KASIH SAYANG RESORT - KOKOL HILL

It will be a good idea to spend a weekend at Kasih Sayang Resort which is located at 2400 feet above sea level at Kokol hill, an ideal place to escape the city and enjoy the cool and refreshing mountain air. We dropped in this Resort to check-out their rooms and facilities.

The entrance of the Resort. Plenty of greens around the Resort.

The open-air cafe with the fantastic views offering local and western cuisine. The main attraction of Kasih Sayang is no doubt the fabulous views of the Crocker Range and the bird-eye view of the city.I believe that dining here will be a good experience during sunset or later in the night when the city is lighted up.
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The receptionist was very obliging when I asked to have a look at their rooms. I was told that they have a total of 16 rooms - 12 standard and 4 deluxe.

All their deluxe rooms are spacious with "king bed". Standard room with "King bed"
Standard room with "Twin bed".

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All bedrooms come with a private balcony with lounge chairs and coffee table offering scenic view of the valley and Kota Kinabalu. Each room has an ensuite bathroom with shower - hot & cold water, television set with selected satellite TV channels, coffee & tea making station, hair dryer, telephone and ceiling fans.

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The tariff is RM242 for a standard and RM282 for the deluxe room - per room per night + breakfast for 2. From time to time, cheaper promotional Internet rates are offered at RM198 and RM248 respectively.

KOKOL HILL

The best location for a panoramic view of Kota Kinabalu is at the highest point of the Kokol hill, 2500 feet or 830 meters above sea level. The view of the city skyline including the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine park is just fantastic.

This Kokol hill is part of the lower layers of the Crocker range and is less than an hour drive from the city passing through the township of Menggatal.

It's an uphill drive all the way for about 25 minutes or so from the foot of the hill.

A beautiful church. A countryside rest house.

At the end of the tarred road, we ventured further for an off-road ride, trying out our Pajero 4WD.

We spent almost half a day at Kokol hill, enjoying fresh cool mountain air and the green scenery before heading for home.

JALAN JALAN - TAMPARULI

Last Sunday, we went " Jalan jalan" to Tamparuli, a small town 40 minutes away from Kota Kinabalu. There is actually nothing special about this town except for some old wooden shop houses built before the second world war and a suspension bridge.

The wooden shop houses.

Tamparuli suspension bridge. It may be an uneasy feeling for some when walking across this bridge as they can feel the swings and sways. It will be a good experience for some but for those those who have a height phobia would be an ultimate challenge.

View from the bridge.

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We came to Tamparuli for only one thing " cari makan" (looking for food) at our favourite coffee shop.This shop is always crowded as it is the only shop that serves good local food in Tamparuli.

There was already a crowd when we arrived.

This is Tamparuli noddle - the speciality of this shop fried with eggs, vegetable and topped up with BBQ pork. I never missed ordering my favourite "Char Siew"(BBQ Pork) Omelette.

Fresh vegetables with lean pork slices.

Salted vegetable soup with a combination of pork egg roll slices and meat balls. After the good meal, we returned to the city.

KAMPUNG SUMANGKAP and GOMBIZAU

Next, we drove over to Kampung Sumangkap, some 10 minutes away from the Rungus Longhouse.

Entrance to Kampung Sumangkap.Kampung Sumangkap is a Rungus village where the gong's factory is.

The gongs are the important musical instrument used by the Rungus and many other Sabah tribes during festivities and grand occasions such as weddings. To the local communities, gongs are valued not only just as musical instruments but also as items of wealth. In the Kampung, there are many workshops where visitors can witness the method of gong making by the professionals. The gong factories are open daily including public holidays from 8.30am to 5.30pm.

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Our last destination of the day was the Gombizau Honey Bee Farm. This farm, in Kampung Gombizau was established about ten years ago.

Entrance to Kampung Gombizau

The bees in brood-boxes are located on a hill side in the Kampung( village).

Here, visitors can learn how the bees make honey, find out everything related to honey production including from the bee wax to honeycomb and royal jelly. We were told that honey is a favourite of the Rungus. They have been consuming honey for centuries and believe that regular consuming of raw honey is good for health.

Local honey product are sold in the kampung.

Going through some heavy traffic before arriving home.

Home sweet home!