Tag: Sabah

#atozchallenge: Poring Hot Spring

by khorhmin, posted in #atozchallenge, A-to-Z Challenge 2016, Photo, Travel

I went to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in April 2016, and while on a day tour of Kundasang and Kinabalu Park, I visited Poring Hot Spring. It is part of Kinabalu Park, and there are quite a lot of things going on in there. I was not expecting to find a modern swimming pool, complete with water slide in there, but there it was. 😉  Besides that, they have a butterfly garden, canopy walk, Kipungit Waterfall, Bat Cave, Langanan Waterfall, and a restaurant.

Located 40 km slightly northeast from the Kinabalu Park HQ, Poring Hot Spring is located in the lowlands, while the Park HQ is located in the higlands. Very popular among the locals, Poring Hot Springs is a place where visitors soak away their soreness and aches in the spring’s hot sulphuric minerals, which is deemed to have healing properties.

One can easily spend a day at Poring Hot Springs, and it is a suitable place for the whole family. Here are some photos I took there:

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Yup, there’s a modern swimming pool and a pool with a water slide at Poring Hot Springs

The individual hot spring tubs look very clean and nice. Just turn on the taps and hot water from the hot spring will collect in your personal little dunking tub. You can submerge your whole body in the hot water, or you can just soak your feet.

Individual hot spring tubs
Individual hot spring tubs

The walk up to the canopy walk was an uphill hike. The path was well-maintained and clean, and ‘steps’ were fashioned from the natural contours of the earth. The canopy walk itself was well-maintained and clean too, and there was a nice view.

Canopy walkway
View from canopy walkway
Canopy walkway

 

Other articles I wrote about Sabah:

 

#atozchallenge: Mesilau Highland, Kundasang

by khorhmin, posted in #atozchallenge, A-to-Z Challenge 2016, Travel

Kundasang is located at the foothills of the famous Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in the state of Sabah, and also in Malaysia, and there are many beautiful and scenic places to be found there. One of my favourite places in Kundasang is the Mesilau Highlands, or the Mesilau Plateau.

 

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Scenic views on the winding road snaking up to Mesilau

When I went there, I felt I had been transported into an ideallic postcard-perfect countryside. It is such a lovely place that I would like to come back again in the future.

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The rolling countryside is dotted with farm houses and plots growing a variety of vegetables

The most scenic spot at Mesilau is probably the place where the Desa Dairy Farm is located. With the feathery drizzle bringing in a thick mist, I thought that perhaps I had been transported to Scotland. 🙂

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Mist descends onto Desa Dairy Farm as a feathery drizzle starts

Visitors can view the milking area behind a glass panel, and sample the variety of products produced by the farm, which are for sale there, such as fresh milk, yogurt, pudding, gelato, cheese, etc. I tried the gelato (RM5.30) and Toma cheese (RM8 per 100g wedge), and liked them. The farm produces Toma and Camembert cheese, but only Toma was available that day. Toma is a soft or semi-hard, mild Italian cow’s milk cheese. This is the first time I have come across it, so I had to try it. 😉

There is also a sort of petting zoo, but with only calves and goats. Visitors can feed milk to the calves and grass to the goats, for a small fee. It was a hit with the visiting children.

Here are some photos from Desa Fairy Farm:

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If I stayed in Mesilau, I would probably be happy and contented like these dairy cows too 😉

Other articles I wrote about Sabah:

#atozchallenge: Lofty Kundasang (Kota Kinabalu, day 2)

by khorhmin, posted in #atozchallenge, A-to-Z Challenge 2016, Travel

I went to Sabah for 4 days in April, and was lucky enough to visit Kundasang, which is located in the Ranau District of Sabah. It is a valley with a town that is 6 km
away from Kinabalu National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and 12 km from Ranau town. It has a cool climate and strategically situated at the base of the famed Mount Kinabalu, the highest peak in Malaysia. 

While waiting for my luggage at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport upon arrival, I spotted two racks lined with leaflets and brochures, and to my delight, found a leaflet advertising day tours by Mizume Tours.

Before dinner, I called the number on the leaflet and Sam answered promptly. I was delighted to discover that they had a confirmed day tour to Kundasang the next day (Sunday), and a day trip to the Tunku Abdul Rahman Islands on the following day (Monday). I quickly booked my spots for the two tours. Payment would only be made when the tour van picked me up in the morning.

The van went from hotel to hotel to pick up their participants for the Kundasang day tour on Sunday morning. Even though I was staying at an apartment, they came to pick me up anyway, which was very nice of them. Two other couples came on the tour. One couple was from mainland China, but worked in Hong Kong. The other couple came from a lesser known part of China, which I cannot recall now.

The name of the tour was the ‘Kinabalu Park Tour’. The journey from Kota Kinabalu town to Kinabalu Park took 2 hours, and on the way, our first stop was Kundasang Market, where we had a grand view of Mount Kinabalu. It is said that at any time, there would be clouds over the peak, and today was no exception. The view was beautiful, and visitors took group photos and selfies with the fantastic view. The haze was polluting Kota Kinabalu town, but thankfully it disappeared when we went to Kundasang.

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View of Mount Kinabalu

The market was divided into different sections. There was a proper market with stalls selling all kinds of local produce and foodstuff (shown in the photos below). Then, there were a row of shops and a long house selling all kinds of crafts and souvenirs.

I saw local delicacies like tuhau and bosou. Tuhau is pickled wild ginger, which is usually prepared in either of three ways – pickled fresh tuhau, spicy sambal tuhau, and serunding tuhau. Pickled tuhau and sambal tuhau are traditionally eaten with rice. Serunding tuhau is dried and usually comes mixed with peanuts and eaten as a snack.

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Pickled tuhau. I bought one container of this.

Bosou is preserved fish, a delicacy made by the Kadazan-Dusun people. The most common fish used is the ikan kepayang. Sometimes, raw meat brought back from hunting expeditions is used in the preparation of this delicacy instead.

 

 

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Bosou
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Vegetarian bosou

 

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Different types of rice cultivated in the area are on sale in the market

 

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Handmade bird cages
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Traditional jewellery made from seeds
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Traditional necklace made from beads
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One of the friendly people selling their foodstuff at the market
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The long house selling handcrafted items and other souvenirs

Other articles I wrote about Sabah:

 

#atozchallenge: Jesselton Point

by khorhmin, posted in #atozchallenge, A-to-Z Challenge 2016, Photo, Travel

I went to Kota Kinabalu for the first time from 9th to 12th April 2016. While I was there, I went to a few places, like Kundasang, Pulau Sapi and Pulau Manukan, but Kota Kinabalu itself has interesting places too.

Today, I would like to share some photos I took at Jesselton Point, which is the KK jetty where people get on boats to go to the Tunku Abdul Rahman Islands. I boarded a boat to go to the islands there too.

There are a lot of shops selling food and snacks there too. I tried a dragonfruit popsicle from a small shop there, after I returned from the islands, and it was very good (see photo above). It costs RM6. The brand name was ‘Popstale’. It was manufactured by Ju Xiang Food Industries Sdn Bhd, DBKK No.3, Lot 15, Pusat Perindustrian Ngee Lum, Lorong Burung Keleto, 5.5 Off Tuaran Bypass, 88450 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (Tel: 088 440 818. www.juxiang.com.my).

Other articles I wrote about Sabah: