KK Fun

Missing for quite some time now.
I've hibernated long enough and it's time to post all those overdue updates.

Went to Kota Kinabalu last Christmas for our annual family vacay and I have to say this,
I am indeed head over heels for Sabah!

It has everything; islands, unique heritage, mountains, highlands, even the wildlife park which I went to is way better than the National Zoo. And the islands, I fell in love right after we landed our feet on the first island, Sapi. The sandy white beach, the crytal clear water, you can spot the all sorts of fish without even going into the water.

Arrived at KKIA Terminal 2 around 10ish in the morning but left the airport at 12pm due to a small incident involving my dad and AirAsia. Lulz. Not gonna write it down here, let it be the funniest inside joke for the family members :P
After checking into our apartment near UMS, we decided to grab something for lunch so went to 1Borneo and had chicken rice.
Then, later that night we went to one of the seafood restaurants in Kg Air, a well known place in KK for varieties of seafood. The prawns were so huge and there were so many types of fish that we have never heard of. But I was surprised that the lobsters were expensive, but my dad said probably because it's school and public holidays. So yeah, we skipped the lobsters.

The next day, woke up early in the morning and had our breakfast at one of the mamak restaurants nearby our apartment. After that, we went to Tuanku Abdul Rahman Marine Park, located at the KK Jetty. We took the 3 islands package and off to the first island, Sapi Island. It took 10 mins to reach Sapi Island with a speed boat. As soon as we stepped our feet on Sapi Island's jetty, we were totally amazed by the breathtaking scenery and the clear blue water. We could see schools of fish, swimming warily under the sea, right from the jetty. I became jakun for a while and went like "omg ikannnn ikannnnn!!! Omg ikan bilissss ikan bilissss!! Shit this place is so beautiful omg!!!" Lulz.
The kids straight away took off their outer attire and went straight into the water. I was playing by the beach and there were so many fish, some of them were between my legs. Baby Lisya was so excited playing in the water. My mom decided to stay away from the water and relaxed under the trees.
After an hour or so, we went to the second island, Manukan Island. The uncle told us that among the three islands, Manukan's the best. Manukan has more types of fish and the beach is even prettier. And indeed, Manukan was even breathtaking. They even got a resort on that island, and there was a beach wedding happening at that time.


We didn't get to visit the third island as we ran out of time. I simply love the beaches, the scenery, and the clear blue water. I'm so gonna come here again, real soon. After the island hopping session, we went straight back to the apartment and had a rest before dinner. After Maghrib, we went to Suria KK Mall, just to survey the stores they have there. But I personally think, 1Borneo is way better. After that, went to Restoran Getaran Jiwa & Katering near Menggatal, and had our dinner there. Love the ambiance and the setting of the restaurant. Among the food served there were ikan bakar, western, local and noodles.

The next morning, had our breakfast at one kopitiam cafe in the city. After that, we went to the State Museum and spent 2hours there. The museum was interesting as we were exposed to the Sabah culture and heritage and many other interesting facts and artifacts they have there. There were even models of traditional houses outside of the museum for the tourists to experience themselves how the people actually live. I just love the pond filled with water lilies they have there. Imagine having such beautiful, peaceful ambiance outside of your house. I could stay there forever. After that, we went to Lok Kawi Wildlife Park to see the Orang Utans and other animals there. We wanted to go to Sepilok at the first place but it was so far away, so we decided to go to Lok Kawi instead as it's nearer. The zoo was even better than the National Zoo. It's situated on a highland, so it was a bit cold and breezy. The highlights were obviously the Orang Utans, and the tigers and also the animal show.
After the tiring outings we went to, we went to Tanjung Aru beach to watch the sunset. It was beautiful, totally. We had dinner by the beach while watching the sunset. Tanjung Aru beach was a bit crowded as it was Christmas eve and people came to have dinner there. After dinner, I went to watch the Cultural Dance they had there. I have always been the most "artsy" in the family, but I suck at drawings. Lulz. So, when I heard that they had a cultural dance performance, I went straight to watch it after I was done with my meal. I found it very interesting, learning the culture of others. And the dancers were very graceful, the "warriors" even performed "menyumpit", and they ended with that dance with the bamboo sticks. Sorry I'm not quite sure the name of the dance, but it was totally interesting.
Soon after the dinner, went to the Philippines Market to "borong" pearls. I bought some for my colleagues and a few for myself. After done with our pearl shopping, went back and slept early for our last day outing before our flight the next day.

Woke up extra early the next day, as we need to reach that place as early as possible. Yes, we're going to Mount Kinabalu! The journey took about an hour plus and as soon as we reached half of the journey, there were kabus all over. It was cooler than Genting or even Cameron Highlands. Took many pics as soon as we saw the peak of the mountain. After that, continued our journey and finally reached the entrance. Took a few photos at the lookout point and had our breakfast at the lodge they have there. Too bad they didn't have english scones as it would be a perfect combo then.
After that, it was time to bid farewell to Kota Kinabalu. So far, this is the most interesting local trip I've ever been. And I'm planning to go there again, this time to conquer Mount Kinabalu with my aunt and my sister, insyaAllah by end of this year. So yeah, better start going to the gym to prepare for my next expedition!

Til then, toodles~