Unexpected journey to the land below the wind: Sabah - Day 5

Day 5 marks the end of our journey to Sabah. We woke up and had special  bread known as roti kahwin at Fook Yuen Restaurant. It is 2 breads with kaya and butter spread in between. There are 2 types of bread, one is the toasted bread while the other is the steam bread.

After the warm up, it is time for our actual breakfast. We ate the famous fish paste noodles at Fatt Kee. There are 2 popular dishes, one is the tomato based noodle soup and the other option is the tom yum based soup. We tried both. Both were tasty in their own way.

After eating, we bought frozen seafood to bring back to KL at Inflamega Sdn Bhd. The price is cheaper than the ones sold in the airport.

With a reluctant feeling, we headed back to the airport. Surprisingly, the flight was delayed by 1 and a half hour. Since we had some time to spare, we headed to pay a visit to Aru resort. The place was beautiful and well maintained. The beach was really beautiful. We took lots of photos there. When it was about time, we headed towards the airport and bid farewell to our friend at Kota Kinabalu.

This was a wonderful yet relaxing journey for me and I shall remember my trip there. Farewell, Sabah.

Unexpected journey to the land below the wind: Sabah - Day 4

The 4th day is the day where we headed to the islands. We kick start our day with the Sang Nyuk Mee. The portion was big and I really like the soup. They have the dried and soup version. On top of that, customers are free to change the noodles according to their preference.  I ordered meehon mee, dry.

Unfortunately, it continue drizzling even though we finished our breakfast. A famous quite says: when life gives you lemon, made lemonade. We headed to Filipino street to purchase souvenirs. That's when my friend's bargaining skills came into play. Really grateful to her.

After awhile the rain stops, we headed to the Jesselton Point to take boat to Islands. We joined a group lead by this local guide name Siful. Our package include,visit to 2 islands, namely Pulau Sapi and Pulau Mamutik. Our first island was pulau sapi, where we tried the zipline, also known as flying fox across islands. We also tried the para-sailing, which is both exciting and memorable.
In the next island-Pulau Mamuntik, me and my friend tried snorkeling. Since we only get to do it near the beach, the corals we get to see were limited. Luckily, we saw different types of cloud fish, I even caught a star fish.

Around 4.30pm, we headed back to Jesselton point and had our Avocado juice together with snacks .
The creamy avocado taste makes me fall in love with the drink.

For dinner, we ate at this western restaurant called partly play. The food was good.

Unexpected journey to the land below the wind: Sabah - Day 3

Day 3 marks the day we bid farewell to Kundasang, the nice cooling place that is close to nature.
We managed to take a nice view of Mount Kinabalu on that day.

After having our breakfast at a small restaurant without name, we drove past Rocky Mountains that we went on day 1 and headed uphill to Mersilau. To my amazement, the place was like different paradise. It is also a starting point for adventurers who wish to hike Mount Kinabalu using a more challenging road.

After the Mersilau stop, we checked out . On the way downhill, we bought roasted wild boar's pork and headed towards Tamparuli's Rumah Terbalik.

Also known as the up side down house, there were cars, toilets and house that was build upside down.

Briefly after arriving at Kota Kinabalu, we drove to Lokawi wildlife Resort. The were interesting animals to witness with our own eyes such as the Hornbill, Proboscis monkey and the sun bear which is my all time favorite. I was fascinated by the sun bear's own performance in their habitat there.

Before heading to the hotel, we tried the famous bubble tea that is only found in Sabah, namely Yoyo. The shop is popular for the croissant and bubble  tea. Both bread and drinks were superb.

We stroll around this area and stop by for dinner after we checked  in the hotel. Next was the most anticipated event: the seafood maniac time. We tried different types of seafood at 100% seafood restaurant and it tastes so good.

To add to our amazement, our stomach has more space for supper. We tried the chicken wing and pork satay at this store (Lotus) for our supper. That's the end of day 3.

Unexpected journey to the land below the wind: Sabah - Day 2

Our day 2 was rather hectic. We headed to the Kota Kinabalu Park around 7 am to catch a glimpse of the mountain view. To our dismay, the mountain was covered by mist. We headed elsewhere for breakfast, with a glimpse of hope that the mist would  disappear.

Right after breakfast, we headed to the memorial park which is a beautiful place with sad memories to honor British and Australian soldiers held as hostages that lost their lives marching to that place.
The were 2 major gardens,  the British and Australia gardens. At the top, we saw the a great view of mount Kinabalu and the surrounding areas. Things would have been perfect if the mist did not cover the mountain top.

The next place we went was the Desa Farm. The scenery and atmosphere really makes me feel  like I have been to New Zealand. We took some awesome photos nearby. After multiples attempts to get the best selfie, we were exhausted. We stopped and tried the locally made milk and yogurt  produced there. We also fed the cattle and kid grass and milk.

As we were behind schedule, we skipped lunch and met our other friend at Sabah. On the way to our next destination, we stopped by to see Raflessia, the famous giant red flower. We had to pay entrance fee and do a little hiking to see the flower. The flower looks interesting but I heard there were bigger flowers of the same kind.

Our last stop for that day before dinner was the Poring hotspring. We specially went there for the canopi walk and hotspring. The canopy walk was tiring. As it was raining, we did our footspa under the rain. Luckily there was shelter so we did not end up that wet.

We had dinner at a cafe called Mama Kopitiam . After dinner, we went back to our hotel at Kundasang and call it a day.

Unexpected journey to the land below the wind: Sabah - Day 1

The arrival at KKIA 2 at Kota Kinabalu marks the beginning of our journey. We were greeted by our dear friend who drove all the way from Kudat (3 hr journey). Without further delay, we headed to Kundasang, Sabah. On the way there, we stopped by Tuaran for the famous Tuaran Noodle at Tai Ming Hwa Restaurant. The noodle was rich in egg flavor  that makes the dish uniquely awesome.

The dry and wet version of Tuaran Mee 

When we were going up the mountain area, we stop by one of the stalls to a special fruit found in Sabah: Talak. For me, Talak's texture reminds me of mangosteen. There are handcrafts sold around the stalls too.

 It took 2 hours for us to reach our hotel: j residence. The green scenery and cooling breeze makes the dizziness I gone through to reach the hotel worthwhile. I really like the view from the hotel. The hotel also offers cheaper rate for those staying there on weekdays.

                                                                   J residence

As the day was still early, we drove up to Rocky mountains. Despite the winding roads and  the small wooden bridge, we brace ourselves to venture there. We were rewarded with a magnificent mountain view. We also came across beautifully built vintage style chalet. We took plenty of photos there.

The skies turn dark not long after and we get the hint that it is dinner time. We had early steamboat dinner at cottage hotel. Indulging in steamboat under the cooling breeze gave me instant satisfaction.

As the night still young, we bough some snacks at nearby convenience store for supper.
End of day 1.