Kal El

Ahahah how could I accidentally left this entry out? This is a continuation from our recent trip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah for Valentines.

a.k.a Pasar Filipino @ Filipino Market

The hotel we stayed in was very near to the Filipino Market, Pasar Buah and Pasar Ikan Masin. That Sunday before we returned to KL there was also a Tamu there. Unfortunately since I had to control my fluid intake due to this darn renal failure I had to refrain myself from gulping the young coconut drink that was in abundance in KK. I still remember the last time I was in there in 2003, that was the only drink I took in KK.

Gamat Kering dan Ikan Kering @ Pasar Ikan Masin

One thing about Malaysians, they do like to stare - pantang tengok orang pelik (Ye la takde kaki kan... pelik la) masing-masing tengok-tengok tanpa segan silu dan cover-cover - macam nampak alien ke nampak hantu pulak... lantak la hehehe (emotional kejap)

We had the chance to shop at Pasar Ikan Masin - Ka'ngah and Mak kirim terubuk Sarawak and we also bought Belacan Papar which our friend Zurry recommended saying sedap gila (lepas rasa macam sama je ngan belacan Semenanjung). We also bought tit bits to be given away to family members back home. Pasar Ikan Masin memang la a heaven for Ikan Masin lovers, providing you bring the extra cash as these things can be costly! As for me yang tak makan ikan ni, huhuhu I don't at all enjoy the smell of that place, buweeekk!

Pasar Buah and Tamu

Ha... sambung lagi pasal our trip to KK... hehehe sorry lah ek lompat-lompat entries dalam blog ni dah, kejap pasal KK kejap pasal itu kejap pasal ini and back to KK - ahahah macam ada orang baca pun kan blog ni...


On our last day in KK before pi airport, my best buddies Zurry and Mahid brought us to this restaurant dekat depan Universiti Malaysia Sabah. Sebenarnya masing-masing dah tak tau nak makan apa for lunch and everyone was hungry after Zurry drove us around KK showing this and that, nak pergi ke 1 Borneo dah tak sempat sebab flight kul 4 lebih and we had to back at the hotel for our scheduled airport transfer.

According to Zurry, this restaurant baru je bukak and he had tried this place a couple of days ago... hentam aja la Zurry, janji makan. Taste wise... hmmm boleh la, so-so nothing extravagant and special except for the gerai Goreng Pisang and Popia just outside the restaurant - makan cicah dengan sos cili padi Sabah.... sedap woooooo...

I had the Sweet and Sour Chicken (which according to my own taste buds, was not bad at all) with white rice and telur dadar.


Zurry had the Ayam Masak Merah with Nasi Goreng.


While Mahid had Nasi Ayam (just to note - the ayam was eerie looking and tasted as eerie as well according to my dear Mahid) with some curry tofu dish.

While my love KN, apa lagi kalau bukan Tom Yam campur, Nasi Putih and Telur Dadar... hehehe

We wanted to earlier stay at a posh hotel like Sutera Harbor but we came across this special hotel in the Internet and fell in love with it. It is located at Warisan Square just a walking distance from the Filipino Market, Pasar Buah and Pasar Ikan Masin. On Sundays there is a Tamu selling all sorts of things from second hand clothing to foodstuff and household items.
Imperial Boutec is on the same row as Imperial International Hotel and not many people know this hotel exists even locals. Boutec is a coined term from the words Boutique and Technology. All rooms come with broadband Internet.




Since we took the Valentine’s Package, the room came with chocolates and dinner for two at Imperial International. It was a 4 course dinner; garlic prawn and salad with garlic bread, double boiled chicken stock with wantan and bun, a choice of medallion steak with mushroom sauce or grilled chicken with mushroom sauce, chocolate truffle, swiss chocolate and coffee or tea. The only setback with the dinner was it was held one floor above the 10th floor – and guess what, you’d have to go up a flight of stairs to eat and yes, you guessed right, the hotel staff had to carry me one floor up!




The room was gorgeous, with a see through toilet, plasma tv, mini fridge and very stylish furnishings. Our room had the sea view and yes, we enjoyed our stay there and would definitely come back if we return to KK in the future.

We had a real early breakfast on our second day at the foot of Mount Kinabalu. Since it was difficult for me to go to the restaurant, we had our breakfast sent to the room where we had the American set breakfast at the balcony dalam sejuk-sejuk pagi angin Gunung Kinabalu... brrrrr sejukkkknyaaa!

The menu at Kinabalu Pine Resort was limited but we had a real sumptuous meal there on our first day there. Here's what we had that day.

If I had another chance to go to KK again, I would definitely want to spend another night here. Especially when I already have my bionic legs so that I can jalan-jalan up and downhill. Enjoy the beautiful swiss-like scenery, the pine trees. Since I was handicapped this time so I couldn't really enjoy the stay there. I missed going down to the orchid farm, just below the resort's restaurant especially. I didn't want to trouble KN pushing me up and downhill on the wheelchair so I spent most of the 2 days 1 night indoor or rather at the balcony of our room - even that was satisfying enough for me.


