A day before flag off to Borneo Safari International 4x4 Challenge

January 02, 2015

Thanks for all comments in the previous post. Now it is obvious that the plane has crashed in the Java sea. More and more bodies have been recovered. Really saddening news for everyone especially the family members of the fatalities. I hope the rescue team will be able to find the others soon! May the souls of those sacrificed rest in peace. This is the first aviation tragedy of Airasia. Flashing back on my fifth time taking Airasia to Sabah, it was a smooth 2 and half hour journey! Thank God for the good weather. Not only that, it was my first time seeing all crews doing catwalk, singing, dancing and playing games with passengers! It is really hard to imagine I know but that's the truth!

That was my second time to Sabah. However, it was my first time joining the Borneo Safari trip organized by Sabah Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA). My friend and I arrived a day earlier before the event. We stayed at the spacious Marina Court for a day.

I have no choice but to stay with another 5 men in this house as arranged by the organizer. Nevertheless, they are very nice gentlemen as two of them volunteered to sleep in the living room so that I can have a room by myself. Thanks to Dr Parameswaran and Mr Lionel from themalaymailonline.com.

The house is equipped with basic amenities like in one's home such as an iron, hairdryer, fridge, stove, cups, kettle, dish cleanser, pan, scissors and washing machine.

My room is facing the seaside and Oceanus shopping mall which is still under renovation. After taking bath, we walked to Waterfront Kota Kinabalu which is a stone's throw away from Marina Court for a leisure stroll.

At night, we head over to Restaurant Old Farm for dinner! It's recommended by a local Sabahan friend that the price is affordable and the seafood is fresh! We ordered steam crabs, Ma Lai Feng Guang (fried vegetables with belacan), and bitter gourd fried with salted eggs and tofu. Personally, I don't like the bitter gourd fried with salted egg, it's disappointing. Thought it will be as tasteful as what I had in Bahau when I saw the dish name on the menu, but in the end turn out to be something different.

The next morning, we packed up our luggage and boarded on the assigned 4X4 wheels to Gaya street to have our breakfast. As you can see from the window of my room, the car already waiting for me downstairs xoxo (yup, I'm a bit slow)

The time in Sabah is much earlier than KL. At 6am, the sun already risen to the sky. According to my Sabahan friend, the hawkers need to come here as early as 4am to set up the stalls in Gaya street. This is to avoid the car can't get in and also much easier to find car park.

And so this laksa is recommended by a local friend. I forgot the shop name but it's located on Gaya Street. The shop is crowded and luckily we didn't need to wait and managed to find seats. I must say the laksa is delectable as it looks.

Perhaps some of you have seen this before in my previous post here! It's a frog bag! Well, as its name suggested, it is made with a real frog :P All the while I thought it is synthetic until my friend told me it was real. As I was curious and did not believe him thus I asked the boss to find out the answer and yes he is right!

Does anyone know what's this? This is something great for man! Used to treat sexual dysfunction and male infertility....called 'Tongkat Ali' in local. Effective or not? I can't answer you guys right now as I'm not married yet. Haha, wait till I get married first yeah!

Taking a walk on Gaya street certainly opens one's eye! The market is selling things different than the market in KL and most of the products are produced locally. Guess what I'm holding? It's Roselle! I heard a lot of Roselle especially when all kinds of Roselle juices brands mushrooming the racks of hypermarkets but I never see it in real xoxo

Besides, I found a few stalls selling seedlings of different fruits and herbs. Some of the plants' names are rarely seen and heard of in KL such as Tarap Kahwin, Mangga Merah Madu, Limau Gajah Madu Merah and etc.

There is a stall selling gong and other types of musical instruments. Interested to know more about gong making and gong village? You can read more here.