Sabah, an amazing place which located in the northwest of the world third largest island-Borneo. The capital city of Sabah is Kota Kinabalu (or KK). I spent 5D4N to explore its beautiful beaches, mountain, tropical forest and the famous proboscis monkeys (also known as long nosed monkey).
DAY1 ARRIVAL
Top 1 thing to do in KK is to enjoy sunset at Tanjung Aru bay. Although we could not reach the designated spot in time, the sunset above cloud also be awesome.
It is a good way to look into a city by randomly walking around on the street. This is the signature sculpture in the center of KK.
Go strait along the main road, there is a super big night market. Here is haven for food lover. You can find grilled chicken wings, sea food, coconut water as well as local fruits and stir fried dishes.
DAY 2 BEACH AND SUNSET
Since we flight several hours in the first day, we decided to stay in hotel for a good rest on the second day. Nothing better than lay down along the beach side after breakfast. Say hello to south China sea.
Walking along the seaside road is the best way to consume our heavy lunch.
It started to rain around 4pm and I almost thought we could not catch the sunset. Luckily, the rain did not last for long time. The sun shines again after shower and the sunset looks even better than sunny days. It is time to enjoy the third beautiful sunset in the world.
DAY 3 ISLAND HOPPING
One of the extraordinary thing of KK is that astounding beaches and islands are only 20-40mins speed boat from the city. It only cost RM35 to buy a two-way 3-islands boat transfer ticket. So guys, grab your lunch, let's go for island hopping.
As same as yesterday, it rained around 4pm. A bright rainbow arched above after the rain.
Tips:
1. There is no restaurant on any of the island, it is better to prepare lunch by your own.
2. The 5-islands transfer ticket costs around RM55, I personal advised to buy the 3-islands ticket because it is a little rush to explore 5 islands in one day.
DAY 4 KOTA KINABALU MOUNTAIN AND PARK
Kota Kinabalu park is 90km away from KK city, almost all tour agent provide one day trip to Kota Kinabalu park and Poling hot spring. It is impossible to climb Kota Kinabalu mountain in a short notice (normally tourists are required to book 2 months before the journey), so we only have a glance far away from the mountain.
Small bazaar at the bottom of Mountain Kota Kinabalu, the vendors are selling local fruits and vegetables.
Even though we can not climb Kota Kinabalu Mountain, trackking a tropical rainforest park around the mountain is also a good idea. This is the river at the main gate of KK park.
The trail in the park, of course sports shoes is advisable.
Special tree bridges are built between several huge trees, where is a prefect spot to view the flourished jungle.
DAY 5 PROBOSCIS MONKEYS AND FIREFLIES
Proboscis monkey is a special monkey species who like to eat the leaves of mangrove tree. They live along Garama River area, where a large amount of mangrove forest grow along the river.
Our boats paddle along the river to search those long-nosed monkeys. Twenty mins later, by the time we almost gave up, here they are.
A close-up shot of our super star, haha.
After the monkey trip, there was a buffet dinner provided by travel agency. Firefly trip started at dark. Most of the fireflies were fling around a huge tree, so they call the tree Christmas Tree. Unfortunately, my cameral was not able to catch this image clearly.
Tips:
1. The tour to Garama River almost starts around 2-3pm and normally tourists will back to KK city on 9-10pm. It is better not to arrange any activities in both afternoon and evening.
2. Lots of mosqitos and insects live along the river, it is advisable to wear covered shoes, long trousers or apply mosquito/insect-repellent.
3. Be prepared to go back without seeing any monkeys, sometimes the monkeys will not show up due to whether conditions. After all, it is not their work, they are not required to punch card, you know that, hahaha.
