Kota Kinabalu Tour 2011 (July15 - 18, 2011)

     At last! After almost a year of waiting, I’m finally going to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, North Borneo.   This was my longest booking ever; we booked this flight last August of 2010.  Why not, Air Asia offered a very cheap fare.  Incidentally, this was also my cheapest flight.  Way cheaper than my domestic travels.

     For this flight, we will depart and arrive at Clark’s Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) so we booked our bus ticket at the Philtranco Bus terminal in Pasay one week in advance, bus pick-up is at Bldg. A of SM Megamall.  However, since the bus is not always full you may proceed directly to Megamall terminal without any reservation.  Our travel to Clark took less than 2 hours.

     We have already checked-in via web through Air Asia’s website so all we had to do was to drop our baggage and proceed with document checks.  We arrived at around 11:00AM so we still have a long time to wait.  Baggage drop-off opens at 2:00 PM and our flight is scheduled to depart at 4:00PM, so we decided to have our lunch first.  There are tables and food kiosk and a Ministop beside the arrivals hall.  We bought cup noodles and ate our packed lunch first.  Yes!  We brought our lunch because we knew that we will have to wait for a long time and it was our first time to use DMIA so we still don’t know if there are fast foods around.  It is also a fact that foods within airports are over priced, but I was surprised that they had reasonable prices.  After some rest, we went inside the airport and decided to wait at the check-in hall.  The airport has a fast wireless internet connection so we were not bored while waiting.

DMIA Chek-in Hall

     Finally, baggage drop-off counters opened.  We were third on the line; however, it took a long time because the first line had a group check-in so it took some time for them to finish everything.  Good thing I decided to pay the Travel Tax first, so when our bag was weighed and checked-in, we went straight to the terminal fee counter and proceeded to the immigration.  Here, you will be required to show a company ID.  It was a breeze and we were on the pre-departure area in no time.  There are several food kiosks here which are a bit pricey but not as expensive as those found at the NAIA.

Air Asia Baggage Drop-off Counter

Boarding Time!

     We boarded the aircraft a few minutes before the scheduled departure time so the ground crews were hurrying us, but I still had the chance to take a picture before boarding the plane.  Air bridges at DMIA are still not operational so we had to use stairs instead.  During flight, a flight attendant went to us and asked if we have pre-booked a meal and a comfort kit.  She looked at our boarding passes and told us that she’ll be back in a while to prepare our meal.  They serve pre-booked meals first before they start selling during flight.  It is cheaper if you booked a meal on the internet.  Air Asia does not offer free food and drinks because it is a budget carrier.  The food we ordered looked good on the picture, but the actual taste isn’t that good.  After a while, my Comfort Kit (Air Pillow, eye mask, blanket) was delivered to me.  It cost 367 Pesos when purchased in advance.   I bought this because I’d like to have a souvenir from all the airlines that I use.

Pre-booked In-flight Meal (Bukhara Chicken Briyani).

Air-Asia Comfort Kit.

     It was cloudy when we reached Kota Kinabalu and the runway was still wet, however we had a very smooth landing.  We parked at the Terminal 2 of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.  This is a budget terminal so do not expect air bridges.  We walked our way straight to the Immigration.  The line was so long and it took us almost an hour to finally reach the counter.  When my passport was finally stamped, we proceeded straight to the conveyor to get our baggage.  Taxi service is provided at the airport, there is a counter beside the exit of the arrivals hall.  It costs RM30 (RM=Ringgit Malaysia) from the airport to our hotel.

Just landed at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA).

Immigration line.

