Travelogue : Kota Kinabalu Day 4 : White Water Rafting at Sg Padas

My Blackberry went dead! That was the reason why no update from me after reaching Tenom. Haha. Okay, let me just wrap up :

1. We took an antique train from Tenom to Pangi passing by Sg Padas. The first time I saw Sg Padas, my impression was "OMG". Sg Padas is a 9km of Grade III and IV rapids. For a first time like us, it was like unbelievable! 

The journey from Tenon to Pangi took around 30 minutes. And while we were enjoying the scene of Sg Padas, someone actually saw a crocodile sunbathing beside the river bank.

"What? A crocodile?" I gulped. "This is suicide" I told my husband.

To summarize, we managed to survive Sg Padas. It was hella fun. No crocodile, still sunbathing I guess. Exhilarating adventure rafting through rapids, they even have names! i.e Headhunter, Cyclone, Cobra Rock, Roller Coaster. We did body rafting too i.e threw ourselves in the river. Yes I am crazy.  And oh, we lost our 2 month old waterproof camera in Sg Padas. So no footprint of Sg Padas, only memories :(

I could not agree more that White Water Rafting we did was the climax of our visit to Sabah. My husband likes it too and I guess this will be our new hobby :D

 That evening, we still had the energy and appetite to go for ikan bakar, on our last night at KK. 

On Day 5, we did our shopping and dropped by Tanjung Aru for a short walk before boarding to KL at around 6PM. Sabah, we will see you again for Sipadan and Mabul and Mount Kinabalu :)

Class I: Easy

Waves small; passages clear; no serious obstacles.
Class II: Medium
Rapids of moderate difficulty with passages clear. Requires experience plus suitable outfit and boat.
Class III: Difficult
Whitewater, waves numerous, high, irregular; rocks; eddies; rapids with passages clear though narrow, requiring expertise in maneuvering; scouting usually needed. Requires good operator and boat.
Class IV: Very difficult
Long rapids; white water, waves high, irregular; dangerous rocks; boiling eddies; best passages difficult to scout; scouting mandatory first time; powerful and precise maneuvering required. Demands expert boatman and excellent boat and good quality equipment.
Class V: Extremely difficult
Exceedingly difficult, white water, long and violent rapids, following each other almost without interruption; riverbed extremely obstructed; big drops; violent current; very steep gradient; close study essential but often difficult. Requires best person, boat, and outfit suited to the situation. All possible precautions must be taken.
Class VI (or U): Dangerous
Effectively unraftable on a safe basis.

Travelogue : Kota Kinabalu Day 3 - Pulau Sapi and Pulau Manukan

Huahuahua, sorry no update today uols. Siaran tergendala. I forgot to charge my Blackberry and was disconnected for almost 24 hours. But anyway today we went to Pulau Sapi and Pulau Manukan. It was superb :D:D The aftermath - sunburn !! Huwa!!

Travelogue : Kota Kinabalu Day 1 - Only in KK

When I travel, I love to observe the place speciality and its uniqueness. So on our way back to the hotel, we came across 'this' at the 7 eleven. Gardenia Cup Cake! This is the first time I saw such cup cake and I guess we don't have this one in Semenanjung. We were actually looking for Gardenia bread for the fishes but all is sold out. I so hope they will love this cup cake huahuahua.

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Travelogue : Kota Kinabalu Day 1 - Wet Evening

We were at Night Market near Kampung Air when it started to rain. And because of the rain, we have to cancel our seafood dinner. Thing is, we did not rent any car because everywhere is within walking distance in KK (but not when it rains :p). We are now stranded at one of the street and the nearest food place we saw was KFC. And here we are, had our dinner and now waiting for the rain to stop. But the rain seems getting more heavier now.

Well anyway, this afternoon after Friday prayers, we toured Pasar Filipino and Pusat Kraftangan, the most famous place in KK for its souvenir like pearls and crystal, and cheap ikan bilis, udang kering, ikan terubuk masin etc. We did not buy any because we plan to do our shopping on our 5th day. The trick in here is that, all prices are marked up quite high. So when you want to bargain, you may go below than 50 percent than the original price. For example, there's this 10 keychain in a bag, the price tag is RM35. Then the girl give the first price at RM28, second price at RM20. Meanwhile, the girl from the other side will give u RM15 :) So, if you are looking for cheap prices, kena jalan-jalan sikit lah ok.

After that we headed to Warisan Square. I love this place. It comprises of shop lots and there were few blocks of them. And there are Padini Concept Store, Charles and Keith, Vincci, Esprit etc. For food - Big Apple Donut, Starbucks etc. The place is quite new and air-conditioned. We toured the place and then headed back to our hotel.

