Malaysia
Kota Kinabalu

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    • Day 94

      Sandakan -> Kota Kinabalu

      January 26, 2019 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 24 °C

      Deze ochtend konden we ons op ons gemakje klaar maken. Rond 10u30 namen we de grab naar de luchthaven. Het was heel hard aan het regenen deze ochtend en het bleef eigenlijk de hele dag regenen.

      Onze vlucht naar KK had wat vertraging door het slechte weer. Maar uiteindelijk kwamen we maar een kwartier later aan dan gepland, dus het viel goed mee.

      In KK hadden we dezelfde hostel geboekt als de vorige keer, maar we hadden ons wat vergist. We hadden gewoon een kamer en de douche en toilet waren gemeenschappelijk. Tja niet zo'n groot probleem, al keken we er wel eens naar uit om alles voor ons eigen te hebben.

      We aten de rest van onze mangistan nog verder op en gingen naar een gezellige koffiebar iets verder op. Hier bestelden we elk een vieruurtje. Steven een toast met parmezan, mozzarella en gekonfijte ajuintjes en er was ook een tomatensoepje bij. Tat had een wafel met chocolade schilfers, een bolletje ijs, bananen en wat toefjes slagroom met pindanotensmaak. Het smaakte ons natuurlijk, jullie kennen ons 😁

      'S avonds gingen we eten in een resto die bekend stond voor zijn zeevruchten. Er waren allemaal aquaria met vissen, krabben, kreeften, schelpen, garnalen, oesters,.. We waren wat overwelmd door de keuze, maar gelukkig kwam de baas ons wat helpen. We bestelden uiteindelijk een krab die gebarbecued was met wat sojasaus. Heel lekker! Soms mag het ook eens wat fancier dus we betaalden maar liefst 34.40 euro voor onze gehele maaltijd 😜

      Als dessert gingen we durian eten op de avondmarkt. Deze smaakte ons nog meer dan de eerste keer. Helaas zou het wel eens de laatste keer kunnen zijn voor een lange tijd.

      Morgen is een reisdagje, we vliegen naar Bali ✈⛱🌊
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    • Day 95

      Ode aan het thuisfront

      January 27, 2019 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

      Ondertussen zijn we al meer dan drie maand aan het reizen. We zitten dus over de helft van onze totale reis. Maar er staan nog leuke bestemmingen in het vooruitzicht! Zo reizen we vandaag naar Bali, het eiland van de goden. Omdat we vandaag de hele dag reizen en niet veel te vertellen hebben, dachten we eens iets anders te posten. Namelijk de dingen die we missen van thuis.

      - deftig wc papier (voornamelijk Steven)
      - onze eigen wc
      - onze eigen douche
      - een droge badkamer (de douches staan hier namelijk altijd in het midden van de badkamer zonder iets van afsluiting, zelfs geen borduurtje. Dus stroomt al het water over de badkamervloer en wordt eigenlijk heel de badkamer nat, waaronder ook vaak het toilet en het wc papier. Het water droogt nooit echt op dus hebben we altijd natte voeten 👣💧💦)
      - elektrische tandenborstel
      - een bad (voornamelijk Tat)
      - onze eigen zeep (& conditioner voor Tat)
      - Tat haar kleerkast (mooie kledij ipv handig kledij 😢)
      - ons bed
      - rolluiken
      - het eten van onze ouders en van België in het algemeen
      - drinkbaar kraantjeswater
      - en eigen keuken en eten maken (voornamelijk Tat)
      - onze huisdieren (3x🐕, 4x🐈, 6x🐎)
      - een goei pint gaan drinken met onze vrienden 🍻 (lang leve Belgisch bier!)

      En natuurlijk missen we ook onze ouders, familie en vrienden!

      Wat we niet missen:
      - de Belgische winter 🌫🌧🌨
      - het Belgische verkeer
      - televisie

      We zijn ondertussen goed toegekomen in Bali 😊
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    • Day 30

      Kota Kinabalu

      February 1, 2020 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

      Von Sarawak ging es nach Sabah / Kota Kinabalu. Mein Plan war, die Insel mit dem Bus zu überqueren und von Stadt zu Stadt zu hoppen. Aber pro Stadt hätte ich dann 9h im Bus gesessen. Da habe ich wohl etwas unterschätzt wie wenig erschlossen Borneo doch ist. 😂 So viele Straßen gibt es hier wohl nicht. 🤷‍♀️ Daher habe ich den einfachen Weg gewählt und bin rübergeflogen.

