After having Roti Canai, we went off to the jetty for our island adventure. We opt for the 2 islands tour. The fee was RM50 complete with equipment. We choose to go to Manukan and Sapi Island. The boat was small and fast. Zayyan was scared that he actually sleeps on the boat.

We reached Manukan and the were a lot of people. Kakak and I went snorkeling. We see dead corals everywhere. So little fish. We ended up taking Zayyan to the beach. Boy, he was terrified and cried. We spent a little bit of time then we get to the Sapi Island.

Sapi has lesser crowd than Manukan. Zayyan slept, so we leave him on the beach with his Dad. We went snorkeling. This time, there were some pretty hard corals, trigger fish, clown fish and LOTS OF SEA URCHIN. The heck?

Luckily we wore a life jacket so we did not accidentally step on them. It's not like 5 but hundreds of sea urchins. They're everywhere! The marine life here was better than Manukan, which I think has surpassed it glory years. it is just sad. We took Zayyan and coerce him to play the sand. Slowly, he began to be cool with the waves and the water. It took us a fort to get this boy to calm down - literally, we build a fort and sand castle.

Sapi Island

Weird looking fish

Clown fish in it's anemone

We then went back to the main island and meet our parents who did some seafood shopping. We had lunch at a Nasi Padang place at the jetty before meeting the parents. We slept a bit during noon and at the evening, we drove to have dinner.

We first stop at a stall by the side of the road to eat grill Lokam and Coconut pudding - so delicious. Then we straight went to Gayang Restaurant to have another seafood dinner. I think this place serves better cooking. It was chinese style cuisine and it was spectacular! Later that day, Kakak and I walked to the nearby Warisan Square and went to a reflexology place called Blue Lagoon. It offers a package of 1 hour body massage with 30 minutes reflexology for RM80. yes, only RM80. The massage? It was incredible!

The fresh Lokam

Coconut pudding

Gayang restaurant bukan goyang.

The next morning we slept in and  pack for our 3pm flight. We checked out and off we go back to the hazy Kuala Lumpur.

We did not managed to escape the haze. It turns out, the wind blew the haze directly to Kota Kinabalu. Our tour guide today was suggested by Kakak's friend. He is a local man named Danon. We met him at 8 a.m at our lobby.

There was a miscommunication early in the morning. We thought we're having breakfast first but Danon took us to the Rumah Terbalik or Upside Down House instead. Belasah jelah. We paid RM5 for entrance. The upside down house is build upside down. This house was an exact replica of a house of a family in Sabah. When I said exact, it matches everything up to every little detail.

We knocked the door and enter through the kitchen (as it was a backdoor). Every item is on the roof which is the floor. Imagine walking in the house and avoiding ceiling fan on your feet. We then went to the bedroom where they placed a mirror on the floor so we can see how the room looks like in normal conditions. Not only the house is upside down, the garage and yard is upside down as well - even the car was hang on the ceiling.

Rumah Terbalik

The upside down toilet

The upside down car

We then went to a small restaurant along the way for brunch. I had a Bihun sup which was really good. We then went to the winding road to get to Ranau. There is a view point but due to the haze and fog, we could not see the peak of Mount Kinabalu which usually shows up at this hour.

We reached the Kinabalu Park where we had a toilet break. We then went to Sungai Tagal or the local dubbed it as the natural fish spa. Why? The fishes lives in the river and once you put your feet in, the fish will bite off the dead skin. It is not aquarium bred like the one you see in malls.

I was scared. I just dip in 3 inches of water and the fish bit my toes. I couldnt handle it, I shrieked. I dont care who's watching. They even sell fish foods there. Owh and you only have 15 minutes per entry. It is different if you choose a ticket which allows you to bath in the river (not!).

We then had lunch at the Ranau KFC. The fog thickens, still no show of Kinabalu's peak. i was devastated. We then went to Desa Dairy Farm which host the habitat of black and white cows with grazing green field that looks like you're in New Zealand.

