K.Kinabalu & Kundasang 29 Aug - 2 Sep'15 (Part 8)

Hello!! Continued the story on the 4th day of the trip. We had seen the largest flower in the world, Rafflesia, visited Poring Hot Spring & seen the canopy of trees in the Borneo rain forest during Poring Canopy Walkway so, we had headed to Kota Kinabalu on the same day. 

Bright sunny day with the clear blue sky & windy breeze in the afternoon when we were arrived at Kota Kinabalu which was a perfect day for our next 4S  mission. What are these 4S missions all about??? It's SCENERY, SNACK, SUNSET & SOUVENIRS... 

The Reflection of Masjid Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu

Masjid Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu is the common destination among the tourist as well as the photographers as it is the hot spot tourist location in most of the tours. My advise - pls wear modest clothing (long slack/skirt & t-shirt) to respect the muslims whom come here during their prayers. 1st mission - SCENERY was checked!! 

Masjid Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu - The Floating Mosque

On the way to my 2nd mission, we had passed through the jogging/cycling trail for the residents which connected us to the nearby hawker stalls & beach side cafes. We had ordered the refreshing coconut juice & banana fritters grated with cheese & chocoloate while relaxing at the same time waiting for the right time to move to the next pit stop. 2nd mission - SNACK was checked!! 

Tanjung Aru Beach - The Jogging & Cycling Trail

Tanjung Aru Beach - The Coconut Juice & Banana Fritters

The Sunset @ Bukit Bendera

Bukit Bendera is the best place to viewing the greatest sunset in the evening when the sun slowly sets into the horizon. The picturesque view of the sunset was really amazing & magnificent!! I can see the sun rays spreading clearly through the clouds & the surrounding areas. 3rd mission - SUNSET was checked!!

After watching the sunset, we had went to Pasar Kraftangan, Kota Kinabalu. There were a lot of souvenirs & I can't pick any of it!! There were saltwater & fresh water pearls, t-shirts, fridge magnet, local delicacies, dried seafood & etc. You named it - most of the things that you're looking for to bring home are there!!

Pasar Kraftangan Kota Kinabalu - The Varieties of Souvenirs

During this trip I have experienced a lot of things - places, peoples, foods in Sabah & at the same time cherish the time & memories that both of us had spent together. I can't describe how much this trip meant to be.

In short words - LOVE YOUR LOVED ONES & MALAYSIA, TRULY ASIA!!

Photographed by: Irwan

Narrated by: Jaja

Part 1 : Part 2 : Part 3 : Part 4 : Part 5 : Part 6 : Part 7 : Part 8

K.Kinabalu & Kundasang 29 Aug - 2 Sep'15 (Part 7)

This was the story on our 4th day of the trip. On the way to the location of our interest, we were hoping we may view the largest flower in the world. Anyone has any idea on what is the name of the flower is? It's Rafflesia!! Yup, we managed to look for it as 1 of the local landlord have several Rafflesia buds & 1 of them was currently blooming at their orchard. We need to pay for the charges to view the blooming Rafflesia, it's about RM10/pax.

The Location of Blooming Rafflesia @ Erry Rafflesia

After walking deep into their orchard through the hilly land, passing through a small water stream with our t-shirt damp due to sweat FINALLY, we managed to see the blooming Rafflesia. HOORAY!! Indeed it takes a lot of effort to see a Rafflesia but the reward was worth it.... 

The Rafflesia that we managed to see was around 90cm in diameter. It had a very unique smell - like rotting flesh. Hence, this odour attracts a lot of insects especially flies & in the end all of them were found dead at the center of the flower. 

  

The Blooming Rafflesia - The Largest Flower in The World

Before we went back to our guest house, we had stopped by at the Poring Hot Spring. As our feet were really exhausted, we took some of our sweet time to relax at this well-known hot spring before continuing with the next adventure. Some related tourist informations can be retrieved via this LINK.

Poring Hot Spring - The Entrance

Poring Hot Spring - The Path to The Hot Spring

Poring Hot Spring - The Welcome Entrance of Hot Spring Area

The water of the hot spring was really warm. There were a lot of shelters & some pools for the tourist to have bath or just sitting having their feet soak in the lukewarm water. Both of our feet went red after spending several minutes in the water & all the fatigues due to looking for Rafflesia had swept away & we were ready for the next mission - PORING CANOPY WALKWAY.

Poring Canopy Walkway - The Tourist Information Board

Poring Canopy Walkway is 157.8 meters long and is 41 meters high. There is a fee for the entrance ticket & if you bring camera or need to take video different additional charges will be applied as in the above figure. Please wear comfortable hiking shoes and carry some water & it's better to bring your umbrella just in case it rains. 

The canopy walkway is narrow and only can support approximately 6-peoples load at a time. It is a suspension bridge constructed with ropes, steel cables and a series of aluminium ladders bolted together. Laced with polyester ropes, the open rungs of ladders are covered with walking plank & netting added at both sides for extra safety & security. 

Poring Canopy Walkway -  That's ME!! 

There was 2 security guards to watch out the condition at this area & they will do some inspection before we started our adventure. At the same time there were several branches of trees felt down before the adventure began. It made me chilled & worried at the some time as we would need to go through 3 tree-top platforms to complete it. Yeah, I was smiling but deep down my heart was beating faster than normal especially when looking down the walkway. In overall, it was the best adventure at all!!

Poring Canopy Walkway - The Huge Canopy

Poring Canopy Walkway - Another Tree Canopy

Photographed by: Irwan

Narrated by: Jaja

Part 1 : Part 2 : Part 3 : Part 4 : Part 5 : Part 6 : Part 7 : Part 8