Sabah

When I was doing my Sabah research, I depended a lot on various blogs. Now, I'm returning the favour by writing about our Sabah trip hoping that it might benefit those who plan to go there.

Getting there

We took an AirAsia flight (but, of course); I'm not insane enough to pay through my nose for a full-service flight. AirAsia is the reason why we've been flying to and from KL repeatedly over the past few years. Hooray to AirAsia! These are some tips on traveling with AirAsia (can't say much about Jetstar cos I've only taken it twice and I've never taken Tiger).

1. Book your tickets very very early. TheHusband will snap up tickets whenever there are promotions because it's really cheap then. Our tickets to Sabah cost slightly more than $300 for 2 adults, 1 child (with a seat) and 1 child below 2 years old (no seats).

2. Book your seats online. AirAsia will auto-assign seats. That means, if you do not wish to pay more to select your seats, they will just dump you anywhere on the plane (not likely to be in the cargo area, though; or the cockpit). My sister found out the hard way when we were on our way to Sabah. She, her husband and her 4 children (aged 7, 5, 3 & 2) were seated in different sections of the plane, far far away from one another. Eventually, they managed to swop seats with enough people such that she managed to sit with 2 of her kids and her husband with the other two. Nightmare, or what?

So, on the way back, we booked our seats online so all of us were seated together. It costs slightly more than $2 per seat. It's a small amount but worth it.

3. Book your meals online, more than 48 hours before your departure time. With kids, it is always best to keep them occupied so it's best to have varied activities while on board. Having a meal keeps them occupied for a good 20-30 minutes. While you can always buy your meals on board the plane, the meal that you want may not be available. And worse, should everyone else decide to buy a meal, they will soon run out of supplies and you will not have anything to eat. Whiny, cranky little kids may detect the delicious smell of food wafting through the air and will demand to be fed. That is a possibility too frightening to even consider.

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And now, on to Sabah.

Our itinerary was planned based on our online research on Sabah. We reached Sabah not really sure how to get to places 2 hours away from our hotel but we were quite sure that we did not want to engage a tour company that would charge RM200 per person for the trip there. We were lucky that the driver of the taxi my sister took offered his services to take us around town. Initially he quoted a price of RM500 to take our group (4 adults and 6 kids) to those far-flung places. He gave us a good discount later. :D


Poring Hot Springs/Kinabalu Park

We left our hotel at 7am in the morning. 7am in Sabah is like 8am in Singapore because the sun rises about an hour earlier in that part of the world. (This means that our beloved kids whose body clocks seem to be ruled by the sun were already up and about and raising a ruckus by 6.30am in the morning. I miss my sleep.)

The journey was a loooooooong one and we stopped along the way to stretch our legs and to throw away plastic bags filled with vomit. Yes, yucks. 3 of the kids (one of whom is mine) got bad carsickness and we, ill-prepared parents that we were, did not have enough plastic bags. So, bring plenty of plastic bags and wet wipes on your way up. And a change of clothing too if your kid plans to throw up on his T-shirt.

Carsick Kids

Our Stopover en-route to Poring

According to our driver, out of 10 times he's been here, he only managed to see the summit of Mount Kinabalu 3 times. We were lucky that we got here early otherwise we'll only have clouds in the background.

Besides the hot springs at Poring, there's also a butterfly park, a nature trail and something else there. But we went only to the hot springs. Honestly, I felt that the hot spring was a bit of a letdown. I know that I won't go back there. There's a swimming pool with a slide but the water is not from the hot spring. Kids being kids, they die die wanted to go to the swimming pool which I felt was not worth the time. And us being obliging parents on a holiday, let them have their way.

Now the hot spring. The management of this place built 'bathtubs' so you can get into a tub and soak in. There are at least 20 tubs or so. (I didn't count. Just an estimate.) You can turn on the tap to get the ultra hot water which is from the hot spring or you can mix it with cooled water (normal tap water?). Unfortunately, we were there on a Saturday and there were just way too many people there. A lot of the local Sabahans picnicked there and their idea of a picnic will put us to shame. They bring pots of food, cartons of bottled water, baskets of clothes and towels to change into, plates and cutleries and everything you can possibly think you need for a picnic.

If you are thinking of coming here, do not come here on a weekend. Weekends are best spent traipsing around town visiting one pasar malam (which also happens in the daytime) after another.

After Poring (where we spent a much longer time than we should) , we had our lunch at a warong (something like a coffee shop) in Ranau, along the way to Kinabalu Park. 3 wedding processions took place while we were having our lunch. It's a bit different from what you have in Singapore or West Malaysia. In Sabah, you have a truck as the lead vehicle and in the truck you have some people playing gongs and other musical instruments. There might be another truck with a man capturing the events with his video camera following behind. And finally, the bridal car. It's a pity that I couldn't see what the bride and groom were wearing.