It was raining that evening and we managed to go to the petting area where you can pet a sheep and calf. I wanted to buy the milk but the long lines demotivates me. It was quite late so we headed off to the Kinabalu National Park.

Desa Cattle Farm

Petting area. Zayyan was scared

Tamparuli bridge

Danon decided to take us to the Timpohan Gate, which is the checkpoint for all climbers. On the way up, it was so scary because the fog is really thick with 0 visibility. The road is small so my heart was pumping because I am terrified. We can also see the road afftected by the 2015 Kinabalu Earthquake which claimed lives of climbers and guides.

Timpohan Gate

Finally we reached the Timpohan gate for photo opt. The temperature is very low up there, still no Kinabalu peak. We then decided to went straight to KK. On the way, Kinabalu only show its peak when we're on the way back. We can also see what's left of the Donkey Ear.

We had dinner at the same place as last night. The food was not good at all. Perhaps, the cook was different tonight. It was tasteless.

Duration: 4D 3N
Type: Family, Budget
Flight: MAS
Hotel: Marina Court KK
Pax: 6 Adult, 1 cute toddler


Percutian dan menyelam di Kota Kinabalu Sabah.

It was Hari Raya Haji and we decided to go for a long vacation to Kota Kinabalu Sabah. It has been 15 years since I set my foot here. This is another way for us to escape the haze situation in KL. We book the flight with MAS. Kakak, Abang Mirul and Zayyan went on an earlier flight and pick up the car. We rented from Hertz. The rest of us took a midnight flight to KK.

When we were there, we took the cab to the KK Marina Court - a vacation rental in heart of KK.  We took the 3B2B apartment.The surroundings of the apartment includes the big shopping mall with hard Rock Cafe and several shop lots that has restaurants, mart and such. We paid about RM1000+ for 3 nights. It was raya eve, so we brought along some rendang, nasi impit and lontong. 

My parents and I went out for drinks at 1 am at a mamak stall near by and I am back to sleep for my early morning diving - luckily they are open on Hari Raya itself. My dive operator for this time is Dive Down Below situated in Gaya Island. I choose the operator based on reviews and seeing that they set up a based in Gaya Island with good facilities.

I took a 1-day 3 dives for RM365 which includes lunch, snacks, equipments and other stuff. I even asked the owner about the lunch's halal status and it turns out, the chicken is from a halal source. They offered pick-up and drop-off service to your hotel.

I drink a milo and ate a bread before heading down to the gate and being picked up. The van then pick up the dive center staff who is in town. We were taken to the Marina Bay to depart on the nice big boat. Once at the resort, I registered and met my dive guide, Azhar who is very pleasant. We joked about how me did not celebrate Raya this year. I met a fellow diver from the UK who is diving alone.

The jetty at Dive Down Below

After equipment fitting, we met them at the boat and off we go to the 1st spot. On the boat i met 2 dive inters at the resort. The visibility was nice, better than I expected although it's a bit hazy up here. On my first dive, I saw 3 turtles! Yes, 3! The group saw 2 and when we split up, Azhar was actually going to show me a lobster but we were surprised to see a turtle resting under the rock. Seeing the turtle swimming up from close distance is just magical.

The biggest turtle that day.

We head to our second dive which is full of hard corals. Lunch time comes, we ate and later we were joined by a new dive guide. We went to see some scorpion fish, and the usual tropical fishes. The facility DDB provided was 5 stars! The boat is big and they help you with the equipment and stuff and the food was okay. I went back to the hotel at 5.30 pm.

The sambal was good.

Tough and bland lobster :(

Later that night, all of us walked together to the Phillipines Market for dinner. Here, the seafood is abundance. the price is really cheap. Since we don't know which store to go, we just gamble to go with the one with the crowd. The cooking was a hit or miss. The sambal udang was a killer while my lobster was bland and tough.

We head back to the hotel through the fish market and buy some fruits. Gotta sleep early for tomorrow's full tour!