and maybe the door opening is due to the strong wind since our room is located at the top floor and the last room at the corner attached to outside door. From 9pm to 1am, we play cards in the ladies room until the whole earth can corrupt due to our voice.
Review of Steamboat Set – Heaven Garden Hotel
Food Tested: Regular and Tomyam Steamboat
Price: Expensive
Review: The set steamboat should be large enough to accommodate a person’s need. After combining 6 into 1, it seems like we got cheated due to the food is not sufficient enough. Mixing of tomyam and curry is fail. The seafood is not fresh and most of the food includes are vegetables.
Ratings: E
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