The kids were tired and cranky but we insisted on going to Kinabalu Park anyway. If we don't, when will we ever get to go there again. It was such a pity that we had too little time there! It was about 3.15pm but the weather was so great. The sun was shining but it was nice and cool, perhaps about 22-23 degrees Celsius. And our driver said that it would be even cooler on a cloudy day. It wasn't humid at all. The great weather and the ice cream we had there took away the last of the kids' crankiness. It was perfect weather and a perfect situation for a short trekking expedition and I still regret not having enough time for Kinabalu Park.

Kinabalu Park

Entry to Poring hot springs is RM10 for non-Malaysians and RM3 for Malaysians.
The same ticket can be used to enter Kinabalu Park so don't throw your ticket stubs after you're done with Poring. (If you're wondering why I put the price for Malaysians here...)

This picture has no relevance to this part of the story.

Mamutik Island

Mamutik Island is part of the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park. There are 4 other islands that make up this TAR National Park. All along, we intended to go Manukan Island but when we were at the counter buying tickets for the boat ride, we decided to go Mamutik instead because the fella selling the tickets said that Mamutik has fewer visitors than Manukan. And we could snorkel in Mamutik just as we had planned to do at Manukan. (By the way, Mamutik also has public toilets and a cafe selling food. Somehow, reading all those other blogs gave me the impression that only Manukan is tourist-friendly whereas the other islands are completely undeveloped. So wrong. All the islands have facilities like toilets and cafes. I read that food on the island was very pricey so we bought mee goreng from a coffee shop before setting off.)

We went to Mamutik from Sutera Harbour jetty. The boat ride (return trip) from this jetty is RM50. If we had taken the boat from Jesselton Point jetty, it would have been RM23. But, safety has no price tag and we chose the former because they are equipped with kids-size life jackets.

Scaredy Kids

The trip to the island on the boat was a nightmare for my 2 not-very-rugged princesses. Farah hates her life vest. Huda was holding on to her father for dear life. These two kids aside, I thought the boat ride was very thrilling and enjoyable. It was, to sum it up succinctly, very shiok.

When we got there, our boatman picked a spot for us. Wah! I'm impressed with the service. It was a good spot: shady, near the beach. Then he hawked the services he provides. Parasaling is one (RM90/person). You can choose to go up alone, have a partner or make it a threesome. TheHusband decided to go for it and asked me to come along. But Farah had to be brought along while Huda was left with my sister's family. Initially, the idea was for me to just stay in the boat with Farah. But, when I saw how completely not frightening it was, I decided to go for it too.

TheHusband

Me - No pictures of me high up in the air because TheHusband was recording the entire thing on video.

According to TheHusband who parasailed in Phuket, he found this one nowhere near as thrilling as the one he did in Phuket. In Phuket, it was really high but over in Sabah, it was pretty low. For me, it was a good introduction to parasailing. It allowed me a great view of the islands around Sabah and made me appreciate the magnificence of the entire place. Subhanallah!

TheHusband, my sister, her husband and 2 of her kids snorkeled. (Snorkelling gear can be rented at the jetty when you purchase tickets to the island. Rental is slightly less than RM40. It's much cheaper to rent at the jetty than on the island itself.) There were plenty of corals to look at and lots and lots of fish too. We brought bread to feed the fish (based on blog-research) but as of September this year, they have banned fish-feeding. So, leave your bread at home (or in the hotel room).

Now, the way back. By 12.40pm, we decided to go back because we could see dark clouds gathering. Unfortunately, by the time we packed up and got to the jetty, it started pouring. Thankfully, we got to a shelter in time and managed to stay away from the worst of the storm. By 3pm, the boatman told us that it was safe to go across to the mainland although it was still drizzling slightly. I expected choppy waters but it wasn't any different from the ride to the island. However, the speed that the boat was traveling meant that the rain was pelting down real hard on our faces. It felt like being attacked by little grains of sand. It was a fun ride, nevertheless.

Note to self: Don't forget to bring your ponchos wherever you go. We were all wet and Farah caught a cold as a result. (Which is frightening because she's asthmatic and a simple cold can very easily degenerate into an asthma attack)

Gaya Market

Gaya Market happens from 6am to about 12 noon on Sundays. Early in the morning (6am), my sister and I left our sleeping kids with The Men and we took off to Gaya Market. Over here, you'll find lots and lots of pearl accessories. I've always thought of getting a pearl necklace BUT I DID NOT!!! I don't understand why I didn't. Sigh sigh sigh. Maybe it's because I'm not the type to spend on accessories and the thought of spending more than RM100 for a string of pearls sounds too ridiculous to my ears. Now I regret lor. I also regret not getting more brooches and bracelets and bangles. I hate this. Next time, don't think. Just buy.

Back to Gaya market. There are also stalls selling herbs, plants, CDs, souvenir stuff like keychains, pets (yes, pets. rooster, dogs, rabbits, hamsters etc). It was a bit like a very very mini Chatuchak in terms of variety.

