Sabah - Kota Kinabalu

7 enjoyable April days in Sabah from the 21st - 28th.



1st day (21st April)

My husband and I Arrived at 8 in the morning at the KK airport and had my friend picked us up at the airport (thanks Tamimi and She). we then went straight to cik lin's house where we stayed for 2 nights... as im writing this i keep on remembering cik lin's sambal terung and masak lemak udang... the best i have ever tasted... cik lin nak makan sambal terung lagi : )..



moving on, we went for a walk at warisan square to do some last minute shopping for any additional items we might need for our climb the next day.

our second destination was to Dataran Merdeka to make a taxi booking to bring us to Mt Kinabalu. The Driver will pick us up from home at 6am and drive us for 2 hours to Mt Kinabalu for RM150 one way.

2nd and 3rd day (22nd – 23rd)



We arrived, we Climbed and we conquered Mt Kinabalu!!!! YEAYYYYY!!! undeterred by light showers and strong wind in the early morning, we continued on with the climb and we reached the peak! alhamdulillah (all praises and thanks to Allah)



4th day (24th)

Regardless of certain parts of our body that were aching we still planned a short trip to Pulau Manukan. welll what can i say but that i was not amazed by this beach. the journey began with us using cik lin's car ( my friends aunties' car), parked at Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park and our starting point was at jeselton ferry terminal in search for a boat ride to bring us to the island. The boat ride cost RM25 per person return and an additional RM3 for locals and around RM10 for foreigners to be paid upon arriving at the jetty.



I did plan to go snorkeling but I didn't bring my own snorkel gear and the thought of using a snorkel that has been used by some random strangers is not for me. anyhow, the boat man charged RM10 for a snorkeling mask and an additional RM10 for flippers... BUT when we arrived at the Island, he offered the mask AND the flippers for RM10.... don't fall for their tricks.

after the beach escape, we went to have dinner opposite Le marridien hotel at those stalls i cant remember the name. and this was what we had... the ever so popular sabah's chicken wings







On the 4th day, we checked in a room at Le marridien in KK primarily because the 'famous' shops (Filipino Market and Warisan Square) were just a walking distance away. Filipino market to me was kinda boring because the souvenirs does not show the true sabah identity and instead, I can still find it in KL with around the same price.

My Husband and I ended up looking for stuff at warisan square and found this souvenir shop where we bought a handful of stuff and the sales person gave us a 10% discount on all of he items we purchased.

5th day (25th)

On the 5th day it was rest and relax for us, need to give our body a rest. so we walked over to warisan square and decided to try a foot massage RM40 for 60minutes.

6th, 7th and 8th day (26th – 28th)



Enough wondering around the city we packed our bags and headed to nexus karambunai. styed there for 2 nights and thinking about it now, we should have stayed at nexus from the start since nexus provides loads of activities that will keep you occupied furthermore, it provides a shuttle bus to warisan square if you wish to visit warisan square from there.

below are some activities that the resort offers:-








We had a swim at the beach, spend some time relaxing by the pool and tried batik painting. that was actually a short 2 days at nexus and without realizing it, it was time for us to depart back to KL...





Had our flight very early in the morning and the resort gave us a takeaway breakfast in a box which consists of a sandwich and some fruits.


TOP TIPS:- ... to plan your trip i wouldn't suggest you make the same mistake as what we did, we planned an early flight, so our transport from home on the taxi costs us RM 100 instead of the usual RM75 to the airport. the same thing happened from nexus to KK airport, we had to pay RM112 instead of RM 75 after 6am.

Packing essentials- sunscreen, hat, sunglasses