Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Sabah- Part 4

24 April 2009

Last day of our trip. Sob! Sob!

- Shower, breakfast
- Requested for a late check out- 1pm
- Went to Pasar Kraftangan for last minute shopping (phew! Shop till U Drop!)
- Packed our bags and checked out
- Met Firdaus again, we had to pay RM25 for the extra hour, car checked, clear
- Had lunch at the Airport KFC
- Departed from KK at around 3 plus...
- Reached LCCT around 6 plus

I really wanna go back to KK for the Island Hopping trip! Next time, gal! KK, till then... had an unforgettable vacation with my 2 best buddies! Muahss...

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Sabah- Part 3

22 April 2009

Wah... we woke up quite early today. Took shower, had heavy breakfast and off we went to Kinabalu Park (without actually having any maps in our hands). The one we had only provided details of KK city. So, with a huge determination, we headed to UMS, 1Borneo and made a couple of stops at the petrol stations and 1 3/4 hours later, we arrived at Kinabalu Park. We passed by Tamparuli Bridge but didn't stop at the Ranau Hot Springs... Along the way, the scenery was soul capturing...

Adnin made us hiked on our feet along the Kinabalu Park trail. I needed to make use of my inhaler as we were making our way back to the entrance. But it was worth every second of it... I wish we had more time to stay at the Park.

After spending our money at the pricy souvenir shop, (the one at the entrance is quite expensive compared to the one near the Botanical Park) we found our way to Kundasang. Bought some local knick-knacks. It was the 1st time I had a taste of the Spinach crackers.

And later, we climbed up the Kundasang Memorial Park. It strucked me as I found out that the Death March that started from Sandakan ended there, at Kundasang. The history of human sacrifice to fight for independence really strucked me when I visited Sandakan last 2 years. It was kinda a close chapter for that particular history lesson.

As we were climbing down the stairs, the Azan from a nearby mosque touched our hearts, and so off we went to the Kundasang Mosque, located on a very steep hill.

After completing prayers, we decided to head back KK. Before sitting down for our dinner at the 1 Borneo Mall, we paid a visit to the Tun Datu Mustapha building. My buddy couldn't get me for wanting to capture the photo of that barrel building. Sigh!

Then, we had our dinner at the 1 Borneo Food Court, we were so hungry, we had our dinner in a complete silence. I had my Laksa Sarawak. Ok lah, tasted better one. We were quite impressed of all the dining utensils are products of IKEA. Nice...


Finally, before ending our day, we made a stop to pray at the Likas Mosque. Cool! Especially with the lights in the nite really highlighted the beauty structure and towers of the mosque that sprawls on man-made lagoon...


End of Day 3.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Sabah- Part 2

21 April 2009

We began our day by fighting who should get into the shower first. Hehe... We did have a good nite sleep. Reluctantly get out of the bed...However, we managed to make ourselves to the hotel's cafe for breakfast. The food was oklah, considering it to be complimentary for government servant, hence we shouldn't be complaining... the omellette was ok, but still cannot beat Sabah Hotel's. Best woo..



Breakfast at the Lounge
Then, we went to draw cash from the nearby banks- Maybank and Bank Islam are just about 5 mins away. After that, we drove to Penampang to visit Monsopiad Cultural Village. We stopped by at the Pusat Kebudayaan Sabah, to ask a man about the direction. Landmark: when u reach the main junction where the State Mosque is on your right, turn left and head to Penampang. When you reach a Tengkolok roundabout, take 3 o'clock and go straight until you see a big Monsopiad CV signboard and turn right. Don't get panic as you'll pass villages as if you're going back to your Atok's house.


My 2 buddies trying out the Ostrich Dance


Me and Bamboo dance


Traditional Games



Posing, Posing, Posing





The Skull House


Yummy Butod (Sago worms)



The entrance fee is RM45 for MyKad holders. For more info: CLICK HERE. There are variety of interesting things to try out... the tourist guide, Ms Liyana wore smile all the time and entertained all of our curious questions. Oh yes, the visitors are entitled for a private guided tour. But we decided to combine into a group, there were a local family of 4, a pair of Australian mom-daughter, a pair of local girlfriends and 3 of us. Fun group to be with. We spent about 2 1/2 hrs there.

And as our stomachs were already making lots of loud noises, we headed back to the city and had McD at Kg Air area (across CentrePoint Mall). The 2 gals craved for the Sundae. And I had my Sundae cone!