Handicraft Market/Filipino Market

The handicraft market is also known as the Filipino market for reasons I don't know. It's just diagonally opposite Le Meridien hotel. It sells touristy stuff like strings of pearls (gaaah! dont ask me why I didnt get them!), brooches, bracelets, musical instruments - the guitar we bought for RM13 makes pretty good music,

What I find so appealing about this market is the lack of heat and humidity. If you've been to the old Geylang market, you would understandably expect the place to be extremely uncomfortable, what with all the shops packed close together and not even enough room for a stroller to pass through some aisles. Perhaps it's because we were there early in the morning (around 10-ish) or perhaps it's the sea breeze. Whatever it is, it's a cool place to be.

Pasar Malam opposite Le Meridien

This pasar malam will magically sprout late in the evening and in the morning, it will all disappear. On weekends, the tents seem to be up all day and all night long.

At night, you can find stuff you'll find at a wet market on one side and on the other side, barbecued seafood. There was a HUGE lobster going for RM190 (or was it RM170, or perhaps RM120?). It was huge. Unfortunately, the person before us snapped up the lobster. The various stalls display all their seafood and you choose which ones you wish to have grilled. Some stalls season their seafood but some don't. It's a case of hit and miss. We bought a couple of fish and some are barbecued without any seasoning so it tastes quite plain. What enhances the taste is the sauce. But again, this is a hit and miss. Sometimes, you might pick a stall which has nice sauce. Sometimes, the sauce is just average. Chicken wings are also available and it seems like all the stalls selling wings have got their formula right and the chicken wings are delicious. Chicken wings went for RM6 for 5 pieces while the grilled seabass we bought was RM13 for a large one.

Shopping Centres

There are a few shopping centres around Kota Kinabalu. Suria Sabah is one that we visited but really, don't waste your time there. (Note: This place has nothing to do with my friends Suriah and Sabar who are married to each other.) As of December 2010, most of the shops are not open yet. However, the shops may be open a few months from now. So it might be a happening place then.

Another shopping centre we visited is 1Borneo. It's huge but we only had 2 hours. So we didn't get to look around much. We went to this place at 7 in the evening and the roads were quite dark by then. There were 3 motorcyclists whizzing past our taxi. My sister noticed that one of the motorcyclists was standing while riding (instead of resting his bums on the seat), as if trying to do a wheelie. True enough, a few short moments later, our taxi overtook the bike and the fella was doing a wheelie. All of us in the taxi got very excited. The motorcyclists amused us some more by doing more wheelies. One of them even did a wheelie with both his legs on the same side of the bike. Xiao liao. But, last we checked, they were still alive. (All those lousy and noisy mat motors who could only make Os at carparks, go pick up some skills from the mat rempets in Sabah.)

Anyway, 1Borneo is huge and there's 1Borneo Seaworld which I think, is similar to Bangkok's Ocean World. I'm not too sure if this is open or not. Most internet postings suggest that it is not but once it is, it should be an interesting place to visit.

Near our hotel, there is a shopping centre called Centrepoint. It has a supermarket, which is of great importance when you are traveling with kids.

Getting Around

After my brother-in-law got the number of the taxi driver that they took from the airport to the hotel, we just depended on him for all our taxi needs. He has a son who also drives a taxi so it would either be him or his son who would drive us to places. However, for short distances, we just hailed a taxi by the road. It seems like they all charged a flat RM10 fare for tourists. Most of the time, when we needed to hail a taxi, we *really* needed one so we didn't haggle. Otherwise, getting around Kota Kinabalu CBD area can be done on foot.

Other Places That We Didn't Visit

Rafting:
My friend whom I bumped into has 2 kids, a 3yo and a 4yo. They planned to go white-water rafting and their guide told them that it's okay for their kids. But when we did our online research, we found that there are 2 white-water rafting areas - Kiulu and Padas. Kiulu accepts children above 5 while Padas does not allow children under 12 to go rafting. For a while, I thought my friend had a lobang for another rafting area that had gentler waters. I met her again after she was done with the rafting and found out that it was at Kiulu. Her 3-year-old did not enjoy it and she had her heart in her mouth the entire time.

Lahad Datu:
When my neighbour found out that we were going to Sabah, he and his wife strongly recommended that we go to Lahad Datu. They said that the beach is pristine white and the water is so clear. Unfortunately, Lahad Datu is a 6-hour drive from Kota Kinabalu. That's like Singapore to Malacca before the North-South highway was built. (Imagine the level of carsickness!)

Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary:
We decided to give this a miss as we have seen proboscis monkeys at the zoo a number of times. However, the online guides suggested that seeing them in their natural habitat is a completely different experience.

Cultural Village:
I have always been interested in the way tribal groups lead their lives but in both Sabah and Sarawak, I didn't visit the cultural village. I did not even consider visiting these cultural villages. Partly because I'm not too sure how authentic the cultural villages are and partly because I think there's plenty to learn from TV documentaries. But, I can't really tell how authentic the cultural village experience is considering I've never been to one.


A Return Trip?

TheHusband and I both want to go back to Sabah for another trip. But, this trip to Sabah made me realise that there's so much of Malaysia and Indonesia I haven't seen. So, maybe we'll come back or maybe, we'll check out where else AirAsia flies to and plan our next trip there.