The Land Below The Wind: Kota Kinabalu - Day 1

It's been slightly more than a week now since I hiked up the tallest mountain in South East Asia (OK, I had to say that ;p), but it feels as if it's been weeks, even months already.

Perhaps the long hours of trekking up and down the mount has made it feel as if a lot time has gone by.

My friends who made the trip with me to Kota Kinabalu (KK) has already blogged about our journey, but I have only now found the time - or rather made the time - to pen down some of the wonderful experiences of this adventure. And to add some pictures to it - cause like they say, a picture paints a thousand words.

Our journey started off with flight from the Penang airport via Airasia to KK. Fortunately Airasia flies direct to KK because if not, then we would have to take a transit flight at Kuala Lumpur's LCCT. I don't think you guys would want the flight details, but from Penang, Airasia only flies out twice a day to KK - so we took the morning flight.

Here are some pics we took in the plane...and also a chance for me to introduce the gang in this week long trip...

That is of course, moi. And the sweet gal next to moi wants to be known only as Kitty ;p

From the back sit, Pang (guy) and FL; and YL at the front (missed his gf on this pic, but will intro her in the pics ahead)

The flight was uneventful, but we did arrive earlier than was scheduled - this is a surprise since my experience with Airasia has been, let's say... less than puntual.

Anyway, we met up with our guide for the trip, Mesius, and he directed us to the taxis that would take us to KK city, where we stayed for the next three nights. FL booked the Velvet Lodge for us (thanks FL for organizing!) and it was a really nice backpackers hostel, with well-kept rooms, clean sheets, free tea/coffee and toast, as well as free Internet access and you can borrow available DVDs to watch on the PC :)

Haha...people used to think that going on a vacation would mean loosing touch with family, friends and the rest of the world. But on our trip, we were making phone calls, reading news on the net, and blogging too (see previous entry ;p). Unfortunately, I also had to make several calls back to work to follow up with some assignments, which I trust did not endear me to my colleagues at work ;p Hehe...must make it up to them somehow...

Anyway here is shot we took from Velvet Lodge...

KK in the morning...pretty quiet (we took this shot the next morning though)

The first day was all about wandering around KK, checking out what it has to offer. We headed for lunch cause we were all famish after the few hours of flight. We didn't take anything special, just the local wanton noodles and fried rice, but it was filling enough.

Anyway, from the local maps showing places of interests, we arrived at the crafts market. By that time, there was a slight drizzle, but it didn't stop our enthusiasm to explore the city. Disappointingly, there wasn't much to see at the crafts market - it was dark and loads of stores selling similar crafts. They have lightings, but didn't switch them on, and coupled with the rainy clouds, it was hard to see, much less appreciate what they had to offer. Plus a lot of the stuff were overpriced.

We didn't buy anything, but managed to snap some photos before wondering off...

A shot at the market...

It was also a fisherman's wharf there. And a 'pasar malam' of sorts at night.

Lots of local stuff. Since it was our first day there, no one thought of buying any to bring back to Penang ;p

We wondered off towards the shopping area which was just further down the street, on the opposite of the water front. Nothing special there either and so we decided to chill at a Coffee Bean and enjoy the sea view on the water front.

It was wet from the rain, but was hot at the same time because the sun was by then shining brightly. Hehe...we stayed in the air-conditioned coffee shop till the sun started to set...pathetic huh? Wait till you see my sunburn...I count myself fortunate not to be out in the sun too much on the first day ;p

Well, the sun was still high...but it was ripe for photo taking ;p Thanks YL for the nice pic!

And a more artistic pic by FL - very nice!

After taking all the picutres that we wanted by the water front, we thought it was time for dinner. We were told that there was going to be some sort of a cultural dance/show at an open food court and so it was there that we headed to for some food.

The food court was actually surrounded by seafood restaurants and since we were already there, we thought we should try and see if we were lucky enough to get some nice seafood - without being charge exorbitant prices just for being tourists ;p

YL's gf from left - the missing gal on the plane + the rest of the gang. Oh...missing Pang since he is holding the camera ;p

And this was taken when I was busy introducing a dish of prawns - it was the best dish that night. The fish was a bit too big and so the meat was bit overcooked when they served it.

And then the show were waiting for...and wait we did since we kind of finished our dinner ahead of time. This is the Sumazau dance - a dance that I have always wanted to watch live sicne I studied about it in school.

Oh...and I didn't miss the opportunity to take a picture of this pretty lass ;p

Anyway, after watching a few dances, we thought it was time to head back for shower and then to bed - it was going to be early morning the next day since the plan was to go white water rafting at the Padas river!

More to come in my next entry: The Land Below The Wind: Kota Kinabalu - Day 2