Food and Fun in Kota Kinabalu

When my mom asked me what we were planning on doing in Kota Kinabalu (aka "KK"), I told her that we were just going to eat seafood and relax...and we did just that! We quickly found the promenade with its ocean side restaurants and bars. We ate and drank there several times during our stay in KK - just enjoying the view and the nice ocean breeze. Our first day, I had a dark Irish Kilkenny beer which I had not had in a while. I guess I will not have it again - until I forget again that it is in fact a dark beer. 

Across the street from our hotel there was a huge night market which has a large variety of fresh grilled seafood. When we asked the hotel staff about it, they all tried to deter us from eating there. We decided to stay away from the ice and proceed anyways. Boy it was over whelming! Some of the seafood we knew but other things we had to inquire what they were. Our first night we settled on a 12 inch shrimp, stuffed squid, tuna steak and for our first time - sting ray - all for around US$15 including a side of rice and 2 drinks! (I love Asia!) There were two types of sting ray on offer and we settled on the wing, which was a white and very light meat - yum! 

One day we took a day tour to Poring Hot Springs. A few hours outside of the city we started gaining elevation, so much so that at points we were driving through the clouds! We made a short pit stop at a viewing station of Mt. Kinabalu.

Then, we finally arrived at Kinabalu Park (our first real destination) for a nature walk. We were pretty high in the mountains and it was down right cold. It didn't help as periodic clouds would float in with gusts of wind. There were beautiful wild orchids everywhere, which are small and less colorful than the cultivated types. The area is mostly known for its "pot" plants which attract insects and traps them with a lid. 

The guide proudly told us we were having Chinese for lunch - what a (huge!) let down as Malaysian food is very good and we were looking forward to the variety (and a break from Chinese food!) After lunch near Poring Hot Springs, we took a short hike up the mountain to the Poring Canopy Walkway. It was a little concerning when the guide told us that the limit on the bridge was strictly 6 people. I almost asked if that was 6 Americans or 6 Asians...As soon as you step on the 12 inch wide plank it begins to sway from side to side. I didn't think about it while I was up there but those canopy bridges would not have passed a basic US safety test as the rope side rails barely came up to our waist. The view was spectacular as it looked out upon a near by valley and really gave you the tree's eye prospective. 

After trekking uphill to where the canopy walk was, we were ready for relaxing in the warm hot spring's water. They had numerous tubs with two taps - a hot and cold one. Yes - cold! The hot spring's water was so hot that you needed the cold water to make the water tolerable - but it was relaxing never the less. 

At the source of the hot springs it smelled awful as the sulfur smell was so strong! The water at the source was so hot that they had a sign telling people not to put their hands and/or feet in the water and more importantly - not to put eggs in there either (just in case you brought some along for cooking in the water I guess). We laughed at first but then remembered that we did see hot spring boiled chicken and quail eggs in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

We had a long drive back to the hotel, and by the time we made it back we were ready for some dinner. What's for dinner... yep the (unrecommended) seafood market again. We stuck with the shrimp (smaller this time), tuna and the thicker part of the stingray which was more like a steak... and really good too.

Another night for dinner we went to another area of town for some...seafood -  this area was recommended by the hotel and cost us more than 3x as much as the night market across the street. Oh well, I guess I got to say hi to the fish before they cooked it for us. Before we chose a stand we walked around admiring all the exotic fish. One stall had stone fish that begged to be poked, but had an ominous warning sign about it being dangerous. I guess the locals know not to touch as the sign was not in Malay, only English and Chinese.

Once we selected a stall, we picked out our fish and shrimp and how we wanted it cooked. We had our shrimp cooked in a local way with egg. Since we picked off the shells it really didn't taste all that different, oh well.

After eating Melissa built up the courage to pick up a horse shoe crab. She was fine until the lady decided to tickle it and it began squirming around.

Ayutthaya's Summer Palace & Ancient Temples

On our way back to Hong Kong we stopped in Bangkok for a few days. We had been to Bangkok a few times in college so we decided to use most our time to just relax - enjoying Thai massages (less than $10 for 1 hour) and more great Thai food!

                                                       







One day we took a day tour north of Bangkok to Ayutthaya. Our first stop was the summer palace which is still being used by the current Thai King. The complex was a mix of Thai, Chinese, and colonial European style buildings and Cambodian, Thai, and Chinese temples. At some points we practically thought we were in Versailles with the perfectly manicured lawns and beautiful flowers.  The complex is so large they even offer golf carts for a small fee but the weather was so nice we chose to walk. Close to the entrance there was a small lake which has fish and turtles. We picked up a loaf of bread to feed the fish.

To enter the Royal Residence, Melissa had to wrap up in a sarong even though her legs were already covered. We saw the Thai royal family's dining room and sitting room that are used when the Royal Family is visiting.

