Congrats Syn & John

I almost forgot I should write my congratulations to the newly weds,  Syn & John.

Syn is a close friend I met in school and we are friends for over 12 years, geez... Time changes people. I don't think she was the person I met years ago, but still she is as crazy as she was when she wants to be. I think over the years, her motherly instincts surfaced, that also probably due to her being the eldest in family. She's always overly concerned and protective of us, especially strict with the men we're dating... LOL. I guess it's a good thing when you want another perspective. She's always good fun to hang out with, party, have drinks and food. One thing I hope she will change is probably scream lesser hahaha, I was talking to her friends before the wedding and we realised the thing prominent about Syndy is her screams. When she left Dubai, her flatmates actually missed her screamings!

John is an ex-colleague of mine I met maybe 9 years ago. Somehow somewhat, destiny brought them together through me, and after so much drama, long-distance and on-off relationship. John is one of the most serious guys I met when at work, very diligent and proper. But when you get to know him, you'd realise he's pretty funny, spontaneous, up for a good laugh and a thrifty man who is good I guess when it comes to saving for a family ;)

Finally on 15 January 2011, they held a wedding ceremony by the beach at Shangri la Rasa Ria in Sabah, followed by a buffet dinner and performances. As the maid of honour, I also had to give a speech which I didn't really script. I was thrilled, it was my first time, I wasn't very nervous but I think I was more emotional. My tears just fell when I stood on the stage, not stage fright but more overwhelmed by happiness that I had for my friend. But it was all good, things just fell into places smoothly without a need to read from a script which would be more stressful. I was quite proud of myself that evening :)

The best picture for the day is the one when Syn threw the bouquet, it's a superb shot! I had to admit I didn't want to go near it, LOL.

This is also my second visit to Kota Kinabalu, but I didn't do the tourist things as I did most of them 1.5 years back. I just chilled out in the city centre, preparing myself for the wedding, hanging out with friends, shopping... all good. I bumped into Syn's family one of the days and decided to show them around the local markets. I also found myself 2 wigs, they are so cheap in Malaysia - yea, I think I've gone "wig" crazy. I adore them, they make me look different without having to spend a fortune on my hair.

The 3 nights went by real fast! At the end of the trip, I found myself more new friends, had a good reunion with the girls, found good bargains and most of all, my friend is happily married to the man she loves whom she met through me!

Kota Kinabalu (ii) - Fun hell yea

At the beginning of the trip, things went smoothly... except for the weather which annoyed me the whole time! I hate walking under the heat and humidity the whole day (imagine doing that in Singapore too!).

We were heading to the bank, when I asked a kind gentleman for directions. Coincidentally, he was heading in the same direction and offered to take us there! How kind! Before we parted ways, again I asked him about getting to Times Square (where we are heading later). And to our surprise, he would be on the way back to his office and could drop us off along the way! Almost couldn't believe the luck, he's an angel! Thank you mister, you left me a very good impression of Sabah!

And so we managed to get to Times Square where we sorted out our snorkeling and water rafting tours. Both excellent. I am glad I read those reviews before we got there because what we got was quality service. We started water rafting the following day as we had a rough plan what we were going to do the next couple of days.

Sunset in Kota Kinabalu was spectacular, especially when you dined just by the coast!


Water rafting really gets me going... I was looking forward to it the whole time. With Exotic Adventure, it was genuine fun and I felt taken care of, especially when the currents swept me away, at least 2 of the instructors came to my aid... They also specifically asked if I was okay when I was down in the waters. They came up with some "evil plan" to make us capsized or at least get a few of us into the waters. Unfortunately I was too witty for them, I realised their master plan and avoided it at all costs, instead my friends fell into the waters! But it was still great fun... If I'm ever back for the Padas river water rafting, I would still go back to them! Thanks Ronald & Angelo.

Shopping is average in Kota Kinabalu, just like in other parts of Malaysia but they didn't have many malls and the only decent ones were Warisan Square (my favourite) and Centrepoint. Warisan Square is cool and hippy, it's divided into multiple blocks and you can walk through them on level 2, they also have many individualistic shops and bigger brands.

They have a couple of markets there. One of it is Central Market where you can get some dry food (and I think clothes, household stuff and a ready hawker upstairs). Another is Filipino Market for handicrafts which I felt is a tourist trap, overpriced and not original (they are imported anyway) - can't be bothered to bargain. Then there's the wet market beside the car park which gets all lively and busy when the sun goes down. Looks like they do their "marketing" during night time! Walk right through the fishmongers and fruit & vegetables stalls, you get to a sheltered area where you can get grilled seafood, BBQ wings and coconut drinks. We dined there once, even though they charged us a touristy price, it was still pretty affordable and still cheaper than Singapore.

I also visited this bakery, Multi-Bake, near our hostel and found their version of rum balls named chocolate balls because they are without the rum! I love them... could have them almost every single day ;)

Food. Waistline. Caution.

Kota Kinabalu (i) - Hell of a start

When everyone hears about Kota Kinabalu, they think about mountain climbing & trekking... and I was there for something else. Some people might find it a boring holiday destination if they're not trekking, but I assure you there's more to it, at least good enough for a weekend getaway (I'm sure my travel companions both will agree). We did have a good time :)

For your information, Kota Kinabalu is resided in Sabah, East Malaysia and it's a separate island away from Malaysia (West) itself. It's connected to Sarawak/Indonesia just down south.

Below's a short journal I wrote on the flight:

6am. I woke up, a sleepy head.

Dad was awake (like always). He did the usual naggings,"Did you bring this, did you forget that?" I washed up and in no time was ready to leave. Everyone else was soundly in bed, sister got up briefly to say goodbye and went back to lala land.

I bought my breakfast and headed to the airport via train. Unlike the past few times, I just flagged a cab, this morning I saw the morning rush. The train, filled with students on the way to school, had unusually few travellers on the same journey as me.

Got there in time; my travelling companions were on their way. I took my time to finish my breakfast, put on my hoody and tried to soak myself in the holiday mood. But it didn't come. That feeling. It didn't this morning too. I felt unbearing to leave the last few times, at the same time, it was usually packed with excitement. But this time, I didn't feel the later. I need to replenish it somehow.

Three different passports, one common destination.

I'm travelling with a couple (my 1st time). I haven't met B's girlfriend but sure enough she's easy to get along - a great start! The last holiday left me drained, tired and fearful of new companions. But I know this time, I didn't have to worry. I'm writing this an hour into the flight, we've another hour more to go. Now it's time to take a nap... till later.
...
...
...

I didn't get much sleep during the flight. Some time before we landed, we met some air turbulence and then later on we had a 10 - 20 metres drop which freaked most of the passengers out. I was stunned, prepared for the worst and held on tightly to my safety belt. "That's it! Are we crashing?" That went through my mind. Some people screamed and shrieked! When we finally landed with a crash landing (Thanks Pilot! :S), the cabin was filled with relief and laughter. We were safe.

A very general impression of Kota Kinabalu after arriving for some hours. Friendly. Considerate drivers. Hot & humid (like Singapore). Traditional. Poor and rich contrast (slums, kampung houses, houses on stilts via wooden houses up the mountain via terrace house/modern flats).

Somehow I'm not sure if the wooden houses up the mountain belong to the wealthier people, as it means they will have to drive down to city (have to own a car at least)... and the availability of bigger space for a bigger house.