Family Vacation in Kota Kinabalu

Hello there everyone! Its almost the end of August and little did I know that I would be writing about my holiday of the year! And yes I have voted this vacation to be one of the top best places I've been to. It was planned in August and the flight and hotel was confirmed a week before we went there. Sometimes best things happen unplanned, as organised as I try to be, I actually enjoy fun unplanned things sometimes, especially since I'm free. If you remember me blogging about Cameron Highlands back in 2012, you'll remember that that vacation was always on the top of the list and now we have KK sharing number 1 for my top family vacation list (every family member involved).

I've always wanted to go to Sabah since I was in school days, I like nature and Sabah seems to be just the right place. I've never been there and have always wondered how it might be. While we were in the hotel after checkout last Saturday, my mum told us for the first time that since 10 years ago she has always wanted to go to Sabah too and stay particularly at Sutera Harbour Resort which is a 5* hotel. We never knew that and Alhamdulillah now in 2014 we had a chance to go to our holiday destination together.

On Wednesday morning after Subuh, we got ready, ate light breakfast and loaded the luggages in the car. We had 4 bags to check-in and our flight was at 10am. The night before I had already got my things packed and ready to go so in the morning, I only had to get myself ready :) We were going to stay at the Pacific Hotel within Sutera Harbour Resort and we were all anxious and excited about the adventure awaiting us. At KLIA2, AirAsia flights were now available and we had breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. The last time my brother took an aeroplane was last October so he was definitely excited to get a window seat. 

At the airport I even bumped into a college friend who was heading to the same destination. The journey took 2 and a half hours, longer than I expected and when we reached it was bright and sunny, the perfect weather for a vacation and very swimming-pool friendly. So we took a taxi to the hotel and yes it was as perfect as a hotel can ever be, even the meal prices at the cafes and restaurants there screamed 5* hotel, nasi lemak was RM50. Just when I thought London's nasi lemak was overpriced ;)

We were hungry and did have plans of eating in town the next few days so we thought of trying the food at Breeze Cafe which was outdoors, by the swimming pool. My dad and I had steak and salad, mum had a sandwich, sister had fettuccine and my brother had chicken chop, if I'm not mistaken. We ordered a jug of apple-peach tea. It was so yummy either because I was super hungry or because I only ate a doughnut for breakfast or because it was nice and breezy eating by the sea. Right after that my parents and I checked out Magellan Hotel, right next to Pacific Hotel, they were all within Sutera Harbour Resort. Right after that, my bro sis and I went swimming! It was so fun and the Breeze Cafe was playing the latest hits and my sister was practically dancing in the water while Erfan piggy-backed me when the swimming pool was too deep for him and also played the slides. After swimming, my mum and I stood by the beach and took beautiful and breathtaking pictures of the sunset!

After a good swim, we took the free shuttle from the hotel to town and shopped in Filipino Market. My dad bought a toy monkey for us that wrote Sabah. Mine was green and has a little baby on it. After that we got pizza and ate while we walked because shops in Sabah actually close quite early, its not like that in KL. After eating, we returned to the hotel and planned what we wanted to do whilst we were there. That was the end of a nice long day and we slept early before the start of another day of adventure. Since we were there for 4 days and 3 nights, the second day was wet-day and the third day was dry-day. So the next day, we woke up early for breakfast downstairs provided by the hotel. There was so much to choose from: nasi lemak, beef bacon, omelette, hard-boiled eggs, muffins and cakes, bread and jam, fried rice, noodles, hot tea, juices and different kinds of coffee. ooh there was even kimchi! My favourite korean food. Of course it was impossible to try all but I did do a few rounds ;) Right after that we headed off to buy tickets for snorkelling, banana boat and parasailing. We tried on the life jackets and flippers that fit us, I grabbed some towels and we headed on the boat and off to Sapi Island.

The boat ride was super fast and it took us 15 minutes to reach the island. From far, the island looked like just a piece of land with only forests. When we arrived only did it look so happening and super duper fun! For snorkelling they put a border around the island, basically balls tied by strings so people would not snorkel beyond that point and remain safe. I was just about to snorkel when the tourguide introduced seawalking to us, basically he would be able to take pictures and videos of us underwater and let us walk while guided with lifeguards and special kits underwater and see the corals and the beauty under the sea. *Ahh I'm starting to hum Little Mermaid's song~ Under the Sea.

