Where and how are you? KK! Day 0 (Part 1)

My favorite photo of KK. Looks like two different
areas but it's just one place.

 

 

Immigration Officer:  Where are you going?

Me:  Kota Kinabalu?

Immigration Officer:  Where’s that?
 

So, I had to make an extensive explanation of where the city is as if I were a geography teacher. ‘Not really sure if he was just testing whether I know where I was going or he really did not know where it was or knows the place but does not have much information about it.  I’m inclined to think of the latter. Why?  Because when I told friends where I was, they were all, “where’s that?”
 

I guess one could say that my #travelgoal since last year is to visit areas that are still pretty much under the tourist radar. Again, another why?  Tickets are usually cheaper if not cheapest.  This was why when I saw the promo rates for Kota Kinabalu (or KK as it is usually called) during the Eid holidays, I sealed the deal right away.  Got a round-trip all in ticket for Php3,273.94. Not bad.  I actually tried to tell Reyna Elena about it so she could join me but probably because KK is not your usual tourist destination; the idea did not fly with her. I also asked my mom, Donya, to join me but she said she didn’t like the flight schedules which were past midnight. So off I went for my first solo travel this year.

 

Day 0

 

Flights to KK are not daily so you really have to plan your schedule.  In my case, it was departing late Friday night and arriving early Tuesday morning.   This was perfect because the Monday in between was a holiday.
 

 

The Wings Dining Area
Source:  The Wings website

 

Because I still had meetings that Friday, I went straight to the airport from the office.  Thankfully, I was able to catch a bus and a dependable Grab taxi.  I was already at the airport 6 hours before my scheduled departure so I decided to stay at the lounge of The Wings NAIA 3.  Coming from the office, traveling from the province, I needed to rest and of course eat.  For that night, the menu was (everything unlimited) congee, pansit, chicken sandwich, cookies, pastries, juices and coffee.  So I had both my merienda and dinner at The Wings. I also managed to take a nap.  I needed to rest so I could keep my wits since my arrival time was during the wee hours of the morning.

 

Our flight arrived a few minutes earlier than scheduled but the line at immigration was long and only a few booths were open so it was almost 2am when I got out of the airport.  Taxi service from my hotel was up to 12am only so as suggested by the hotel manager I took the airport taxi.  Taxis are run by operators.  I still felt safe traveling during the wee hours of the morning in a foreign land. I went to the airport taxi counter, paid the fare and was given a coupon which I brought to the taxi queue.  Fare from the airport to the City Center is MYR30. But if the trip is during my hours, a surcharge of MYR15 is added.

Surcharge of 50% - Night Differential

 

The taxi assigned to me was driven by an elderly Chinese.  Because I looked like a local, he spoke to me in the local language.  Never in my life had I thought that I would say the line, “English only, please.” But, I did.  Actually, that was the case during my entire trip.  Using his limited English, he still described to me the places we were passing by.  Though it was my first time in KK, I’ve been to mainland Malaysia several times already and one of the things I’ve taken note of is how proud taxi drivers are of their country and what it has to offer.  They have so much passion that they’re more than taxi drivers; they’re more like tourist ambassadors.

Nothing fancy but homey
Source: Hotel Victoria

 

 

After 10 minutes or so, I reached my hotel. If you’ve read my previous posts, my foremost requirement when it comes to hotels is location.  It has to be near the places I wanted to visit or at the very least, near transportation stops.  For this trip, I made a booking at Hotel Victoria through Agoda. For Php3,800, I got a three night stay in a Twin Room with ensuite toilet and bath. The rate also came with breakfast. This is already cheap considering that in some hotels this rate will get you a bunk bed in a hostel where you also share the T&B with other occupants. My room was nothing fancy.  The small television did not even register viewable channels.  I did not have any issue with that since I was not there to watch TV. I actually had a better “source of entertainment” from my window. The hotel is also located near convenience stores and kopitiams (restaurants). There’s also a night market just outside the hotel and every bit of the city center was just a walk away. Having a Filipina receptionist was also an advantage.

 

Pantawid gutom program

As always, I was famished when I arrived at the hotel. And because there were convenience stores and 24-hour restaurants in the area, finding food was not a problem. The stalls in the night market across the hotel were all closed except for one or two.  One of those that remained open was a stall selling “shabu-shabu”.  I was reading the menu and not actually comprehending it since it was in another language when I was approached by store owner and asked me in Malay what I wanted to have. So, I said my famous line, “English only, please.” In response, she asked me where I was from, and when I answered Philippines, her eyes lit up and continued with, “Beh, Filipina din ako! Anong gusto mo dito?  Ito ganito yan....” Simply said, I was able to make good choices and had a satisfying midnight/early morning feast.  I actually felt sad when she told me that their stall won’t be available during the coming Hari Raya because they will be taking a holiday break. Until now, I can still remember the good food and the wonderful chat we exchanged.

 

It took me longer to get to sleep because a portion of my forehead and right eye accidentally hit a cabinet’s corner when I was trying to charge my phone. I had to observe an observation period. Thankfully, except for a swollen eyebrow (which by the way made my eyebrow more fab than ever), nothing else hurt. Now, you know why Donya does not want me to go gallivanting on my own.  Had I been traveling with Senyorito Lakwatsero, the kid definitely wouldn’t  mince telling me, “You’re so clumsy!”

 

At 4am, Day 0 has ended.  Well, okay, I went to sleep.