Borneo In Nature - Day 2

Hubby woke up as early as 4am to re-park the car. Last nite, we parked the car by the road side since there was no more available parking space for hoteliers (see…one of the drawbacks of having hotel within a shopping mall). Hubby came back and asked me to get dress for breakfast. The breakfast was fine and the site was elegant. Having the common hotel foods, I took 3 dishes, scrambled eggs (I had it with chili sauce), mixed cereals with low fat milk and porridge (kicap tak masin, yucks!). While hubby, scrambled eggs (he liked it with salt and pepper), porridge and toasted bread. (Pity him; he didn’t get his honey pancakes from this hotel).

“Alamak…hujan!!! Camne nak snorkeling niiiiiii!” hubby and I shouted.

We called Na and the gang, they have already waited in the car. (They took Avanza since there were 6 of them). Ni kira tak kisah la hujan ke ape ke, janji snorkel! Haha! So Cawan lead us to Jesselton Point for boat ride to TAR Marine Park. They have purchased tickets last nite, so we just added another 2 for hubby and I. And so we were in the same boat! Yeaha! Since hubby and I brought our own snorkel equipments, we just rented 2 life jackets. While Na and the gang, got a very good price for 6, both jackets and masks (sempat la bergaduh kejap sebab pompuan bodo tu salah kira, dah delay boat kitorang. Cis! Patut tolak timing sewa kan Na?)

Cawan has bought an interesting gadget, a fully sealed and air-less plastic camera cover for underwater. It came with various sizes, so I should get one for me later. Tak payah beli underwater camera kan! (Kita tengok hasilnyer nanti). After few minutes of jacket and mask drama, the boatman started the engine…

SUMPAH TAKUT SAMPAI I NANGIS TERUS PEJAM MATA PEGANG HUBBY KUAT-KUAT SEBAB BOAT MELAMBUNG TINGGI TAK CECAH AIR LANGSUNG AND TAK HENTI-HENTI RASA MACAM NAK TERBALIK JE DALAM LAUT!!! DAH LA HUJAN RINTIK-RINTIK!!!

Ha amik ko…for a beach goer like me, yang tak kisah naik banana boat terpelanting 10 kali pun, yang tak penah kisah naik fibre-glass boat my dad dari kecik, yang pernah naik boat pegi island hopping kat langkawi and pangkor, akhirnya tewas di tangan boatman dari Sabah bah…so sad…rasa cam nak pukul je beach boy tu!!! And rasa macam tak nak naik dah boat dia balik nanti!!! Lucky he nicely explained to us why he did that and why the boat macam nak tunggang terbalik semata-mata nak melawan ombak. Fine…whateva…

We stopped at Manukan Island first and paid RM3 each at the jetty point. Along the jetty, we saw many marine fish swimming by those visitors who lured them with bread. Rasa macam nak snorkel je kat situ! But we had to swim only within the green area (smaller zone). Red area? It’s a no-no zone. We walked to the right side of the island, where groups of Korean, Japanese, and locals had their own spots. Hujan still rintik-rintik. Kitorang letak semua barang kat satu meja ni (patut la takde orang nak, semut api penuh!!!). Then I changed to my wet suit and kecebushhhh terjun dalam air!

Since cuaca tak panas, air plak tak brapa sejuk, seronok la mandi and snorkeling. Tak pakai sunblock pun tau. Gile! Kitorang snorkeled ke tengah skit, baru nampak ikan besar-besar and warna-warni. Kalau tak, kecik-kecik je ikan macam ikan bilis! Haha! As usual, beraksi la kitorang dalam laut since Cawan bawak camera. Siap nak tangkap-tangkap ikan tu tapi confirmed la tak dapat kan. I started to unclip my life jacket and dive down to the sea floor. I picked up a handful of sands and showed it to hubby as evidence that I had reached the bottom. Hehe! (Hubby can’t dive…). I never buckled up back my life jacket as I can now, floating. Yayyyyyy! (Only when it was deeper by twice of me, and I wasn’t panic!)

The boatman supposed to fetch us from Manukan Island and proceed to Sapi Island. About 11am, he came and we were off to Sapi Island. On the boat, I already set in my mind on what it would be like, so dah tak brapa takut, in fact, I enjoyed it sambil jerit-jerit! Haha! Sampai Sapi Island, again, ikan lebih banyak kat jeti. Colorful plak tu! Beach boy tu kata ikan kat Sapi ni tak selapar Manukan. Haha! Bleh plak camtu ek…tengok diorang kasi roti, berkerumun jugak!