We started with the boat ride and went banana boating. Basically our banana boat was tied to another boat and the boat will go fast and pull us. Before we had a chance to ride this, we had to wait for our turn since other people were doing Flying Fish. Suddenly our boat engine broke down! OMG and we were stranded for a few minutes in the middle of sea until the guy called 'sea mechanics'. They were like 'sea mat rempits' says my sister because they circled our boat a few times using their jet skis and did dangerous stunts. Finally they helped the driver changed the battery of the boat and yaay, off we went again. After the banana boat ride which was a bit thrilling because if we didn't stabilise the boat or hold the handles tight we would fall into the sea and I was worried about my little brother- he is so tiny and he still wants to join the adults ride omg so brave. Then we headed for seawalking, initially it was only my sis and I, then my brother wanted to join too. Seawalking was RM150 per person and snorkelling RM90 pp. Before we went down the sea, we had to wear special rubber shoes and also a big mask that looked like an astronaut's white suit. I told them that since my brother was small I wanted him to test only for 1 minute and bring him back up so he can tell me if he is ok with it. Only if he says yes then I will go down. Because if all of us go down at the same time, I won't be able to talk to him down there. When one minute was over, the life guards said he was fine now you can come down. I said no, please bring him up now. I want to hear from my brother himself that he is ok. I will not hear about his well being from a stranger, he will tell me myself if he is ok. The moment they brought him up and took off his mask, his face was red and he was crying so loud. I quickly carried him and hugged him because he said 'I'm scared' in between his sobs. Poor thing, I knew it! I trusted my instincts and luckily I did not just believe what those guys said. They probably just did not want to lose customers and that's not how it works with me. Safety comes first *urgh geram sekejap. So we waited for my sister to finish seawalking and my brother did not let me go down even when there was somebody that could accompany him up there. He just wanted me to sit with him and return to the island. I felt that maybe there is hikmah why I did not have the chance to go down there, maybe next time perhaps :) 

After that we did snorkelling and I even got a chance to see a family of Nemo(clownfish). When we tried to see closer we got stung by sea anemones oopsies! By 3pm we had to leave the island because it started drizzling and the tour guides were afraid that the weather may prevent us from returning to the hotel. After the lifeguards gave us vinegar for our hands, we took the boat and said goodbye to a very adventurous day on the island. In Sabah, sunset is at 630 quite early actually compared to KL and sunrise is at 610am. Both 1 hour earlier than KL. We returned to the hotel rested and got ready to go our to town for lunch/dinner. The exciting day made us forget all about being hungry. I had nasi paprik and tomyam soup and after eating we returned to the hotel to have a rest because the next day would be even longer.

The next day started off with a heavy breakfast and at 930am the taxi driver reached to hotel to begin the journey to the foot of Mount Kinabalu. We booked him for a day road trip and he was good at suggesting places to go. On the way, first we dropped by the Upside Down House of Sabah, the 5th in the world and can be found in the Book of World Records. Then we headed to Desa Dairy Farm, Kundasang Sabah where they had lots of cows and some goats. The best part was that we could feed the calf and baby goats milk and also grass which was only Rm1/ 1.50 for each so I finished a few ringgits feeding them alone.

Then we headed to their cafe to try their own processed milk and ice cream. I chose chocolate for both ^^ That was basically our lunch because we did not feel hungry until later around 6pm. After the cow farm we went to Poring Hot Spring and soaked our feet in hot water, ahh it felt so hot at first and after a while it felt better.

Thankfully there was a surau there. Right after that we headed to see the special Rafflesia flower that could even eat insects and small animals! This was all definitely our first time! And the flower only lasts for a week so the taxi driver had to call somebody and ask where we could find one on that day because it exists randomly. It was between Rm10-20 per person to look at the unique flower and we actually had to go to somebody's house compound to see it. There were so many tourists there, the people living there are so lucky they are earning lots of money that week! Rezeki from a flower :) In front of their house there was a fresh lime tree with many ripe limes, most of us liking sour stuff asked permission to pluck a few. Yaay we had a lime feast in the taxi after that ;)

It started drizzling at this point so we quickly headed to Kinabalu Park to drive around Mount Kinabalu and see people beginning their journey to climb up. It was pouring so we did not go out to take pictures. Instead we headed off to Nabalu Market and that's where I bought many of the souvenirs around 5pm. After taking a few pictures once it stopped raining, we made our way for dinner. Sunset was dued soon so we prepared cameras to snap pictures on the way to the seafood restaurant. oh yummy I requested for a seafood feast that night. We had 2 types of fish, 2 types of kerang, crab sweet sour, fried calamari, siput tarik and my favourite veggie, kailan! Oh so yummy, the procedure of this seafood place was that we had to choose which raw seafoods we wanted then request how you preferred it to be cooked. Yes, it was a lot but we were definitely hungry because we skipped lunch. I had coconut drink as well and finished dinner by 830pm. It was a very nice dinner indeed, RM200 felt so worth it. We were exhausted by the time we reached the hotel at night because after dinner my parents stopped by a night market to buy dried seafood to bring back home. The end of a productive road trip :)

Last day at Sabah. Felt a but sad to leave, we were having so much fun. My siblings start school that Monday and parents working too. It was necessary to get back. Saturday was spent eating breakfast, chilling and swimming at the pool, snapping pictures around the hotel, my brother played table tennis and bowling, ate maggi cup which was a tradition to do once during most of the holidays, tried chocolate cookies at the hotel thank you Adik for belanja-ing me! and packed up to leave the hotel by 4pm. Flight was at 6 and we left the airport feeling both happy and grateful for this amazing and memorable family vacation. During take off, we could see the sunset clearly and managed to snap a few photos. I only saw the sunset clearly on the day I arrived and left Sabah, a way perhaps the place was greeting us and saying goodbye. 

To anyone considering a trip to Sabah, I would definitely say yes without a doubt. If you're looking for activities related to nature either keeping you dry or making you wet, Sabah is the ideal place in Malaysia. 

Happy reading and have a beautiful week ahead.