dDoinkster Speaks

The next morning after the complementary breakfast at the hotel, our rental car arrived. :) Ain't it something? I always wanted to drive a Nissan Serena and guess what...i got my chance while in Kinabalu. :D So off we went towards the Kinabalu Park where you can find Mount Kinabalu. Where to find such bridges in the Peninsular lar. ;) Cool ei. ;) Can you imagine how it'll be like when the river breaks its banks? Sure flood and cover over the bridge. Maybe that's why they need to put the pedestrian bridge that high...but why dont just put this bridge higher? Hmmm.. :) Lovely view on the way to Kundasang where Kinabalu Park is situated. A trip that takes up about 2 1/2 hours ride across Tuaran, Tampluri and Kundasang from Kota Kinabalu. With sceneries like this, no complains from me, that's for sure. :D Finally, we arrived to Kundasang...i gotta say that it's a fairly easy drive even though we had no idea where we were but the locals were so friendly and helpful each time we asked for directions. :) 2 thumbs up to all the locals in Kota Kinabalu, Tuaran, Tampluri, Kundasang and Ranau. :) Much appreciative of the help and direction. :) After unpacking at Zen Garden where we spent the night, went over to Ranau to look for lunch...and just walked into the first packed restaurant we saw. :D I think if you're new in a foreign place and looking for food but don't know which restaurant to choose...just go for the one with the most people. ;) :P Anyways,so we order just simple items to fill our stomachs. Think this was the lemon chicken. :) Sweet and sour pork. Not too bad but think i had better but then again...we're new here so really don't have any clue as to where to find good food in Ranau...if there's any. :) Japanese tofu...Don't think you can get this simple dish wrong, lest of course you're new at cooking. :) Vegetable, a must in order to create a balanced meal. :) Can't remember the name of this type of vegetable. :) Went over to Poring Hot Springs after lunch. Had to pay RM 3 to get into the park area cause it's a World Heritage Site and i guess the money will be used for the upkeeping cost of the entire park. But i have to say that so far,almost each area i've been to in Kota Kinabalu...its been pretty clean, especially the toilets. :) Really good. :D Its like when you go to a shabby petrol station, thinking that the toilet will be just like how it in Klang Valley, you get a surprise cause its the clean. Well,cleaner than what the exterior looks. :) Oh word of advice if you're going to Kinabalu Park, just pay once and keep the ticket with you, it allows you access to the entire park area including the Poring Hot Springs and the other areas unless stated otherwise. We paid twice, once at the Poring entrance and second at the Kinabalu Park entrance. Oh well,as long as they use the money to keep the Park in good condition...i guess there isn't any harm. :) This is part of the Poring Hot Springs...couldn't take much photos cause there was tons of people there...guess as much since it was the Hari Raya weekend but we did take a little stroll up the hill towards the waterfalls but stopped just as we passed the waterfalls and smelt the guano from the bat cave. :D Couldn't post the picture of the cave here cause it was blurred but i can say now that i've found Batman's cave...and it's in Poring Hot Springs. haha. ;) Man,it really stinks...you can actually smell it and the closer you get...the worse it gets. *bleh* After Poring Hot Springs, we swung over to the Kinabalu Park. This is one of the few restaurants in the park itself. Quite nice i have to say. :D L-R : me, Jonathan, Yvonne, Nelson. Taken at another restaurant in the park also. Really nice,we decided to have dinner there. :D Its like being in Cameron Highlands but better. ;) :P Ok ok,so i'm getting fat...gonna try to start back on my kickboxing soon. :P This is the erm,chicken in wine soup...i think. ;) :P Quite nice but i think needs more wine. haha. :P I had this really pathetic so-called minestrone soup. It was basically mushroom soup but they just added the little bread cubes into it. Should have ordered the chicken in wine soup like Nelson. :P Here we have the Thai seafood fried rice. Pretty normal...maybe i should have ordered the grill lamb. ;) Oh well,this round is just the reconnaissance trip...the next round we come again, we'll know where to go and what to do. :P This was really good and just nice for the weather. :D Was kinda hoping for more honey but then if i did, i might as well just drink honey with hot water. :) Sabah tea was pretty tasty but it could have been honey. :) A map of trails in the park. :) I wonder when i'll be able to come back here and climb this mountain. :D Went for a little stroll after dinner and we saw quite alot of insects at the park. :) Quite cool actually. :) But this was crazy. ;) I don't know if this photo can show you how big the spider web was. :) Can you see the small spider in the center of the web? :) Pretty interesting. :) This was under the pine trees around the chalets close-by to the restaurant. Erm,can't really remember the name of this insect but it seems if you catch it,it can get really noisy. :) Can you find it? Cool moth, huh. :) Suppose to carry a scary death look on its back, on the wings to scare off predators. Man,it was a really fun night,just walking around and seeing so many insects. :) When we first arrived at Kundasang around noon this, the mountain was already covered with heavy clouds/mist. This was what the view was in the evening near the reception area of the park. Just imagine with me in the center of the photo is Mount Kinabalu. :) So that kinda ended the 2nd day in Kinabalu for me. :D It got quite cold later that night but thank goodness for the 3 layer blanket provided by the resort. ;) :P

This entry was posted on Friday, November 11, 2005 at 11/11/2005 02:36:00 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.