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 03 ~ Chilling out at Brass Monkey and Party Play, Lintas area

Somewhere at Lintas area near the Klinik Kesihatan Luyang, you can find a bunch of great places to have lunch or dinner.  Ok, these places are not exactly a budget – price list but I splurged a bit to celebrate my long – awaited Sabah visit :D

First, we had our dinner at Brass Monkey. This place serves no pork and some dishes may contain alcohol, so ask your waiter upon ordering. It’s pretty popular for good western food.

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 dive into Aquaria, KLCC ~ The blue side of Level 2

Hello there Angels! How lucky of me to find two of them side by side basking up there :D

A dive into Aquaria, KLCC ~ Level 2

After you are done with touching and staring at level 1, step down to level 2 below. Be careful with the stairs and don't drop your camera into the tank below the stairs. It may not look deep enough but I don't think your camera would survive anyway.

A dive into Aquaria, KLCC ~ Level 1

Hello there from the bottom of the piranha tank... that is definitely not me because I am outside the tank on the dry side of Aquaria KLCC. And my entry was a breeze thanks to my Touch n' Go card, just touch it to the entry booth and you're in, no need of long que and the waste of paper. No discount, still full adult price at RM35 though.

Foodie @ KLCC ~ Parkview Deck Café

It was over tea and cookies break that I was pondering what to have for lunch aside from the conference food, because the day before experience with the free food really sucks... I am not picky, but the chef must have forgotten to add salt or to kindly provide a salt packet with the food. Nevertheless, I was totally bummed by the crummy food and spent the rest of the evening feeling hungry in the cold conference auditorium. Thank goodness there was endless supply of cookies and tea / coffee.

Coffee break @ Austin Chase, Plaza Shah Alam

Another new outlet opens at the recently closed down Old Time White Coffee spot. But how long will this one last is an interesting question. Sure, there's always a fad for new things and places in Shah Alam, but if you are too pricey and offers nothing much, you wont last long. So dear Austin Chase, I hope you last long enough for me to try a few stuffs on your menu.

Ikea Flower Therapy :D

I am a sucker for these kinda stuffs :D  And I just love window shopping at Ikea, it's some sort of retail therapy after a stressful week. The thing with Ikea is when you go in and browse all the furnished sections, you'll come out sighing and dreaming on what kinda house and money you'll wanna make :D It's some sort of motivation to me.

Penang again!!! 03 ~ Suffolk House ~ dream of romance

The romantic air surrounding this place and the lush garden on the outside make Suffolk House one of the favourite spot  for bridal photo shoot, evidenced by the presence of 2 couples doing theirs nearby when we arrived.

Penang again!!! 02 ~ Suffolk House again ~ tea time ~

I'm starting to make it a compulsory thing to visit Suffolk House at Ayer Hitam whenever  I dropped by in Penang because one, I'm totally hooked to the afternoon tea after my first visit here and two, I really love soaking up in the romantic ambiance of this place. I can sit here all day sipping tea and never leave Penang :D

Penang again!!! 01 ~ The Gurney Resort Hotel & Residences

At the 21st floor, facing the ocean and clear blue sky... I can stay in my room the whole day just for this on the bed... Hello Gurney ~ !

Peace... @ Purple Cane Teahouse, Ipoh

 Here you get the Zen feeling while sipping high quality tea... Screw the traffic jam and difficult parking. It's worth the trouble to get here, that scratch - and - win parking ticket too.

Simple grub @ Gino, Ara Damansara

It's one of those days when we crave for simple Italian grubs for lunch where nothing is too complicated and everything feels familiar... Again, Gino at Ara Damansara. And goodness me, now the waiters have known all of our faces :D

Tapa @ La Bodega, Bangsar Shopping Centre

Tapas, or appetizers, make good accompaniment to gossips and catching up. Add in some Spanish music to spice up the ambiance, you can go on chatting with your besties till the sun goes down. Welcome to La Bodega tapas y vinos @ Bangsar Shopping Centre

Tea for two @ T Forty Two, Empire Gallery

While looking around for something sweet to sink our teeth in after lunch, passed by T Forty Two @ the Empire gallery and we thought why not spice up our dessert a little bit with some hi tea stuffs and stick out our pinkies over delicate china.