This time, we walked to the left side of the island, since belah kanan takde pantai. Snorkeling area pun bigger than Manukan. Ke tengah laut skit la. Makin lama makin dalam, biru dan gelapppp je airnyer. Hehe…takut gak kang tetiba ada shark kan! Tapi buat bodo je. At the jetty point, there was a sign “Jellyfish season”. Alamak…ni yang tak best ni…ada mamat ni siap dapat tangkap sekor and placed it over the other side of the beach sebab tak nak orang terkena. Upper part dia tak bisa, lower part dia yang ada tentacles tu yang bisa. Eiii takut!

Again, I tried to dive 3 times, but this time, pressure a bit kuat, so tak brapa nak sampai ke dasar. Kat sini, we were so excited and teruja (especially hubby and I) coz we saw Dogface Pufferfish, Maroon Clown Fish, Wrasse, Picasso Trigger and one ikan todak besar. Best gile! Cuma tak nampak Lion Fish je…Powder Blue Dory pun tak nampak. Morish Idol apetah lagi. Tapi takpe, puas jugak la. We even stood on the “tukun tiruan” konon macam tak dalam. Hehe. Masa ada sorang mamat ni tengah snorkel, kasi ikan makan, beratus ikan keliling dia. Kitorang apa lagi, amik kesempatan, gi tangkap gambar kat tepi dia. Haha! Serious pengacau! So next time, dah tau, letak roti banyak-banyak dalam botol mineral and kuarkan skit-skit kasi ikan makan. Tak yah beli. Patu sorang kena amik gambar!

At 2pm, we waited the boatman at the jetty point. While waiting, we thought of having free fish spa treatment (sebab masa sampai nampak sorang minah ni sedap je letak kaki, ikan kecik-kecik tu datang kat kaki dia). Tapi tak seindah khabar, ikan-ikan tu tak gigit pun kaki kitorang! Haha! Dia cam dekat-dekat je. Cis! Naik balik, duk kat jetty.

“Itu yang melayu tu. Mari, mari. Kalau tunggu, sampai esok pun tidak pulang!” a man shouted from a boat stated “Apparu” that full of people waiting on the seats.

Kitorang ke? Haah! Sape lagi melayu kat sini! Hahaha! Mana la nak perasan, tadi boatman lain, ni boatman lain. Rupanya dia angkut semua skali guna boat besar. Cis! Tak pasal-pasal kena jerit. Bodo! We walked into the boat (penuh dengan Japanese) and guess what, boat besar ni pun bawak laju melambung-lambung! Gile tul!

When we reached Jesselton Point, cuaca dah start panas. Nasib baik. But my face dah terbakar macam udang panggang sebab tak pakai sunblock. Thanks to my Roxy wet suit yang berlengan panjang. Hehe! We had our lunch at the food court nearby. Makanan murah, air mahal. Dah la tak sedap. Hmm.

Not enough swimming in the ocean, we went back to the hotel for a swimming pool dipping plak. Since Tune hotel didn’t have any pool, Na and the gang came to our hotel via the 1Borneo shopping complex. Hahaha…dengan baju yang basah, kasut yang basah, selamba je masuk shopping complex. Sejuk nak mampus kena aircond. I plak tunggu diorang kat exit hotel to the mall. Lagi lawak, siap wet suit bagai. Haha!

We took a lift and walked straight to the hotel pool at level 3. It was an indoor pool, covered with super attractive ocean creature’s canvas! All in blue! First time tengok pool se-creative ni. Without wasted any time, we dipped in the pool and,

“YA ALLAHHHHHH SEJUKNYEEEEEE!!! APE HAL POOL AIR SEJUK NIIIIII???”

It was as cold as plain water with ice that you ordered from mamak stall! Sejuk gile! Menggigil-gigil kitorang. Tapi sebab nak mandi pool gak, semua terjun. While swimming and diving (ignore the don’ts), we cursing the cold water. Pool tu dah macam kitorang punya. Dah la standard Olympic size (Chewah! Betul la kot sebab 50m gak panjangnyer).

Lepas mandi, semua balik ke bilik. At night, we went to Philippine Market and did some shopping. Souvenirs were quite pricey and they didn’t look like they were desperate enough to sell it off. Discount setakat seringgit dua, apa hasil! But leaving Sabah with pearls is a must! (Air tawar punya je la, air masin mau kerat jari youuuu! RM4k!) I bought 4 bracelets with pearls for my family (each ladies got one…except me…tah tak tau nape I tak beli untuk diri sendri…hehehe!) and half dozens of fridge magnets!