KKIA Arrival Hall

     It was already dark when we boarded the taxi.  We were so excited to get to our hotel.  For this trip, we chose Gaya Centre Hotel because of good reviews on tripadvisor.  Incidentally, it was offered at an incredibly cheap price on airasiago.com, so I decided to book it immediately when I saw the promo.   When we reached the hotel, I was so happy to see how it looked.  The lobby looks bare as said on the reviews, but clean and spacious.  We presented our airasiago hotel voucher, and since our friend checked-in a day in advance, we requested to be on the same floor.  A credit card is required for pre-authorization for incidental charges, or a cash deposit of RM100 refundable upon check-out. We were given our electronic keycard with our breakfast coupons placed on a nice keycard holder.  A deposit receipt was also placed inside an envelope.  We went straight to the elevator and were surprised to see a 13^th floor.  We were given room 915.  Upon reaching the 9^th floor, we noticed that the floor was carpeted and well maintained.  We were also very happy to see our room.  It was way beyond our expectations.  Very clean room, very large window with a view of the sea, very large LCD TV, a fridge, tea making facilities, bathroom amenities which include a soap, shampoo, bath gel, lotion, and a shower cap.  There is also an electronic safe and an ironing board inside the big cabinet, a complimentary high speed internet, and a hair dryer inside the drawer, and many more.  The room is also carpeted and the design reminds me of EDSA-Shangri-la Hotel in Manila.  It is a three star hotel but it felt like five star!  Tea, coffee, sugar, creamer, bathroom amenities, and 2 bottled waters, and an English newspaper is provided daily.  The hotel staffs were also very friendly. 

     I went to our friend’s room who came a day before us to pick her up for dinner.  Malls were already closed so we decided to explore the city at night.  We went to the KK esplanade and saw many food kiosks beside the bay.  We tried their Barbecues and also ordered some of their dishes.  We were surprised with the huge servings; I can say the price is so worth it.  We also went to the Filipino Market; however, most of the stalls were already closed, so we decided to go back to our hotel to rest and get ready for the next day’s adventure.

Exploring the City at night.

     On our first morning, we woke up early and prepared for breakfast.  It is served at G Café located at the 4^th floor.  We were again surprised with the large buffet selection.  We decided to have our breakfast at the balcony to have a good view of the sea while we eat their delicious dishes.   Just when we had too much, we decided to get our things from our room and went straight to Jesselton Point for our island hopping adventure. 

     There are so many tour selections at the Jesselton Ferry station; we booked our tour for only RM20 per person for two islands plus a terminal fee and tax worth 7.20 each.  Snorkel Mask and Life vest costs RM12.  We chose Sapi and Mamutik islands because these are great for swimming and snorkeling.  Due to our excitement, we forgot to bring some food with us, but it doesn’t matter because we just had a very huge breakfast.  We went to Sapi Island first.  Mats are available for whole day rent at RM4 with RM5 deposit.  Lunch buffet is also available here at a very expensive price of RM50.  Good thing we ate a lot during breakfast.  We also did the Parasailing for RM150, but the parachute failed twice so we had to go back to the mainland to change it.  It took us some time to return so we missed our boat going to Mamutik island.  We were re-scheduled at 2:15PM, however when we reached our guide, he said we’ll meet at “two five O”, so it seemed 2:50, we repeated it and he said yes, so we decided to swim some more.  When approached him again he said he was looking for us and the last trip to the other island has left at 2:15PM.  We were surprised because what he meant was 2:05 but he repeatedly told us to meet at “two five O” instead of “two O five”.  I think it was a language barrier since he was trying to speak Filipino for us.  We were so disappointed so we decided to go back to the mainland to report it and maybe have a refund for 1 island.  On our way back, we had a very extreme speed boat ride, so we decided not to have a refund because that ride made our day! Haha.  We immediately walked our way to the hotel to bathe and change clothes.

Jesselton Point Ferry Station

Inside Jesselton Point

Sapi Island

Swimming Area at Sapi Island

Parasailing Adventure

     Since we were back from the island early, we decided to go shopping.  We first went to Wisma Merdeka Mall beside the hotel (Our hotel is between two malls) to exchange our money, then we went to the esplanade to buy some barbecue for snacks and then straight to the Filipino Market to buy some souvenir items.  After that, we looked for a supermarket to buy bottled water.  We saw Servay Hypermarket and went in.  We were surprised with the cheap prices so we shopped for “Pasalubong”   I bought candies and local chocolates as well as local cup noodles.  I tried using my Unionbank Visa Eon Debit Card to save my pocket money and it was accepted.  Along the streets, we saw several food stalls selling fried rice and dishes for only RM1 each.  My friend was able to buy 3 pcs. of big crabs for only RM2, that was so cheap!  So we bought some for dinner and decided to eat inside our room.

