Kota Kinabalu is one of the best city in Malaysia because of its location near the sea and not to mention the Kinabalu mountain. So you have the sea and the mountain that can be visited in two days. The city itself is the centre for shopping with weekend bazaar called pasar tamu where you can find everything tourists looking for, the Phillipine market for souvenirs, and of course many modern shopping complexes. This would probably take another one or two days.
As sea is the first thing you will see waking up in the morning (if your accommodation is facing the sea la), there is always an urge to visit one of the many islands. Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park comprises of five islands with the biggest island being Gaya Island. The more popular island hopping will be the visit to three island, Manukan which means fish, Mamutik for shell collection, and Sapi which means moving buffalo. Enough for history and background, further detail please check this
link.
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| The jetty |
It is not necesssary to book the island hopping package in advance, just walk to the jetty called Jesselton point, and choose from many boat operators that are ever willing to take you to the islands.
Our package choice? The trip to Manukan island. This is the second biggest out of five islands and this is where the administration of the marine park is located.
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| Hop in |
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| Welcome to Manukan Island |
Usually you will be offered snorkeling gear rental by the boat operator, and you can choose to decline, but we decided to take the offer. Just a saving of RM5 but why not.
Walk around the island first.
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| No attire rules to follow here. |
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| Time to snorkel |
Quite intimidating at the beginning, but the 'safe' area for snorkeling is marked with buoyant so you will not drift out of the area. Chasing nemos in the sea is interesting, to say the least. Without knowing, you could end up at the neighboring island.
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| Some fishes. |
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| Watch for oncoming boat |
Time to go home, but where is our boat? Don't think I can remember. Let's just try.
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| Is this our boat? No...... |
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| Is this the one? |
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| No....this is the one. Actually not. |
You have to identify your boat, otherwise how are you going to return the snorkeling gear? Actually we took the wrong boat, but doesn't matter, we met the right one at the Jesselton jetty. Nice drive. Nice boat.
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