      Am frühen Nachmittag bin ich angekommen und habe die Innenstadt erkundet. Kota Kinabalu ist noch etwas größer und moderner als Kuching, hat aber trotzdem genauso viel Charme.

      Ich bin bis zu einem Aussichtspunkt gelaufen um den Sonnenuntergang zu sehen. Danach ging es zu einem Food Market. Bei der Hälfte der Sachen wusste ich nicht so richtig, was ich da esse. War aber alles sehr mehr oder weniger lecker. 😄

      Jetzt liege ich im Bett und muss mich erholen. Bin heute ordentlich viel gelaufen und bin immer noch angeschlagen. Die Halsschmerzen sind weg, aber dafür höre ich jetzt nichts mehr. 😂

      Morgen früh suche ich mir ein Sammeltaxi (habe schon gehört, dass das aufregend werden kann) um nach Kudat zu kommen. 7 Tage Yoga Retreat ich komme. 😍
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    • Day 65

      Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo

      February 8, 2020 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

      KK is a mostly modern city, having been rebuilt after being mostly destroyed by numerous bombings during the Japanese occupation during WW II.
      The 1st picture looks over the harbor from Signal Hill where lookouts watched for incoming ships. 2nd is a closer look at the harbor. 3rd is the Atknison Clock Tower, one of the few structure spared by the bombing. 4th is a night market. 5th is Gaia Street that is a hawker market in the eveninyg and becomes a street market on Sunday. Last is sunset over the harbor.Read more

    • Day 2,377

      Sunsets and discos

      June 1, 2022 in Malaysia ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

      This morning I've decided to change hostels there is noone else staying where I am and although the peace is nice I want to be around people to share hints and tips. I pack my stuff up and after a quick coffee make the short journey to my new place. On route here I see the camera repair shop is open so after dropping my bags I grab my gopro and head down to see if it can be fixed. The guy explains its unfixable as because its a sealed unit they can't replace the charger port as it won't be waterproof anymore. Back at the hostel I make some enquiries about climbing Mount Kinabalu but with being a single person and a tourist the price is ridiculous. For a 2day 1 night stay its 2300 rm which is over £400 so I decide I'm just going to take a bus to the National Park and do some trekking there and save my money for something else. A guy in the hostel advises me I should head down for the sunset and as I head out I'm not so sure as the sky is full of big dark rainclouds but as I get nearer the waterfront I'm amazed as the sun is like a ball of fire. The sunset is so spectacular I sit there stunned just watching it till eventually I feel spots of rain and make my way back. The hostel owner has offered to get me cheap beers and cigarette and when I arrive back he's delivered the goods. I ask where to go for food and Michael offers to take me to his cousins restaurant we grab a bottle of wine and a short taxi ride brings us to Sembulan Lobster restaurant. I order the salted egg prawns and the biggest large plate of prawns is delivered to the table. They are truly delicious and after finishing the red wine we make our way back with a doggy bag. I'm then invited to go dancing and at the first bar they have a live dj but the music is a bit techno and then we go to Tipsy on the waterfront. The beer is really expensive but what a place strobe lighting and a mc with full on dance music. Ronaldo one of the other guys has joined us and hes a big tic roc dancer out here. We have a ball and being the only westerner every time I put my glass down someone else wants to cheers. We all walk back at about 1 am so I think trekking is off for tomorrow.Read more

