This island found south of the Philippines, just a boat ride away from any island in the south, was definitely an island to visit. Although Kota Kinabalu is in Malaysia, you can see and feel a hint of the Philippine culture probably brought by the Filipino settlers from Mindanao. Here are some of the places we were able to see in a few days time.
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Fisherman's boat coming back to the pier after a day's harvest in Kota Kinabalu
(photo by: Kryssa Balangcod) |
1. Sunday market
This is a Sunday-only temporary market where they sold different kind of wares mostly pearls formed into brooches or jewelry, clothing, perfume and souvenir items. Other interesting items are food (the lapis layer cake is must-buy), pets such as fish, dogs, cats and rabbit, plants and vegetables. What was astonishing was all of them were altogether in one marketplace placed next to each other like the dog kennels beside the souvenir t-shirts and the food stalls at the other side. Clearly there was no proper zoning.
Roaming around the market, one just cannot ignore the number of Filipino merchants. They keep yelling in Tagalog saying “Dito na kayo, mura, mura!” (Buy here, its cheap!). Even some Malaysians could speak Tagalog too! We found out later, there were a lot of Filipinos who migrated there and also influenced the Malaysians and in turn they too learned to speak Malay.
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| Kota Kinabalu lies on the eastern part of Sabah, Malaysia |
And I really have to mention this, some Malay love Marian and Dingdong. I think it was Marimar or something else which was being aired in Sabah and two of the taxi drivers we spoke with were avid fans of the two, well, Marian mostly. Thanks to the number of Filipinos in the island, our soaps get additional international audience and exposure.
2. Lok Kawi Wildlife Park
Its pretty much like a zoo where you can see different kinds of animals like birds, bears, elephants, different kinds of monkeys, the famous of which is the Proboscis monkey, the one with a funny nose. And they also have an inhouse botanical garden
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| The famous proboscis monkey |
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3. Masjid Bandaraya
We stayed at this place called Lavender Lodge which was located in the city center. Our nice hostel receptionist, a Filipina, gave us recommendations on where to go in Sabah.
She booked us on a tour package and the Mosque was the first stop. We were not able to enter because there was an ongoing prayer but it was a really large mosque surrounded by a man-made lagoon. It was also known as the “Floating Mosque.”
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| Floating Mosque |
4. Proboscis monkeys
This was when we started to get a bit interesting. We were to look at the Proboscis monkeys in their natural habitat. Lucky for us, we already seen them up close at the Wildlife Park that it was easy to spot them. We had to ride a boat to go upriver.
We were able to find them but an unfortunate thing happened. Our boat was dragged to the side of the river where low-lying branches of a thorny tree was located. My dad and mom, seated beside me were scratched as the front end of the boat slowly kept heading towards the branches. Some people in panic went to one side of the boat to avoid the thorny branches but it was causing the boat to almost tip over because of the sudden uneven weight. There were about 25 people in the motorboat with two guides one at each end and the driver. There were two Caucasians and one guide who got scratched the most as they were seated at the opposite side of the driver (the edge which was heading towards the thorny branches). We were able to finish the tour and the tour guide kept on apologizing. Even when we went back to the restaurant to have the free buffet dinner, he came to our table again saying sorry and asked us if we had injuries. Mom was a good sport despite her scratches and seeing the sincere tour guide, said she was fine.
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| Proboscis monkey in its natural habitat |
5. Sunset at the beach
This was just a short stop and I had forgotten the name of the beach. We didn’t get to see the full sunset as there were clouds still hanging around.
6. Fireflies
This was the last part and the highlight of the tour. We couldn’t get a picture to show this spectacular sight so I’m just going to describe it.
Again, we had to ride a boat to get to the side where they were located. It was pretty dark by then and we did not know what to expect. We stopped momentarily facing a group of large trees. Then our guide started to create green blinking lights with a flashlight and a leaf. And it was just like magic! All of a sudden the trees got lit up by these numerous fireflies and they were attracted to the green light making some of them draw near. We were seated at the uncovered part of the boat so we were able to touch the fireflies as they came towards us. And when they flew towards me, and held one in my palm, it made me feel real special. Those tiny specs of light just lit up something inside that made me feel like a kid again. At every corner of the river bend, the trees were covered by those countless blinking lights. It was just spectacular!
7. Island hopping
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| At the pier, waiting for our boat to take us island hopping |
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| Clear waters! |
There were numerous islands near Kota Kinabalu that had white sand and clear waters. We were able to enjoy half a day of snorkeling before it rained. We headed to Mamutuk island first and then to Sapi island. We skipped the small island (forgot the name) because it was starting to get windy and the waves were starting to get bigger. And we had a small motorboat.
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| Still sunny at Mamutuk island |
The rent for the snorkels and lifevest was RM15. The motorboat ride for the three islands was around RM68.
At Sapi, there was an eat-all-you can buffet for RM35. It was 11 am when we arrived at the island. The beach was naturally white sand and the clear water was perfect for snorkeling. The sun would occasionally hide behind the clouds allowing us to enjoy sunburned-free
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| Snorkeling was cut short by the rain (Sapi island) |
It was a scary boat ride back to the main island. I was gripping the sides of the boat praying for dear life as we were partially drenched with sea water, the big waves threatening to overturn our small boat. I was so thankful for our driver who calmly maneuvered the boat to keep us afloat.
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| Waiting for the rain to stop before leaving the island |
8. Handicraft shop
Another market that showcases the craftsmanship of the people of Sabah, this place has a lot of items mostly geared to being souvenirs such as wallets, t-shirts, toys and scarves. Nearby is a food market where I was hunting for that lapiz layer cake. I found the lapiz cakes when we first got there but when I got back to purchase after a few hours, there was only one left. It was definitely a hot item.
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| These items look very similar to ours :) |
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| their famous lapiz layer cake |
9. Seafood Market
The best place to eat in Sabah would be the Seafood market. You get to choose fresh sea food and then you wait for them to cook. Their bestsellers would be the grilled crab, and grilled squid. I have to say they were all delicious. We also tried their sweet and sour fish, sambal giant squids and buttered prawns.
Crabs (medium) –RM15
Grilled Squid (6 pcs) – RM15
Lapu-lapu fish (large) – RM30
10. Other sites in the city
There are also some sights that can be visited around the city.
Signal Hill Observatory Tower
You get to see a view of the Kota Kinabalu city at this tower.
Atkinson tower
A really old clock tower.
I loved touring the place especially the beach but one of the popular tourist spot I wasn't able to see was Mt. Kinabalu. Someday, I'll be back to reach the peak of this famed mountain.
