Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (Day 1)
With less than 3 hours of sleep after the packing, unpacking, cursing why my hiking bag feels so heavy even though there is less than 8 pieces of clothing in it... VL and I arrived at KLIA to begin our journey westwards on the 28th April 2012.
The morning sun never fails to amaze me whenever I fly. You know how poets, bards, those people who say pretty things (it's 3 am now and my brain is not working) describes the sun? Here it is.
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| The famous MAS nasi lemak. Sure packs a punch! |
We bought a taxi coupon for RM30 from the counter and went to the airport taxis parked outside. The uncles, or pakcik was a really nice man who told us what was going on in the KK town that day. The day I flew off was the day Kuala Lumpur erupted with citizens passionate pleas to change the electorial system. Another faction was campaigning against the raw earth plant (which I still think someone higher up is in cahoots with the corporate organisation to build the horrible place).News of police brutality flooded my social media sites but yet, in Kota Kinabalu, all was quiet even though there were police blockades. Everyone was civilized with smiles and all knew that if you know how to walk for your rights, you would be mature enough to know your limits. How I wished what I saw in KK could be imposed onto KL...
After a half hour ride, we arrived at Hotel Eden54. This Hotel has been voted as Traveler's Best Choice 2012 by TripAdvisor. We were not disappointed when we saw the place. However take note there are stairs leading up to the lobby, you will know why the reason for the warning later. The hotel is located right on Jalan Gaya, with Tong Hing and HSBC as a landmark. Tong Hing is a supermarket right next to Hotel Eden54 and you will see HSBC first if you are on the right street. Suria Sabah is a 3 minutes walk from the hotel.
There is free wifi in the room which the front desk will give you the password to, a reading lounge, a common desktop with a printer near the lobby with Internet. There is no breakfast provided at this hotel but you can always walk down the street to silence your stomach. This location is really ideal if a trip cuts through a Sunday as the Sunday Market is quite literally on your doorstep.
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| My room was RM120 per night |
Once the other 2 arrived, we loaded up our cameras and headed out for food!
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| L-R: The old Jesselton Post Office on Jalan Gaya has been converted to Sabah Tourism Board. Walking down Jalan Gaya |
We decided on a place that V's friends told her is a must try: Yee Fung beef noodles. It's right at the end of Jalan Gaya and housed in shop on the left side of the road if you are heading down from Jesselton Hotel and next to a chicken rice shop at time of writing. There are only 3 items on their menu. The laksa offered is the Sarawak version of the tasty fare (though I would say the ones in Sarawak is better but it's better than the ones in KL). Not spicy and lots of coconut milk. I went with the A2, the beef noodles. "Ngau Chap" literally means "Cow leftovers" in Cantonese. No, it's not what comes out of the other end of a bovine but the innards and bits. You can choose not to have the innards and let the waitress know that you want beef balls and lean meat. There is no difference in price if you opted not to have the "leftovers".
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| That's my beef balls with meat noodles with my tricolor-ed tea in the back. |
After lunch, E & P decided to lie down as they did not get any sleep the night before. Meanwhile, VL and I thought it was a good time to go to the famed Tong's at Wisma Merdeka. There is a smaller outlet at Suria Sabah but we thought we would head to the flagship for more choices.
There was a reason why we sought out this place. It is home to the cheapest selection of winter wear and hiking gear in Kota Kinabalu! We got out walking sticks for less than RM10 each. Those with attached headlamps costs a little more. I highly do not recommend the one with the headlamp as it won't be useful. Tong's is also good for beanies and hiking bags.
By buying the sticks in KK meant one thing less to bring from KL and worrying that it may get lost during luggage transfer.
On our way back to the hotel, we noticed some pillars with colourful graffiti on it. VL was wondering why were the graffiti so organised. No stray graffiti strayed out of the boundaries of the half ruins. Suddenly I remembered this site. It was the Old Welfare Building site that the local municipal council had decided to let Sabahan street artists have a free reign.
The Old Welfare Building was a Land and Survey Building and was one of the remnants of the British North Borneo administration. A proposal was submitted by the Sabah Art Gallery to reuse the building as an art gallery in the early-90s but that was never made possible as a mysterious fire destroyed the building leaving what still stands today. So local artists keep drawing on the same pillars, white-washing them when space runs out and starting on a fresh pillar.
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| Sights along the way to seafood dinner |
Just as we passed the arch above, rain started pouring! We were all stuck without umbrellas and just a bunch of tour maps. These tour maps were quite good as water repellent as we used them to shelter our long trudge. Finally we arrived at Hua Hing Seafood Restaurant. Hua Hing sat in a cluster of seafood restaurants under a covered structure of some sort. We could see tourist buses starting to puke its contents. Mind you, the sellers in this area can be really pushy on trying you to get a seat at their stall but you wont because the price isn't right. Generally every restaurant under this place had a person drying to drag you into their store. We settled for Hua Hing Seafood Restaurant, which seemed to have more of a local crowd by 7pm.
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| Those are sea cockles that VL is holding up for size comparison. Really nice without the muddy taste |
I would say that there are probably cheaper places in Kota Kinabalu but that would probably involve a bit of driving. Even the smallest fish went for RM70! With the 3 dishes (cockles, paku pakis and crab)there, it costs us a little around a RM130. If you have more time to spend in KK, renting a car would be a good option to get out of town for good seafood.
We made our way to the Filipino Night Market at Jalan Kampung Air, opposite the Le Meridien hotel. Just follow your nose, you will smell Eau de Diesel-Poisson Pourri Océan. To sum up what the Night Market looks like? It is like any other pasar malam with more seafood.
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| Digiman! |
The market is made up of tents and it starts from 5pm until late.There is a portion where fresh fruits and vegetables are sold alongside normal pasar malam ware. There is a huge fish section where all sorts of fishes could be seen. Big tuna, stingray, cuttlefish are one of the more common sights. If you can withstand the stench of fish, then it will be an enjoyable walk through this section.
After that is the section with grilled and BBQ-ed seafood. Hygiene may be an issue for some here on how your food is prepared.
The food is displayed in the open air and vendors will ask you to choose your seafood. Haggling over the price is expected. Once you have selected the food, you will sit at the designated table with a small kettle to wash your hands and a pack of tissue. If you plan to eat here, bring wet wipes. The tissues given is not going to help you get the grease off your fingers. The thing with grilled seafood is that you won't know how long has it been sitting there waiting for the unsuspecting buyer. The whole night maybe? But you can't tell when everything turns red or brown.
P bought a squid to eat on the go but unfortunately it was not cleaned properly so she had to spit it all out and throw the entire squid away. We did not go back to the vendor because it was not worth the trouble and P was starting to look a little green from the nasty squid. This place is an eat-at-your-own-risk.
Foreign tourists should not pose with the food if you are not going to buy it. It's just etiquette that you should not play with food. Will you get sick from food sold in places like this? Unlikely if you are a frequent traveler.
We adjourned to another cafe for drinks before taking a 20 minutes walk back to the hotel. When we arrived, An had arrived from Singapore. Now our group only lacks one more climber.
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