Meet the warm and kind Sabahan people

It started all with the plan to go to the local Lok Kowi Zoo in Kota Kinabalu. The zoo is located about half an hour from the city centre. There is no bus going there, so we would have to take a taxi. We = me and my new roommate here in Borneo Backpackers, Verena. We were thinking that it was actually very expensive to go to a zoo, pay 20 RM for the entrance and then 60 RM for the taxi.


So on twitter I came into contact with a great couple who are working for Borneo Ultimate and we shared our thoughts by going to the zoo. You know what their reaction was? “Do you want a ride? We are heading to Beaufort and it is on the way there.” On that moment we only knew each other from twitter, nót from face, nót from name and nót from gender. They didn’t know who they were dealing with and we did neither. So… how unbelievably friendly is that?

We were willing to take ‘the chance’ and hoping they were just as nice as we thought. We went to their office to take a ride with them. And that was the best choice! We met Linah and Ally and they were just great! 2 nice young girls and they gave us a perfect ride to the Lok Kawi Zoo. We started talking in the car, like we knew each other already some time. It was so cool! Good times with them still continue as we have a lot of contact and we just had dinner with them this week.

The Lok Kawi Zoo was a big laugh. It is probably very nice for local families, but when you have seen the animals living in wildlife, you feel so sorry and sad for them. So we were walking around there with a face that spoke our mind. Still, we had paid for the entrance, so we visited everything.

Finally around 5 o’clock we left and we actually expected that there was a cap, but there were none. A man from the park offered us a ride back to KK for 60 RM. We said he was crazy (not exactly using this words hihi =)) and that we would find another way. So our plan was to go to the main street, which still was quite a quiet street with rural surroundings. On the way over there was a Malaysian family who asked us to take a picture with them. We were laughing being a bit shy, because normally we are not the attraction in a foreign country, right? After they took like 5 pictures, they were satisfied and we walked on. Suddenly one of the girls asked us in Malay where we were going. And then you are so happy you speak a bit of Malay =D. We said we were going to Kota Kinabalu centre and we didn’t have a car. Then the unexpected became real! They offered us a ride back to KK (Kota Kinabalu). The family consisted of a married couple, the sister, a niece and 3 small children, 1 boy and 2 girls. We had soooo much fun on the way home. I could practice my Malay and they found it really funny to hear me talk Malay of course. The ‘problem’ was that nobody spoke English, so the only language we could speak was Malay =). The small boy was a bit of a show off, in a funny way though! You know a 6 year old wants to prove himself in front of his sisters ;-). After said that he was a crazy little boy and very naughty we started to teach the kids a bit of English. We teached them how to count and translated all kind of animals in English. Seriously, it was such a blast!!

We arrived at the night market in KK and after we said goodbye and thanked them big time, there wasn’t a better ending for this day then to eat Fried Dumplings at Kuja’s place (at the waterfront), walking on the waterfront (surrounded by crazy kids ;-)), enjoying the sunset and eating a big prawn for our dinner!!

Top 5 of Kota Kinabalu

Top 5 Kota Kinabalu

1. Night Market (incl sunset)
2. Mari Mari Cutural Village
3. Makan Makan (eating!)
4. Visit one of the islands
5. Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre Rasa Ria

6. Go to Mount Kinabalu! (oops!)

Night Market

I find the waterfront one of the nicest places in KK. I started at the roundabout where the Shark statue stands high and pride. At this area they build a few benches where I sat down and watched the sunset and had a nice view on the Islands, they are close to the edge of KK. After this beautiful view I walked to the left along some small markets. One of them is the Handicraft markets. They sell a lot of souvenirs originally made in Sabah.

I walked a bit further and then I saw the fascinating night market on your right. First I saw only fruits, but all the way at the back is the fresh fish market located. I just followed the delicious smell of grilled fish and I found my way. On the left and right are market stalls with fresh fish like: prawns, lobster, squid, snappers etc. And don’t think it’s just a little fish, no it is BIG! They also offer fresh chicken wings & sateh. You can choose your own one and they grill it for you and put some nice sauce and lime on it. The Sabahan people love lime. If you order fish you will get it served with rice, chili and chilled water :-). 

After this satisfying meal I walked a little bit further where you can buy lots of vegetables, fruits and chili’s. Take a walk on the fresh fish to buy your own fish and cook it in your hostel/hotel!

Anyway, don’t you just like foreign markets? I seriously love them!

Mari Mari Cultural Village

After 30 minutes of driving I arrived at Mari Mari Cultural Village, after passing some local villages and see the ‘suburb life’. This cultural village has opened in 2008, so this is relatively new! I got totally emerged in the culture of the different tribes around Sabah. If you go there you will explore their original longhouses, discover a lot of their traditional habits and don’t be shy, because you will be involved in their traditional dancing as well! This all will be leaded by a guide.

I find this little village so stunning, because it is just beautifully set up. The houses are beautiful, made of bamboo and surrounded by green nature; furthermore every ‘resident’ wears their original costumes. So you really feel as you are back in the old days.

There is so much more to tell about this Mari Mari village, but I guesse you just have to explore that yourself! Trust me, it is a must-see!

Costs: RM150 with a Touroperator

 Eat Around

Try restaurants where locals go! The restaurant might not look the same as it looks in your own country, but if there are a lot of local people the food should be fine, as I discovered!

