"take away"

in Malaysia, or even in some other countries, food you "take out" or is "to go" is called "take away" which is why they would ask you if it's "for here?" or "take away?".�

while we were having a great time with our drinks one time at some bar in Kota Kinabalu, my friend took fancy of their paper coaster. she nonchalantly asked the waiter if she could take them home. the waiter replied with:

"yes, just don't let us know"

my friend then hinted on the beer mug,
"how about this one?"

the waiter said, "yes, just hide it. don't let us see it"�

so there.�

VINCCI'S

my love affair with Vincci's started when we went to Kuala Lumpur lst year and got to visit their stall at some mall. I'm not really fond of girly shoes but staring at endless rows and rows of shoes in delicate designs and very reasonable prices too are just too hard to ignore.

i bought myself two pairs, a 4 inch silver and transparent sandals and a red number in patent leather.

i got the silver one for 69 RM and the red one at 59 RM and both at a 20% discount so just please do the Math. 1 RM is about 14 pesos.�

i became doubly excited when i learned that there are Vincci outlets in Kota Kinabalu and yes, we again scoured all of them when we went there last week.

the selection was just too much for me to bear. i want all of them! but of course i don't really know when and how i'd get to wear them anyway so i only took home two pairs too.

a red low-heeled sandals with gold studs at 65 RM and an old rose/maroon/gold sandals at 70 RM...both at 20% off as well.�

so you would understand what the craze is all about, Vincci's is locally known as VNC and it is priced at 1500-3000 pesos per pair here in our country. �

exploring kota kinabalu

June 26-29, 2009

it wasn't just humid, it was hot when we arrived at the kota kinabalu airport. the flight attendant announced a ground temperature of 30C even at past 7pm! i was a bit glad though especially when it was raining hard, even stormy when we left Manila.

we were met by guides from different hotels and resorts at the airport and most of them were Filipinos. they even lend us a phone for us to call our sundo. i didn't feel like leaving our country after all.

our sundo from the lodge came to pick us up and we dropped by the money changer to exchange our notes. please remember that they most of them don't accept 100 and 50 US dollar bills. Pesos are fine, and i made a great mistake because i exchanged our money to dollars before we left. at least i found one counter which accepted my money but she only accepted a few notes. i had to give most of my pesos as well.

Kota Kinabalu gave me different impressions. it is more like Subic, a seemingly sleepy island town. yet at some part, like near the backpackers' lodges were we stayed, it's more like Binondo even Quiapo bustling with peddlers and 24 hour restaurants serving Malay food.

it was late when we arrive so we just ate at some restaurant which was suggested by our guide from the lodge. food were dirt cheap at 6-7RM per servings (less than a hundred pesos) and they were really good. mostly because i've always loved malay food, pretty tasty and spicy too. we forgot to take pictures of our food beacuse we were so hungry already.

at the resto, we met another Filipino who offered to help us with our island tour the following day. we learned that we could just rent our own boat and tour as many islands as we can and just buy our food in the island at minimal prices as well. the boat would cost us 250 RM which is a far cry from the 130RM per head for a packaged tour! he even led us to Jesselton Point, the port where we are supposed to go for the island hopping which apparently is just a short walk from where we stayed.

off we went the following morning to the port. the sun was already scorching even at 9am!

aside from the 250 RM boat fee, here's the rest of our expenses:

6 RM each for the port tax

10 RM each for island tax (for all islands)

8-10RM each for meals

the Tunku abdul Rahman National Park is actually composed of 5 neighboring islands jsut about 10-15 minutes off Kota Kinabalu. we chose to just hop on a 3 island tour lest we'd get too exhausted.

our first stop was Mamutik Is., supposedly the smaller and lesser popular with but with the most fishes even at the shallowest part.

the white sand was soft and truly powdery even if we stayed just near the dock for our boatmen to see us at once when they come back to fetch us. we had our own piece of heaven in there. we stayed there for two hours sunbathing, bathing, feeding the fish before we moved on the next island.

the next island was manukan Is., a bit bigger with more people and more resorts and restaurants. we bought our food at some "carenderia" because it only costs us about 7RM per meal instead of the 105RM seafood buffet another restaurant also offered.

my 7RM meals consisted of sauted vegetable, chicken curry and fried fish marinated in different spices. it was so good it disappeared in a jiffy!�

then to while away the time, we just walked around, took naps, took more pictures and relaxed. we decided not to swim anymore because we were so full.

i've never been to Aanawangin but it must be a like this? fine white sand beach lined with pine tress. it's a bit odd seeing the sand littered with pine cones and needles.

our final island stop was sapi is. and oh, this must be my most favorite of them all.

it has the finest, whitest sand. it's relatively quiet with the full amenities of a resort, a cafe, public showers...aah bliss!�

too bad we had to leave already.

after heading back to our lodge we showered, rested a bit then went to 1Borneo, their newest, bissgest, most posh mall as of the moment. it's just like our local Shangrila just that they have a Vincci shoe outlet!

we just walked around the mall then looked for a place to eat before we went back home to call it a night.

but for us youngsters we walked around the city and found this nearby bar with a lot of "kids" in it and enjoyed a few tiger beers. yi-ha!

the following day was Sunday Market day! i bought just a few items because i was more amused with the sights, the sounds, the smell of market activity. it was truly exhilarating. not to mention it was so hot i had to take cover most of the time.

they sell almost everything from food, handicrafts, antiques, even pets!!!

that afternoon we then we to Monsopiad Cultural Village for some, er, culture. Monsopiad is almost 30 minutes off the city center and we went ther by taxi that cost us 100RM for a roundtrip fare. and yes, our driver is also a Filipino. the night before, we also met another Filipino driver but he offered us 140RM for the roundtrip hmmm...

taxis don't have meters here. you only have to talk it over with your driver as to how much you can give that is amenable to him as well. kinda tough huh!

but other than that, we opted to walk most of the time anyway.

