Rai and Marc

Posts Tagged ‘king park hotel’

Lok Kawi Wildlife Park

After breakfast, we strolled the city of Kota Kinabalu to see how it looks like in early morning. The streets are quiet and we noticed that even if it was Monday morning, the usual city rush is non-existent. KK is not totally a city yet, but not a rural place either. It the perfect blend of both worlds.

We revisited the Atkinson Tower and had few shots before we left. It is sad to say that a historical landmark such as this is endangered because the local government plans to build a mall (if I am not mistaken) on the same lot where the tower stands. It is such a waste to remove a piece of the city’s history in exchange for a mall, but on the other hand, the tower is such in a degraded state that a visitor like us would wonder why the tourist brochures promote an unattractive structure to the visitors. The local government needs to revisit their priorities because Kota Kinabalu haven’t got many historical places worth visiting.

Bom and the Atkinson Tower

The tower's story

After having our stroll, we took a cab going to Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. It was a 30-minute drive from the hotel and we arrived at around 10AM, just in time for the first tram ride that will take us around the park. I am so glad we decided to take the tram since it spared our feet from further walking around the park.

Bom and some animal's skeleton

The Tram. And Bom.

The Lady and the Tram

First stop. The Javan Deer.

We took a lot of good pictures and the animal show was fun. For the first time in my life, I managed to touch a snake. It was cold but not slimy at all. The host of the animal show also reminded me of Kuya Kim Atienza, a TV personality famous for his nature trivia.

That is how amazing the park map is.

A local flower.

A cat. He's not caged, he's just wondering around the park.

Orangutan Poster

Proboscis Monkeys

Proboscis Monkeys

The park's animal show

This is the first time I touched a snake

At the park entrance

For this trip we spent RM100 for the two-way cab ride, RM 20 for the park entrance, and RM 2.50 for the tram ride.

Home Bound

We went back to the hotel at around 1PM and since we were already in a hurry, we took our lunch to-go and ate it in the hotel. After resting for a bit, we head out to the Filipino Market to grab some pasalubong then off we go to the airport (RM 35). After one last minute shopping at the airport grocery and souvenir shop, we were home bound to Manila.

At the Kota Kinabalu Airport

We arrived at around 9PM and good thing my brother agreed to pick us up at the airport, and I tell you, he rarely does that. Maybe the ‘may pasalubong ako sa ‘yo’ trick worked. Hmm… I should do that more often.

View our travel itinerary here

Total cost for the whole trip:
NAIA Travel Tax = PHP 1620 x 2
NAIA Terminal Fee = PHP 750 x 2
Cebu Pacific Travel Pouch = PHP 350
Cab Fare from Airport to King Park Hotel = RM 35
KFC Dinner = RM 17
Scuba Diving Package for 1 Day (All-in) = RM 340 x 2
Jothy’s Fish Head Curry Dinner = RM 26
McDonald’s Lunch = RM 18
Seaside dinner = RM 35
OTC medicine and ionized water = RM 5
Lobster Dinner and 2 cans of Tiger beer = RM 55
Cab fare from hotel to Lok Kawi Wildlife Park = RM 100
Lok Kawi Wildlife Park Entrance Fee + Tram ride = RM 22.50 x 2
Snacks in Lok Kawi Park = RM 10
Lok Kawi Souvenir Shirt = RM 35
KFC Lunch = RM 15
Pasalubong = RM 200
Cab Fare from Hotel to Airport = RM 35
King Park Hotel = RM 515
TOTAL = ( RM 1823 x 14 ) + PHP 5090 = PHP 30,612

Other places of Interest:
Atmosphere Restaurant
The Green Connection

We woke up feeling sore from the previous day’s diving activities but it did not stop us from taking an early breakfast at the hotel restaurant and exploring KK right afterwards. It was high noon and the heat is really becoming intolerable so after a quick lunch at McDonalds (we wanted to try how their burgers taste like), we head back to the hotel.

McDonald's Spicy Chicken Burger

It was so hot that I blamed the dry heat for the really bad headache and slight fever that I had. Because of that, we decided to sleep the afternoon off in the hotel, wasting the day away. Thinking of the sunset and not getting a decent picture of it was my motivation to get out of the bed and head out to KK’s seaside port and take pictures of the sun and the sea. I managed to take but a few usable photos considering that the deck was so shaky it was virtually impossible to take sharp photos even with a tripod.

