Borneo Trip Part 1: Hello Jetlag and Motion Sickness!

A quick update on our KL-Miri-Brunei-Limbang-Brunei-Kota Kinabalu trip. (especially for Ara :)

Day 1. Saturday, March 12^th 2011 --- Took off to Miri by MAS at 1 pm, arrived around 3 something pm

Went to Petronas SKOP Annual Dinner (Family Day?) that night, at ParkCity Everly Hotel, Miri. They had a guest artist, Hafiz from Akademi Fantasia which season I don’t know. But the event was super wet, the rain just wouldn’t stop that night. Semua orang pun basah, berserabut. No pictures from my camera since I was too malas and the wet weather dampened me even more. But Ayah did something cool that night. Later I’ll curi the pic from his camera, I swear ;)

A small airport, indeed.

Day 2. Sunday, March 13^th 2011 --- Crossing the borders

We had to cross Brunei twice due to the geographical factor to get to Kota Kinabalu. The thing about crossing borders is that your network provider will switch, even for just an hour or so. Meaning that your phone is on roaming – and roaming charge isn’t cheap. Worse, all the text messages and phone calls, masa tu jugak la nak masuk. Had to ignore sebab tak sanggup habis kredit yang tinggal berapa sen je lagi :’) But luckily this border-crossing procedure is kinda like Touch n Go, no need to get off the car. Except one at Brunei, where the two countries (Malaysia and Brunei) are separated by a river connected by a two minute ferry (see picture). I still wonder why on Earth they didn’t build a bridge – mahu duit mungkin.

Finally we arrived at KK at about 6 something, checked in at Kompleks Tabung Haji near Sutera Harbour. A cheapskate we are, but I would say the place is good for travellers in large pack. Memang save cost (walaupun sedikit menggigit jari tengok Sutera Harbour tssk).

Damp cloudy weather at Miri.

Inter-country bus weh. *jakun*

Entering Brunei.

I was truly amazed by this thing they call 'roundabout'.

Next border which I have no idea where, banyak sangat crossing.

Limbang, Sarawak.

Last crossing.

2-minute ferry, MYR 8 or BND 4. Cekik darah.

Last of Brunei.

Brunei Immigration. Macam rumah Ketua Kampung pun ada.

Sunset at Kota Kinabalu, near Sutera Harbour.

KKIA - the airport is exactly tengah3 city.

KK sky :)

Cheapskaters at Kompleks Tabung Haji.

Day 3. Monday, March 14^th 2011 --- Conquering the peak, Kundasang here we come!

First thing in the morning, we went to the Filipino Market (not sure if I got this right) to buy some souvenirs. Sabah is known for their traditional kuih Amplang (some sort of fish/crab/prawn/squid cracker) and handicrafts yang beranyam3 tuh. Also, keychains. I must say I fell in love with KK the moment we reached there. Especially the sky (??). But really, I think the city is clean, the road is not congested, there are plenty of car parks (and they’re super cheap too! – RM0.25 for half an hour). Ayah kept on saying that he wishes we could disappear in this land under the wind. And I honestly prefer KK than Miri, through my first impression. The only thing is that I was a bit confused if I was speaking Sabahan (tying to blend in) or Indonesian instead. Kejap keluar ‘bah’, kejap lagi ‘dong’. Mana pergi semangat kenegaraan?

Later at noon we checked out and headed straight to Kundasang, in search of Mount Kinabalu. Typical Bella, pantang masuk kereta terus padam. So gambar pun tak banyak. Plus I was having terrible flu and fever that I couldn’t really focus on the winding road.

At Kundasang, we stayed at Mount Kinabalu Resort and Spa. Sejuk gila weh. Bilik takde aircon pun menggigil. We reached there at about 4pm, checked in and went straight to Poring Hot Springs, fearing that it would close at 7pm. On our back to the hotel, we stopped by at KFC Ranau to had dinner. Sampai je hotel, semua out, penat dow berjam3 dalam kereta panas bontot kaki cramp weh:D

KK city from above. Jangan tanya belakang tu pulau apa, tak tau.

Penyet3 :D

Forgot the name of this harbour -.-'

See that yellow thing? For some unknown reasons it made my day! (kalau hari3 tgk mmg tak lah)

Bau MasyaAllah -.-"

Got one for myself. I call her Sababah! :P

At a stop on our way heading to Kundasang. Don't know which one is the highest Mt Kinabalu peak at the back. 

OMG THE SKY :')

Souvenir shops. Lagi.

The name of this place captured me.

If not sleeping, then this is what she would be doing.

Poring Hot Springs! (they rhyme lalala)

To be continued.. Zahid, tunggu eh? ;)