A thousand-ringgit trip around the Kota of our dreams

Malaysia and I… we’ve had a cool history together.

I’ve been there twice already, and each visit was a brush with the rich culture, a soaking in of the scenic places, and an encounter with everything that’s truly Malaysia. First was a trip to Kuala Lumpur and Genting Highlands; then second it was to Penang and Langkawi. Recently, I packed my bags for a third trip: this time to Kota Kinabalu.

The night before our group’s departure, I browsed the Net to familiarize myself with the landscapes and tourist attractions of the city, thinking of what camera lenses to bring to capture the beauty of the area. I also read the Cebu Pacific Media Backpacker Adventure Challenge rules and tasks. Canon Philippines and the Sabah Tourism Board assisted Cebu Pacific in staging this year’s challenge. 

You see, my third trip to Malaysia was quite different for it involved a contest of sorts.

Five teams with two members each from different publications were formed, namely Kinabalu, Kinabatangan, Sipadan, Maliau and Sepilok. Each team was given a thousand ringgit (RM1,000 equivalent to P14,000) for food and accommodations as well as to fund activities for the three-day challenge. The challenge was whichever team manages to soak in the sights and sounds of Kota Kinabalu, engage in as many activities that could be squeezed in, and save as many ringgit as possible gets the nod of the judges.

The Cebu Pacific Media Backpackers Adventure Challenge kickoff in front of Sabah Tourism Board building with Sabah Tourism Board Chairman Dato’ Seri Tengku Zainal Adlin

I was paired with Bryan Garcia of Manila Bulletin. The two of us comprised the Sepilok Team, named after the place where the Orangutan rehabilitation center in Sandakan is situated. Here you can see the mighty beasts up-close. I’ve known Bryan even before this challenge, as we both covered the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival last year.

We left for Kota Kinabalu aboard Cebu Pacific in high spirits. We arrived at KK International Airport in the early evening of Sept. 19, checked in at Gaya Centre Hotel, and later had a welcome dinner hosted by Tourism Malaysia. Then we were handed money, T-shirts and local SIM cards (in case of emergency we can call Alvin Quek our tour guide). The rest of the night was spent by Bryan and I planning our strategies and ironing-out our itinerary, and I was quite sure the other teams did the same thing.

Before lights out, I wanted to blurt out, “Let the games begin.”

Day 1: Sept. 20

The Cebu Pacific Media Backpackers Adventure Challenge kicked off at 7 a.m. in front of the Sabah Tourism Board Building. Armed with a city map and bottled water, Bryan and I headed for Borneo’s Backpackers Inn just a few meters away from the kickoff point where we originally wanted to check in. Tough luck! The place was fully booked, so we ended up at Lucy’s Homestay, which we were able to book for RM23 (P322) a day.

We were about to leave our things and were preparing for the city tour, then suddenly came strolling in the members of two other teams. Thus, we ended up sharing a room with them for the next two days.

Lush life: Lush greeneries surround the Herritage Village in Sabah State Museum complex.

Ah, but we never regretted staying at this hostel. Lucy, the owner of the hostel, even cracked a joke when she found out about the challenge: do not to kill each other in the room. Ha! The place reminded me of the boarding houses in Manila during my college days, with double-deck beds and common bathrooms. What did I tell you about Malaysia and memories? Oh, at Lucy’s, breakfast and Wi-Fi are always available.

Our city tour started at the Atkinson Clock Tower, one of the most enduring landmarks in Kota Kinabalu. It stands prominently on a bluff along Signal Hill Road adjacent to the old police station. Built in 1903, this all-wood, no-nails structure was built in memory of Francis George Atkinson, the popular First District Officer of Jesselton during the British North Borneo Chartered Company Administration, who had succumbed to a tropical disease at the young age of 28.

 About 400 meters uphill from the tower, we proceeded to the Signal Hill Observatory. This place offers visitors a bird’s eye view of the town center, as well as a distant view of the Tanjung Aru and Likas Bay areas. Signal Hill is, in fact, one of the best places to get a good view of KK. Going uphill toward the observatory was the first test of endurance for me as well as the other backpacking journalists in that KK challenge. 

Next on our itinerary were museums. We checked our map to find our way to Wawasan Bus Station. We designated this states as a place to get our bearings and in continuing what’s next on the itinerary.

The station was a 20-minute walk away. Bryan and I opted to walk along the coastal road, and along the way we passed by the Filipino Market or the Handicraft Centre. This place is ideal if you’re looking for nice, inexpensive souvenirs. Upon reaching the bus station we boarded the No. 13 bus toward Penampang and indicated our stop to the driver.

Into the woods: Mangrove wetlands at KK City Bird Sanctuary

Upon reaching the place, we walked up to the main building. Bus fare is RM1 (P14.00). The things we learned about KK: ceramics, traditional weapons and costumes reflect the State’s culture and traces Sabah’s early trade links with the neighboring countries of Southeast Asia and China. The museum also houses musical instruments, tools and ritual paraphernalia.

There is the Heritage Village on the Museum grounds where visitors can enter and experience different types of traditional houses of the various indigenous groups of Sabah. Nearby we also checked out two more buildings: the Sabah Art Gallery and the Museum of Islamic Civilization. Inside the museum were awesome swords used in battles. Our team first meal in the challenge cost us RM13, consisting of fried fish, salted egg, sautéed vegetables and ice cold soda — a backpacker’s banquet.

