Visit Malaysia: Kota Kinabalu, Sabah [Part 2]

Previously – Part 1

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Our friend called, saying that she had reached the airport but we couldn’t find her. After some walking back and forth, finally we found her and she fetched us at the arrival hall. [Special thanks to Dayang for helping us :)]

Before we arrived at Kota Kinabalu, I had made a booking for our 3 nights accommodation at Akinabalu Youth Hostel through Hostelbookers. com. We were charged RM 162 for 3 nights = RM 81/person for 3 nights which means RM 27  per person per night.

So, Dayang drove us to the hostel, where the rental car guy was waiting for us too. Yeah, for our stay in Kota Kinabalu, we decided to rent a car for 3 days, costing us RM 260 for the whole 3 days. We rented a Perodua Viva auto and after signing several legal documentations, we parked the rented car and went into the hostel’s compound.

It is hard to get accommodation [hostels] as cheap as in Thailand when you are in Malaysia. RM 25 above is a norm. But Gaya Street [where Akinabalu Youth Hostel is situated at] has a lot of other hostels. Do check them out too.

Pros of the hostel:

1. All rooms have air-conditioner

2. Open air concept for the common area

3. Friendly staff

4. Nice location on Gaya Street

Cons of the hostel:

1. Lack of power points

2. No water hose/pipe in the toilet [Most Malaysians normally use water to wash]

3. It is very dark in the room if the lights are not switched on

4. Using sarong as a blanket [very cold at night]

5. Bed bugs!

We checked in into the room on the 2nd floor. Every guest is required to leave the shoes on the shoe rack while staying at the hostel. The staff was very friendly when we checked in. She thought we were non-Malaysians and she spoke in English with us. When she realized we were Malaysians coming from the Peninsula, she spoke in dual languages. Haha.

My first impression when I checked in was that the place looked a bit run down and needed some face-lift. But I did not really mind because we did not plan to spend the whole 4 days inside the dorm anyway. [But I did feel a bit annoy when I was bitten by a bed bug on my first night :(]

After we put our stuff and bagpacks inside the dorm, we could feel our stomachs asking us to feed them. So, together with Dayang, we drove to Austral Park to meet another friend of ours, Sue, for lunch.

We went to the 818 Macau Chicken Rice. But we did not eat the chicken rice because this restaurant is also famous for its tomyam!

I always thought that Thai’s tom yam is the best. But the tom yam at this restaurant was an eye opener on how tom yam could be nice at a place we least expected it to be. ;D They had several types of tom yam and I had the Tom Yam Mihun Ikan Segar campur Goreng [Tom yam with Rice Vermicelli together with fresh and fried fish].

As for the drinks, I opted for the Kit Chai Ping [asam boi limau kasturi/lime with sour plum] and Lo Han Kuo.

The drinks were refreshing! 😉

The restaurant is halal. And they even had one notice that caught my eye’s attention:

Dilarang membawa masuk makanan tidak halal (babi) ke dalam kedai ini.

It was my first time seeing the word ‘babi’ included in a public notice explicitly. Haha. Seriously.

Akmal and I did not spend a penny at the restaurant, thanks to Dayang and Sue who treated us the amazing lunch!

Soon, Sue had to go back to her office. Whilst Akmal and I dropped Dayang at her house and we proceeded back to our hostel, planning to have a rest before we proceeded further with our journey.

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To Be Continued – Part 3