It was quite hot and sunny outside, and guess that was why I was a bit tired from the short jalan-jalan. I ended up sleeping in the hotel for 2 hours. This is so not me, but I guess maybe I was so tired and drained due to PPA and the rush this morning. We bring along our lappy because I know I will need to do my PPA (some office stuff), the due date this coming 6th. Thank god the lappy is also here, it keeps my husband occupied while I enjoy my 2 hours rest.

In most of our holiday, we spent most of the time outside the hotel, exploring the city. But I guess KK is an exemption because this place is very convinient, everything is within reach. But as our guide mention today, rest as much as we can for tomorrow activity. What is for tomorrow? Wait for my update :)

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Travelogue : Kota Kinabalu Day 1 - Arrival

We have safely arrived at KK at around 10am. We were in a rush and nearly missed our flight. The check-in counter has already closed and we checked- in and dropped our bag at the service counter. Then we ran to the boarding gate but alhamdullilah managed to be in the flight. The flight departed 10 minutes early and we were not informed on the change of time at all. I worried the most about our bags, worried that it goes to somewhere else, but syukur, bags safely arrived too. We have not had any meal and decided to have our brunch only in KK, so the 2.5 hours flight was so boring. I slept most of the time.

We were greeted by our agent, they were nice and came with a spacious van for two of us. We checked-in at 11am, rest for a while then headed to the mall for our brunch. Today plan is shopping at Pasar Filipino etc. Currently waiting husband to perform Friday prayers and later will continue our shopping. I suggested for seafood tonight. I cant wait :)

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White Water Rafting in Padas

We are going to do white water rafting in Padas!! This is my first time and I seriously have no idea how it looks like and feels like. It was all my husband's idea. Anyway here is the itinerary. Wish me luck~

0800 hrs - Pick up from lodge and transfer by coach to Tenom is a town located in interior division of Sabah, east Malaysia on the Island of Borneo. The town was formally called Fort Birch in the colonial period.

1145 hrs - Arrive at Tenom, get change and proceed to Pangie by train. The thrilling yet scenic ride will take around 45 minutes. Your luggage will be stored at our vans and will be transferred to Beaufort Town.

1300 hrs - Before reaching starting point , meal box refreshments have been served. Equipment will be provided to the guests; after gearing up, safety briefing will be given by river guide and the rafting commences.

1430 hrs - The 30km white water rafting, making it the longest rafting journey in Borneo begins. After the first 9th kilometers of rafting which covers seven classes of III-IV rapids, we do a quick stop for a sumptuous lunch at Rayoh Station before continuing the second rafting journey down the majestic rainforest of Borneo. Ending point will be at Halogilat then we use train ride to Beaufort town.

1830 hrs - Estimated time of arrival at Beaufort town. Freshen up, get change and on board to the coach back to lodgel.

2030 hrs - Estimated time of arrival in Kota Kinabalu.

Kota Kinabalu, Sabah - Day 1

Kota Kinabalu is my first  visited town in Sabah. Since I have never been to Sabah in moi entire life, I secretly wish for an assignment to look after Sabah field, but, unfortunately it did not materialize. So when I was nominated to attend a conferennce in KK, I straight away say yes. 

No worries on travelling alone as my Lonely Planet never fails to keep me occupied. Plus, I love to travel with Malaysia Airlines because I can comfortably do my reading and oh, I love their magazine "Going Places". It was a two and a half hour journey, I had chicken beriyani and god, they are tasteless.

I swear the flight was full of familiar faces and I suppose, we heading to the same place/hotel. It was also my first time checking-in to Magellan Sutera at Sutera Harbour. My first impression on Magellan Sutera - aiyoooo!!  My airport coach was no where to be send I had to wait for half and hour and later made a call to the hotel, asking for where about of my coach. To cut the story short, I find my own coach and headed to the hotel. Such a turn off, I have not step foot in the hotel, yet my good impression on the hotel was half way gone.

Benda yang paling memboringkan dalam dunia ialah staying alone in a luxury hotel like Magellan Sutera. So to kill my time, I went for an evening walk at around the Sutera Harbour Marina and was so in the mood to snap photos using my new and pink waterproof camera. Snap snap snap.

Sutera Harbour Resort is just 10 minutes from the airport, where resides the business-styled Pacific Sutera and the resort-styled Magellan Sutera. From the evening walk alone, I came across two swimming pools, one is olympic size pool at the Marina Clubhouse and the other one is at the center stage of the resort with water depth around 1.4m. The azure water was very inviting, I could not resist the temptation, straight away changed to my swimming suit and took an hour of evening dip before it gets dark. Need to work on the flabby triceps even on holiday people.

