home sweet home March 19, 2012

Dec 2011 – These pictures were taken during my trip back to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, East Malaysia for my 2-week holiday. Expect total randomness.

My ex-schoolmate – Soo San, who just got back to Singapore, went to Changi International Airport to send me off. Such a sweet gesture!

I had dim sum for brunch at Wong Kwok Restaurant, Damai. Highly recommended. If you do not wish to wait for an available table at the ground level of the restaurant, do proceed to the 1st floor. It is much quieter.

Delicious sliced fish noodle at Kedai Kopi Houng Kee, Damai.

Average tasting tom yam bee hoon at a restaurant in Kingfisher.

Swamp eel and bullfrogs! Any takers?

My all-time favourite pan mien, Damai.

Party Play Lifestyle Cafe, Lintas.

Default drink – cafe latte

Cheese cake!!

more desserts…

Dinner at Welcome Seafood Restaurant in the city.

Crabs

Steamed fish

Fish paste and beef noodle at Kuok Ming’s branch at Suria Sabah’s food court.

Sang Nyuk noodle at Melanian’s branch at Inanam. Simply delicious.

Kueh from Kak Nong’s Sembulan branch. My Mother’s favourite, though a little pricey at RM1.80/pc.

Hand-picked gift from the garden by nephew

Toast and teh c from a coffee shop in KK town. Forgot its name.

Selection of seafood available at Ocean Seafood Restaurant in town.

Prawns

Crabs

… and others.

Famous Tamparuli noodle, our brunch on the way to Kundasang.

Durians sold at the road side. We bought a few to enjoy at the balcony of our resort in Kundasang.

Celyn Resort, Kundasang. It was cold and wet during the time we were there.

Our home for the night. Two rooms, a living room, and a kitchenette for about RM900/night.

Bug hunting with the nephew

A moth.

Initially, we planned for a 3 day-2 night stayover. However, due to constant drizzling, we could not do much except to stay indoor. Now, that would not usually be a problem, except that my 5 year old restless nephew was with us. So, we checked out and drove home.

Along the way, we stopped at this pottery in Tuaran.

Filipino Market. Popular with the tourists. Do go only if you have good bargaining skill.

At Salut Seafood restaurant, about 30-minute drive from town.

Loving the sunset!

Seafood selection

So good I forgot to take a picture of it BEFORE consumption.

My final night in KK was spent talking to a friend at Shangrila’s Tanjung Aru Resort.

I’ll be back… soon.

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heigh ho, heigh ho, to kundasang off i go – final day March 11, 2011

27th january 2011 – we spent our final day in kundasang hanging around j residence, before driving back to kota kinabalu.

 

view of room 5a and 5b at j residence, kundasang.

my nephew and i went bug-hunting in its vicinity.

 

 

 

 

 

later, my nephew wanted to pick some flowers for his mother.

the aunty decided to style her obliging nephew for a portrait shoot *wink wink*

after packing up, we drove back to kota kinabalu.

along the way, we dropped by pekan nabalu to get some fruits e.g. bananas, pineapples, sweetcorn, et cetera.

 

before reaching kota kinabalu, we made one last stop at tuaran town for its famous noodle.

tuaran noodle.

it was a refreshing trip. a good mixture of fun, food and rest.

heigh ho, heigh ho, to kundasang off i go – day 2 March 3, 2011

26th january 2011 – as i mentioned in the previous post, i like j residence, so much so that i booked the exact same room for my parents & i, as well as the adjacent room with connecting door for my sister and family.

 

we stayed in room 2a and room 2b.

some of the amenities include kettle, mugs, coffee, television and DVD player. do bring your own DVDs, unless you do not mind outdated movies. *wine not inclusive.

 

my parents did not mind the open concept of the bathroom, except the fact that it got too cold at night for them to shower. we ended up borrowing a pail from them on the second night, and boiled hot water to mix with the cold water for shower.

 

the notorious steep road leading to j residence. however, if your driving sucks you prefer not to put your driving skill to test on this steep and narrow road, you can opt to park outside by the road. but take the security of your car into consideration.

 

anyway, on the second day in kundasang, we decided to drive to ranau to visit the hot spring. it was about 45 minutes to 1 hour drive. entrance fee is required though i cannot recall the price. but it is reasonable.

to get to the hot spring, we need to cross this hanging bridge – jambatan sungai mamut.

sungai mamut, or mamut river.

my nephew, ezra holding a big leaf to shelter from the drizzle. note: he brought the leaf back to beijing.

 

poring hot spring

notice the steam. one can feel the heat just by standing near it.

the open bath area, where there are individual tubs for you to fill with hot spring water and dip in it. but the hygiene level is less than desirable. i saw bird poo in the tub, along with dried leaves and bird feathers. i strongly recommend that you clean it first before usage. also, do not wear your swimsuit if possible as it may lose its elasticity. bikinis are preferred *winks*

after a nice hot dip,  we hiked for about 30 minutes to the waterfall, while my nephew and brother-in-law did the canopy walk. on hindsight, we should have hiked before dipping in the spring water. oh well.