Monsopiad is more like our own Mindanao village though. it showcases local Malay culture like their costumes, games, dances. the free coffee was good though, same with the wine that they offered.

we stayed there for two hours before going back to town and went shopping again hihi.

we went to Warisan Square, i bought more shoes. then we walked to the Filipino market then the Handicrafts Market, then the Night Market (yup, lotsa markets in there) before we headed home for our dinner.

we the youngsters, again, went out that night to go back to Warisan Square where we went to Vincci's again, bought some sunglasses then had coffee at Starbucks ( na miss lang!)

the following day was bye-bye day and was spent on more last minute shopping and picture talking. just as good because we had no more money already.�

yeah, Kota Kinabalu is not just for mountain climbing and trekking, it's also for beach trips, sunbathing and more shopping!�

more pics here:

missing KL

yeah, i actually miss the place.

i knew all the research and planning for the itinerary made me quite dizzy and unexcited for a bit but arriving at the city all bustling and crowded awakened the wanderlust in me.

Day 1: i slept on the trip from katip to clark where the budget terminal was. i even slept through the 4 hour air asia trip to KL. nevermind if those rude Indian guys beside me were gambling on flight. the hell! how rude and noisy can you get. buti na lang di naman sila nangamoy. or maybe i just didn't smell it as i must be half-breathing all throughout the flight. the plane was pretty small and the claustrophobic me almost felt like panicking but i just had to take quick short breaths to pacify myself and tried hard to sleep.

we arrived safe and sound in KL and was greeted by heavy rains. our host had warned us of KL's erratic weather so it was ok. we took a taxi to our accommodations and felt like just travelling to subic hehe. twas kinda hard to imagine we were on foreign soil.

we got to our host's place at past 6pm, settled down a bit, fell asleep while waiting for the rain to stop then went to the mall at past 8pm to grab some dinner. oh, the sun doesn't set in KL till way past 7pm! but then again it doesn't rise till almost 8am anyway.

first stop was to the mall haha! midland megamall pa. sows!

but the food was great. so spicy and tasty and yummy!

we went home after milling around a bit. after all we had quite a long day travelling and there's still the next day for the real fun to begin.

Day 2: we started out quite early the next day for genting highlands. we didn't plan on getting on those rides (yeah, corny hehe). we only went there to check out the place. naman, cable car ride pa lang nanginig na tuhod nila eh haha!

twas just like enchanted kingdom just that it's much colder. yun lang. or siguro kse di naman kami nag rides. but then the rides in Ocean Park looked cooler as it was overlooking the South China Sea. kaso sempre di rin kami nag rides dun haha!

we went back down after lunch. after all it's almost two hours of bus ride to the city. then we stopped by chinatown and walked all the way to plaza low yat where all the electronic gadgets are supposed to be sold cheap. but then i'm not into gadgets, nah, make it i don't have any budget for that so all i bought really was a 2 gig flash disk for 39 rmb or roughly 500 bucks. not bad really.

then they went more shopping while i took more pics and looked around. and we all headed to KLCC for the petronas towers, yey!

there's a posh mall on the lower floors that we felt we were so dugyot upon getting in. for once nakakita na din ako ng magaganda hehe. pero wala pa din tatalo sa ganda ng mga Pilipina!

finally got two grab myself two pairs of vincci shoes, yeah, two pairs! i still dunno when and how to wear them though :p

after dinner and more shopping/window shopping, we went to the fountain area for a better view of the towers.

it looks awesome from a distance. it looks more amazing up close!

though it's pretty hard to get good pictures. i had to almost lie down on the cement floor to get this one. but who cares, all the other tourists followed suit as well hehe...

went home feeling bit yet still exhilarated. the following day is yet another day, and we were to travel to Singapore late in the afternoon.

Day 3: the oldies opted to stay at home while us, the younger once went out to buy tickets for our Sg trip and yes, do more last minute shopping and sightseeing. the bus ticket to Sg was at 30 rmb or a little over 300 pesos we went to central market, which doesn't really look like a market. we bought more souvenir items, like tshirts and ang walang kamatayang key chains haha. bought more trinkets and decors and had great food (again!). we set out again, walked a bit to the capitol, merdeka plaza, saw more of chinatown even if the sun was up shining brightly. then we tried hard to squeeze in to check out the malaysian eye. after all we failed to go up to petronas towers as tickets were to be distributed only till 10 am when our day has just started.

somehow i love being up there, makes me feel more light and powerful and carefree and liberated. and i've seen that part of the amazing race in which they had to go up the London Eye to look for the clue for their next destination. wala lang, feeling na naman ako :p

my officemates felt freaky, they were half closing their eyes and tried hard not to peek. sayang, ang ganda ng view. i was moving around pa naman for good spots to have my pics taken haha.

then we all had to rush home to catch our 430 pm bus. we thought we were gonna be late as it took us forever to get a teksi goin home and another one going to puduraya where all the buses are. kaso Filipino time din pala sila. the schedule was at 430pm and we were supposed to be there by 415. we got there at around 420 and the bus was still nowhere in sight. it arrived past 5pm and we left KL at past 530 haha! we got to Singapore at almost 11pm haaay.

the following day is yet another day!

more photos here!