My First Day In KK

Landing on Kota Kinabalu International Airport at exactly 3.20pm, I was feeling very upbeat about my first solo travel. From the airport, I took a taxi to the place where I was going to stay for the next 3 nights - Lavender Lodge at Jalan Laiman Diki in Kampong Air.

It took about 20 minutes to reach the hotel. I paid RM20, which was the standard fare, to the taxi driver. I should not have taken the taxi in the first place. I will tell you why in a minute.



See the "The Lavender Lodge" signboard? If you think I would be staying in some high class 5 star hotel, then you must have missed my previous post where I said that I would be backpacking this time around.

How did I know about this place? Well, it was where blogger QuaChee stayed the last time he went Kota Kinabalu (KK). He recommended it, so I guess why not give it a try!

Lavender Lodge is situated on the first floor of the shoplot. It is basically a bed and breakfast hotel, specially for backpackers. I was given a warm welcome by the Filipino staff there. She was surprised I arrived there by taxi. Didn't the boss meet you at the airport? she asked.

I was like, what?! The boss was supposed to fetch me at the airport?

She quickly made a call to her boss and told him I have already arrived. It seemed he had been waiting at the airport for me!

Now before you think I am some big shot who needs to be chauffeured driven, here's exactly what happened. When I booked this hotel 2 weeks before my trip, I learnt that they provide free transport from the airport if I stay for more than 2 nights. So I requested for it. At that time I was talking to the boss' wife. But 2 days before my trip, I called the hotel to re-confirm and the person in charge at that time told me I had to email the boss and make the request, otherwise I would not get the free ride. Well, I thought it was too much of a hassle, and decided to just take a taxi instead.

But it turned out that the boss kept to his words. It's a case of miscommunication, but I just lost RM20! Oh well.....



This is how the hotel lobby looks like. More like a sitting room in an average house, right?



This is one of the two tables where we ate our breakfasts. What did we have for breakfast? Well, they provided us with just bread with margarine and kaya, and either tea or coffee. Basic stuffs. Oh, and some bananas too. I guess bananas were the cheapest fruit they could find. Haha!

When I told my female friend back in KL that I ate bananas for breakfast in KK, she could not stop laughing. Aiya, so narrow minded one, my friend.

My room was on the 3rd floor. When I entered, I thought, how very small! And there was no window at all!



There was just a double bed, a small table and a cupboard inside the room. But I was not complaining. At only RM65 a night, I was satisfied. At least it was very clean. That's the most important thing!

I took a fancy to the mirror in front of the cupboard and took a snapshot of myself taking a snapshot! Haha!



Oh, did I mention there was no attached bathroom? They only have common toilets and bathrooms. To be precise, two toilets and two bathrooms on every floor. At first, I thought it would be a hassle, but I got used to it very quickly.

Besides, after some time, I thought it was a very good idea. It was the perfect way to bump into other backpackers staying in the hotel. There was one time I was washing my hands in the bathroom, when someone walked past and said hi. I looked up and was stunned to see a pretty young Caucasian lady who looked like Nicole Kidman, wrapped only in a bath towel! She was walking to the bathroom next door. I quickly recovered, smiled and said hi to her. Wow! Now you see why I don't mind not having attached bathroom?

By the way, the toilets and bathrooms were very clean! I was impressed.

Having checked into the hotel, I went out to explore KK town.

This is the food court opposite Lavender Lodge where you can find cheap seafood.



Next to the Food Court is the SEDCO complex which houses shoplots and other backpacker lodgings.



After walking around town for some time, I reached the KK Waterfront which faces the sea. I realised it was almost sunset and decided to stop by there to take some pictures.







Well, it was not really sunset time yet, so I decided to walk across to the evening market area, opposite Le Meridien Hotel. There were a lot of people and I did not take any photos here. But I could see the sea food that was on sale. They were huge! The fishes were big! And I have never seen squid that looked so big. At least I have never seen sizes like that in KL!

After walking in the crowded market for some time without buying anything, I walked back out again and realised the sun was setting. Quickly I snapped a few more pictures.







There were a lot of people here snapping photos like me and enjoying the sunset view. As my stomach started to growl, I decided to have dinner at one of the restaurants at the Waterfront.



After dinner, I headed over to the shopping malls to get myself a raincoat. Why raincoat? Because I would be going to Kinabalu Park the next day and I was advised to get a raincoat in case it rains!

Coming up next - My Adventure At Kinabalu Park

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