Here are my 3 favorite dishes:

Kopitiam

This restaurant is located next to Borneo Backpackers, close to Gaya Street. A must-try here is the Pandan Chicken Rice! Pandan is a nice leaf and the chicken gets cooked with the leaf, so the taste is fabulous. You will get a sambal with it, which tastes even more jammie! After 4 months here I am really addicted to this!

Costs: RM 6,95


5 Star restaurant in Gaya Street

Here you will get nice served duck with noodle soup and the most delicious vegetable! The vegetable is called Siu Park Choi with oyster sauce.

Costs: about RM 7,00

Kuja

At the end of the waterfront restaurant, just in front of BED club, there has a big guy called Kuja a small local shop/restaurant. Try the fried Dumpling over there! It is so nice!

Costs depends on how much you dumpling you want

AND!
Try just anywhere mee goreng with seafood!

Costs: about RM 6,00

Visit one of the islands

You must definitely visit the islands when you like to snorkel and just want to relax. These Islands have white beaches and crystal clear water. Till now I have only visited Manukan and Mamutik island. I prefer Mamutik island, because it is much smaller than Manukan, so there are less people. Both are great to snorkel! I want to visit Gaya Island soon, because it is the biggest island and has a small jungle that you can explore. A really good treatment for a jetlag! Sapi Island is known for their Monitor Lizards! Big ones! =)

PS don’t book this with a tour operator, because they will charge you a lot more than it actually costs! Costs: RM 17 transfer per jetty, RM 6 tax, RM 10 for snorkel equipment (if you don’t have it yourself) and RM 10 entrance fee for the park.
 

Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre Rasa Ria

I don’t think a lot of people know about this, but It is really worth it! Especially when you maybe don’t have the chance to go to, the more famous, Sepilok Rehabilitation centre. Rasa Ria is a resort, about 40 minutes from Kota Kinabalu. If you are not staying at the resort you should book it 1 or 2 days in advance. You can choose for the feeding time at 10.00AM or 14.00PM. We were at the resort around 11 and we first chilled a little bit at the luxurious pool, enjoyed the sun and this paradise for a while. Finally it was feeding time an after a short movie you will walk a bit through the jungle. On a platform they will call the Orang Utans to come for food and something to drink. We saw 3 Orang Utans and really close! It was such a wonderful experience. These cute little fuzzy animals look so sweet and look really vulnerable. You see it, in their face, that they really enjoy it here.

In this rehabilitation centre only are staying the young Orang Utans. When they reach a certain age they will be transferred to Sepilok and at the end they will be set free.



More information to help the Orang Utans and fight for their habitat: http://www.orangutan.org.au/

Costs: non-guest from the resort will pay RM 60

Officially Mount Kinabalu is not located in or around Kota Kinabalu, but please try to visit this mountain or at least have a good view at it! It is so worth it! So this was my sneaky nr. 6 ;-)

 

On My Way To Work

 Hi everybody!

Borneo:

I go to work every morning by public transport. It is so different here than what I am used to in Holland. Here, in Kota Kinabalu I will leave from home around 8, I walk to the square nearby BB cafe and wait for the first bus I have to take: The Citybus, which only cost me RM0,50. You never know when the bus comes, but there are a lot of busses, so most of time you have to wait for max. 5 minuts. With this bus I arrive at my first stop: KK Terminal.
Here I have to get bus 3,4 or 5 who bring me to Kolombong. These are small vans, which fit 11 people. I normally choose the busiest one, because they only leave when the bus is full. So you never know how long you have to wait. Sometimes you only wait for 2 minuts and sometimes you wait 10. It is very hot in this bus (especially when its standing still), because it is very small and me, as an white girl, don't completely fit in with my legs,grrr. But it is lovely when it is driving: open the windows and feeeeeel the wind! This will cost me RM1,50. It takes approx 15 minuts before I will arive at the Kolombong zone.
I will cross the road and either here I have the choice to walk 15 minuts (in the heat & sun) or take the bus again to the junction close to the street of my work. Mostly, I take the other bus for RM0,80. This bus takes a longer time to get full, so patience is required. But fortunatly sometimes they leave also with less poeple :).
Then at the junction I have to walk for 3-4 more minuts till I finally reach the office. JEEJ!
`Totally I will be on the road for 50-60 minuts, depending on when the bus leaves. I don't want to think about the fact that when you go with your own car, it only takes 15 minuts in total!!

Holland:
When I go to my university in Holland, I have to choices: bike and public bus. When it is nice weither (read: not raining & not toooo cold) I go by bike. This will take me about 15 minuts. Easy! Remember there are A LOT of bycicles in Holland. When I take the bus there is a bus schedule. Mostly the bus comes every half an hour, but in the peak hours the bus will come every 15 minuts. At night, the bus will only come once every half or whole hour. The busstop is only 2 minuts walking from my home. So very easy. Sometimes people have to transfer at the terminal (where also the trainstation is located), but I have the luck the same bus will stop in front of my school. Total passed time: 25 minuts. Price: free (students have a free public transfer pass, otherwise you probably pay RM6,40)

What do I prefer:

I like schedules! So although you sometimes have to wait a little longer, I still prefer the Dutch way. The busses in Holland are big and made for white people haha, so it is a bit more comfortable for me. You always know when the bus comes, so you can leave on a certain time and you don't have to leave earlier, because in Holland there is no such thing as: waiting till the bus is full. Yes.. I miss my bike and the bus.. :-) Hmm, The bus here in KK has 1 advantage though: SO CHEAP!

Have a good day!