January 05, 2006

Kota Kinabalu

The last stop of our pre-Christmas 2005 trip was Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. We went here primarily to visit our good friends, Mr. and Mrs. G. The second agenda was to re-discover the beauty of nature at its best.

Kota Kinabalu is very near the Philippines via Mindanao. The island itself is eighty per cent rainforest. Most of the tourists who go here do nature trippings. Either they want to unwind, do some diving, or climb Mt. Kinabalu. We had our share of wildlife and nature during our one week stay in Kota Kinabalu.

For me, the highlight of our trip was the Wild River Rafting in Padas River. We took a train from Beaufort going to the mountains and did the rafting. The train was no BTS, MTR, or MRT. Inside it, we were together with a motorbike and some cows ( yes.. the ones that go "moo") inside. There were no seats and we were just seated on the floor for 2 hours. The rafting took us about 45 minutes to one hour. It was really fun. The boys had the courage to try body rafting and us girls were content with our high pitched shrieks everytime there was a big wave coming in. At the end of the adventure, we got a certificate making us officially able to conquer a Class 3 river (moderately difficult).

We went to Pulau Gaya which is beside Pulau Manukan. It's an island 20 minute via a motor boat from Kota Kinabalu. We had a good barbecue lunch over here. Since we came there on a low season, there aren't a lot of people around. We basically had the island for ourselves. The boys were busy playing petanque by the beach and us ladies played UNO and enjoyed the sun.

We spent one day nature tripping and went to see the Proboscis Monkey. They are the only monkeys I know who are allergic to bananas and they can actually die when they eat them They live on trees and eat leaves , fruits and branches. We went to Klias Wetlands on a sightseeing adventure to see these nearly extinct monkeys only found in Borneo and witness thousands of fireflies at night. This was fun although we needed a telescope to see the monkeys hanging on the trees. On a lighter note, did you know that these monkeys have pot bellies and the male's organ is red in color---> as in ferrari red. Plus, the older these monkeys get, the bigger their noses become.

Our days in Kota Kinabalu were well spent getting in touch with nature and just having plain fun. We didn't want to leave the place but husband needed to go back to work. I actually have tons of pictures but they might not interest you much since most of them are photos of monkeys, birds, trees,the sunset, beach, and wildlife.

At the end of 2006, we will be going back to Kota Kinabalu.It would be another visit to our good friends and hopefully, we get to climb Mt. Kinabalu this time.

* photo of the proboscis monkey was swiped from Labuk Bay Proboscis Sanctuary website.

Posted by duke at 1/05/2006 06:49:00 PM

21 Comments:

Anonymous said...: .. such a journey huh? And where is that girl in bikinis? I wanna see those golden blaze tans!

How true you can't bring furniture items? I remember Isay bought a big wooden Thai Doll 5 foot tall? Ok ba ang bargain?; 1/05/2006 08:10:00 PM
Anonymous said...: River rafting sounds fun. I do want to try it someday. But to be honest, i'm scared coz it's real river rage not like the ones you find in the fair.; 1/05/2006 09:24:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Sounds warm and fun! Great blog, too.; 1/05/2006 10:39:00 PM
dreaming-neko said...: what a great adventure! nature always make for an amazing /rejuvenating trip.; 1/05/2006 11:43:00 PM
duke said...: K- it was one of teh best nature vacation I had. No pictures of us because I was the one taking the pics. I realized I had more pictures of the monkeys, sunset, and my husband than myself! sayang talaga!

If you are talking about shopping in bangkok I'm not sure of the laws. I guess you can bring out the stuff. In KK no prob at al. There's even a Filipino Market there and it's one of the tourist attractions.. o di ba?!; 1/06/2006 12:40:00 AM
duke said...: evi you should try someday!it gives a certain adrenalin rush esp when the waves are high and you find your raft being thrown everywhere. It's like riding a roller coaster with all the build up of emotions :D

soy itw as definitely fun! thanks for reading my post.. see you again!