 

After the summer palace we headed to Wat Thammikarat which is a temple complex that is still being used by devotees and is run by monks that live onsite. The guide explained a rooster story in Buddhist history. People buy roosters of various sizes and bring them to this temple for good luck. On the other side of the road there were roosters over 6 feet tall.                                        

For lunch we went to a buffet for lunch which was less than stellar, but it did give us an opportunity to try a Muslim Thai dessert made out of sugar cane native to that region. A crepe is made out of ground sugar cane and the inside is dried and torn to a straw like consistency. It was very sweet which almost  melts when it hit your tongue- kind of like cotton candy. I had two bites of mine to be nice (I'm not big into sweets) but Melissa finished hers. While we were driving around the area we noticed this stuff is sold on almost every street corner in Ayutthaya.    

After lunch we visited Ayutthaya's floating market. I was hoping for a more local experience, but it was much more of a tourist trap for locals. The tour included a boat ride which was interesting as this old wooden boat was being directed by a guy sitting on the back holding a tube shooting out a water jet. After the ride we walked around the complex doing some window shopping. There was not much there, but Jane (our tour guide) did buy us some 100% natural coconut ice cream which was excellent. It was so light it was almost like shaved ice with pieces of coconut.

The main attraction of Ayutthaya is its ancient ruins. It was an old capital of Thailand before it was destroyed by the Burmese. One of the most unique items is the head of a Buddha statue that had fallen off and become enveloped by the tree. The complex is like visiting one of the complexes at Cambodia's Angkor Wat.

Like most temples in Thailand, dogs were everywhere! Unlike most stray dogs in South East Asia they were in very good shape, all things considering. Melissa and I speculate that they eat the food offerings Buddhist devotees leave out at temples.

Celebrating 10 Years!

As I posted below, we commemorated our 10 year wedding anniversary a little bit early with a Thai lantern release during our trip to Krabi last week.  

Christmas in Krabi

This Christmas we stayed a little closer to Hong Kong and took the short 3 hour flight to Thailand. We decided to visit a new city, Krabi. Krabi is just a short drive from Phuket (which Melissa and I love but becomes EXTREMELY expensive at this time of the year with all the Europeans fleeing their frigid winter temperatures.) A trip to the Adaman Ocean this time of the year is a dream! The water is like a lake with often times no waves and is almost bathtub warm.

Our hotel had a line of pine trees providing shade to lounge chairs just off the beach, needless to say we could not have found a nicer spot to have a siesta or just enjoy the view. During the day if we were not in our lounge chairs on the beach, we were floating in the water. Even at chest deep you could still see your feet! Even for lunch we would not have to wander too far as there was a beachfront Thai restaurant right next to our hotel. We also headed there after a bit of swimming for some fresh and cool coconut water (they kept their coconuts in the fridge), nothing is better when you are dehydrated from swimming in the ocean than fresh coconut water!

One day we took a long tail boat to Hong Island, a national park. The boat was fine, until we made it out into the open water where the waves were not that big but man they really threw our boat around. A few times I did an inventory check of what we would lose in our beach bag if we went overboard. Yeah, 30 minutes is not that long, but when you are holding on to a rope for dear life it felt like an eternity. I did relax a bit when I saw another boat trailing us, I reasoned that if we did go over, we would at least be picked up quickly...yes it was that bad!

Arriving on Hong Island, I realized why it was a national park. It was so nice that it was almost worth the boat trip....though next time, we will take a much larger boat! When we got there there were already several long tail boats beached = lots of other tourists. We hurried and found a nice spot under a huge shade tree by the water. We brought some bread to feed the fish which were so used to humans they would swim around you and practically eat out of your hands!

Every evening before heading out to dinner we attended the happy hour at the hotel's club lounge - free drinks and appetizers...what's not to like about that? 

After breakfast on Christmas day we were deep into our routine of dozing off in the shade on our lounge chairs when the silence was broken by a HO HO HO... By the way he was saying it you could tell he did not grow up hearing it, in fact he was probably not coached very long on how to do it, but he probably had himself fooled going up and down the chairs with a large red bag giving everyone cookies from the hotel wishing everyone a Merry Christmas... I think I agree with Megyn Kelly.. Isn't Santa white? Guess not in Thailand.

To celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary on January 7, I surprised Melissa with arranging a Thai lantern release - well 10 to be exact. When we walked down to the location to collect the lanterns we were informed it might be too windy, but we went to the beach to test it out never the less. After a little while we finally got the fire lit, but before we knew it an ember had jumped and caught the outside of the lantern on fire, oh well we will reschedule.

The next night was perfect! One of the hotel staff did a test run showing us how to do it then left us with a huge bag of 10 lanterns. The first one took us awhile but we figured out the technique and got pretty good at it. After lighting the fire we would hold it down for the hot air to build up inside the lantern. After 5 minutes you could feel the lantern pulling up as if it was telling you it was ready. Slowly picking it up and straightening it out, it would slowly lift up, up, and away.

Taipei Weekend, Um Yes

We went to Taipei back in November. Melissa hasn't quit nagging me about finishing this post. So Melissa - here it is, I finally finished it. 

