Just got back today from our 6-day trip to KK. Lots of stories, no energy to blog. Will try tomorrow. Have to sleep. Quick pics..

Day 4

The usually quiet Gaya street in the middle of the city transforms into a colourful avenue with local people selling their wares. You can find everything here from beautifully crafted batik made by the locals to fake Louis Vuitton bags from China. We got several dusters for grandmas, moms, and aunts; t-shirts for dads and some friends; white Borneo coffee; a nice shirt for hny and nothing for me. I was so tempted to buy an exquisite batik which would be great as a bed cover or wall hanging but it's quite expensive. Very much like the Kashmir-made bed cover I so covet at the Rosebank Sunday market in Johannesburg. I hope there'd be a next time.



We had a quick lunch in a dodgy Chinese restaurant. I told hny if we eat there I'd be signing my death warrant. My tummy hasn't fully recovered from my terrible ordeal the other day. I feel like my body took a lot of beating from the rafting we did on top of the grueling train , but every ache and sore was totally worth it.



In markets like these, you should be armed with good haggling skills. I got five "dasters" (long, comfy dresses worn inside the house) for RM55 while I chatted with the sales ladies about our soap operas, apparently these and our actors are widely known in Malaysia. While other Asian countries are exporting computer chips and cars, we are exporting soap operas haha They even asked if I'm an actress back here jeje I said no but hny later told me that I should've said yes maybe I could have gotten a better deal. But I was worried it might cause a stampede :D

We took a cab to Warisan Square to check out what their malls look like. It's nothing compared to the giant malls we have in Manila. It looks like it's quite new and still needs a lot of locators. Coincidentally, there was an ongoing sale that day, which further dented my credit card. We also saw a stall named La Manila and we thought it serves Pinoy food, hny took a closer look and saw that they're serving Vietnamese food instead. After a looong day, we had a 'healthy' merienda at Yogur Berry. It's frozen yogurt with your choice of 6 toppings plus an assortment of rotis. Looks nice and tastes good too. I hope they'll have a franchise here in Manila.



We headed home early as hny was already complaining with the weight of our shopping bags and also we need to prepare for the Kinabalu National Park trip tomorrow. Had dinner at Sinario cafe which is conveniently located behind our lodge and serves really good naan with tomato and kari dip.

Day 3

Just came back from a very exhausting but fulfilling travel adventure from Padas where we did white water rafting. I thought I won't be able to make it as my tummy has failed me again! Must be the drop of sugar cane juice hny shared with me last night at the night market.

To go to Padas, we had to drive from KK to Beaufort for 1 1/2 hours then from Beaufort, take the local train to Padas. The train ride was quite hellish, it was hot, slow and bumpy. We are the only Pinoys amidst a sea of young Chinese people. Well, maybe 3 if you count the Half-Filipino, half-Malay tour guide, who speaks super broken English hehe

The rafting was great and I'm glad we did it. Our raft almost capsized twice if not for hny's hefty weight, it does help sometimes bun... We were very lucky as most of the rafts capsized in the 7-named sections of the river (Warm up, headhunter, washing machine, cobra's pit, snake house, scooby doo, and lambada) , we even saved two rafters and geez, it was no fun getting underwater in the churning, chocolate brown river. But we were briefed so we basically know what to do that is if you don't panic. Me and hny and some friendly Chinese people again as well as the tour guide with a speech defect were able to triumph over the giant waves of the merciless Padas river. I couldn't believe I was able to hold on for that long geez

Details when we get back, we still need to find a Chinese restaurant here selling maki and drop by 7-11 for gatorade.

Day 2
Friday, May 11 2007

Started a bit late. Prepared our beach gear and met Crystal, the friendly owner/manager of the lodge, on our way out. We decided to walk from the lodge to Wisma (Plaza) Sabah to pay our white water rafting fee for tomorrow. The city is very walkable, it's about 3kms from end to end.


Walk early though as the sun is harsher here than in Manila, Malaysia is closer to the equator that's why. If you have a map, walking is a breeze and you won't get lost. After meeting with Misliana of Borneo Ultimate Sports Adventure Tours (BUSAT) who was very nice from the start (back in MNL when we were still making a lot of inquiries) and she also gave us a huge discount, we headed to Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal, a 10 minute walk from the building scorching hot though, slather lots of sunblock.


The WISMA SABAH building


At the terminal, there were several locals milling around, coaxing tourists to try this and this island. We discussed and decided to check out what's inside the building. There were several
shops, a waiting area and several tour operators inside. We opted for the first one nearest the

door. We paid Rm74 for two, including the RM6/pax terminal fee for three islands. We thought it's cheaper that way as they charge RM17/island, excl. tariff. And you have to pay RM10 each for entrance on the first island. Remember to keep your entrance ticket so you don't have to pay for the other islands you'll gonna visit later.






Inside the Jesselton Point Ferry terminal, shops upstairs, a waiting area for passengers and several tour operators.


Manukan Island. We reached the first island after 10 minutes in the boat and confirmed with the boat man the time he's gonna pick us up. It seemed that we were the only ones who are visiting more than one island. He told us he'll be back after two hours.

There was a walkway from the drop off point until the entrance to the island park. Under the walkway are thousands of fish, about three or four different species.

We opted for a table near the life guard as there were few people and swimmers on this side. There was a net which divide the schools of fish and the actual swimming area. It's prohibited to swim in their designated area of habitat. Swam a bit, despite the broken goggles we still enjoyed the serenity of the place. You go there to relax and unwind, you don't want noise definitely and it seems that tourists there know and respect that.
Manukan Island with a lone swimmer.


Approximately, 30 mins before the agreed pick up, we rushed to see if we can grab a bite before heading off to the 2nd island. We found 2 al fresco restaurants, one serving set meals: satay, fruits, veggies, etc and farther down, a buffet charging RM60. We ended up buying from the cooperative a beef and chicken dish and rice for RM5. You can bring your own food though if you don't want to spend money on food.


Sapi Island. After our quick lunch, we were picked up and headed towards Sapi Island. It's smaller than the first but there are more people swimming. We got down to business right away and swam our hearts out. Here, we also decided to rent snorkeling masks which I was so afraid to use for fear of contracting tb and other disease jeje. I just used the mask without the mouth gear. We saw more sergeant fish and a lone cleaner wrasse, a very pesky one which decided to hang out with us the whole time. This time the boat man stayed in the island and waited for us. After 2 more hours, we headed towards Mamutik.



Mamutik Island. The smallest of the three but has the most diverse species of fish. We were able to swam and fed them using leftover bread from other people's feeding. We were the last ones to leave and took good picture of the island and ourselves of course.


Dô and Tin at Mamutik Island, Malaysia.

Day 1 (10 May)

We're in KK!! And I'm writing this in a very nice lodge we found in the net. It's called Velvet Lodge and it's in the city center, lots of restaurants a few steps from the place. It also has a lounge, but we haven't been there as we're still trying to settle and count our ringgits. Speaking of which, thank God there's now a bureau de change at the KK International airport. We were quite worried..chit chatting with the staff now, he's half Malaysian half-filipino and he's been talking a lot! Super friendly :)

Got to go now...more tomorrow!