We checked the time: 2 p.m. We still had plenty of time for the next item on the itinerary.

We went back to Wawasan Station to study the bus route to Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, also known as Lok Kawi Zoo. A 70-hectare park jointly developed by Sabah Wildlife and Forestry Department. The park is located along the old road traversing Penampang to Papar in Kota Kinabalu. It turned out to be a must-see, literally, with its showcase of endangered animals such as Borneo Pigmy Elephants and Sumatran Rhinos.

The Lok Kawi Wildlife Park features a primate zone where Borneo’s popular orangutan and the Proboscis Monkeys can be found. The Proboscis Monkeys with their trademark bulbous noses consists of a large male with a harem of four or five smaller females. Lucky dudes. 

Petal power: Largest flower Rafflesia grows in the jungle of Southeast Asia

We went back to Wawasan at around 5 p.m. and decided to explore more despite the impending rain. Off we went to Menara Tun Mustapha formerly known as Sabah Foundation Building. Located five kilometers or about 15 minutes away from the KK City Centre. A circular tower of steel and glass stands 30-storeys-high and is instantly recognizable as a Sabah icon. It has a central core with steel brackets supporting each floor. When completed in 1977, it was one of the three such buildings in the world based on this design concept.

It contains an auditorium, two mini-theaters, exhibition foyer, a gymnasium, kindergarten and research library. After a few photo opts outside the building, it started to rain. Drops got bigger, the sky angrier. The building was almost empty when we left, braving the rain, with only our map as cover. Soaking wet and tired, we managed to find a bus back to the city. Oh what luck!

It was still raining hard when we got off the bus. In a canteen inside the terminal, we had our first taste of Nasi Campur, a hearty meal of rice with a choice of meat and vegetables as toppings. In this joint, they will let you put your own toppings on a heap of steaming hot rice. It only cost us RM4 each.

Tired yet full, we went back to Lucy’s and hatched our next plan.

DAY 2: Sept. 21

Day two found us haggling with a taxi driver. We managed to bring down a RM300-fare to just RM200 (P2,800). Our route: from the city center to Kinabalu Park to Poring Hot Spring and back.

Kinabalu National Park, about 90 kilometers from Kota Kinabalu, is home to thousands of types of flora and fauna that are native to the area. As such, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000.

For those who aren’t keen on testing their mettle upon Mt Kinabalu’s slopes, there are some trails they can try right inside the park. We tried the Pandanus trail — a 699-meter uphill climb inside the forest, connected to Kiau View Trail, leading to Mt. Kinabalu slopes. It was like a walk in the park, well, again, literally.

Bryan and I were always thinking of maximizing our side trips, so we asked our kind-hearted driver to take us first to Mt. Kinabalu Golf Club in Kundasang, since it was on the way from the park to Poring Hot Springs. It was time to do a Tiger Woods in KK. Nah, not fool around with waitresses, but merely to hit a few golf balls in the driving range. Quite expensive it is to play a whole 18-hole course. We rented a putter, a chipper and three balls and proceeded to the free practice green. We ended up spending RM10 (P140.00). Not bad for a day at the greens.

Dipping into the hot sulphuric mineral water of Poring Hot Spring was a relief, but not after climbing your way to the canopy walk, visiting the rafflesia flower site and the butterfly farm.

On our way back to the city the rain started to fall again (on cue!). With a few meters of visibility from fog-covered winding road, we reached KK at about 7 p.m. with more than half of our money left.

Still a princely sum.

DAY 3: Sept. 22

Bryan and I began day three joking around, telling one another we should spend all our money on a lavish buffet spread in one of the food establishments of TAR (Tungku Abdul Rahman) Park Island. Instead, we spent the day island-hopping, snorkeling and, best of all, parasailing at the park island. With our buffet lunch plans gone to the ether, we had hearty servings of Nasi Campur.

We left the last of the islands for Jesselton Jetty at around 3 p.m. Upon reaching the city, we were again ready to explore more and undertake more activities. After checking online and our map, we went to Likas Stadium where our very own Philippine Volcanoes Rugby Team was to see action the next day.

We still had time for one more place to visit: KK City Bird Sanctuary, a walking distance from the Likas Sports Complex. It was near dusk, and the information online says it is the best part of the day to visit the place. Why? Because the birds are coming back to roost for the night. Seeing those birds fly homeward, I couldn’t help but see them as symbols of us as backpacking journalists in a lovely country — winging our way around the city, seeing things for the first time, doing things hopefully not for the last time, and then setting one’s sights toward home. 

After checking-in back to Gaya Centre Hotel, we submitted our log sheets, memory cards and RM 160 (P2,240) — what’s leftover from our RM1,000 budget. We spent a total of RM 840 (P11,760) for three days.

The next day after a good night’s sleep — the “sleep of the just,” as Neil Gaiman would call it — the winners were announced. The Kinabalu team was the first place finisher; Kinabatangan came in second; and we from Sepilok garnered third place honors. The Sipadan team got the Canon’s Special Award for best travel photo, while the Maliau team got the Best Sabah Discovery Award.

Our team came in third, yes, but Kota Kinabalu would always be first in our hearts.

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Cebu Pacific flies from Manila to Kota Kinabalu (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) and from Manila to Kuala Lumpur 10 times weekly. For more information, visit www.cebupacificair.com.

All photos were taken using Canon 600D DSLR camera lent by Canon Philippines. For more information about Sabah, visit www.sabahtourism.com or e-mail info@sabahtourism.com.