We arranged a morning tour to the Northern Coast and Chiufen Village in the afternoon.  The tour guide's English was pretty good except for the fact that he would finish every single thought with ... "um yes" like he was not sure what he was saying.... and I do mean every single thought.  During his intro alone I must have counted a few dozen "um yes's" in a matter of two minutes. I am not critiquing his English as I know it is infinitely better than my non-existent Mandarin but that is something I plan to change starting next month. I'll be starting Mandarin classes. We'll see how it goes... 

It was not raining when we left Taipei but as we made our way north, the rain started and it didn't stop until we started heading back south. Our first stop was a temple in Keelung City (Chung Cheng Park) where Melissa rang the largest bell in Taiwan!

Inside the temple there were these large columns with thousands of little Buddha statues. It turns out that the temple raises money by selling the slots for the year. These are all names of people who have donated to the temple this year.

Our last stop for the morning tour was Yehliu Park where the eroded sandstone reveals the rocks below and the wind and ocean spray erosion makes this look like another planet. Like most things when you stare at them long enough you will see an image appear and these rock formations are no different. The guide pointed out one that looked like the island of Taiwan, but the showcase here was the queen's head. We just saw it from the backside as the line was LONG and we had had enough of the rain.

Do you see the queen's head with her long slender neck? The wind side is battered by the wind and rain so it is full of pot marks, but the other side is smooth and if you look long enough you can see her... I think....

As there was not a full day tour we were interested in, we booked a morning tour and then an afternoon tour. We were in luck because we had the same tour guide for the afternoon portion, "um yes."

After we dropped the last of the morning group back off at their hotels, we headed out for lunch with him at a local place. We were a little skeptical as the driver kept on saying it was "cheap, cheap local food" but after getting there we were pleasantly surprised, though for a minute there I thought Melissa and I were back in high school again getting a cheap Chinese buffet. The buffet was like US$4 a person!

The afternoon tour was on the northern side of the island also, so back into the rain. We stopped along the way at the Nanya Rock Formations to have a look at some sandstone cliffs that have some interesting designs and colors exposed by the erosion. After the brief stop we then headed uphill to the mountain mining village of Chiufen. 

The driver dropped us off and pointed down an alley telling us to meet at a certain tea house at a designated time, "um yes." The alley was absolutley packed with people - shoulder to shoulder, but what made the situation absolutley miserable was the fact that everyone still had their umbrellas out.

It was very slow moving but we finally made it to the tea house - a bit before the designated meeting time. We sat at our own table to enjoy a pot of Taiwan high mountain oolong tea. As we sat down we noticed it was going to be a different experience as the waitress brought over the kettle and placed it on a smoldering hump of coals just beside me. Man, that tea could not have been better considering we had been walking around in the cold rain all day!

In the evening we headed to the Shilin Night Market. We were glad the taxi understood where we wanted to go but once we got there, he just kind of pointed in the general direction of where we needed to go.
We saw a lot of people heading out of an alley eating street food so we knew we were heading in the right direction. Half way down the alley we saw people huddled around large pans with shrimp. It took us a minute to figure out exactly what they were doing but from what we gathered, they were fishing for shrimp. Was this a kid's catch and release? I hope so as there are easier ways than waiting for an unlucky shrimp to swim over your treble (three) hook and get skewered.

After wondering around aimlessly for a bit we finally found our way to the food stalls which were actually underground. There was everything on a stick - from whole fried squid to various pork sausages. We found ourselves at a hibachi style grill for some seafood and vegetables and a bottle of "Taipei's finest beer".. the food was good but the beer was left um....unfinished to say it nicely.

On our way out we passed a rifle air gun stand I asked Melissa if she wanted to try her hand to which she instantly said NO. But, after showing her what to do she was hooked on shooting down the money hanging by a flimsy sheet of toilet paper. After the initial 20 corks were shot Melissa wanted more. I have seen this Melissa before in front of the Monopoly slot machine in Macau... the competitive Melissa doesn't want to lose! After buying in a few more times and numerous direct hits, I finally convinced her that the money packet was not going anywhere and then the vendor gave her a consolation gift of playing cards. I think it was really because she drew a quite a large crowd of locals over to see this blond girl wield this gun.

The morning before our flight back to Hong Kong we headed off to see some of the sites in the downtown area, and our first stop with the landmark skyscraper Taipei 101. There is a mall at the base - well I guess like most large buildings in Asia now that I think about it. The mall makes it a nightmare to find exactly where to go to catch the elevators to the observation deck. As it was still early and the mall was closed it took us a little while but we finally made it to the 5th floor elevator banks where we bought our tickets and then caught the express to the  observation deck. The elevator takes off like a rocket and before you know it your ears are popping. There was an interesting little screen showing the stats of the elevator while it was in progress but there were too many people for me to reach the camera, but I did snap a photo on the way down. 

After Taipei 101 we headed to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. We were pretty lucky because as soon as we got out of the taxi the sun came out and it warmed up! The massive complex had numerous buildings of significance importance in Taiwan. At each end of the complex are the National Theater and National Concert Hall. We made it there just in time to catch a view of the changing of the guards.

In the airport on the way out we saw these bookmarks.. I always thought Taiwanese kids were smart, guess they had a little luck too.