My room was superb, king size bed, bath tub and a private balcony to enjoy breathtaking view of the swimming pool and the sea. After swimming, I had to rush for  our  welcoming dinner at Ballroom 2. The theme was "Colours of the World". The food was not that great but it was ok. We were entertained by art and cultural performances by the locals. I left the hall at 11PM while there were still performances going on. The organizer was behind schedule, but I could not wait as  I need to go and rest. Rise and shine early in KK as it is already clear at 6AM.

Honeymoon in Krabi - Day 4

It was already Day 4. Sob sob. Anyway for Day 4, we booked the 4 Island Tour. This half day tour covers the 4 famous island in Krabi i.e Poda Island, Chicken Island, Tup Island and Phra Nang cave. We departed at 830AM from hotel and again took the speed boat from Ao Nang pier. Our boat stop by Railey beach to take more passenger, which was mostly the mat sallehs

Wherethehell is Tup Island?

Our first stop was Tup Island, which was about 45 mins by speed boat from the pier. Tup Island is a very nice beach with sand banks that connects 3 islands. At Tup Island, we lepak for an hour, mandi dan berenang bersama tiger fish and main pasir di tepi pantai :)

Fishes in Tup Island

Us at the sandbanks

Selepas itu, the boat left Tup Island to go to Chicken Island. From the photo below you can understand why the island is called Chicken Island. Rupa batu di situ macam kepala chicken kan :). At Chicken Island ni ada batu je so there was no place for us to stop so kami pass by saje. Tetapi kami berhenti seketika di satu tempat berdekatan Chicken Island to do open sea snorkeling. Hurrah! I loike!

Open sea snorkeling

It was near to the lunch time so we headed to Poda Island. Poda Island ni besar, and this was where we had our picnic lunch. Since the tour guide didnt look like muslim, we converted our mode to vegeterian and only ate the veggies and fruits. Hubby loves the pineapple, sedap katanyer.

In Poda Island kami berhenti lama sikit so apa lagi, bergambar sakan lah kan kitaorang :D

This photo was taken by a tour guide from bot sebelah. He is a very nice person and claim himself as Muslim. Hubby layan lah die borak kan and he starts to cerita pasal kisah hidup die and keluarkan gambar anak beranak die to show to us. Die pon ada bagi contact number, in case we or any friend ada nak cari Muslim tour guide in Krabi. Die pon cerita yang all passanger in his boat are Malaysians. Aha, memang pon, kitaorang ada lah terserempak dengan this bunch of Malaysian :D
After Poda Island was the last stop i.e Phra Nang cave. In here, ada cave where they perform their religious routine, as can be seen from photo below. Dekat-dekat situ pon ada locals jual jagung, pineapple, souveniers or even baju :D
At Phra Nang, I was already tired and sunburnt so I lepak je kat tepi beach while watching hubby mandi-manda.
For passanger from Railey beach, this was their last pit stop as they can walk back to Railey beach from here. For us, kami take the boat to Ao Nang pier after spending 1 hour in Phra Nang cave/area. Kami sampai di pier at around 2PM. Penat dan hitam tapi masih bertenaga lagi untuk berjalan yeah :D

So petang tu at 4PM, we went to jalan-jalan at Krabi town naik kereta hotel. The driver tu ada berhenti at this place yang I lupe nama die ape, and kat sini kitaorang amik gambar-gambar mengarut, as seen below hihi.

After that, the driver drove us to Thai Market, this one is bigger than the one in Ao Nang. It was like a pasar malam which was divided into two area i.e food area and other than food area. I sempat beli 3 spagetti for only 100 Baht. Okay lah, nice and I like it so much. At the food area, we saw many Muslims shops and the food pon nampak familiar like ayam goreng, nasi ayam and nasi minyak. Hubby bought ayam goreng and that nasi minyak. The kakak tempat kami beli nasi tu was actually a Malay. She speaks fluent Malay, so memang rasa comfortable lah masa beli nasi tu tadi :).
Selepas itu, kami told the driver we wanted to go to money changer. He brought us to Tesco haha. Aiyor kat sini pon ada Tesco. Tapi kitorang tak lama kat Tesco, 10 minutes je camtu. I told hubby I want to go to place other than Tesco. So after that kami balik and the driver drove us to the money changer at Ao Nang beach.
Well, at that time we were quite tired so tak de jalan-jalan sangat after that. Bile dah dapat tukar duit, we headed home and retire for the day.
On Day 5, kami packed and was sedih to go. We had our breakfast and then lepak tengok movie at Star World sebelum bertolak at 10AM from the hotel. As we arrived Krabi Airport, we were told that our flight was delayed to 2PM. So what to do, tunggu je lah kat airport tu kan. Nasib baik ada my baby Macbook. So kitaorang tengok-tengok gambar sambil mengisi masa lapang. We performed our prayers before departed to KL. Krabi Airport ni ada prayers room, so no problem lah nak perform prayers.
We safely arrived at LCCT at around 6PM Malaysian time. Glad to be home but at the same time, has already missed Krabi. Good bye Krabi! It was surely a memorable one :)

Honeymoon in Krabi - Day 3

It was Day 3. The prediction on tsunamis was only a hoax. On Day 3, the sun was shinning happily and to Phi Phi Island, here we come!