Kota Kinabalu City Sunset

Kota Kinabalu City Sunset

Kota Kinabalu Sunset

Kota Kinabalu City Sunset

When the sun finally sets in, we grabbed a bite at one of the nearby restaurants and we ordered local favorite Nasi Lemak and cola to go with it.

Nasi Goreng by the bay

After the dinner, we walked around city passing by a lot of restaurants. If we had more space in our guts then we would have tried some of the dishes in the restaurants. I still have that bad headache but then I thought I must have been dehydrated since I was not drinking enough fluids since we arrived at KK. We scored a pain-killer (a pill by the name of Panadol) and a bottle of ionized water, it feels that I was getting better. My diagnosis of the cause of my headache was so right. I swear I could have become a great doctor if I had taken Medicine instead of Engineering.

Anyway, a scroll further down led us to the Filipino market, but it looks like it was already closed. It was a breezy night we don’t mind the long walk along the roads of KK, seeing the locals do their thing and often hearing Tagalog language being spoken by those who seem like Filipinos. After we had our fun, we head back to the hotel passing by the Atkinson Tower, one of the historical places in KK.

Atkinson Clock Tower

Eh.. park?

Walking made us hungry so we stopped by the local seafood market-slash-restaurant, otherwise known as “paluto” in Filipino. We met a friendly Filipina waitress and gave us good price for two medium-sized lobsters cooked in garlic and butter (RM45 lobster and paluto).

Fish tanks with live seafood

Fish Tank at Seri Selera

Oysters

Lovely shell. Is it edible?

Seri Selera Paluto Resto

It was indeed a relaxing night munching on a buttery lobster while watching Robocop on TV. Good times.

Lobster in Garlic and Butter and Tiger Beer

Beginner Lessons in Dive Down Below Center

Woke up at 7AM. Free breakfast at the hotel. Had a quick shower, and got ready for the diving tour in Gaya Island care of Dive Down Below. The package includes hotel transfer so we just waited for the shuttle at the hotel lobby. We arrived at the port for a jetty transport that took only 10 minutes, then the diving briefing followed.

The view from Room 1101

Jettys

Leaving for Pulau Gaya Base Camp

After signing a few papers and getting our equipment, we had a diving crash course with Gavin Chin, the divemaster assigned to our group. We were three in the group, with a nice French lady, whose name escapes me at the moment. The crash course was quick, then we had our test dive in the shallow waters for a few exercises before heading out into the deeper waters.

After the exercises, which were fairly easy, we went to the deeper part of the sea, where we will have our first dive. I had trouble with my body because I kept being swept by the current, and I can’t keep my body balanced underwater. Gavin said that he had to hold on to us so we will have easier time moving underwater. My BCD is not my best friend during those times. But still, it was fun seeing some [dead] corals underwater. After the first dive, and a few pointers from Gavin [I thought he was pretty much annoyed at us at this point], we headed back at the base camp for lunch.

In between dives

The lunch was okay, a tad better than what I expected. After a few minutes of rest, we head back to the sea for our final dive for the day.

Pulau Gaya

The second go was a bit scary because we have to do a backroll entry and I was so afraid I thought I can’t do it. I have to keep asking the other divemaster (Gavin and Bom are already in the water) if I am holding my regulator and mask correctly, fearing that it might fall off when I hit the water. And nothing scares me more than losing my regulator. Luckily enough, I thank the heavens for our safe entry. That was the best part of the dive for me because I think the sea and I had a connection when I did that backroll. <3

Then we went for the final dive, and the most difficult dive because my ears won’t cooperate and it keeps hurting the more we get lower. But at least there are fewer dead corals, and more fishes compared to the first dive. Tough luck, no barracudas or turtles. Though I enjoyed the last dive, Bom thinks otherwise. He had problems with his mask because it kept fogging up and he can’t get rid of the water inside. We have to resurface twice so he can put on his mask properly. Bummer, yes I know. But we still enjoyed the quick dive.

