In May, we went on our long awaited family holiday (with my siblings and parents) to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
We stayed at Nexus Karambunai in Kota Kinabalu (KK) from May 10 to May 13. It doubles up with Mother’s Day celebration too. The booking was made by my sister Syahirah. Booking details:
- Hotel: Nexus Resort Karambunai (website)
- Rooms type: Deluxe Garden View
- Rooms: 3
- Total cost: RM 5,455.44
The rest of the family went on separate flights. Myself, Aliaa and my daughter Sofia initially planned to take the 9:15AM Malaysia Airlines flight to KK from KLIA. Unfortunately we arrived at the airport late and missed our flight. That was my first time ever missing a flight! We looked up online and there is another flight at AirAsia flight at 11AM.
We took the ERL to KLIA2 and bought the AirAsia tickets there. It was RM1,070 for all 3 of us.
We arrived in Kota Kinabalu around 2PM. The rest of the family was already there waiting for us at the airport. I collected the rented car Hertz. They gave us a Honda City. It was MYR1,063 for 4 days.
From the airport, it was a 30 minute drive to Karambunai. The resort is a big place. It is well known for its hillside golf course, and the fine beaches adjacent to it. Our room overlooks the grass area leading to the beach.
That evening, we ordered room service for dinner.
Thursday, 11 May 2017
In the morning, we went for breakfast at the The Penyu Restaurant. They had a decent spread. But what caught my attention was the large groups of tourists from China and Korea. Resorts such as Karambunai must be really attractive to these tourists as it is affordable and scenic.
After breakfast, we went swimming with Sofia (my baby girl). We had a lot of fun.
From there, we went to the beach and ordered snacks. The beach was white and clean. A great location to relax.
In the afternoon, we went to Welcome Seafood for lunch (website). It was one of the tourist hotspots for seafood in Kota Kinabalu. However, despite the hype, the food was just average. I’ve had way better seafood in Kuala Lumpur.
After lunch, we took Aliaa and my mom to Jamilah Jewellery, a pearl shop. Kota Kinabalu is well known for its pearl jewelries. Jamilah Jewellery is well known for its variety and reasonable prices.
After the ladies were done shopping, we went for coffee at Nook Cafe. Kota Kinabalu has a relatively new coffee culture, with various hipster cafes making an appearance. Nook Cafe is located within what is known as the “coffee district” in Kota Kinabalu.
On the way back to the hotel, we bought KFC for dinner.
Friday, 12 May 2017
In the morning, we had another round of swimming. In the afternoon, we went for Friday prayers at Kota Kinabalu City Mosque. It’s a big mosque with it’s own lake, facing the sea. It’s also a tourist attraction. At the corner of the street (with the best view), there were busloads of foreign tourists taking selfies with the mosque.
After Friday prayers, we went to visit the Sabah State Museum. My dad was keen to visit it.
The museum had a number of interesting artifacts on display. I was most interested in the artifacts from the old trade route. There were artifacts from Chinese traders in Sabah from 12th century!
In the evening, we had dinner at Noble House, a fine dining Chinese restaurant at the hotel. The food was definitely better than Welcome Seafood.
The next day we checked out as our flight back to Kuala Lumpur was in the afternoon.
Imran Jaafar 