Budget Travel @ Sabah ~ Suggested itenary

In my personal opinion, Kota Kinabalu is not the main highlight of your visit to Sabah. Spend a day or two in the city, probably during the last few days just to see what local city folks do, pick a Sunday so that you can visit the popular Gaya street market. Otherwise, visit Sabah if you want to snorkel around the islands, climb Mount Kinabalu and explore Kundasang, water rafting grade 3 – 4 at Padas or explore rural areas in rented car. Go here for basic preparation for your trip.

Get cheap flights on MAS when you book as early as 1 – 2 months. Expect to spend minimum RM500++. Hotels are easily booked via booking websites, which offer quite an extensive list and price range. There are the usual city hotels 2 -5 stars and numerous backpacker lodges.

Budget Travel @ Sabah 08 ~ Atkinson Clock Tower

 Situated along the Signal Hill road is the clock tower from the year 1903. 

Budget Travel @ Sabah 07 ~ City mosque Kota Kinabalu

If you come by tour package, most of the time they will bring you to see the City mosque at Likas bay area. It’s out of the city area not reachable by foot, mind you. Said to resemble the Nabawi mosque of Medina, the enhanced feature is the surrounding manmade lagoon giving the appearance of a floating mosque.  Not really a visiting highlight, if you ask me, if you are not a Muslim all you can do is snapping a few photos, and there are no other attraction place nearby. Getting there is a hassle unless you rented a car. As for me, I passed by it on my way to the city from my hotel at 1Borneo.

Budget Travel @ Sabah 06 ~ Kota Kinabalu city at a glance

This map can be found at the airport and local tourism office. Most of the hotels can be booked online at their respective websites or hotel – booking websites e.g. Agoda.com. Most places are reachable by foot. I am describing based on my 5 – year experience of living in this city and from my recent trip. Nothing has changed that much, the city may have become a bit busier if not cleaner. 

Budget Travel @ Sabah 05 ~ City Park

 Around City Park area is where you can find a lot of cheap accommodation, eateries and mode of transportations. From the city park you can see various shopping malls within walking distance, the post office, and shops selling non – branded items. Buses and minivans congregate nearby, taking you around town and to the deepest rural area. The minivans are pretty much the main mode of transportations for the rural folks. Not the safest choice, they are crampy and rickety, be wary of pick pockets too if you really want to take one. There are chartered vehicles around too; price usually starts at RM120 per ride. (My suggestion, if you want to go safely and conveniently to a far – off attraction e.g. Kundasang, get yourself into a tour package or rent a car. Sabah is pretty easy to navigate and the locals are very helpful in showing directions.)

Budget Travel @ Sabah 04 ~ Walking around the Philippine market area

If the weather is nice, put on your walking shoes and go snoop around the Philippine market area where you can find all sorts of local products ranging from dried seafood, local food and crafts.

Be adventurous and sample local food like bakso for breakfast at the top floor of the local market. Quench your thirst with cooling coconut drink at the ground floor. Of course, a word of caution here, hygiene can be questionable.

Budget Travel @ Sabah 02 ~ Dinner from Apple Café, 1Borneo Hypermall

 

When I was a student I used to get my lunch / dinner here because the café offers variety of side dishes at an affordable price. It’s not exactly Malay food or Chinese food, more like a mix – up and fusion I guess. For a filling meal at affordable price, I couldn’t care less. They have never displayed a Halal status, but no pork is served here and you can see some Malays eating here too.

Budget Travel @ Sabah 01 ~ Courtyard Hotel @ 1Borneo Hypermall, Kota Kinabalu

My recent trip to Sabah for a course was on a tight budget, since I was saving up for something else.  I was lucky that I managed to get a decent price for MAS ticket (about RM600++) instead of the usual AirAsia (actually, if you can, try to get a MAS flight. They are much more comfortable, with free food unlike AirAsia where everything is charged). If you are travelling cheaply like me, and the next door Tunes Hotel is fully booked, Courtyard Hotel can be listed under your options. A bit crampy for some, but for a single person who goes out most of the time and comes back to the hotel room for a shower and a snooze, Courtyard is enough to accommodate you. Get the discounted price by booking via Agoda.com. Stay here if you are familiar with Kota Kinabalu city and have your own transport e.g. a rental car as it is located outside the city centre, next to the University Malaysia Sabah. As for me, I rented a car from the Terminal 1 airport, a Myvi @ RM130 / day.