Continued our journey to the State Museum and spent about 1 1/2 hour there. The main building itself doesn't hold much of interesting displays. But the traditional houses replica were indeed amazing.

After the historical info input, we decided to do what girls do best! S.H.O.P.P.I.N.G... we went to the Pasar Kraftangan (Handicraft Market), formerly known as Pasar Filipina, and bought ourselves loads of crystal bracelets, brooches and some knickknack...

(too bz shopping, didn't take any photos.. but these are some of my acessories bought at the market)

Aaah, later was my fave part. DINNER at the food stall next to the Pasar Kraftangan. We had yummy fish, lobster, squids, chicken wings (far better than last nite's) and that joyful kicked chilli sambal (sauce for all the seafood).
Seafoodilicious... and when we reached the hotel, took our shower and hit the pillow gratifyingly and blissfully... zZzZZZZzzzzz....

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Sabah- Part 1

20 April 2009

We're really excited about this trip. Our hols just started... 3 wks to go and we'll be spending part of it at the beautiful Land below the Wind...
Destination: Kota Kinabalu 3N4D
(yippie!!!)


AK
5120 took off at 1020hrs and arr at about 1245. 10 mins earlier than the ETA. The skies were bright and we believed it was gonna be a great stay. Meet Firdaus from Zaratech for the car that we've booked earlier. The black bold Proton Saga waited for us patiently outside Terminal 2. So far, we're satisfied with the deal. I strongly recommend this car rental company to everyone...very professional and considerate! Just visit their website HERE. So,off we headed to our hotel. We'd actually booked a different hotel, but the nite before, we managed to surf this hotel with a very reasonable offer (if u're a government servant, don't forget to bring ur ID Card and request for it). Since, they were offering the promotional rate, for the government rate substitute, they threw complimentary breakfast for 3 of us, for the 3mornings. At least, we didn't have to worry about where to go four breakfasts! Tang Dynasty Park Hotel staffs are very friendly and helpful. The front officer was the one whom reminded us about the government rate. Our room 502 with 3 single beds and all the basic amenities. Plus, they have the AXN and StarWorld Channel. Very rare for 3Star Hotels... Yay! We could still catch our fave shows!




After refreshing ourselves, the exploration began: 1st stop- Observatory Tower at Signal Hill, we tried to park our car at the Atkinson Clock area but couldn't get a spot, it was quite difficult to find the hill. The map mentioned Signal Hill but on the signboards: Bukit Istana. We took pictures and enjoyed the serene view... during sunset, it must be amazing here.



Down we went the hill, and headed to the Esplanade. Pictures again... loads of them, but I've got one Q: Why Swordfish? What's the connection btw KK and swordfish? Ida n Nin failed to provide me with the satisfactory answer... hehehe.... anyone knows?

After hanging out at the jetty,drove ourselves to Wawasan Plaza near the Anjung Senja roundabout (by now we've noticed that KK town itself has about or perhaps more than 10 roundabouts..byk seh!) Here, our first contribution to the KK income...spent some on the souvenirs and brooches and bracelets... ehehe... quite a bargain as well. Here, we succesfully hindered ourselves from grabbing too many stuffs as we knew, we would find better bargains elsewhere... only the handicrafts are quite reasonable (please do a research on the prices before u shop at KK).

As we came out of the Plaza, Tanjung Aru was our next hunt... yes, we did l
ose our ways for quite some time... (from the Plaza, head to KK Airport and at the big roundabout, take the Tg Aru turn). We had our dinner behind Tanjung Aru Plaza- Tanjung Aru Food Court. People told us not to miss the BBQ Chicken Wings... and we did not! The food here are Halal, most of them are Muslims except for the Nyonya Air... The food was quite good, we had Chicken Wings, Nasi Ayam Cili (Chilli Chicken Rice), Nasi Ikan (Fried Fish Rice) and Nasi Ayam Lada Hitam (Black Pepper Chicken Rice) and... the fresh coconut drinks! It was quite a quite place, perhaps because it was a weekday nite. I bet the place must be packed on weekends- u may choose varieties of foods here, and they also had shisha!

After our stomachs were contented, we made our way back to Sadong Jaya. The hotel has its own car park. Thank God, I was a bit worried earlier about the safety of the car. And... later we took turn with the shower and the 3 sound logs hit the bed.