Kota Kinabalu trip

Day 1

Map of Sabah, courtesy of Google maps.

Flight AK1792

The A320 craft was a sleek, small bodied aircraft, with only a single aisle, 3 seats on each side. Bursting with excitement, we readied ourselves for take off. The plane was simple, and unlike most of the other planes I had taken, lacked entertainment facilities, like a TV set, and video game consoles. As such, air safety instructions had to be carried out manually. I was intrigued at this at the start, as I had never observed an air stewardess physically carry out the flight safety instructions.

Finally, take off. The plane jerked forward, as it accelerated at an incredible velocity. Burning with enthusiasm and trepidation, as the plane's momentum kicked into action, it's landing gears leaving the runway,  rising at an angle, as it soared upwards, arcing it's flight path towards Sabah, and our destination. The nose of the aircraft cut through the clouds encasing Singapore like a blade, before cruising over the South China Sea, heading up North.

The flight, approximately 2 hours seemed to last an infinity. With only a book to entertain myself, I resorted to staring out the oval, glass windows of the plane, into open space.

Before long, evening, turned into night, as the orange glow of the sky was enveloped in darkness. The only tell tale signs of the approaching island were the faint lights of a city. The plane began it's descent, before burning rubber, as it landed on the runway. Unlike when we boarded the plane at Singapore's Changi Airport, we were greeted upon our arrival at Kota Kinabalu's International Airport with a staircase, leading to the tarmac. This was a new experience for me, and I could feel the thrill as I stepped onto the Airport's runway.

We headed to our Novotel Hotel, in the city via a taxi, where we checked in to our rooms, before heading to  the mall beside our hotel for a quick dinner. The restaurant, as we had deemed the "cockroach restaurant" due to our warm welcome from our 6 legged friend, was about to close. As such, we simply ordered several dishes, before heading to Baskin Robbins for a desert of ice cream. We bought doughnuts from Dunkin Doughnuts, before retiring to our hotel accommodations.

Day 2

We had a quick, but hearty breakfast of doughnuts, before setting of, in the morning (0800) for our tour of Kinabalu park. Our tour was part of the Amazing Borneo company. There was also a malaysian family with us.

Thus began the long, tiring trip up the mountains, into the National Park. Along the way, we stopped by a local town. There, we were greeted with a breath taking view of Mount Kinabalu. The spectacular sight filled me with awe and wonder. Although it definitely could not compare to Mount Everest, it still was the tallest mountain I had ever seen. The atmosphere this high up was much different as compared to the foot of the mountain. The temperature had dropped, as we gained altitude, from a humid 30 degrees, to a cool, refreshing 20 degrees. There was also an observatory, where we could observe the scenery from a higher ground. A morbid scene greeted us, however, of a dead, rotting bird.

Pitcher plant

Our next stop, was the national park's botanical gardens. Here, was home to both endemic, and common plants, as well as a few hundred, species of orchids including the smallest, diamond orchid. There were also various species of pitcher plants, ranging from the smallest, to the biggest, which could contain up to 3 litres of water! I also learnt a lot about recognising types of edible plants, as well as those with medicinal value. We even had the chance to pluck edible wild berries from a plant! The experience was incredible, being able to tap into nature's resources to satisfy our needs, and being up close and personal with the flora and fauna. We even spotted a horned frog, hiding in a barrow.

An orchid

Our next destination was to Poring Hot Spring. As it's name suggests, there was a hot spring there. However, what I was anticipating the most was the canopy walk.

In order to reach the start of the walkway, we first had to trek up. The trail was steep, and relatively dangerous, as it had rained a while before, and the makeshift steps were caked with mud, and provided little traction for a safe ascent. By the time we reached the top, we were breathing hard.

The walkway simply put, was a long wooden plank, precariously suspended 100m above ground by some rope and a netting. Only 6 people were allowed on the bridge at any one time, to avoid any accidents...

Adrenaline coursed through my veins, as I stepped onto the bridge, full of thrill and trepidation. As I began walking, the bridge swung, caused by the slight motion of my body. Glancing to my right, a picturesque view of the national park greeted my eyes. To my left, tall trees, and colourful birds and butterflies fluttered back and forth. A rushing river, white with foam flowed down the mountain, before being obscured from view by the thick foliage. The walkway lasted about 15 minutes, as there were a few bridges, connected to wooden structures built on tall, strong hardy trees.

at the waterfall

After descending from the walkway, we headed towards a natural waterfall. It was about a 5 minute hike from where we were, but the view was worth it. The water was cold and fresh to the touch. The water probably came from the mountain, before forming a waterfall. The water was clear, transparent like glass. We spent some time there, before heading back to the hot spring, where we soaked our feet in the hot sulphuric water.

