kota kinabalu 2013

the kids had fun with the underwater camera

After the kids' exams, they skipped a couple of days of school and we went to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah for four nights. It was just Hubby and me and the four kids. I thought we needed time alone as a family, without maids or extended family, for bonding. Usually when we go on holidays with cousins, etc, the kids will break up into their own age groups and play. This time, I wanted Annie, the big sis, to spend more time with her siblings in a relaxed environment. They would have no choice but to spend quality time with each other and not be at each others' throats the whole time (as is usually the case at home)!

arriving at Gaya Island Resort

It was also good for Hubby to be 24/7 with us. Most of the time, the kids don't even know if he is in Kuching or off travelling! Although he was pretty much on the phone half the time throughout the trip, it was great having him all to ourselves!

Well, the holiday turned out amazing! The kids really had a great vacation, enjoying the time spent together.

Anyways, first, we spent 2 nights at the awesome Gaya Island Resort, on Pulau Gaya, just 15 minutes off the coast of KK. After that, we rented a car and drove up Mt. Kinabalu (the highest mountain in Malaysia), to spend another 2 nights at Kinabalu Pines Resort.

goofing around in our room

Gaya Island Resort is a small luxury hotel. It was rather pricey at more than RM1000 per room, per night, but it included all meals and the food is marvellous! The service is also excellent! I think it's the best I've ever come across! The staff is ever helpful and friendly. Once they see you plopping yourself on a lounge chair, they come bearing iced water with lemon slices. There are towels everywhere to take as you please and everything is clean and new, since it just opened a couple of years ago. When the kids began using the plastic drinking glasses to play in the sand, an attendant went to fetch some beach toys for them, without being asked.

Every morning, they clean the rooms as usual, but in the evening, when you are at dinner, they come and turn down the rooms as well. They clean up again, close the blinds, turn down the lights and put on soft music.

They also have activities for the guests, like early morning yoga (no thank you!), movie screening under the stars, jungle trekking, snorkelling, craft classes... etc. Most activities are free, but there are some, like painting classes which charge a fee. Hubby brought Claire and Annie for a snorkelling session at the house reef and all the girls went by themselves for a bead craft session one afternoon at the children's activity centre. We also tried some kayaking, which was in fact rather tiring!

There is also a private beach, 5 minutes away by speedboat. The beaches are beautiful, with clear waters and though not as beautiful as the beaches and reefs in Maldives or Sipadan, it is already pretty awesome for an island just 15 mins from the city. We could even see KK across the sea.

the marine centre at the beautiful private beach

 

I think the thing the kids enjoyed most though, was the food!! Since food was included in the package, they pretty much ordered anything and everything they wanted!! The food package worked like this; for breakfast, we were served fruits, pastry and yoghurt. Then you could choose a main of dim sum, or eggs benedict, or nasi lemak... etc. (We even had the famous current food craze, the Cronut; croissant/ doughnut hybrid) Then for lunch, we could order two courses; a main and either an appetizer or a dessert. For dinner, the appetizers and desserts were buffet style, and you could order your main ala carte.

There were lobsters, prawns and crab on ice at the buffet every night and a wonderful array of cakes and sweets! The mains were equally impressive, from Australian grass fed sirloin steak to kid's meal sets of spaghetti and meatballs. The highlight of the trip as voted by the kids was when we ate lunch in the swimming pool, at the pool bar! It was indeed a novelty for them!

movie under the stars

So after basking in the sun for 3 days, heading for the cool mountains was a lovely change! We picked up our rental car after taking the ferry back to the harbour. Then we made our way towards Mount Kinabalu. Hubby and I had some problems with Google maps, because previously, it was very user friendly with our iPhone 3, but now, on iPhone 5, it was totally different and pretty much useless for navigation! It was only much later that it dawned on us to download the other Google Maps app, the one that  does not come pre-set with the phone! Grrrr...

Anyhoo.... So we stopped by One Borneo shopping mall to have lunch. Some Nando's and Baskin Robbins later, we went on our way up the mountain. It was a 2 hour drive, so most of the kids dozed off. As we got nearer to the national park, the kids were excited to see that we were entering the clouds! They have always asked about clouds, how they felt and what would it be like to be in one! The mountain scenery was truly breathtaking. One thing I noticed was the abundance of catholic churches! I think there was a sign board announcing a church at every 1 kilometer interval!

the view from our room!

Well, we reached our resort, the Kinabalu Pines Resort, Kundasang, in the evening. It is a pleasant resort, with beautiful pine trees which remind me of 'Salem' cigarette ads of old!! The food there is a far, far cry from what we had on the island, but the cool fresh air and the mind-blowing view of Mount Kinabalu more than made up for it! The view of the peak of Mount Kinabalu, behind the pine trees, is so magnificent that is looks like the Swiss Alps! (This is what my friend said when she saw the pics, and she used to be an air-stewardess!)

The rooms are very basic but clean. The kids were very happy to have a cup noodle dinner, as we don't do those at home!

Well the next day, we  went to Mt Kinabalu National Park. We drove as far as we could and walked around a bit. After searching unsuccessfully for the botanical garden, we left the park and headed for Ranau. We found Poring Hot Springs and went down to explore. Eva and Solomon played a bit on the slide in a pool. It was not filled with hot water from the springs, but instead freezing cold water from the mountain!

The hot springs gave off their sulphur stink and the kids found the fact that it smelled just like breaking wind so amusing! Lol!

After the pool, we ventured to the canopy walk. It is a short 10 mins walk to a series of 3 bridges suspended from the tops of enormous, tall trees! The first two bridges were shorter, but the third one was the longest and thus much shakier! When I looked down, I realized it was also the highest, as right below us was a deep ravine! My legs turned into jelly right about then! Annie and Eva were also a little freaked out, whereas Claire found it a breeze (and shook the bridge for fun!) and Solomon even walked backwards!! It was a fun experience.

After lunch at Ranau town, we headed back to the resort to relax and enjoy the cool air. Dinner was a pleasantly hot steamboat affair, after which we drove around Kundasang town (which takes about 5 mins!) to buy some cookies and milk for the kids and Stout for Daddy!

The next day, it was time to head home. The kids were all sad to leave. So maybe we will be back?