Sabah Trip

Last week, I went to SABAH! with papa's side of the family. I'd say it's a big group - the fact that we rented a bus company to drive us around. Yes. I vaguely remember the last time I went to Sabah so it's nice to refresh what I felt - peaceful.

Day 1 - Hello Sabah.

I was the first at the airport. A minute of wait felt so long because that was all I did. Shoot. I haven't checked in. Maybe others have. Off I went to drop my luggage & went in towards the departure hall. I was excited to see the kids the most. Maybe because with them I always have an excuse to be a kid again? Haha.

YAY.

Reached Sabah.
Look at this beauty!

2 hours and 30 minutes of flying via Malindo Airlines. My first time and I think next time, I'd opt for this before checking on Air Asia. Free basic 30kgs check-in baggage, free food on flight.. nak apa lagi. Haha.

We went for a quick meal at a restaurant called BTC Caterers. I still can't forget their satay. SO GOOD! We also managed to pray there as they provided a proper, comfortable place to pray. That's definitely a plus point.

It took us another 3-4 hours to reach Kundasang. Naik bus, bumpy ride and it wasn't a straight road up the hill. I slept throughout the journey. Oh well. Naik la apa pun, I'll sleep anyway. In this case, it's a good thing. Haha.

It was already 9PM plus. Still, we went out to Sabah Tea Restaurant for late dinner. There were many insects around. On the wall, ceiling, the chairs, the floor, EVERYWHERE. The kids couldn't stop screaming. I, on the other hand, went closer for pictures. Both jakuns for sure.

Alive.

One of the dishes we had for dinner was 'Bambangan Chicken'. Fun fact: I'm not a chicken person. Others were saying that it was bad and they're not going to eat it anymore.. so I decided to give it a try. Gotta try the local food! It's cooked with.. pickled mangoes? It tasted weird - sour like spoilt food sour, ginger.. .. .. .. .. I don't know. Not my kind of meal but at least I tried it!

Bambangan Chicken.

There's no wifi up there. I guess it's good but I brought my laptop along so that I could update daily. A bit let down.

Day 2 - Factory Tea, Fish Massage, Desa Cattle Farm, Pasar Buah
Subuh in Sabah is pretty early: 5AM-ish. When I was all ready, had plenty of time to walk outside. "Kak b! Kak b!!" - happy screams from the kids. Aww. Or they're excited to play with my camera. Hmm. Haha.

I didn't teach them this!

There was a factory tea nearby the restaurant, where we had breakfast. We weren't allowed to take pictures. So.. *shrugged* We got to witness the process of making tea! From wilting, oxidation, filtering.. they even have gradings. There's even the perfect way of brewing. I mean, tea is tea. Haha. I love tea. Asalkan sedap, tak ke?

Next, we went for fish massage which was included in the 5-in-1 package we took. 20 minutes for the feet. They also have for the whole body. How do people do it? Just for the feet was already so ticklish for me! A packet of treats for the fishes was sold at 20 cents. Everyone had each packet or two. At first, when I saw the fishes.. I didn't dare to put my right foot into the river. They were big.. the size of my feet big. Thinking about the money paid for the ticket made me do it anyway. Haha.

My thoughts exactly..

Trying to be brave for this boy.

Clearly they're braver.

After the 20 minutes were over, then I realised.. I didn't have any tissue to wipe my feet clean. I wore sneakers instead of slippers. Alamak. Thank God, there were small stalls selling snacks and other things.. got that sorted. *thumbs up*

We continued our journey to the next destination: Desa Cattle Farm or 'New Zealand Malaysia'. We had to shift from that one big bus we were on, to several vans because of the small road to climb up there. Halfway up, we stopped for lunch. 

Nasi, black pepper beef, kangkung belacan, tomyam campur, mixed vege.

The weather up there was sunny but windy. It was nice. I've never been to NZ (except for mamak NZ Curry House). Heh excuse my lame joke.. .. .. *poof*

That's Mount Kinabalu covered by the clouds.

The famous yoghurt gelato. They also have other flavors. This one's original.

