laKKwatsa!

Before we left the airport for Kota Kinabalu, I checked my wallet for cash. I have a total of 11,000Php and 100.00USD for emergency. I thought this should be enough. What I didn’t realize was we haven’t paid the hotel, terminal fees and taxes which cost around 6,500PHP leaving me with 4,500PHP for allowance. KKs currency is RMB, 1 RMB = 13.57PHP, more expensive than HK. It takes an hour and 55mins to get there by Plane. It sits on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. Our first taste of Malaysian cuisine was KFC. Chicken Meal includes Fried chicken, garlic rice, slices of cucumber and soda with additional .50 cents for an order of gravy. Their gravy tastes more like Jollibee than our KFC and no egg tart like in China.
Our hotel is 5 mins from the airport and is 10min stroll from the Tanjung Aru beach famous for its sunset. It’s typical 3 star with complimentary breakfast. Amenities are fine but architectural design and interiors, way behind my standards. Early the next day we headed out to see Mt Kinabalu, Malaysia’s first World Heritage Site. With just 300 RMB in my pocket, hopping on an organized day tour is expensive. We had to find a way to maximize our budget and took the bus to the mountain park for 15RMB. Bus is the cheapest way of getting around the city. Taxi is the most expensive. Familiarizing Bus numbers and stations help so you won’t get lost. On the station, we met an elder Filipina, probably in her 50’s. She’s from Zamboanga but has been living in KK for almost 20 years with her husband. We solicited some travel advices and threw her a few questions. “I still miss home but life is easier and more peaceful here”, she answered with a smile. Had I been living in her situation, I would have done the same thing. Finding home on a strange land is possible. Our cameras didn’t stop clicking as we get a better angle of KK City Mosque and Menara Tun Mustapha seen along the way. There are 2 other mosques in the city as ¼ of KK population is Muslim. Travel to the park is about 2 hours long. Some areas are covered with thick fog and got chilling as we ascend to the top. We had lunch in one of the restaurant and ordered authentic Malaysian food, F&N strawberry soda over Nasi Lemak and Nasi Goreng. Kinabalu Park is known for wild orang utan and rafflesia, the largest flower in the world. You may take the trail walks or go visit the Botanical garden for some flora spotting. It’s not a new sight for me as our forests are practically alike. It’s as If we were just in Baguio or Los Banos Laguna. Hence, the best thing to do is enjoy the serene view and feel the tranquillity. Going down takes another hour and a half through the City Bus. Supposedly you should be able to see the peak of Mt. Kinabalu as you descend. Unluckily, it’s covered with cloud formation caused by the rain earlier that day.
Third day was beach time in Manukan Island. Ferry ride costs around 24 RMB from Jesselton point to the islands and back. We spent 7 hours in the Island disappointed with its course sand and polluted water not knowing it wasn’t Manukan but Mamutik Island. Manukan sits at the back of Mamutik with clearer water and fine sands. So much for fine sands when your feet are all bruised up. Water sports and other activities are offered depending on your spending budget and the length of stay. In view of the fact that we don’t have a budget, swimming is just what we did. Fresh fruits such as Papaya, watermelon and bananas are sold on the island. A good Pinoy Samaritan gave us a few for free. It was the perfect treat over Pinoy Showbiz gossips we had for hours. What I liked most about the islands are the trees with branches spreading over the shore providing shades to hide from the sun. According to google these trees are Dipterocarpaceae family of tropical lowland rainforest. Not the typical coconut trees we see on our shores.
Wandering around Jesselton Point and waterfront is like walking through Bay Walk in Manila. Bars such as Cocoon and Barsu can be found around the area and is open until wee hours. Starbucks, crepes and gelatos are available across if you need some doze of sugar. On the far end of the waterfront are the wet and handicraft markets, a shopping haven for food and knick knacks. I particularly like Cin cin (chin chin) which tastes like dried fried Pilipit. A pack is sold for 2 RMB or 28PHP. Be cautious in buying key chains as most of it are Philippine made. Look for something unique and endemic to KK. Prices of souvenir range from 1.5 to 50 RMB per piece. Communication is not a problem as most vendors know our language and idolizes Kristine Hermosa, Jericho Rosales, Christian Bautista over Carmen Soo. Haggling is easier when buying in bulk.
Malaysians are generally polite. They appear generally like us, brown skin, black eyes and hair, petite frame with just a slight difference in terms of Language spoken. Their cultural heritage resembles concoction of Ifugao and Marananao customs. I think the only aspect that is uniquely and distinctively Malaysian is their dish. “Nasi Lemak” means rice in cream where rice is soaked in coconut milk and then steamed. What’s interesting is their market is highly Filipino influenced. There is a place called Filipino market for the obvious reason. However, this should be a warning for everyone, not all Filipinos can be trusted. We had our share of bad experiences.
Our last day was shopping for pasalubong. Five minute walk from the hotel is a supermarket which sells pretty cheap Malaysian products and chocolates. I realized how expensive my 10 RMB Sabah Tea from Kinabalu Park was when I bought a pack for just 1.5 RMB. Malaysian goods are fairly reasonable. My Challenge was, to buy pasalubong for 20RMB. It took an hour of shopping meticulous computation and in the end I got 3 boxes of Malaysian chocolates and a bar, 4 packs of Sabah Tea, 1 bottle of f&n Strawberry soda and 1 bottle of Vanilla coke. Enough pasalubong to bring home.
All together, this trip has been pleasurable with just 12,105PHP total money spent.