KK city and the islands

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Day 2 (Tuesday, 30th June 2009)
Today we took the shuttle bus provided by 1Borneo at 10am (It was free, u just have to get the tickets from the counter before the bus departs. Seats are limited so u have to be quick or else, u will have to wait for another hour). The bus dropped us at the city, and the day began with us exploring it.

Undeniably, Kota Kinabalu is more developed than Kuching. Kota Kinabalu which was previously known as Jesselton is the capital city of Sabah, one of the two Malaysian states located on Borneo island (the other is Sarawak, thus u can see why the comparisions between Kota Kinabalu and Kuching in my entries) Tourism is a very important industry in Sabah which caters lots of job opportunities to its people. Its natural beauty - mountains, beaches, islands and jungles are what attract not only Western travellers but also East Asian tourists (direct flights to KK helps). More and more shopping malls are springing up like mushrooms after the rain, the nightlife is vibrant too as contrasted to Kuching which is more slow paced and tranquil with its unique old world charms, museums and architecture.

So u can picture us like rusa masuk kampung when we were shopping in Warisan Square, Centre Point etc etc etc Basically the whole afternoon was spent on trying out more and more shoes for the girls. We found a shop where most the shoes sold at price RM19 only. And we can never get those beautiful shoes at such a cheap price here! I was quite surprised that Centre Point and other malls were full with people, not just tourists but the locals (mostly non-Chinese then I reminded myself that I am in the tourist area) Malls are normally empty on school and working days.

We got back at hotel before 5 because everyone was talking about how tired they were. I didn't get much sleep last night too but I wouldn't mind to keep shopping. I was quite dissappointed that I didn't get to walk into the bookstore I just spotted. See, that's one of the cons of going on vacation with friends, having to follow the group and not doing things the ways u desired.

At night, we went for dinner separately. Hang and I went to a food court and had RM2.80 chicken rice as dinner (plus one full plate of vegetables which only costed RM2). We were so happy! Having some girlie talks with Hang. Somehow I doubt that she would be attracted to those engineering guys in my class once she has met them. Just like how I still clung on to the fantasies I had for guys who study art, business, refusing to believe what she told me. Went for a bit shopping in 1Borneo too. Later, when I looked back, I wish I did something more than that, seeing how we missed out a lot fun as we didn't plan the trip well.

Today's Highlights:
1) Shopping for shoes etc
2) Dinner


Day 3 (Wednesday, 1th July 2009)
We hopped on the shuttle bus which dropped us at KK city then we took taxis to get to the jetty. Today we were going to one of the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park - Pulau Manukan !!! The weather was surprisingly good in KK (it must have been raining before we got off the plane two days ago) It wasn't as hot as I thought of as I had heard that the heat in KK was even more unbearable as compared to how it was in Kuching (like the water from running hose was hot too even at night lol)

All these time, I have always wanted to go to Sipadan Island (I find it something very ironic though. U may ask why. Just keep reading and u will know why) So I guess Pulau Manukan would do (that explained how excited I was at first). We took a speedboat to reach the island. Since I was suffering from hydrophobia, the short journey could be awfully scary to me. I was so worried that the boat would topple into the sea, I couldn't swim blahblahblah Luckily I managed to calm myself down to enjoy the beautiful view of the sea. (the same happened too once we got back from island to the jetty. I was frightened to one point that I nearly cried. I swear the boat was really going to capsize)

The rest decided to do parachuting while I chose to stay on the island to look after their belongings (which saved me RM110). A little incident happened though. While Ting and Hang were in the sky, slowly sliding downward, the instructors were busy talking to Boi that the two of them were forgotten. So instead of being pulled to a certain height in the sky once their feet touched the sea, they were dropped in the sea and got completely wet lol Later they were having so much fun snorkelling, esp the boys who got further and further from the shore and couldn't stop talking about how marvellous the experience was.

Part of me did feel like missing out all the good fun though, afterall we came here for water sports but bleh I knew my limits. I actually liked being left alone, feeling the cool breeze and peace. I did wish I would stop hiding under the trees (and using my huge towel to cover my head and body while everyone wasn't around LOL ) and for once, pick a book to read while lying on the beach sunbathing *sighs* like it's not a torture, but something rather enjoyable 😞

We left the island at 4pm. After that we went to have a look at the markets near jetty. These were the places we could get handicrafts, herbs, seafood products like the keropok I bought home, fake branded goods like LV and Gucci handbags etc etc etc We kept walking from one to one and our eyes never stopped searching for something we liked. One Chinese old man we came across earlier on told us to bargain, at least lower the price offered by half. And he was so right!!! Boi managed to buy a lot stuff with price half of the original one. Seriously spending one night there to see all the markets wasn't enough!!! Unfortunately I missed out the filipino market. I was so looking forward to visit it and try out those grilled fishes and prawns etc however the rest weren't so keen to visit it. It was a dissappointment. I thought with three days left before going home, I could still have a chance to do so... Sadly, no. That didn't happen for the following few days.

p/s:
1)I got a sunburn on my face. So did others. In fact theirs were much worse as I exposed to very little sunlight (on the speedboat) as contrast to them. Hang kept complaining about it for the rest of the day and she started to get on my nerves. Funny how staying in one room with her for a few nights was enough for me to find her unpleasant despite the good first impression she made on me. I wish she would stop bitching about every little details. At the same time, I realised how quiet I have become and how good I was at "following rules". Boi's younger sister - Ting was a sweetheart. She was exactly the girl next door who u wish to have around!!!
2) The beach was far from what I expected though.
3) Ian was a real gentleman compared to Chung.

Today's Highlights:
1) Going to Manukan Island
2) Visiting markets

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