 

there are chalet/lodge around the area for rental.

 

i also noticed a neglected camping ground overgrown with weeds.

we stopped by the stalls outside the poring hotspring & nature reserves to buy some souveniers and ice cream…

and headed back to our home away from home.

… to be continued

heigh ho, heigh ho, to kundasang off i go… again – day 1 February 25, 2011

25th january 2011 – my sister and her family came back to kota kinabalu for chinese new year celebration. one of the trips was to kundasang.

 

on our way to kundasang, we stopped by tamparuli for our brunch. this is tamparuli’s well-known chow mien. i love it!

they also have kon lou mien.

since i had an enjoyable experience at j residence during my previous visit to kundasang about a month ago, i booked the family at the same place for a two-night stay. after checking in, we wasted no time in visiting the town.

we decided to visit the kundasang war memorial. entrance fee for malaysians is RM2.

 

 

 

 

for more information about kundasang war memorial and the death march, you may click here and here. i am grateful for the courageous australian and british servicemen who perished for our land. also, the unsung local heroes, some of whom died trying to offer assistance to the servicemen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 my 4-year-old nephew, ezra. this is one of the rare decent pictures of him sans funny faces.

 

 

 

 

 “lest we forget”

 

to be continued…

j residence @kundasang – day 3 January 9, 2011

10th december 2010 – our final day in kundasang.

woke up early and was greeted by creepy crawlies at our balcony.

and moths too.

breakfast was club sandwich at restoran bayu kinabalu. after that, we walked back to j residence and spent some time reading and chilling. soon, it was time to check out of our room and journey back to kota kinabalu.

 

on our way, we stopped by pekan nabalu to get some fruits and vegetables. tourists can be conned stop by to buy some souveniers.

 

 

 

 

before going home, we made a last stop at kedai kopi ban hing for their steaming hot pau and teh c, to complete the whole experience.

it was a good, short and relatively cheap getaway.

j residence @kundasang – day 2 January 8, 2011

9th december 2010 – we woke up bright and early and drove to an eatery opposite kinabalu park for breakfast.

view of the eatery from kinabalu park.

after breakfast, we walked over to kinabalu park. before entering the park, we stopped by this booth to pay the conservation fee of RM3 (malaysian above 18 years old).

shelters with bbq pits within the park.

the sound of running river is therapeutic to the soul.

fern shoot

mt kinabalu summit trail

this is the entrance to the j residence. the road leading to the residence can be quite steep. as a result, i ditched my car and walked to the kinabalu park. but we needed the car to drive us out for lunch.

we headed towards the nabalu lodge & cafe & bakery, which is about 10 minutes drive from j residence. after lunch, we spent some time reading at the cafe. pretty soon, we got bored and went back to j residence for a nap before dinner.

view of the valley from our balcony

we could enjoy the view of the valley while in the shower too.

my friend, margaret on the right.

we went for a walk nearby j residence before dinner.

dinner was at this restaurant – restoran bayu kinabalu. it is only 3 – 5 minutes walk away from j residence.

i had tom yam noodle while my friend ordered the stir fried beef with rice and corn soup. in one of my previous posts, i commented that the food at restoran bayu kinabalu is unpalatable. however, since then, they had a change of management (and cook as well i believe) so the food tastes much better.

with a satisfied stomach, we went home to j residence for a movie and a good night sleep.

to be continued…

j residence @kundasang – day 1 January 7, 2011

8th december 2010 – a trip to kundasang for rest and relaxation after a year of work, work, work and work… (opps, except for a week in october, when i was in singapore)

 

we chose to stay at j residence for its reasonable price and cleanliness. on weekdays, they charge RM80 per room, whereas over the weekends/public holidays, the price goes up to RM138 per room. however, for the year 2011, the price has been revised. facilities include a television set with dvd player. i recommend us to bring our own dvds, unless you do not mind watching mr. woodcock, bedtime stories and the like.

 

i specifically requested for room 5b, which i think has the best unobstructed view of the valley. it’s a shame j residence does not have any rooms that offer a view of mt kinabalu. however, it is stategically located just 5-10 minutes walk from the kinabalu national park.

 

view of the common area with a bbq pit, from our balcony.

on the right of this picture is the villa. it has 3 bedrooms, a living room, a dining room and a pantry. great for family gathering.

after a short nap, we drove to fairy garden resort for dinner. i love their stirfried, black pepper deer meat. also, any kind of soup on a chilly night is great!

 

after dinner, we went to nabalu lodge & cafe & bakery for a drink. the cafe & bakery opening hours are from 7am til 11pm.

 

honey lemon tea for me at RM2/glass and teh madras for my friend at RM2.50/glass.

back at j residence, we watched a crappy movie before mister sandman sent us off to dreamland.

to be continued…