Spectacular Kinabalu

My four days three nights vacation to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia was indeed a memorable one. I had been contemplating on having my advanced anniversary vacation in Kuching, Sarawak but somehow changed my mind at the very last minute. Luckily my husband was sporting enough to go along with my plan. The tickets were bought three months in advanced, and I had to remind my husband monthly about the planned vacation. This is to ensure he is able to take leave on the vacation dates. We were glad it went smoothly though we had some teething problem during the first phase of the journey.

Kota Kinabalu, to me, is an interesting town. Before the day, I had been surfing the net to get some information of the town and surroundings. I already had some ideas of shopping and place to visit when we touched down at Kota Kinabalu airport. The cab driver who took us from the airport to hotel was a friendly guy. We stayed at a budget hotel in the heart of Kota Kinabalu. Finding a place to shop or eat is not a problem. The hotel personnel and the local people are friendly and we can get information easily from them. If you are in town, just ask the local people. The town was so peaceful and we can just walk from one place to another without any obstacles. Of course we still have to be careful of our belongings. The traffic is also bearable even during working days.

My husband and I walked to town almost everyday from our hotel for the three days we were there. We went to the Filipino market where we found a lot of interesting souvenirs such as pearl accessories and Sabah handcrafts. Before coming to Kota Kinabalu, I already had in mind of getting myself a pearl bracelet. I was stuck at one store selling pearls and finally bought three strands of pearl bracelets - one deep water pearls from the Philippines, two Sabah pearls (black & white) and brooches along with other stuff. It was a good bargain and I was very satisfied. My husband was so patient with me at the store and he just let me have my own time bargaining. I ended up with two strands of bracelets.

Getting lunch or dinner was not difficult in Kota Kinabalu. There are a lot of eateries in the town area especially seafood. The seafood was really fresh. We had our dinner at the same restaurant at the Kota Kinabalu waterfront for two consecutive nights due to the really good food, good service and reasonable price. Unfortunately, we couldn’t really enjoy the night atmosphere at the waterfront since it was raining during the night we were there.

We took the opportunity to visit Kinabalu Park the next day we were in Kota Kinabalu. The journey to the park took about 3 hours on a van with a tourist guide. As we drove up, the weather became cooler. When we stopped at Nabalu town, the water at the sink was so cold, like coming from a refrigerator. Nabalu Craft Center is a place where local crafts are sold at a lower price compared in Kota Kinabalu town. It was another shopping spree for us. There were so many interesting and extraordinary souvenirs to choose from – T-shirts, pareos, shawls, Sabah handcrafts such as sumpit, rattan bags, coconut shells accessories and other things you can’t find back home and they are cheaper compared to the shops in Kota Kinabalu town.

The scenery up to the Kinabalu Park was spectacular. The amazing waterfall up the mountain was something worth seeing. The driver was kind enough to stop at the side of the road for me to take the picturesque waterfall though it was very far. It came out as a tiny waterfall in my photograph even with the full zoom of my digital camera. Anyway, it is a picture which I will appreciate forever.

Kinabalu Park was a place of adventure. We did not go up the famous bridge (Canopy Walkway) there due to landscape which we are not familiar with. Even with a tourist guide, we didn’t have the physical strength to climb the hilly slopes. We were satisfied to roam around the Poring hot spring but missed the opportunity to wet ourselves in the hot spring. The hot spring water pipes were switched off due to the rain water from the previous night downpour. The system was shut down to prevent the rain water from coming to the hot spring reservoir. The atmosphere at the park was something that both my husband and I enjoyed. I t was full of cool and fresh air, sometimes our body shivered as the wind blew. The flora and fauna was attractive and some could not be found elsewhere in the country. I had the opportunity to see the most expensive orchid in the world, the smallest orchid in the world and also the biggest pitcher pl ant which is dying.

The stream in the park is such lovely scenery – posed tranquility, made us appreciate the nature and Allah’s creation. Overall, the park is worth visiting and no words can describe its beauty and ambiance. No wonder it becomes one of UNESCO’s World Heritage. I was glad I took the time to venture in it though it was quite a physical challenge to me.

I was lucky to see the biggest flower in the world, rafflesia during its initial blooming process – only one petal was opened. According to the owner of the garden where the rafflesia grows, it takes about 4-5 days for a full bloom. At the end of the trip, it was the feeling of fulfilment which shed away the tiredness of the whole body.

The last day in Kota Kinabalu was spent shopping. This time we went to the shopping mall, Center Point. The place is just like any shopping mall that we visited before elsewhere. As usual, both of us got attracted by ‘made in Sabah’ merchandise. If it was not the luggage limitation, we may have bought a handful of craft to take back home. We bought a fruits' basket, sculptured uniquely from wood. It is a rare piece and we have not seen one before.

As the vacation coming to an end, I realized it was a good escape for both us from the routine tasks. We really enjoyed our time together and hope we could come again to Kota Kinabalu some other time. There were other places at the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu like Tanjung Aru that we did not visit due to time constraint. Anyway, I had a memorable trip and my personal objectives of going to Kota Kinabalu were achieved – spent my time relaxing with my husband, and had a close encounter of the majestic Mount Kinabalu and the world biggest flower, Rafflesia.