Kota Kinabalu 050705f: Farewell dinner

Final night in KK and I am treated to some fancy seafood, in a downtown waterfront restaurant.

#1: Prawn cocktail ?

#2: ...and a half-lobster as main course...why can't I have a full lobster? But anyway, yum-yum, and thanks a million to the gracious hosts and hostesses.

Kota Kinabalu 050705e: More Sutera Harbour

#1: Aquatic playground for the pampered lot at Sutera Harbour. 

#2: The driveway is to the right. 

#3: Lobby evening scene. It is cavernous! 

Kota Kinabalu 050705d: The other resort

From Sutera Harbour Resort, I can see this leafy compound on a promontory, about 2km away across the water. It is the famed Shangri-la Tg Aru Resort, so I decide to pay it a short visit.

#1: The Shangri-la Tg Aru Resort beckons... 

#2: Sorry, but first a quick detour to check out the splendid State Mosque in the morning sun. 

#3: Tg Aru Resort. Very scenic spot, and the sound of the gentle surf, as the sea water laps the grassy lawn, is indeed idyllic.

#4: Being an older establishment, the resort is overgrown with shady mature trees, right to the water's edge. If only somebody hangs a hammock here...

Kota Kinabalu 050705c: Back at the resort

#1: Back at Sutera Harbour Resort and I'm greeted by Miss Sabah making love to her kulintangan. Two small wooden mallets striking eight brass kettle gongs.

#2: Up close and personal... 

#3: Another view of the Sutera Harbour Resort.

Kota Kinabalu 050705b: Around the Central Market

After procuring my Kopi Tenom, I do a walkabout around the Central Market area. At 6.30am it is already a busy place, and the 1-mile-wide straits between KK and Gaya Island sees boats of all shapes crisscrossing it.

#1: The bustling fish market, on the water behind the Central Market. Your fish can't get any fresher than the ones here. Btw, I spot hammerhead sharks for sale!

#2: After doing their market shopping, a family waits for a boat to take them back to Gaya Island.

#3: Gaya Island is just a mile away.

#4: Folks from Gaya Island arrive for work and morning shopping. I shudder to think what would happen if a boat like this capsizes!

#5: Close-up of a village on Gaya Island, bathed in the morning sunlight.

#6: A fishing boat heads out to sea, against Gaya Island as the backdrop. 

Kota Kinabalu 050705a: Kopi Tenom

This morning I'm on a mission: to seek the best coffee there is - Kopi Tenom! Made from the Robusta coffee beans grown in the quaint town of Tenom, some 170km south of KK, this aromatic coffee is for connoisseurs and laypersons alike. I head for the Central Market, as a lady the evening before advised, to look for it.

Btw, the Robusta bean is said to have twice the caffeine found in its rival, the Arabica. I'm not sure if this is good news or otherwise. :-)

#1: At 6am, I am already on the road, as a new day breaks with Mt Kinabalu in the silhouette. 

#2: The Central Market, a KK institution. At 6.15am, it was already bustling!

#3: Yup, this is the stall with the best Kopi Tenom, as someone in the know told me. The coffee beans are ground on the spot, and the cool morning air is permeated with its fresh sweet aroma.

#4: Ahhh...the merchandise at last! 

Kota Kinabalu 040705e: Kundasang main road

Scenes at the main KK-Ranau road.

#1: A row of fruit stalls along the main road. Nothing fancy, except maybe the RM10/kg beras bukit.

#2: Vegies, just like in Cameron Highlands.

#3: I simply like the name...and Mt Kinabalu in the backgound, partially hidden.