Thanks to Fox Movies, i woke up pretty late and didn't have time for a decent breakfast! Seeing that there was a coffee shop with a bun warmer along Gaya Street, we rapidly popped by to buy two large meat buns before the tour van came to pick us up at 8am!
See how big it was! Taste wise was pretty normal and i regretted not buying the same polo buns we had on Day Three. For those who are wondering where the coffee shop is, just remember it is right opposite Jesselton Hotel and a few shops to your left.
On our way to pick up other tourists! Originally, my intention was to travel to Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park ourselves via Jesselton Point but i guess we really didn't want the hassle (for one, the walk to Jesselton Point under the hot sun was a huge deterrence for Alex) and sign up with a local tour agency instead.
I shall share the name of the agency at the end of this post. By the way, i was expecting to take the ferry at Jesselton Point so that i can take more photographs of the area and maybe buy some souvenirs.
However, we were brought to Sutera Harbour Marina which was essentially a dock for yachts! :(
Was taking photographs of the surroundings while waiting for other tourists to arrive when i realised something - i didn't bring any sunblock! Sobs; gonna have lobster red skin in the next few days.
One of the speedboats shall bring us to our destination. Going back to the sunblock, the local guide assigned to the five of us told me that even though there were convenience stores on the islands, they could likely be sold out as the day before was the busy weekend!
The ticket, priced at RM 13.80 per person.
At 8.44 am, we left for Sapi Island - noticed an extremely unique vessel that seemed to be made entirely with aluminium!
Now about Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park - consisting of five islands (Pulau Gaya, Pulau Sapi, Pulau Manukan, Pulau Mamutik and Pulau Sulug) not far from the state capital of Kota Kinabalu, it was obviously well-liked by the locals and that explained our basic reasoning for visiting on a weekday.
Sapi Island - ranked third in size among the five islands, we did our much awaited snorkeling, had our lunch and took on two separately charged activities; parasailing and the zipline across two islands via the Coral Flyer!
Proceeded to Manukan Island after our filling lunch!
Here's how the island looked like from where we were at Pulau Sapi. The words pulau and island were used interchargeably as both refer to the same thing; pulau being the Malay word for island.
If the sky was cloudless then, i could have taken quite a good photo of Mount Kinabalu before the earthquake that happened two days back. Anyway, it was heartbreaking to hear that there were casualties; a few of whom are Singaporeans.
May their souls rest in peace..
Nothing too exciting on Manukan Island for me except for snorkeling which i was also cutting short given the lack of a sunblock lotion! Although it was kind of therapeutic to pull out the dead skin, the initial few days of raw redness were always so frustrating!
On our way back to the mainland (not sure if i have used the term correctly as Borneo Island is the third largest island in the world) at 3pm.
Bidding farewell to our three lovely tour mates from China and the superbly helpful and cheerful Malaysian guide!
After taking a much needed bath back in the hotel, it's an early dinner at Fatty Kee! Imagine how pleased i was to find the usually crowded coffee shop literally empty when we reached.
Watched a movie, Parasyte Part 1, at a price of only RM 8.50 per ticket at Suria Sabah! The plot was terrifying good for a person who has never read the comic in the first place. Speaking of which, i have yet to catch part 2 which is currently showing in Singapore's cinemas!
Have you ever been issued a ticket for visiting the washroom? I was and don't play play, tax was professionally indicated on the ticket for the service okay!
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Sapi Island Package
Purchased from Excellence Eco-Tours at RM 140 per person, it included land and sea transfer, entrance fees to the islands, BBQ lunch, snorkeling set and life jacket. We eventually changed to a two-island tour that added Manukan Island at no additional charge.
Excellence Eco-Tours specialised in tours for Mandarin-speaking traveller; hence, in the event you are bringing older folks who don't speak English (like my parents), this would be the agency to go for!
For the summarised itinerary of my 7 days, 6 nights Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) trip, please click here.