Around Pulau Gaya base camp

With Gavin Chin, our divemaster

With Gavin Chin, our divemaster

When our twenty minutes was up (time flies when you’re having fun), we headed back to the base camp, showered and changed. Took a few last photos of the place and rode the jetty back to KK. After a quick rest in the hotel, we headed out to search for dinner, and as if we are not tired enough, we have to scour the Api-Api Center in search for Jothy’s Fish Head Curry Restaurant.

Waiting for the jetty to take us back to Kota Kinabalu

And that's me!

Resting after the dive

Jothy’s Fish Head Curry Restaurant, Api-Api Center

When we walked in to the restaurant, we find it a very casual place, and no need to wear fancy outfit so we can relax because we were only in out shirt and shorts attire. Nonetheless, we were treated with a smile from the very friendly waiter. I was really craving for their chicken biryani but I was told that it was already sold out so I ordered prawn sambal (RM 10) instead while Bom had fish curry (not fish head curry, RM 6).

Fish Curry

Both dishes are really good, and the seafood was fresh. We both liked how the fish was done because the cooking was even and the fillet was tender but not over-cooked. The flavor was really good, just enough to my liking considering that Indian cuisines tend to be strong in flavors. I loved the sweetness of the shrimp curry, and I think that fish curry is a bit too spicy. Nevertheless, dining in Jothy’s was a pleasant experience and would definitely visit again.

Bom reading the city map at Jothy's restaurant

Cola. And Bom reading the city map.

On our way back to the hotel, we walked by the bay and see if we can stumble upon restaurants worth visiting. And not to forget, I cashed in on a new Starbucks City Mug (Sabah). That’s one mug more to my collection.

Seafood Village

For our honeymoon trip, we decided to give Kota Kinabalu a try and it was a thrilling adventure!

We arrived safely in Kota Kinabalu, a city in Malaysia’s Sabah state, and as usual we almost missed the plane. It’s like a blessing before leaving home, if we are not late, something bad is bound to happen. So in short, we should be almost late in order to have a pleasant vacation. Or at least that’s what I think, if that made any sense at all.

The clouds as seen from Cebu Pacific plane

Anyway, the flight was pleasant except for a few shakes, but if I had a choice, I would rather arrive at around noon or early afternoon. Unfortunately, the available schedule leaves just before 4PM and we arrived in KK at past 6PM. It was raining – the kind of which you would not want to get caught in – so we phoned the hotel to send a shuttle to pick us up at the airport. Bom kept asking me if I confirmed the airport pickup, which of course I did not because [here comes the blame game] Booking.com’s website says King Park Hotel offers free airport pickup so I was confident that they can do it if we call them upon arrival. We found a phone and called the hotel, only to find out they don’t do airport pickup. Bummer. I was hoping we could save a few bucks but we had no choice but to take an airport cab to the hotel.

We took an airport taxi to save precious time, and fortunately it’s not so bad for RM35. When we checked in, the nice lady at the front desk informed me that there are no non-smoking rooms available for the night, when I specifically instructed Booking.com that we wanted a non-smoking room. Sigh. Got no choice anyway so we took the room, settled in, and it was only after a few minutes when I began to smell the stench of cigarettes wafting through the air. And how I hate that stale smell of cigarettes that seem to cling on clothes. I decided that I want a different room the next day.

King Park Hotel Room

Bom trying to separate the camera filters that got stuck

It was still raining when we checked in, so instead of taking a short night walk around KK to find a decent restaurant, we had dinner at KFC next door (RM17) . We were surprised that the chicken does not come with rice, like what we have here in Manila, but rather with fries. And they don’t give spoons! You have to ask for one, or eat with your hands. I am not too squeamish about eating with my hands, I can do it well, but not without a decent hand washing first. Luckily, I am also very skilled when it comes to attacking breaded chicken with a plastic fork. No problem. Then we went back to the hotel for a good night sleep. Or so I thought.

A quick stroll around the city lead us to this...

Misty hotel window

It was 3AM. I was woken up by a dripping sound caused by the air-conditioning unit. I have to get up and grab towels to cover the couch to muffle the dripping sound. I was so sure that I want a different room and I won’t take no for an answer. Went back to sleep.