Day five was intended for relaxation and we signed up for only a half day tour (less than four hours in fact) with nothing much in mind for the rest of the day! Before we started the day, let me enjoyed a cup of nicely brewed nanyang coffee!
Fong Ip Cafe did seem to be closed with the half-open metal shutter but it was quite obvious the place was filled with customers and the shutter was there to block out the sunlight.
Interior - nostalgic-ish kind of cafe decked out in round tables and chairs. Given the lack of air-conditioning, i would have classified this as a coffeshop rather than a cafe.
Tsk tsk - child labour; which i totally agree so long the kid is my child / relative. Always beneficial to train the young on hard work and the real world lest they become too pampered!
I didn't enjoy the toasted bread which tasted as good as the ones i can made myself at home and the half boiled eggs were too raw for my liking.
Menu as appended above - besides the uninspiring makan, i was more displeased with the prices which were comparable to Singapore! Thought the standard of living was lower in East Malaysia? Either that or we Singaporeans are complaining too much about the perceived higher standard of living!
On the way to Mari Mari Cultural Village for our half day tour! Aside from Alex and myself, there was only this quiet Japanese man who didn't quite understand our English!
I took quite a number of photographs as usual since i could not sleep as easily as Alex on cars / buses. Bet i have mentioned before that for a Muslim majority country, Sabah has quite a sizable number of Catholic churches; their signature signage can be seen quite often on the roads.
Going into the countryside with not many cars. Actually thinking back, it can be quite a scary thought with just the three of us in the van!
Within thirty minutes, we arrived at Mari Mari Cultural Village. To read more on the fun time we had at the purpose built village with abodes from five ethnic tribes in Sabah (Dusun, Lundayeh, Bajau, Murut and Rungus), click here.
Left at around 1pm and along the journey back to Jesselton Hotel, i chanced upon a place where i would have loved to explore back in Singapore! Want to guess what it is?
A Chinese cemetery!
Just a passing landmark as i desperately wanted to get back to the hotel to take a bath! Take from the back of the car, a clear picture of the Crocker Range mountain range, i think.
Kota Kinabalu City Mosque - second main mosque in KK and was officially opened in 2000 at a cost of RM 34 million.
Jesselton Hotel which provided us a comfortable stay throughout the six nights we were in KK! For a full review (and more photos), check out the link here.
Looking like many other coffeeshops in the area, i would have given this a miss if not the few persons who were lining up in front of a stall after the official lunch break.
Selling fried deep fried bananas and fried mung beans, i recalled someone did mention about a particular place with good and cheap goreng pisang and i guess this must be it!
Six pieces for RM 1 - they sure were easy on the wallet even though in actual dimensions, i thought three pieces would make up about one small banana. Having said that, two fried bananas for less than S$0.50 were still damn worth it!
They were fresh from the boiling oil, crispy and comparing with Muslim style goreng pisangs, these were delicious and had a heartier yet flavourful bite. Alex wasn't in the mood for fried stuff that day and i cleaned up everything myself!
Pricing for fried mung beans.
The long yellow overhead bridge that could not be missed if you are in Kota Kinabalu.
I have always walked underneath the bridge and this time (damn the heat), we were going to be walking on it to our next destination!
Vendors on the bridge! Do stop by for a closer look as you could get your hands on some pretty nice souvenirs which might be easily overlooked elsewhere; read Gaya Street weekend market and KK Handicraft Centre.
Logo for the Holiday Hotel does appear suspiciously similar to Genting Hotel!
Other end of the yellow bridge would stop at KK Central Market (亚庇中央市场, Pasar Besar). The photographs i have loaded for Central Market and Handicraft Centre were actually taken on day four and day six of my trip.
Walked into the lesser trodden area where there were more locals than foreigners although this could not be compared to the outskirts.
Just like in Singapore, tourists should never loiter in the downtown; they should venture to the suburban townships like Yishun, Tampines, Jurong etc.
Long time ago, the key highlight when visiting Johor Bahru was dining at Secret Recipe for its cheesecake and lamb shank!
We didn't have a full meal but i still managed to grab a slice of their signature banana chocolate cake before catching a movie, Home, at Suria Sabah! Nice show, by the way.
Last dinner in KK was at Kudos; the restaurant that was rated very highly on TripAdvisor! The meal was unforgettable and i could still vividly remember that absolutely marvellous tasting lamb cutlets! For my review, click here.
=====
For the summarised itinerary of my 7 days, 6 nights Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) trip, please click here.