After shopping, we went to night market just next to Philippine Market. I can tell youuuu, tempat ni macam heaven for food galore! Gerai belambak gile! Ikan bakar, udang bakar, sotong bakar, you name it! Semua ada! Harga plak…tengok size…boleh la, macam harga kat semenanjung je. Kata murah! But I only had bihun sup for dinner while others, ada yang makan nasik and mee goreng. But for those who really hygienic seperti mak mentuaku, sangatlah tidak dialu-alukan. Sebab kat situ la ko basuh pinggan, kat situ la ko ceduk nasik, kat situ la ko buat air, kat situ la ko bakar ikan sotong sume. Hehe…boleh la if nak merasa macam fear factor. I ok je, tak mati pun.

“Pas ni gi mana lagi?”

“1B Rainforest since tempat tu dalam 1B je, leh terus balik bilik” and all of us agreed.

We reached hotel around 8pm. Cari parking, full. Fine, parking kat tempat jokey RM5 per day. Tapi since Na dah bayar earlier, takkan nak bayar lagi. So diorang park kat depan 1B, kitorang park kat luar tepi jalan, free! Nanti-nanti baru cari parking balik. We went into 1B and tried to locate the 1B Rainforest. Sampai je, tutup! Ape ni? Rupanya itu pintu belakang. Letak la sign. Cis! We walked towards the entrance and paid RM8 each. Yang lain semua dah masuk. Tinggal hubby, I, adik Na and her bf je masuk sekali.

Again, not to much to fancy, except for a spitting cobra and gecko. Yang lain semua amfibias, reptiles and few small mammals. Tapi cantik la dalam dia, macam dalam hutan hujan. Ada replica rafflesia, souvenirs, hut and caves. Amik gambar! Amik gambar! Haha! I only used macro to snap pictures. Senang skit, tak perlu flash as I never like to use flash when taking pictures. I suka original lighting.

Lepas semua dah tah ke mana-mana membawa haluan masing-masing, we walked back to the car and parked at the jockey area with no charges! (Diorang dah balik.) Puas hati! Then balik bilik. Tengok tv, tido. Sok kena bangun awal, nak ke Kundasang!

More Pics here :
Day 2
Special - Fauna 

Borneo In Nature - Day 1

“Ayang, tido awal…esok u jugak yang bersiap lambat…pack sume barang siap-siap…” hubby membebel.

I walked up and started to pack my things. Each of us brought one cabin-size luggage. After finished packing, we then off to sleep.

We woke up around 4.30am and started to load our bags into hubby’s car. I fed Kiki and gave him a goodbye kiss before we off to LCCT. We had to park our car there for 3 days since we have to get there super early in the morning…(plus minus harga sama je dengan cab + midnight charge or bus + lrt return).

After checked in, we headed to Departure area. At the entrance, a staff warned us that we should only carry in less than 7kgs hand luggage. Macam la kitorang tak tau. You know what she did? She hand lifted every bags and with her “brain weight detector”, she able to tell you whether your bag is more or less than 7kgs. Hebat kan? Hahaha!

Waited and waited, at last we got on board. We sat next to each other as per hubby’s seat number. Mana la nak tau, Air Asia skarang dah tak free seating!!! I quickly checked my boarding pass, and sebulat-bulat mata terpegun tengok seat number I BUKAN next to hubby’s!!! Alamak!!! Lucky me, I convinced the guy sebab the guy who supposed to have my seat, willing to swap his seat with me. Sebab kawan-kawan dia pun duduk sebelah my designated seat. So lesson learned, ALWAYS REQUEST FOR YOUR SEAT NUMBER DURING CHECK IN TIME (on available basis je la, kalau tak, kena la bayar masa beli tiket ye…)

With 2 hours flight journey, I spent 1 and half of my time with…sleeping. Hehe. (Ngantuk la awal-awal pagi dah kena bangun). We touched down at Terminal 2 around 9.30am and straight away walked to the arrival area, looking for someone to put up my name on a card. Chewah! (Ye la, kitorang sewa kereta kan…). And there was a small counter with my ugly-written name, owned by KK Travel, who we booked during MATTA Fair ‘09 at PWTC with a very good deal (RM120 per 24hrs with additional of insurance charges).

Here we go, A VIVA AUTO! Slightly smaller than my Black Crow but yet, faster (sebab lighter la). We loaded our bags in (muat-muat dua beg besar kat blakang tu) and off to our first itinerary, Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. Headed to the left side of Kota Kinabalu, we reached at Lok Kawi around 11am. Paid RM10 for entrance fee, we walked in towards the main area that having tiered waterfall. Snapped few pictures and started to look around. Not to fancy much of the animals there, (cuma ada burung yang pandai bercakap slang Sabah, kahkahkah!) hubby’s main purpose was just to meet the noted proboscis monkey. (Nak tengok hidung panjang monyet tu la tu!)

