WATERFRONT KOTA KINABALU

Waterfront Kota Kinabalu is located at the seafront of the city. along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens. It is a popular hangout for both visitors and locals. I took a stroll along the esplanade last week enjoying the cool sea breeze while watching the sunset. The esplanade is a real good place to relax after a busy day. There are some restaurants featuring Western, Chinese and local cuisines. Pubs and cafes are also available.

I like this sunset bar on the upper floor. They serve some Western menu. It takes only about 10 minutes walk from any hotels in the city or a short drive from the near by resorts like Sutera Harbour and Shangri-la Tanjung Aru Resort. You cannot miss it even at night.

EATING OUT IN BRISBANE

In Brisbane, there are plenty of places with stylish cafes and foods to choose from especially during lunch time. There is also a wide range of food in the food courts of shopping malls offering lots of choices and variation. Most of the food are reasonably priced and guaranteed to fill you up. These are some of the well presented dishes
My faourate coffee - the "Flat white".

The delicious Vietnamese beef soup noodle with beansprouts, sprigs of basil and chili

Some of the popular outlets in most of the food courts:

I enjoyed eating out even though most of the food were high in cholesterol.

NEED MORE ENERGY - JUST EAT MEAT

If you're a vegetarian, I don't think you will agree with this advertising. However, the owner thinks otherwise. What do you think?

A display case full of energy !!!

BORNEO JUNGLE "UTAN" PARADISE

I was invited to visit the Utan (Jungle) Paradise Lodge by my nephew who is one of the directors. It is located 80 kms from the city, on the Kimanis-Keningau highway. I drove there with my wife this afternoon and it took us about one hour + to reach the lodge. This Utan(Jungle)Paradise is managed by LOBOPA Tours & Travel. They are introducing conversation tourism. Their main objective is to protect and to preserve our Borneo rainforest. The main building of the lodge.

Dining and meeting area

The lodge has basic amenities and can accommodate a maximum of 20 persons. These are some of the mosquito proof bunker beds.

The bird watching plateform just at the edge of the jungle.

The built-up area at the edge of the jungle.

There are 3 units of special accommodation in the open

This is an ideal place for bird watching and jungle trekking in search for Borneo fauna and flora.

According to the warden, he has seen wild animals, like Orang utan, jungle cats, mousedeers and others during his treks through the jungle.

I ventured near the edge of the jungle and took some pictures. These are the jungle bananas with an interesting purple colour.

Another bunch in green

A towering tree

The thick undergrowth of the jungle

We did not stay the night as we have a previous engagement in the city. However, we are planning to go back there in the near future.

POSSUMS AND FLOWERS IN THE GARDEN

While still in Brisbane, my cousin invited us for a dinner in his house in the outskirt of the city. I was surprised to see these two other invited guests waiting for dinner in the palm tree near the balcony.These are the Australian Brushtail possums. They are commonly found in suburban areas, where they are often considered pests owing to their habit of eating fruit, vegetables, flowers and tender young shoots from gardens, and nesting in roofs. Mind you, these possums are protected animals in Australia.

Anyway, they had quite good table manner taking turn to eat. Just before dusk, this pair of Rainbow Lorikeets made a brief stop at the same palm tree.

My cousin migrated to Brisbane, Australia about 20 years ago. Their 3 bedrooms house is cosy with the balcony facing the garden.

Some of the beautiful plants and flowers in the garden

WALKING IN THE PARKS II - BRISBANE

This is a beautiful park, situated within the boundary of the University of Queensland.

The Jacaranda trees were in full bloom

A spectacular sight! An iquana was surrounded by water birds!

These are not tame birds, but wild ducks, Maned Wood Duck family.

White Ibis ventures A very common water bird in Australia, the swamhen.

The Crested Pigeon is native to Australia and is common throughout most of the mainland. These birds are similar to the Spotted doves in my backyard at home except that this specie possess an erect crest.

Flowers like these were abundant in and around the parks.

Walking in the parks is ideal for relaxation. To me, it was very rewarding to explore and come across some of the many fauna and flora of Australia.

WALK IN THE PARKS - BRISBANE

During my 2 weeks stay in Brisbane, I spent most of the evenings walking in the parks near the university of Queensland, enjoying the beautiful environment and many species of birds and plants. These are the pictures I took and would like to share with friends who read my blog. The “Galah” is a lovely Australia bird with a soft grey back, a gorgeous pink face and underbelly. The “Galah” is one of the most widespread of Australia's parrots, being found almost everywhere in Australia.















I like watching this big bird, the great Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. These birds are probably one of the best known bird in Australia. Rainbow Lorikeets are beaufiful birds but are very noisy when they are feeding.








They blend in well with the leaves and flowers and it's difficult to spot them. Magpies is also a common Austrlia birds. They are highly intelligent and curious creatures. They are not afraid of people. I took this picture at a very close range
Beautful flowers seen in the park.

I will share more pictures in my next publication.

MALAYSIA AIRLINES IN FLIGHT MEALS

I am a frequent traveler for the last 40 years. I enjoy travelling on flights with good food and excellent in flight entertainment.

The services provided by Malaysia Airlines in the air used to be one of the best. However, lately, I found that the quality and choice of their in flight meals were disappointing.

I travelled to Brisbane recently for a holiday with my wife. We had a good holiday but I did not enjoy the flights especially the meals served.

Travelling to Kuala Lumpur on MH081, an international flight which originated from Narita. The dinner was served in cheap paper box. The chicken with fried rice was not appetizing at all.

Same old “Nasi Lemak” on MH141 from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney.

Chicken Sandwich, coffee or tea was offered over Sydney-Brisbane sector.

On the return flight from Brisbane to Kuala Lumpur, I opted for beef “Rendang” with fried rice, a Malaysian delicacy but the taste was not even close. The presentation was awful.

Look like Malaysia Airlines has run out of ideas in providing good, simple, presentable and tasty meals onboard. The above were "either or" served for breakfast on the Kuala Lumpur-Kota Kinabalu.

Malaysia Airlines catering is getting from bad to worst judging from the quality, choice and their presentation. Their economy class meals used to be one of the best in the world. Perhaps this was the result of the drastic cost saving measure taken by the management.