Buffet breakfast at Krabi La Playa, same menu everyday!

The tour starts at 830PM, a van came to pick us from the hotel. The van was also full of tourist from other hotel and it was heading to Ao Nang pier to depart to Phi Phi Island.

Bot-bot yang tersadai at Ao Nang pier

This is our van driver yang bawak kereta macam hantu

We took the tour with speed boat. I know there is another boat to try i.e the long tail boat. I am not sure how much will it cost but the long tail boat looks slow compared to the speed boat. The speed boat memang laju okay. Hubby and I took the challenge to sit at the front and kami (well it was actually me alone) menjerit-jerit as the boat melambung-lambung membelah ombak. Our tour guide namanyer Mohamad. He claims the he is Muslim. Die memang peramah, suka menyanyi and cakap macam ada slang. Die sebut dollar as dola (hi dola~). Hihi. He saw our henna and straightaway came to us and asked
"Abe and Kakak, just married?"
We laughed like hell gak lah because he called my hubby Abe kan. And along the trip pon die panggil hubby Abe.
The bumpy journey took for about 45 minutes before we hit for our first stop i.e Bamboo Island. In Bamboo Island, we stopped for one hour for swim, sunbathing, snorkeling and relaxing. Mat asked us to familiarize with the snorkeling equipment because our next stop for snokerling, it will be open sea snorkeling. For me, that was my first time snorkeling for the whole of my life and I like it so much :) Hubby has no problem with this activity, he has done it several times already.

Bamboo Island from far

After Bamboo Island, the boat headed to Phi Phi Island and on its way, it passed by few places like the Viking Cave and for photo snapping. On ya, before we actually arrive at Phi Phi, we stop at Maya Bay, the famous place from the movie the Beach. We were at Maya Bay for one hour. Hubby and I lepak mandi-mandi and then took some photos around that area. Maya Bay memang cantik :):)

Viking Cave, ada orang duduk dalam ni ok

Maya Bay










Phi Phi Don

Mendarat

After Maya Bay, kami menuju ke Phi Phi Don. Phi Phi Don is actually a small island yang ada development like kedai, hotel, jetty and etc. It's like a small town. You can opt to stay in a hotel in Phi Phi, but usually orang yang go for scuba diving je yang stay in Phi Phi. Most tourist would prefer to stay in Ao Nang because it's the center to go everwhere. In Phi Phi, we had lunch. Mat said it's safe for us to eat the food because it's halal. So kami pon makan dengan gembira. Lunch die pon sedap. They served spagetti, tomyam, ayam masak gajus and mixed vegetable. Spagetti die sedap. Nyum.

Kucing in Phi Phi Don semuanyer gemuk-gemuk dan pemalas, they only sleep

Lunch~

Garfield~

Sunbathing

After lunch, we were left to do anything that we want in that island for 1.5 hours. It makes sense to left us for 2 hours in there because there are so many places to venture. Ada banyak kedai cenderahati jugak but we found it more expensive than kedai in Ao Nang. So we didn't buy anything from Phi Phi except for ICE AGE 3 DVD! chihihihi. Kitaorang dah plan nak tengok Ice Age 3 dalam bilik nanti.

Jalan-jalan, makan ice cream, took photos, so it's time for us to leave Phi Phi. Bye bye Phi Phi. On our way back, we passed by at Monkey Beach for a while untuk bagi monkey makan. And then near Phi Phi, this one place yang cantik untuk open sea snorkeling.

Snorkeling area

Aha, snorkeling kat sini lah yang paling best so far. The water is so clear and blue. Ada banyak tiger fishes passing by us. Mat gave us mellons to umpan the tiger fishes to come near us. Tiger fish tu semua suke mellons. Diorang tak takut pon makan mellons from my hand :).

Tiger fish and banana peels

Open sea snokerling

Tiger fishes enjoying their melons

Snorkeling kat Phi Phi tadi adalah yang paling best during our trip to Krabi ni. After that kami balik to Ao Nang, another 45 minutes of bumpy journey. Sampai Ao Nang, at around 4PM, the van sent us back to the hotel. Sampai saja hotel kami terus blackout sampai esok pagi sebab kepenatan, tak makan dinner pon.