Trip to Sabah in August 2019

Trip to Sabah with my beloved family in August 2019.

For this trip, I finalized the booking for flights and accommodation at the beginning of March 2019.  There were 5 of us who would be traveling. Eventhough booking for accommodation made in March, most of the best rating resorts in Kundasang were all fully booked. So make sure if you want to visit Kundasang, early reservation is a must.

On 1^st August 2019, we took  Air Asia flight from KLIA at 8.35 am and arrived in Kota Kinabalu at 11.15 am. As I have arranged for car rental earlier on before our departure date, so the car was ready waiting for us at the airport.  We rented a Proton Exora for RM150/day, and we had it for 3 days.  The driving to Kundasang from Kota Kinabalu took us approximately 1 ½ hour.

Upon arrival at Kundasang, we checked in at J Residence. It is located 13 miles from Ranau and 300 meters away from the entrance of Kinabalu Park. J Residence is a simple accommodation lodge with a beautiful view that would paint a smile on your face every time you wake up from a deep slumber. It was nothing extraordinary, the rooms were fairly basic, but the green scenery along with the calming fresh air that brushes your face as stand over the wooden balcony would make you wish you stayed there longer.  The average temperature here was 23° C.

This is an entrance of J Residence. Very small road and very steep to get to the hotel.

Two friendly cats welcomed us to J Residence.

A view of Mount Kinabalu. 

On the same day, we went to explore Kinabalu Park. This park is famous for having the highest mountain in Southeast Asia and it is also well known as a botanical paradise. We did not go hiking as it was a little too late to do so by the time we reached there plus we were all not fit enough to hike the mountain.

Our 2^nd day in Kundasang, we went to Desa Cattle Dairy Farm, which also known as the little New Zealand of Sabah. Located at the foothills of Mount Kinabalu, the farm covers an area of 199 hectares. From here, we can see the full view of Mount Kinabalu. A definite must place to visit if you want to take pictures with an amazing background to share with your family and friends. We enjoyed the breathtaking view of Mount Kinabalu along with the chilling weather. We even got the chance to bottle-feed adorable calves and.bought a few cartons of fresh milk and ice cream that tasted very yummylicious.

From Desa Cattle Dairy Farm, we went to Poring Hot Springs. Hot spring is just a small part of Poring as there are multiple pools and outdoor bathtubs that one can dip their body into.  If you explore the area,  you may also find rafflesia flowers that only bloom during a specific time of the year, waterfalls, cave, canopy walk, rainforest, orchid farm, butterfly garden etc.  We walked through the rainforest to the Kipungit Waterfall.  It was clearwater with lots of tiny fishes inside. My family and a bunch of other tourists enjoyed having our feet bitten by those little fishes as if we were at a fish spa.

Our 3^rd day was our last day in Kundasang and it was my eldest son’s birthday.  After we checked out from J Residence at noon, we drove back to Kota Kinabalu.    In Kota Kinabalu, we checked in at Marina Court Condominium. We booked a 3 bedroom apartment to accommodate 5 of us. We visited the Kinabalu City Mosque. It is partially surrounded by a human-made lagoon and also known as "The Floating Mosque".

In the late afternoon, we returned our rented car.  The owner came to collect it from us at Marina Court Condominium.  From our place, it is just a walking distance to the Philipines Market where you can buy affordable exquisite gifts like Sabah pearls, handicrafts, souvenirs, and for most of Malaysians, we would also purchase anchovies for our families back home, etc. Before we ended our day, we sat by the KK waterfront in complete awe as we watched the panoramic view of the sunset with its skyburst of colours.

On our 4^th day in Sabah, it was raining heavily since dawn.  We have no choice but to proceed with our initial plan to Sapi Island. We took grab car to Jesselton Jetty and bought return tickets to Sapi Island at the jetty sales office and had our brunch there.

 It was a quite rough sea, and it was not a joyful boat ride for me. The water was not crystal clear due to the heavy pouring rain earlier on, but we did enjoy ourselves on the island.  We spent a few hours on the island and then we went back to Kota Kinabalu. 

In the evening, we had a seafood dinner at Kampung Nelayan Floating Seafood  Restaurant but unfortunately, we missed their famous traditional dance performance due as we arrived at the restaurant late.

Our 5^th day was our last day in Sabah.  We took an Airasia flight at 3.20 pm from Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur. I love Sabah, and although this was not my 1^st trip here but to my children, this was their 1^st holiday in Sabah. They were absolutely delighted and looked forward to coming back here again.