A day on Gaya street (06): my favourite bunnies ^_^

As a kid, I loved bunnies. And I still do. Gaya street provided me with many to pet on that day.

The bunnies were displayed in open cages so that the visitors can play and pet them. There were many types of breed but I'm in no position to describe since I'm no expert. I was there just to play.

My favourite was the black bunny with the white stripes. Aren't they just so adorable, "burr"ing to each other? ("Burr" as in the sounds, I don't know how else to describe it because they were definitely nor purring.)

As noon approached, they got more restless. Who wouldn't, if you have a thick coat on on a sweltering day?

But some still chose to snuggle close.

Hello neighbours...

And the price tags that shocked me. There goes my bunny dream... ^_^

A day on Gaya street (05): fluffy friends

Did I mention how much I love animals?

Puppies! I love puppies, despite my religion prohibiting us to touch them but it never says that I can't look. I love those fluffy chaps at the left end especially.

And hammies! Cute, but they stink...

Baby mice for a few ringgit.

Ok, here comes the bad part.

Can you imagine just how crampy those cages are? My God, the puppies were mashed up upon each other.

RM650 dog and bunnies squashed in their cages. For the bunnies, I guess it's fine since their sizes were smaller as compared to that poor doggy.

I suppose since there's no authority coming to impose any animal law, that's why these are happening. No surprise for the Pulau Ketam's incident, people are already treating them badly while on the trade.

A day on Gaya street (04): avian delights

This was a time where H1N1 had not made a headline yet.


I was wondering where in the world are those chirping coming from when I noticed a large group of tourists snapping photos. Much to my delight, I found these cute chirpers. Boy, taking a close snap was impossible so I'd to satisfy myself with this.




But I manage to snap this at another vendor. Boy, it was so chirpy and friendly, and more than happy to pose for us.

Grade A bantam chicks! And for only RM35! So fluffy and white, but I don't think the airport officers would feel the same way so I'd to quash my longing...

These are the normal chicks, some are to be bred for meat and eggs, some for fun. The prices very from RM3 - 10, depending on type of chicks.

A day on Gaya street (03): water creatures for sale

Gaya street fair share of water creatures to bring home which includes...

Tortoise! I used to love them as a child but after they grew up and became too large for their tank, I had to release them at nearby park's lake. Too many heartaches, so I have long given up on having them.

Larger version, and some rounders one for big ponds.

I call them ikan bandaraya because they are supposed to be some sort of "cleaning" fish. You put one in the tank to help slow down the process of alga growth and spread. And this fish really stays vertical most of the time on the tank wall.

Another childhood favourite of mine, ikan laga @ fighting fish. I like them for their brilliant colours and they are easy to care for.

A day on Gaya street (02): Orchids galore

I'm no orchid expert but I love them. And Gaya street has a lot to offer, from the common ones, local, imported to the wild jungle orchids. Some are sold as a small cutting that you can sneak into your hand luggage, but the bigger ones, sorry to say but they will be stuck in quarantine at the airport.

Don't ask me which is which, I really can't discern which are the common ones and which are the wild jungle orchids, but the ones with bizarre or extraordinary colours are usually the wild jungle orchids.













These are a type of cactus, and the pinks are actually their flower. I could not resist snapping a pic.

A day on Gaya Street (01): trinkets and the likes

The weekend shopping haven on the infamous Gaya Street starts as early as 6 am on every Sunday. So every Sunday, the whole length of Gaya street will be closed down to traffic so park your car somewhere on Saturday night. Jesselton Hotel has a parking space behind its building for the guests.

As we downed our breakfast at the dining area, we watched the bustle of vendors from all over Sabah setting up their tents and stuffs for the growing number of shoppers. I was pretty excited myself since Gaya streets "tamu" (@market) has never disappoint me with the wide variety of trinkets and the likes, with a dash of surprises thrown in here and there.




I think many blogs and sites have covered on Gaya street topic suffice to inform everybody on what are the main attractions offered. For me, it's always cute animals, lots and lots of batik Jawa, flowers and plants, and the amusement of finding something out of ordinary.

Like this. I never knew that butterfly pins are in the season now but here they are, colourful and wings - splayed to don your scarves and head dress. Take your pick and the vendor will pack them into the polystyrene lunch boxes.


