Food, Travel and Life: Trip: Kota Kinabalu Day 1: 1 May 2010

i have been meaning to get to blogging my travels and stuff bt things had been pretty hectic lately and it's only now I have more time on my hands..right...i tink i've kept a journal-like notebook when i went...
here goes:

the plane touched down nearly 30 minutes before the predicted time, maybe cause it departed earlier from Miri Airport. Thanks to an old friend, i don't have to worry about transportation upon arrival~ She's gonna pick me up at the airport! Thanks Glad!! In our cute lil viva (borrowed from her friend), we traipsed around the quaint little town of KK. Before checking in at Tune Hotel, 1Borneo, Glad brought me to this '5-star-hainanese-chicken-rice' shop but we had nothing made from chicken here. instead, we had charsiew and siewbak. LOL. oyea, did i mention that this shop is in the famous Gaya Street? I think I saw another branch with the same name in one of the malls in KK too...not just one i think...there's a few with d same name..hmm...Can't remember exactly which mall though, all the malls in KK are a blurr to me ><

Previously, during the drive down from the airport, my 'tour guide' pointed out Tanjung Lipat to me which looked pretty beautiful to me (no pun intended,:P). Apparently, it's not as 'classy' as Tanjung Aru or other beaches in KK. *erhem* Plenty of (quote) 'hot scenes' can be witnessed if we're there late at night or early in the morning. LOL. Can't help but wonder why my tour guide seemed to be so familiar with that, hor? *wink*. As fast as I could, I pretty much snapped away with my camera as our cute lil viva whizzed past that area and then my guide stopped the car at d roadside after seeing my enthusiasm. haha. Camwhoring session, babey!

After checking in, we went to Warisan Square and Center Point after what seemed like hoours in the car. KK is definitely a town with a massive jam prob or maybe cause it's Labour Day that day. Urghh. The malls were really close to each other and packed with people! We met a very nice salesgirl at Adidas, Centrepoint; Jojo who was really patient and the service was good as she went through all the shoes we should use etc etc. (Glad wanna get a new pair of shoes for her marathon).

Next, it's on to the Phillipines Market as we browsed through the usual knick-knacks and souvenirs of a tourist attraction would boast of. Glad said one's visit to KK isn't complete without a trip here wor..LOL...As we stepped out of the malls to the market, we caught a strong whiff of the fishy sea breeze and also something else. Guess what??

Yep, it's SALTED FISH and No, I don't mean us! Blerk! There's a lot of salted fish stalls right next to the market. Next, we crossed the dangerous streets of KK again to a night market opposite. Glad wanted to buy a shoes' bag for her brand new Adidas. Hahaha. Then, we left after like a few mins cos second hand/third hand clothes widely available there were not really our thanng~:P

This is followed by a stroll at Tanjung Aru where we initially planned to have dinner but my cute guide suddenly remembered that she still hadn't pointed out the tip of Mt Kinabalu to me. So off we go again to Likas Bay/Tanjung Lipat (i'm not sure as i got confused by the two by this time) and we sat there waiting for the sunset after i've snapped the tip of the Mt. LOL. Sounds romantic huh? Bet someones's wishing that i'm a guy right then..:P (Glad! Right right right???*grins*) The wait was definitely worth it! There's even birds flying home in the orange-tinged skies and some gulls or something flying low near the face of the water, diving in for their kill. Nice~

At Tanjung Aru

a weird sandcastle we saw

At Likas Bay/Tanjung Lipat again

The tip of the mt.

After a while...we were off again. It's back to town again. Arg. I felt like we're going round n round the whole day. Along to way, my guide regalled me with tales of croc sightings in the drainage system(the one in front of All Saints Cathedral) and how the hospital was too mouldy and was about to fall apart hence the moving of patients elsewhere.

We had our dinner at Waterfront and sat out at the wooden jetty-like area. spotted a cafe with shishas while we were there. @@ but we didn't go there. Interesting how Glad's eyes bulged and her cries of 'NO' when i suggested trying. LOL. We ended up at an Irish Bar or something. It is pretty pricey for my wallet but the food wasn't bad...We had the following (the cheapest stuff off the menu..blerk- i know i know, it's a lil cheapskate but...we can't afford to plurge...) Once we polished off everything, it's back to the hotel for me cos Glad got a marathon early d next morning..:P

The Shamrock Irish Bar ( there's a very St Patrick's feel abt this place..haha)