    • Day 2,392

      Back in Kota Kinabalu

      June 16, 2022 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

      So arriving at 4.45am means I have nothing to do but hang around for a few hours. I'm heading over to see Michael and Ronaldo this morning but there's no chance they'll be up at this hour so I'm relieved to see the bus station cafe is open and join Marcus where I treat myself to a three layer tea and push myself to eat something even if it is only a roti. I've eaten nothing for the past few days but need to eat as I feel quite weak, and with no sleep I won't be making the festival. Marcus is heading to meet his friends as he isn't flying till tomorrow so we bid our farewells and agree to catch up at some point over the next few days and as I come to pay he's already got the bill. I get a grab and he's still waiting for his so I'm grateful I got to thank him for breakfast. On the way to the hostel I get the most amazing view of the Masjid Bandaraya with the sun rising behind it. There's one thing for sure you'd go a long way to find sunrises and sunsets like here. I arrive at the hostel and just sit outside thinking no one will be up and CK opens the door invites me in tells me to take a bed and make myself at home. I'm not really tired and shortly after Ronaldo wakes up so I have a chat with him and put a load of washing on. I'm more tired than I think and fall asleep in reception and one of the girls puts a pillow under my head and cover's me with a blanket. I only sleep for an hour or so and take my washing down to the launderette to dry it. Me Michael and Ronaldo head to the biggest shopping centre here and for the first time this trip I buy an outfit. Nothing special just a pair of long trousers and a t shirt as some of my clothes now have holes in and my white t shirts are looking pretty grubby. We have a vegetarian lunch and head back to the hostel where once again I repack my rucksack. We chill for a few hours before I say my goodbyes and make an early departure to the airport. I really am going to miss these guys but hopefully it's till I see you again.The traffic is quite bad so it's a good decision. I arrive to the airport well on time and have checked in online but when I try and print my luggage ticket it doesn't work. Once again I get the third degree about my travel plans and asked about an outbound ticket. This is so difficult because I don't know what I'm doing tomorrow let alone when I'm leaving the country. So to save the hassle I book a fake ticket at least it will save me any hassle when I arrive in Kuching. I breeze through immigration and have an hour in the departure lounge before boarding my flight. I meet Marjorie in the departure lounge and Mauri has text to say a lady she knows called Erica is on the same flight so she introduces us on Watts app and after a brief introduction we board the plane. We arrive in 1.45mins and all meet up outside the airport where we get a grab to the hostel. It's one of the worst places I've stayed but I'm so tired I could sleep on a washing line tonight and after getting a pillow case for my stained pillow I spray it with perfume and eventually fall asleep.Read more

    • Day 71

      Krank auf Borneo

      September 5, 2022 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 25 °C

      Nach dem Sina wiedr gesund ist hat es nun auch mit erwischt. Ich lag mit Fieber und Gliederschmerzen 3 Tage im Hostelbett.
      Als ich mich endlich bewegen konnte haben wir uns um einen Friseur gekümmert und am 4. Tag war sogar eine Wanderung drinnen.Read more

    • Day 83

      Kota Kinabalu

      February 5, 2023 in Malaysia

      9 a.m. - I used the time to write my penguins because I was almost a week behind.

      10 a.m. - Eli, Lea and I went for some breakfast so we were ready for the day.

      11:30 a.m. - Lea got a tattoo appointment so we went there. Moreover the Sunday market was just some roads from the tattoo studio. Eli and I checked it out. It was more or less a normal market. The only difference was that they sold a lot of plants and different animals. From cats, rabbits, hamsters to fish and birds. Afterwards we joined Lea at the studio. She got two tattoos, a turtle and a orangutan face which looked like a step. In the time she got her tattoo’s I read some of the book’s there about tattoo’s and got some inspiration for my future plans.

      2:30 p.m. - After we coffee and snacks in a fancy café. And waited because Eli decided to get the same orangutan tattoo as Lea. I was very tempted to get one was well just for the memory because I traveled with these guys for a month. In the end I didn’t felt like it and it also doesn’t fit my style.

      6 p.m. - Back in hostel we chilled a bit and played a round of “Settler’s of Catan”. Lea felt sick so she stayed in bed.

      9 p.m. - We went out for some dinner with Syah and some others of the hostel. Honestly the restaurant was very bad. I had the worst pizza Hawaii in my life. I could already feel my stomach 10min after I finished my meal and it was expensive as well. Afterwards we went to a Irish bar where friends of Syah played live music and even Syah sang some songs. A friend of him joined us for a bit. She was very beautiful, also a singer, actor and teacher for kinds with autism + she is 24 and already a single mom. She’s perfect.

      P.S.: It was very good to have some days of because when you travel you get so many impressions every day and sometimes it gets overwhelming and I ned to slow down.
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    • Day 30

      Somewhere on the road

      March 25, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

      On the road again, somewhere between borders again :)
      And a couple of hours, cars, ferrys and busses later we arrive in KK
      Realising i am in SEA for so long now, that i don't even realise stuff like the messed up electrics any moreRead more

    • Day 217

      Kota Kinabalu

      November 30, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

      After a horrendous night where we didn’t know if I had indigestion or a heart attack, but deciding on indigestion, and then a migraine, we had a slow day.
      First job was to deal with the laundry, which wasn’t as difficult as we thought as there was a laundromat close by and it did a great job on the stench.

      Once everything was hanging around the room drying we headed to the sun and got some food supplies in.

      We did some admin jobs and booked some tours for the next few days.

      In the evening we had the buffet dinner and an early night.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Kota Kinabalu, کوتا کینابالو, BKI, コタキナバル, Кота-Кинабалу, 亞庇

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