They sell common everyday tools too.


Once in a while, these aunties will bang some folk tunes out of these ethnic instruments as part of their sale strategies.


The gongs and gendang, and some traditional weapons (Keris, held by this lady and uncle.)


So many chaplang (fake) branded goods at unbelievably cheap prices.


Shells and corals from the deep sea.


Coins and pottery. Selling money for money.


To my next post ^_^

Indonesian food: Eating brain at Nasi Padang Ibu

Status: Halal
Location: Jesselton Point, Kota Kinabalu.

I haven't been going to Jesselton Point that often to notice that this place has an Indonesian food restaurant. I guess all those time I was more focused on the hunks playing futsal in the Suria futsat indoor field LOL

So anyway, here I am at Jesselton point. To eat.

The place has changed a lot during my 5 years stay. 4 years ago there's only the jetty there for those who wish to visit Sabah's popular 3 islands (Manukan, Sapi and Mamutik) or to take the ferry to Labuan. Now there is a futsal indoor field and many eateries to entertain the visitors while waiting for their boats.




And so, here is the place, viewed from outside. Nasi Padang Ibu. A rare grade A eatery in Kota Kinabalu city. I didn't take take the photo centrally because I also wanted to take in the cute London - like phone booth LOL



The main highlight of my lunch that day was... Gulai otak. Brain. Cow brain. Seriously.

It looked like any normal gulai, in fact at first I thought it's plain normal chicken until the waitress told me otherwise. So out of curiosity, I ordered it.

Can you see it? I spread it out as best as I can to get a clear shot of the sulci, gyri, grey and white matter. Taste... creamy. Texture... like cream caramel. A Kelantanese would love this. But very high content of cholestrol.

And of course, the other dishes with the steamed rice. Last row from left: gulai otak (brain), sambal terung (brinjal), sambal bilis and tempe (anchovy and soy bean). Middle row from left: sambal paru (cow lung), gulai sotong (squid). Front row from left: a different kind of sambal terung (steamed brinjal), ayam kampung goreng (chicken, steamed then deep-fried) and dendeng (beef, roasted then braised)

Overall, the food was tasty. The ice kacang was a treat on such a hot day. They have a wide range of dishes, exceedinf 30 types for you to choose from and the prices are reasonable. An extra "umph" was the bag of keropok belinjau on each of their table to be eaten with the sambal belacan dip or on its own. For all these, we were chrged RM70+ inclusive of drinks and taxes.

Service was good, and the place separated the smokers and non - smokers. Come here if you are looking for good Indonesian food.



Rating: 4/5

Seafood: New Gaya Seafood Restaurant

Status: Serve No Pork
Address: Inanam


I was driving at night so I really couldn’t recall the roads very well. So rather than misguiding everyone, I rather not describe it then. It’s somewhere in Inanam, near a housing area and always fully packed. My memory is a bit fuzzy, though I only went there like a week ago before departing from Sabah.

Since I was about to leave Sabah in few days time, we decided to go on a spree and indulge in seafood at this place because as compared to other places, their price is the most affordable. For what we ate below, we were charged only RM155.




The soft shell crabs are very popular, we learnt this when we came for the first time and were told that the place ran out of stock due to high demands, especially on weekend. So a friend of mine pre – ordered the crabs earlier before we came in this time. They were fried crunchy to be relished for every single bite till nothing is left! Nothing wasted and hassle – free, literally since you consumed the shells together with the flesh. RM28 for half kg.

Soft shell crabs in batter, deep fried.

Scallop was the expensive part of our meal. RM35 for half kg or less. They cooked it with celery which was a good combination.


My favourite, fish teo chiew style (did I spell that correctly?). RM20+ for this tilapia. The thing I like about this fish is the salty - sour taste and of course, the tofu =)


Prawns! Half kg for RM25 I think, fried in oatmeal batter. Yummy!


The tom yum soup for 5 is surprisingly cheap, only RM12 for the savoury large bowlful and generous ingredients.

They served the rice in bowls, I got a plate since I requested for fork and spoon, not wanting to risk dropping my precious prawns and crabs.


And our vege, simple pak choi stir – fry with garlic. But it cost us RM10.

Overall, I think this place is pretty good. Fresh seafood, decent price and good service. Waiting time can be quite long on weekends and the place is usually packed by 6 pm on those days.



Rating: 3.5/5