18-November-2006
Recently, I had the opportunity to get away from the frenetic pace of living in Kuala Lumpur and escaped to Kota Kinabalu for several days along with two other close friends, Shara and Anita.
Before the trip, we were busy looking up the Internet on all the useful tips and advise on travelling in Sabah and after making the arrangements for the air tickets and accommodation, we eagerly waited for our holiday to begin. We arrived in Kota Kinabalu expecting the atmosphere of a frontier outpost. In fact, this largest city of Sabah with a population of 200,000 is bustling modern and easily accessible. Kota Kinabalu has a good, though not so busy, harbour. It is just a short motorboat ride to islands national parks where you will find great bird watching, hiking, snorkelling and wildlife watching. But the weather was not too kind to us when we arrived so we just forced to remain indoors in our hotel rooms.
The next day was filled with activities that included a full day visit to Sapi, Manukan, Mamutik and Gaya Islands, which were a short motorboat ride from the Kota Kinabalu jetty. Part of Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park, the islands are thoroughly protected. Although the primal forest is gone, the re-growth is now mature enough to offer a decent habitat to several species of primates, hornbills and many species of birds. It is a good place to walk through mangroves and identify the plants and animals.
Crossing a small strait to Sapi Island we felt we had arrived at a major beach resort. Many visitors come here to swim, especially on weekends. For us, the principal attraction was the coral reef, which was surprisingly rich in fish and coral. The rental masks were of only fair quality and you may need to bring your own. Scuba diving is available but you must make advanced arrangements. The local wildlife, now tourist dependent, include long-tailed macaques and enormous monitor lizards almost the size of Komodo dragons!
The next day, we left Kota Kinabalu early, boarding a taxi, which cost us RM80 one way to Kinabalu Park. It was a long journey of about 2 hours from KK, but with breathtaking sceneries of the countryside. This is the place to visit for those who love flora and fauna. Many species of birds and animals are now found only within the park. According to the locals, one can see Gunung Kinabalu clearly from the park, but unfortunately, at the time when we were there, the weather did not allow us this anticipa-ted vista. We then decided to go to Ranau, famous for its hot springs, canopy walk and butterfly farm and had a lovely time there.
Back in Kota Kinabalu, we had a wonderful visit to its ‘pasar malam’ or night markets. In the cool of the evening at the waterfront, scores of vendors set up portable charcoal grills and selling freshly prepared seafood. You can buy fish, squid, shellfish, shrimp, eel and a full variety of fresh vegetables, pastries, drink concoctions, sauces and spices. Open-air food courts and ambitious Chinese restaurants invite everyone to feast. Nearby side streets were converted to black markets selling counterfeit clothing, watches, sunglasses, athletic shoes, toys, cosmetics and music.
Finally, it was time for some retail therapy. Gaya market, famous for its handicrafts and traditional Borneo products, we spent almost half a day wandering around it looking for good buys. There is a lot of stuff here which are never seen back home. I bought a few curios including a unique miniature drum made of wood, while Shara and Anita were busy looking for clothes for their loved ones. On the last night, we were advised by the hotel operator to look for cheap seafood. We managed to enjoy some dishes and found out that their way of cooking seafood dishes is a bit different compared to the way its done in Peninsular Malaysia. However, we did enjoy the food a lot.
It was a fun trip that we enjoyed very much. One thing for sure, if we were given another chance, we would like to explore other parts of Borneo such as the Tanjung Aru Beach, Sipadan Island, Kota Belud and Sepilok.
Source/See more : http://www.virtualmalaysia.com/community/travel_experience/
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