With a park map in hand, we walked through the journey. Nampak hornbill yang sangat cantik, lay down by the cage, harimau, honey bear, and few other familiar animals. Cuaca agak panas, dengan straw hat dan dress nipis ala Lolita Jepun, I redahkan juak. The good thing about Lok Kawi Wildlife Park ni, they provided FANS (kipas) AT EVERY STOPS (ada hut) during the animal sightseeing. GILE BAGUS! Psychologically, you akan rasa selesa dan tenang menikmati angin dari kipas itu sambil melihat-lihat binatang yang tak brapa nak ramai ye kawan-kawan. An “A” rated for Lok Kawi Wildlife Park service, period!

Jalan ke depan lagi, baru la nampak kelibat proboscis monkey a.k.a monyet belanda (mesti Dutch people tak puas hati kan nape monyet tu macam diorang…hahaha! Tah-tah kat Holand, takde pun monyet tu…). Not really a big family they have, cuma kelakar tengok hidung diorang, sebab dari kecik dah mancung je. Dah besar, panjang plak. And the most kelakar thing, ketua monkey tu, “sex engine” dia sentiaaaaaaaasa tegang!!! Eiiii!!! Merah plak tu!!! Kahkahkah!!!

Then kitorang tengok “orang utan” yang sangattttt pandai dan cerdik. They were always ready to be shot in different moves and styles. Ada yang lepak relax je dalam hammock sambil “konon merokok” using getah paip mana tah dia kutip. Some tengah hanging and switching from one place to another. Some tido je…

Next monkey yang kitorang jumpa, was gibbon. Tak brapa nampak sebab dia duduk dalam celah-celah pokok buluh. Muka putih, bulu hitam. Comel gak! Binatang lain tak tengok or can I say, malas nak tengok? Sebab sama je. Lepas tengok harimau and honey bear (pegi balik akan lalu tempat diorang), kitorang keluar. By this time, dah ramai budak sekolah datang visit Lok Kawi ni. Semua cakap sepatah haram I tak paham. Tapi pakai handphone kelas youuu!

Patu lapar. We tried to find any restaurants with mix rice. Kebetulan jumpa Restoran Sri Keningau. Sedap seh! Everyone was given a small bowl of soup kosong yang sangat sedap! Terkejut jugak ada this kind of extra meal. An "A" rated as well for this special service. The food? Macam masakan semenanjung. I rasa Indon yang masak kot. Tah la…most of women in Sabah who wear tudung, mesti pakai macam anak tudung and selitkan ke atas kiri and kanan telinga dorang. Macam orang Indon, tapi putih. Orang ape tu? Lu pikir la sendri ye…

After lunch, we went to Petagas War Memorial, just opposite the KKIA Terminal 1 (more or less). There was a monument with names, whom died during Japanese occupation in WW2. They were called “Kinabalu guerilla” who fought the Japanese but unfortunately, they were imprisoned and tortured to death. Sian kan? They were also buried in the compound area, which covered by grass with no tombstone, yang mana tiap-tiap ari makcik ni sedap je dok siram air kat rumput tu. Hehe! A "B" rated sebab takde ape, tapi bersih. 

 
Lepas Petagas, we started to look for Atkinson Clock Tower and Signal Hill Observatory. We did turn into the wrong way that consequently lead us to stuck in a quite bad traffic jam, but due to that agenda, we had a chance to see all the backpackers lodges. Oooo kat sini la ek. Banyak gile! Though we had passed by both of the intended places earlier, we had to make another turn to get back to Padang Merdeka before we reached the Signal Hill Observatory. Takde la best sangat…sebab takde la tinggi sangat…ok la. 

Then we drove down the hill and stopped by the Atkinson Clock Tower. That place was full of “ulat” who stayed in their car, listening to the Sabah radio. Rupanya, dekat dengan balai polis…patut la. We snapped few pictures sampai pakcik kat situ pun heran, apa la yang diorang ni nak sangat bergambar dengan clock tower tu. Haha! Tak la hebat sangat, but since this clock is listed in Sabah - Places of Interest, WAJIB la pegi kan! Hehe! "B" rated for both itineraries.

“Mana lagi?” hubby asked me…and I looked in our very own special Tour Cookbook – Sabah, The Borneo In Nature Edition.

“Sabah State Mosque and Tun Mustapha Tower. Eh bukan masa sampai tadi tu Sabah State Mosque ke?” I pondered as I managed to snap one picture of a masjid right in front of a roundabout.

“Haah, yang tu la…tapi Masjid Terapung lagi best. Nanti kita cari.” hubby replied accordingly, sebab dia penah datang Sabah kannnnnn!