Our final destination for that day was to visit a place where the rare, and the largest flower, the Rafflesia was in bloom. The Rafflesia flower, unlike most flowers only had a lifespan of about 5 days. Fortunately, we had arrived on the 3rd day of it's bloom. The flower, unlike what most people unknowingly had thought, did not carry a stench to us. The stench was too faint for us to perceive, but strong enough for flies to be attracted, for pollination to occur. It truly was a unique experience.

The rafflesia after bloom...

And the rafflesia before bloom.

We headed on our 3 hour journey back down the mountain in the coach, where we ate at Sushi King in the mall, before turning in for the night.

Day 3

Our final stay in Novotel ended with a thrilling white water rafting experience. A coach took us on a ride towards the start point for white water rafting. Let me share with you my experience...

The yellow raft took off, carried along the wide stretch of river by the currents. Cruising along, we enjoyed the scenery, as it flashed by. Before long, rapids were quickly approaching. The raft suddenly accelerated. Without warning, it splashed into the turbulent waters, filled with fear, yet thrill and excitement, I clung on to the safety line for dear life. The clear transparent water burst into white foam as it tossed us back and forth, following the current flow, we escaped from the rapids. Little did we realise, however, that we were far from safety. The calm waters became turbulent once more, as more white water splashed into raft. Drenched in cold water, but boiling with excitement, our instructor steered our raft through the maze of rocks. Suddenly, a strong wave of water hit us! My brother, Jabez, caught by surprise, toppled head first into the water! Fear was written all over his face. Our instructor had warned us of crocodiles in the river... Fortunately, he grabbed hold of the safety line, and we managed to pull him to safety.

We cleared more rapids, and each time, I got a better hang of it. When we were in the calmer waters of the river, we were allowed to jump into the river to swim. Standing on the edge of the raft, I cannonballed into the water, ecstatic. This happened along several stretches of the river. Before long, we were tired, our arms sore from paddling. As such, came the new activity, body rafting. Securing our raft near the shore, we headed upstream by foot along the river bank towards the rapids. There, our instructor led us into deeper water, where we lay on our backs, before being propelled forwards by the currents at a breakneck speed! This was extremely fun and thrilling, as you were lying flat on the river surface, and moving with the current in this manner.

We had a scrumptious lunch provided by the water rafting company, before heading to our next hotel, the Pacific Sutra Resort. We had a delicious dinner as well, at Welcome Seafood restaurant, of crabs, prawns, etc. We returned to our rooms for the night.

Day 4

We awoke, and headed down for breakfast, provided by the hotel, before heading to the jetty to board a boat, for island hopping. The boat ride was thrilling, and exciting as there was turbulence in the choppy waters of the South China Sea. As such , the ride was very much like that of a roller coaster!  We visited the Manukan Island. We did snorkelling there, where we spotted numerous schools of various species of fish, ranging from promfret, to Sergeant Major fish. Diving deeper, I even spotted coral! I was awestruck by the way the coral moved with the currents, as though it were a living organism on it's own (it actually is). It was unlike what I normally saw - rock coral. The whole beach was dotted with  people, and it was bustling. We were soon exhausted, and headed back to our resort. As we still had some time, we decided to explore the Marina board-walk. The water there was clear, and schools of fish could be seen vividly, darting in and out of coral. What I found most interesting were the sights of the dangers we should watch out when in the sea- sea urchins, and jellyfish! I could actually perceive the brown spheres, with sharp, dangerous spikes sticking out of it. The translucent membranes of the jellyfish were harder to spot, but were captivating. We were actually hoping to see if it would sting any fish with it's poisonous tentacles. We had a satisfying dinner at KFC, at Centerpoint, in the city.

Standing in the shallow waters of the dock (Manukan Island)

Day 5

After breakfast, we spent our time today, enjoying the hotel's facilities, visiting the club's pool, as well as the resort's beach.

Here are some photos

the Marina Clubhouse pool!

The Marina Boardwalk

Day 6

We had a hearty breakfast provided by the hotel, before packing our luggage, in preparation for our trip home. I enjoyed our stay here in Kota Kinabalu.