ESCAPE TO AUSTRALIA

Our flight to Melbourne was delayed as the aircraft was pushed back for taxiing 28 minutes behind schedule. It was strange that there was no delay announcement or apologies made by the crew. Perhaps, Malaysia Airlines is no longer interested in making courtesy announcement for any delay below half an hour these days. Queuing for take-off - with another Malaysia Airlines' B747 behind us.
The morning brunch was served as we reached our cruising altitude. The economy class inflight meal on this Kuala Lumpur-Melbourne flight was more filling than those on the Domestic sectors.

2 choices for the main course. An Omelet or a Nasi lamak meal.
The serving was not bad considering the "jimat" (Cost saving) drive by the Airlines.
2 hours before landing, we had snacks with coffee or tea.
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We landed Melbourne just after 19:15 with a temperate of 10C. The CIQ clearance was prompt and we were on our way to the city 40 minutes after touched down.This magnificent building - the Flinders Street Station, Melbourne greeted us as we arrived at our hotel.

blog to continue ......

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

A belated " Happy father's day to all the fathers out there !!!" I took this picture of Flinders Street Station in Melbourne as as I am taking a break in Melbourne VIC.

FAMILY WEEKEND

My wife "left me" and spent the weekend in Kundasang near Mt.Kinabalu with her family. They put up a night at the Golden Kundasang Highlands' chalets and had a BBQ party. Golden Kundasang Highlands is one of the few accommodations built near the Mesilau and the Mt.Kinabalu Golf club area. It is about 2 hours drive from Kinabalu City. As the Mesilau area is about 1600 meter above sea level, the temperature is at an average of 12°C-18°C and it can much colder in the night. All the chalets were built on a hill slope facing Mt.Kinabalu - This picture was taken just after sunset.

Mt. Kinabalu view in the morning.

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I have never been to this Golden Kundasang highlands but I was told that they have a total of 10 chalets, 2 deluxe and 8 standard units. All units have a living room, a kitchen, bed room with bathroom attached. Each room can sleep four as there are two bunk beds beside a queen bed. Looking at the pictures my wife and nephew took, this area has plenty of green with an abundance of beautiful flowers.

It is a good getaway from the city to spend the weekend in the natural beauty of the Mt.Kinabalu Highlands.

KIPANDI BUTTERFLY PARK

If you are enthusiastic about insects and butterflies or plants, a good place to visit will be the Kipandi Butterfly Park which is located about 36 km from the Kota kinabalu City. It will take about 40-45 minutes drive via the Kota Kinabalu-Penampang-Tambunan mountain road. Visitors will enjoy the lush green forest scenic view of the Crocker Range and the cool mountain at the Park. The Kipandi Butterfly Park has three sections: The butterfly enclosure, a flora garden and the Insectarium. The park has their own Nature guide to help visitors to spot and name the various rare butterflies and plants.The display of the amazing insects collection especially the butterflies and beetles in the Insectarium. The butterfly garden - according to the guide, there are over 100 species of butterflies including the most rare and endemic mountains species around the park area.As it was raining, I did not see many butterflies and I was told by that they are normally not active on a rainy day.

I wanted to visit the Flora garden which is some distance away but gave up as the rain was quite heavy. I will revisit this park on another day to complete my tour.