Sabah, there I went!

I 'have been' to Sabah before, but only within the confines of the Nexus Resort Karambunai (say what?! go sightsee and waste the opportunity to enjoy all this fully sponsored RM500++ per night amenities??! you got to be kidding me!!!)

Ehem..! That aside, I really looked forward to seeing Kota Kinabalu for the first time :)

DAY 1

View of the corridors at the local departure lounge at KLIA. Flight was slightly delayed so I had some spare time to play around.

The lobby of the Crown Borneo Hotel, Tanjung Aru where we stayed. It is about 10 minutes away from the city on clear traffic days.

The rest of the evening was spent acclimatizing and making plans.

DAY 2

Decided on a 3 hours day trip into the city. We were shown around by Bruce, our friendly Kadazan tour guide.

This view of the Tun Mustapha Tower must have been done to death, but since we were there- what the heck! It is unique looking after all.

Stopped by Bandaraya Mosque a.k.a the Floating Mosque at Likas for zuhur, which was an hour earlier here.

One of the jamaah even kindly pointed out to me where the center point is so I could snap this view of the dome :)

The curving road next to the lookout point at Signal Hill. From here we can literally see the entire city from end to end!

Another 'why not' photo of the oldest (and possibly only) clock tower in Kota Kinabalu, the Atkinson Clock Tower.

Bruce informed us that it used to run on gears and pendulums but it's now been replaced with all modern mechanics- easier to maintain :p

Last stop, Tanjung Aru beach for late lunch. It should take only 15 minutes to walk here from the hotel but my schedule was already too packed to revisit :(

DAY 3

My day was spent at Manukan Island. It was supposed to be a 2 island hopping trip but for some reason, they refused to make the trip for a single passenger despite my willingness to pay extra.

And, yes, the water was that clear and that blue at Manukan.

Ma wanted so much to visit the Philipino Market, just to see what the fuss is all about. So out we went into the rain that evening.

It was just like any other crafts market I've had the good fortune to visit before but it was still a wonderful experience.

And there were all these seamsters and seamstresses lined at regular intervals along the front of the market still utilising old fashioned feet-operated sewing machines. So cool!

DAY 4

I joined a group of final year youngsters on a trip to Kinabalu Park in Kundasang. We were told that we very lucky to be able to view Mount Kinabalu throughout the day as it was usually covered by clouds.

Tried the Canopy Walk at Poring Hot Springs. There were a lot of visitors queueing up for the walk. We were urged forward rather quickly so there was hardly time to enjoy the walk and scenery :(

There were two waterfalls nearby. Time was short so I elected to pay Langanan Falls a visit instead of the more majestic Kipungit.

As you can see, not much of a fall though, nevertheless, still enchantingly beautiful.

This part I could never understand. We happened to be at Poring at the time when there is a Rafflesia blooming and what did the kids want to do? Play in the swimming pool!!!

I walked a bit over a kilometer to get to the spot to get this shot and it was well worth it! Tak main la tengok gambar kat majalah atau TV aje!!!

Last stop was the Upside Down House in Tamparuli. It was interesting, but in the same sense like saying, "hmm... interesting", then forgetting about it.

A good attempt but it needed something more to give it umpphhh!!!

DAY 5

Nothing much, just preparations for going home since we'll be taking the noon flight.

We may not be able to see the beach from the hotel but the sunset is just as lovely. I will surely come here again given the chance.

See you again, Sabah!