neko nothing really beats the beauty of nature. I can't help but smile when I look back at this trip!; 1/06/2006 12:43:00 AM
Anonymous said...: We took a train from Beaufort going to the mountains and did the rafting. The train was no BTS, MTR, or MRT. Inside it, we were together with a motorbike and some cows ( yes.. the ones that go "moo") inside

WITH THIS I WOULD LOVE TO TRAVEL WITH DUKE!!!!; 1/06/2006 12:51:00 AM
Anonymous said...: i've always wanted to try wild river rafting, but i'm just too scared coz i'm not a good swimmer. and, i might kill my raft-mates with my shrieks! sobra daw ako makatili eh =} nobody took pictures of you in the river?; 1/06/2006 03:11:00 AM
Unknown said...: Duke the trip sounds awesome and you got to escape to wonderful weather. I enjoy the pics so you've got at least one person who wouldn't get tired of photos. :); 1/06/2006 05:49:00 AM
Teacher Sol said...: Great photos! I miss home, looks so much like the forests and beach resort in my province (Daet, Camarines Norte). Makes me want to go home soon and enjoy the sun kissed beaches...; 1/06/2006 05:50:00 AM
Anonymous said...: On teacher sol: Uyy may taga bicol din taga Daet. I'm from Catanduanes.

*sorry Duke ginawang ads kaya ang commenting box.; 1/06/2006 09:16:00 AM
Anonymous said...: cute no'ng monkey!

Happy Three Kings dukesa!!!

aufwiedersehen :); 1/06/2006 11:22:00 AM
JO said...: hi duke,

I hope we will have a chance to explore this place in the not-so-distant future. It sounds like fun and something that my hubby and kids will definitely enjoy.; 1/07/2006 12:43:00 AM
duke said...: Sha hehehhe the pleasure is mine.. I'm a cowboy ;D

mei you have a lifevest when doing the rafting so it's no problem if you're not a good swimmer. You will still float. There was a guy taking pictures who was in a kayak but they were film based. Click on teh link of Padas river so you can see how it looks like :D; 1/07/2006 12:22:00 PM
duke said...: expat traveler Thanks! I actually have tons of pictures of wildlife for this trip. The best was the monitor lizard walking along the beach while we were sun bathing... can't be more one with nature than that!; 1/07/2006 12:23:00 PM
duke said...: teacher sol really? I've never been to camarines norte.. would love to go there!

K lol no prob!

racky Belated Happy Three Kings!
They look better in person. They look like small people :D

JO I do hope you and your family get to explore KK. It's a wonderful adventure!; 1/07/2006 12:27:00 PM
Anonymous said...: wow! i have always wanted to see kota kinabalu, and from your pictures it's settled: i'm going to put a trip to kota kinabalu in my 2006 to-do list! although i'm really creeped out by the photo of that monkey...
-kala; 1/07/2006 07:10:00 PM
tin-tin said...: duke, ang saya naman! honestly, i can't believe you're being this adventurous. that is based on how i have known you since our Youth days ha. para kseng you're so prim and proper before, really just like a duchess.. and now, riding elephants, rafting. riding the trains with cows ("moo") inside. hehe. wala lang. aliw lang :); 1/09/2006 06:54:00 AM
tintin said...: aka pinayhekmi

I noticed someone else has tin-tin as well, so thought I'd identify myself even further!

Duke, first of all, Happy New Year! Wow, to spend time in such a paradise is completely enviable. Being in touch with nature is not something I've done a lot of. I can't wait until Hubby and I start hiking. Maybe we can hike at Mt. Kinabulu.; 1/09/2006 08:21:00 PM
duke said...: kala I hope you get to visit KK. It's a wonderful place! The first time I saw the monkey I felt the same but they grow on you...hehehhee

tintin MY! I never thought of myself as prim and proper :D

tintin aka pinayhekmiahhh hiking is one of the best things to do.You get to spend quality time with your husband, see the beauty of nature, and it keeps you fit as well!; 1/10/2006 10:59:00 AM
Flex J! said...: Great sceneries, parang gusto ko ng pumunta dyan ah!

So relaxing!!!; 1/10/2006 11:30:00 AM

Confessions of an Expat's Wife

January 05, 2006

Kota Kinabalu

21 Comments:

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