KK Street Food

Dishes as low as RM1

Drinks Selection at a local Supermarket.

Paying my Bills.

     The next morning, we went to Gaya Street Sunday Market.  Here, souvenir items, plants, pets, and home decors can be bought at a cheap price.  You can even buy T-shirts worth RM20 for 3 Pcs.  We bought several items here before going back to the hotel to rest for a while.  After lunch, we went to Suria Sabah Mall also beside the hotel.  Picture taking is not allowed inside the mall but we managed to do so.  We decided to check cinema prices; Golden Screen Cinemas is located at the 8^th floor.  We booked for the last full show of the last part of Harry Potter because it was cheaper here than in Manila.  Ticket Price costs RM10 (135 Pesos).  We went back to our hotel to change to a more comfortable clothing because we were going to walk around the City.  We ate our lunch at Wisma Merdeka food court.  Here, you will be the one to serve your own viand and the price varies depending on the amount of serving.  While walking, we reached Warisan Square, it is a big mall which features cheap electronic products like cellular phones which costs as little as RM59.  I was able to buy an mp3 player for only RM15.  It was our last night so we decided to go back to ‘Servay’ and spend our extra Ringgits for some give-away items.  We saw cheap fragrances for only RM6.90 and smelled good so I decided to buy some and use my Debit Card once again.  After that, back to our room once again to freshen up and rest for a while and upload some photos on facebook. 

Gaya Street Sunday Market.

We were surprised to see "Philippines" on one item.

     Movie Time! We went early to Golden Screen Cinemas to buy some snacks.  2 regular drinks and a large Popcorn costs RM9.50 and a hotdog sandwich costs RM5.50 each.  We chose a great seat and enjoyed the movie, the only downside was the captions.  There were two subtitles, one in Bahasa Melayu, and one in Chinese, I can’t help my self from reading them.  After the movie we were guided to a door beside the screen, there was an elevator and upon reaching the ground floor, I was surprised that the path led us directly outside the mall.

Inside the Movie House.

Transparent Urinal inside Suria Sabah Mall.

     On our last day, we had a very heavy breakfast!  We decided to stay inside our room until we check-out for a stress free departure.  Our flight was scheduled at 1:35PM so we left the hotel at 11:00AM.  There is a taxi line in front of our hotel so we had no problem going back to the airport. 

Last Breakfast in Kota Kinabalu

Time to Leave!

     At the airport, we used Air Asia’s self check-in kiosk.  There were no long lines there so we were able to checked-in our baggage quickly.  Entry to the pre-departure area however was a bit longer because there is only one baggage scanner.  It was also a breeze at the immigration.  Since we still have some more Ringgits left, to include our hotel room deposit of RM100 which was refunded when we checked-out, we decided to shop some more at the airport’s duty free shop.

Air Asia Boarding Gate.

     We boarded the plane a few minutes behind schedule but what delayed us more was lining up at the runway to wait for take-off clearance.  It was so slow.  During flight, we were served our in-flight meals.  This time the selections taste better.  We enjoyed our meal on a very bumpy ride.  Minutes after, when I was walking my way to the lavatory, seat belt signs turned on, and while I was inside, an announcement was made by the captain that there was turbulence and we must remain seated until further notice, so I hurried back to my seat.  It became calm after some time.  The weather was nice when we reached Clark, but the touch down wasn’t good.  It was a very hard landing, the worst landing I experienced.  At last! We’re home safe.  Last check at the Philippine Immigration and we’re done.  I still have RM80 and exchanged it for PHP1,084.  There’s a Philtranco counter near the money changer so we bought our ticket and went straight to the bus which will take us back to SM Megamall.

Delicious Nasi Lemak.

Here are some of the things I brought home from KK.

     It might have been a short trip but it was a really nice vacation and Gaya Centre Hotel made it even better.  I’d like to go back someday to do some serious shopping!  So if you see promo fares to Kota Kinabalu, go ahead and book it!  I’m sure you’ll have a great affordable vacation.