I just love the resort; its tranquil surrounding, beautiful scenery, fresh air and the marvelous Mount Kinabalu backdrop giving guests a beautiful view each time they open their room door. All rooms here are facing the mountain so one does not really need to leave the room to enjoy the breathtaking view of Mount Kinabalu.


Sun rises rather early here compared to in Kuala Lumpur. It's usually already bright come 6 am and no way should you miss the sunrise (or even the sunset) while you're here. Unfortunately the sun does not rise nor it sets anywhere near the mountain but a little off to the side. It was however a beautiful sight not to be missed!


You may also want to try the special steamboat buffet - a specialty dish here at Kinabalu Pine Resort. The restaurant menu however is very limited. If you do not have transport coming here, better bring food supplies like instant noodles for your vacation. Otherwise there are aplenty restaurants in Kundasang town selling all sorts of local dishes.

Due to my being on wheelchair for this trip we didn’t go to many places. We visited the essentials and only to those places KN wanted to go as a first timer – so what else, we went shopping for souvenirs lah! Nabalu Town, unlike 6 years ago when I was last there, there were only a row of souvenir stalls. Now there is a complex selling all sorts of souvenirs from Sabah but I think they were a little bit pricey (As a matter of fact we had the same price offered to us for a Mount Kinabalu Tee at Warisan Square in Kota Kinabalu the next day – lucky we didn’t but any t-shirts on our visit to Nabalu town. Instead we bought tokens for office mates.


Like many other places in Malaysia, the Nabalu town souvenir complex was not Handicap friendly. The tour driver had to carry me over 3 flight of stairs in order for me to spend money there.To note people there were very friendly, the shopkeepers and locals alike were always smiling and welcoming us.


Kundasang town too had changed from the last time I was there – the stalls selling fruits were now on the opposite side of the road and the roads were better and wider. We bought a fruit named buah Tarap; a jack fruit and mangoesteen like fruit. I kinda like the sweet taste and smell of the fruit.

Dalam keadaan kaki sebelah Kal El dan KN teruskan juga percutian ke Kota Kinabalu yang telah dirancang sejak bulan Oktober tahun lalu. This trip, a 6^th anniversary gift from me to KN was really a memorable one. We spent a night at Kundasang and a night in Kota Kinabalu City. Namun, percutian kali ini memang amat memenatkan buat KN dan Kal El kerana banyak melibatkan fizikal, ahahah bukannya kami pi panjat gunung tapi keadaan Kal El yang berkaki sebelah ini, terpaksalah kami bekerja keras; for me to move and for KN to help me move.

We left Bukit Antarabangsa 30 minutes past 4am. As usual my brother Sapit was the one who sent us to the airport. He was nearly an hour late and we arrived LCCT just with enough time to check in, arrange for assistance to get me up on the plane and board the Airbus. We have indeed made arrangement for assistance more than a month ago in anticipation of the trip and I’ve reconfirmed with Air Asia’s Booking Centre a couple of days prior to the flight and was told that everything will be in place on the 13^th. Unfortunately nothing was done and fresh arrangements had to be made before our flight – ahahaha because of that, no ambulift was available for me and the airport staff had to carry me onto the plane – kesian la 73kgs tu! (Cheh sempat lagi brag about my weight tu… hehehe).

We were fortunate that Air Asia ground staff and the stewardess were helpful. We arrived at Terminal 2 of KK International Airport at approximately 9:30am, greeted by KK Tours driver who would be taking us to Kinabalu Pine Resort in Kundasang from the Airport. We paid RM450 for the return transport from KK Airport to Kundasang and to KK City the next day and back to the airport the next day. We had a quick stop at Nabalu town to shop for souvenirs and made our way to the hotel. All in all a two and half hours journey on the hilly roads.

Kinabalu Pine Resort was a beautiful place but definitely not for the handicapped. They had beautiful Swiss styled chalets but unfortunately there were staircases to each of the chalet. If they had ground level units, KN had to push me up and down very steep slopes every time we wanted to go out. The day was spent with a Chinese meal lunch at the hotel’s restaurant and we spent a couple of hours enjoying the great Mountain View. Lucky for us the day was bright and clear.

There were nothing much to do at night, partly because my handicap , but to enjoy each other’s company – moreover it was a Valentine’s trip, how more could we have spent time other than being close to each other. We slept early as KN planned to shoot photos of the Mountainous sunrise – a first for my darling.

OK, enough with the sulking on losing a limb. Soon I'll be walking again and our lives would have to go on as usual. We'll be going to Kota Kinabalu for 3 days and 2 nights - yes I'll be on my sporty wheelchair for Valentines and we'll be off to Makassar (Ujung Padang in Sulawesi) in April for KN's birthday. In October/November this year it will be to Medan with KN's Mak and Ayah and January next year we're off to Siem Reap to start off the year. All these thanks to Air Asia free seats promotion and once I get my OKU (handicapped) person's card from the Welfare Departments I'll be enjoying more perks like 50% off MAS domestic tickets. Woohoo!

Dear KN,