My Sabah-tical

I called it my Sabah-tical. I went to Sabah, on the northern portion of the island of Borneo, for the first time. I was so looking forward to going there despite some friends saying that “there is nothing to do in Kota Kinabalu (Sabah’s capital).” Well, perhaps it was true a few years ago. And if you’re staying in Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort, you will surely say that Kota Kinabalu is the place to be. I called this resort my paradise for four days.

My new favorite travel buddy Tessa Prieto-Valdes and I had just said goodbye the night before when we flew in from Thailand and we saw each other the next day to head to Kota Kinabalu! Tessa brought her adorable daughter Athena this time. Cebu Pacific had us in Kota Kinabalu in less than two hours. Everywhere we went, we saw commercial and residential construction in the city, an indicator of its booming economy. I was also told that several shopping malls had been erected in the past three years.

We were welcomed by the resort’s director of sales and marketing Cathy Nepomuceno and director of communications Regina Sulit, two Filipinas who took care of us. Too bad we didn’t get to see resort GM Tim Wright and his wife Mona who were on their annual leave. Tim was general manager of Shangri-La Mactan before.

The resort is roughly 45 minutes away from the city center but is truly breathtaking! Guests have a choice of a dip in the ocean or a pool. Countless activities such as jet-skiing, banana boat rides, parasailing and others are offered. There is a gym and a spa and a golf course as well in the complex. The most memorable thing about Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort is the orangutan reserve where guests get to trek a few minutes into the jungles of Borneo and witness the orangutans in the wild. These are actually young orangutans abandoned when they were babies so they stay there until they are old enough and are moved to another orangutan reserve later on. We encountered two orangutans while we were there.

Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort has five restaurants. Our first night had us stuffed at Tepi Laut, the outdoor “Makan Street” restaurant, which captures the nostalgia of Malaysian heritage and showcases its cuisine. The roti was made fresh and grilled and stir-fried seafood were done in front of us in the several food stations in the open-fronted shophouse style restaurant. The resort also has a Japanese restaurant serving tepanyaki dishes. We even had our hand in trying flipping eggs to the amusement of our chef Gary. The biggest shock I had was dining at Naan, the Indian restaurant. Regina told me, when I expressed apprehension about Indian food, that Naan was awarded the best Indian restaurant by Tourism Malaysia for two years in a row. I am not a big fan of Indian food but when I ate at Naan, I was pleasantly surprised! The lobster curry, chicken tandoori and curried prawns were cooked with absolute perfection by chef de cuisine Rajju Prasad. The flavors were not as intense as I expected them to be and the spiciness was just right. In fact, I have to say that the meal in Naan was the best I had on this trip!

The resort also has Coast, a fine dining restaurant where we also had breakfast. Both breakfast (the Eggs Benedict and the miso-glazed black cod are recommended) and dinner were incredible! The Coffee Terrace had local Sabah fare prepared by chef Anthony Tuh Yit Yu, whose crab and shrimp soup with coconut milk, lemongrass, and curry was a favorite of the group!

The resort also arranged a Mengkabong River cruise where we tried crab catching, checked the mangrove forest and visited the water village of the sea gypsies. We even tried their local cooking. We had champagne and smoked salmon sandwiches as we cruised the river for about two hours.

Cathy and her husband Cobo Nepomuceno (who was an expert in telling me where to get what) took us shopping. Electronic products are actually cheap in Borneo so Cobo and I went hunting for little gadgets while Tessa went with Cathy and bought several things that she actually did not need! Spices were abundant in the supermarkets and street markets with the Sarawak black peppercorns supposedly being the world’s best. We also went to a quaint craft store called The Borneo Trading Post (www.borneotradingpost.com) where Ferdi Salvador bought several native handicrafts while I hoarded pewter and enamel trinkets. Tessa bought both. The Sunday market at Gaya Street sold crafts and food again where I bought homemade prawn kropek and Sarawak black pepper. Another interesting thing we got there were tree roots carved into lizards. Fruits were cheap and extremely sweet.

One thing not to miss when in Sabah is a seafood restaurant. Borneo is an island where seafood is plenty and affordable. We were brought to Ocean where the live seafood aquarium display is one of the largest I have ever seen! This aquarium housed various fish, spanner crabs, blue swimmer crabs (alimasag), prawns, shrimps, squid, even live shark and abalone! The lunch we had there was so deliciously filling and cost much less than what we normally pay for an elaborate seafood meal.

My four days in Sabah and Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort were not enough. I did not even have the chance to try the rejuvenating bath in my balcony or try the all-terrain vehicle adventure in the resort! My food and shopping adventures were also not quite enough so these are all reasons for me to go back, hopefully sooner than later.

(Cebu Pacific flies three times a week to Kota Kinabalu from Manila. Check out www.cebupacificair.com.ph or call (02) 70-20-888 for Manila or (32)230-8888 for Cebu. Check out www.shangri-la.com/en)property/?kotakinabalu/rasariaresort.