So we drove back towards KK town and stopped by at Tun Mustapha Tower. What a beautiful and fascinating tower by the sea. We parked the car at one of a dead road and snapped few pictures. Since the tower right before the sunlight, all images were bit silhouetted. Takpe la, janji ada. Then we continued to visit the floated mosque and stopped at another dead end. Biar jauh skit, sebab I tak bawak tudung, plus I wore sleeveless dress. Tak sesuwai youuu! Tapi cantik gak la mosque tu. Cuma takde reflection on the water je, so gambar quite dull. So, "B" rated sebab cantik tapi tak masuk. 

Sekarang barulah kita boleh check in hotel ye. This hotel was located at 1 Borneo (local calls it 1B) and it is quite secluded from KK town. Kira outskirt area la, but good, tak la jam. We booked Mercure Hotel during Matta Fair ’09 (again) with a very excellent price, RM140 per nite. It is a new hotel and the advantages of staying at new hotel issssss semua barang dia baru la kan. An "A" rated for the hotel (except for parking, "D" rated ok! On available basis!) Next to the hotel, there were another 2 hotels, Novotel and Tune…and all these hotels are linked to 1B shopping complex, the largest living style in Sabah! So senang la nak shopping! (Tapi tak shopping pun…).

Lepas check in, buat “apa yang patut” and siap untuk ke Nexus Resort for sunset viewing. Perjalanan agak jauh dan hari semakin gelap. We passed by the marine area, kampung air, and the rest, gunung-ganang je la. Rumah kat sana, if tak atas bukit, mesti atas air. Semua kayu. Very kampung living style but seronok tengok sebab tak penah tengok kan. Macam kampung nelayan ada, kampung orang asli ada. And people there, semua stock jalan kaki tau. From one point to another, yang mana sangat jauh, diorang selamba je jalan kaki. And the buses, kinda van-typed vehicle. Sebab bas besar tak larat panjat bukit. Hehe! Sebab tu la diorang sume pakai 4-wheels!

Sampai kat Nexus, tak bleh masuk. The guard told us it was closed at 5pm daily. LAAAA SAPE YANG CAKAP BLEH TENGOK SUNSET KAT SINI NIIIII??? NI YANG NAK MARAH NI!!! "D" rated la camni! Yeah, we can only view the sunset via the hotel. Not even a lorong to sneak in to the beach tau. Punya la kedekut! Nasib baik la sunset tak cantik sebab awan banyak! So we drove out the Nexus Karambunai area, and headed to one big gulf with lovely scenery next to one kampung air, full of maritime vessels/boat/ships. Lagi cantik kat sini! Siap ada orang berkayak macam kena ragging je. Haha! 

It was just 6.30pm but the darkness already covered the atmosphere surrounding us. Unlike peninsular, the night and day comes early in Sabah. And then we started to feel hungry! Dinner at seafood restaurant, as per listed in our itinerary! As per recommended by hubby’s Sabah clan, we drove to Salut and find the seafood resto. Salut Seafood Restaurant. It was also written in Chinese so I thought it was a Chinese resto, but hubby told me that almost all signboards in Sabah have Chinese language. Common. To support it, I saw few ladies with tudung, having their dinner there. Ha betul la kot kan. Tawakal je la. Seafood lagipun. (But they served beer la…). Along the way towards the resto, there were more than 10 big ponds. Kaya seh tokeh kedai ni! Ternak sendri tuh!

Looking at the menu list, not as variety as what we can get at peninsular. Anyhow, they serve many types of kepah, kerang, siput and oyster. One thing that I had never seen, soft shell crab. Kecik je, tapi mahal nak mampos! RM60 per kilo! One advise, this seafood restaurant is not suitable for packs of two! Nak makan, datang beramai-ramai sebab minimum Kg that allowed to be ordered was half per item. Half kg for crab was like 3pcs. Half kg for prawn was 30pcs. Ha banyak tu kalau nak makan berdua. Dengan ikan lagi. Oyster je boleh amik pcs, sekor RM3, itupun fresh tak masak pape. So kitorang amik udang, ikan and sayur je. More than enough for two of us. Rasa? So-so. "B" rated.

Dalam keadaan yang kenyang, lepas makan, kitorang lepak tepi pantai on the way to hotel. There was a place called Taman Awam apetah. Ramai orang melepak macam tepi Padang Kota kat penang tu. Bercinta, bersembang…nothing to do, we ended up talking to each other tatkala tikus berkeliaran keluar masuk dari bawah longkang di tepian jalanan…jom balik la ayang!

More Pics here :

Day 1