After watching the process of milking the cows, having a taste of the gelato ice cream, buying souvenirs, taking memorable photos.. we headed home, which felt faster than the journey going up. We stopped for local fruit stalls nearby. There were some fruits which caught my attention because I've never heard of them before: buah cinta hati & avocado cheese. How do they taste like? My mistake for not buying to try.. I heard few customers who tried right after buying saying how the fruits were not that sweet & it started raining (apa kaitan) & it was a quick stop.. so I just, didn't buy.

For dinner, there's another new dish: Beef Tuhao. Known to be cooked with wild ginger, if I'm not mistaken.

Looks like Daging Masak Kicap.

Day 3: Trekking, Rumah Terbalik, To KK

In the morning, right after Subuh.. few of us went trekking/morning walk up the Kamunsu Hill. Going up and back to the house took us 2 hours and 30 minutes. As usual, going up took longer time. I love morning walks - refreshing. I brought my camera along. I stopped a lot for the nature. Haha. There's this plant called "pong pong" said to be poisonous - to chase the rats away. Well, if you go anywhere which is unfamiliar to you, just.. jangan pandai-pandai. Ultimate advise.

Layers of colors.

Long way to go.

The hills are alive.. (continue the lyrics if you know)

Breathtaking.

When I got back first, I realised I didn't have the keys to my room. Good job Nafisa, good job. So I had to wait a while for them to come back. Then, took a shower, packed our bags and we're ready to check out.

Bye 'Lofty Hodges Cottage'.

Remember the 5-in-1 package I talked about earlier? Yes. On our way back to KK, we stopped halfway for Rumah Terbalik. The famous upside down house. I guess you've seen a few with this concept. It's everywhere now, right? Back in Moscow, I managed to go to one when Agirl went during my winter holidays. Why is this Rumah Terbalik so famous? Because it is the first one in Malaysia. It's a bummer that visitors can't take pictures while inside the house and can't touch anything.. maybe for safety purposes & probably will take longer for other visitors to enter the house. To be honest, tak pergi pun tak apa. Maybe for the kids, they'd love this.

Took us less than 15 minutes for the queue & the tour.

When we reached KK, went straight to the hotel to check in. Or at least that's what papa thought.. .. He accidently booked the serviced apartments instead of the hotel. At first I said it's OK because I'm used to booking.com and certain apartments are actually better than hotels. But when I reached there to help with the check in.. first impression: bad service. They haven't cleaned up ALL THE ROOMS booked and told us to wait few hours.. & it was already past 3PM. Thing is, they didn't look sorry at all. Throughout my days in Sabah, I've loved the people always smiling and friendly. This is the first in Sabah for such treatment. In the end, we gave up & thank God, there were rooms available at another hotel. It was already late.

Freshen up, solat and ready to go out for dinner. We went to Todak Waterfront. I love seafood and I've been wanting to try the seafood in Sabah. A tick on my imaginary checklist.

There were more dishes that came afterwards. We couldn't wait to eat. Haha.

When we got back to the hotel, I was already drained. Still, the other half of me wanted to look at the pictures taken. After that with a cup of hot tea, I slept off.

Day 4: Balik KL

The day has come. Nothing much for day 4. We had breakfast at the hotel. I love my nasi lemak, mee goreng.. but sometimes, I also want toasted bread and cereal. That's basically what I had for breakfast.

Last place we went to before the airport: Flipino Market. I remember the pearls, souvenir t-shirts.. couldn't remember about the food market. We had only an hour. How can I cramp one hour to survey the shops.. I just followed the elders. Haha. The good thing is that, they can pack for us the things that we bought in boxes. So, it's convenient to bring to the airport. Just write your details on the boxes, should be fine. How did I not take any photos at the market?!! It must be the rush. Blergh,.

Everything went smoothly.. the check in, the flight back to KL. We went separate ways. Back to reality. Back to my family, to my cats. Holidays are fun and it's nice for a getaway but at the end of the day, it feels good to be lying on this familiar bed of mine. :)

Thank you Sabah for the bittersweet memories!