I bought a ticket to Kota Kinabalu back in April and subsequently decided to treat myself and book Gaya Island Resort. CT wasn’t able to come so I asked my nephew, RH, to join me instead. I redeemed some air miles and as the flight back was full, I bought a single AirAsia ticket for him. We met at the airport on Friday, 25 October 2019.
The flight left on time and we landed at KKIA at 18:10. I waited for RH to disembark and seeing the long queue to clear the immigration, we decided to perform prayers first. We headed for the airport bus kiosk and bought tickets to the city. The bus was scheduled to leave at 19:15 so I went to freshen up first. The bus was already there when we left the building at 19:00 but it only left at 19:25.
We got down at the last stop and made our way to Jesselton Point. There was a night market that evening (I didn’t recall there being one on my past trips) so there were quite a few people around. There were a lot of cars too seeing it was Friday evening and the start of a long weekend.
We made a stop at Suria Sabah before continuing on to Jesselton Point. I checked in at the resort’s check-in office then as we still had some time before our boat was scheduled to leave, we walked to a couple of convenience stores nearby before deciding to return to Suria Sabah to look for a supermarket. We found one at the third floor of Suria Sabah, which I thought was a bit strange as supermarkets are usually either at the ground floor or lower ground floor. Oh well.
We returned to the resort’s office. A few other guests had arrived in our absence. We boarded the boat at 21:00 and the boat left shortly after everyone was seated and had donned on the safety jacket. We arrived at the resort and were greeted warmly by the staff. After taking advantage of the cold towel, we went to Feast Village for our late dinner. I dithered and finally decided to have steak. While waiting, I went up to the library to browse the collection and returned to my seat with a novel. We finished dinner at 22:45 and went back to the lobby before we were shown to our villa. It was a good thing we had performed prayers so after changing, I hit the sack.
Morning dawned early in that part of Malaysia so we woke up early on Saturday to perform prayers. I couldn’t sleep again though. At 07:30, I woke RH up and we then went for a walk around the resort before going for breakfast. We even found a small beach and sat down in the hammocks before returning to the lobby and then on to Feast Village for breakfast. We returned to our villa after that.
I stayed in after my shower and read my novel. RH decided to venture to the library to get some work done and returned at about 13:00. We had made booking to go to Tavajun Bay for lunch and our boat was at 13:30. We had satay and rice for lunch then rested before taking the boat back. It was starting to drizzle when we were there which progressed on to rain when we arrived at the lobby. We spent the rest of the afternoon indoors.
The rain was only petering off when we left for dinner, again at Feast Village. I felt quite full so was only picking at my main course. There was supposed to be a film show (movie under the stars) but because it had rained pretty heavily earlier, the movie was cancelled as the ground was wet.
On Sunday, we woke up early for prayers. RH went to the small beach to have a swim in the sea so I took the opportunity to run the bath and soak in. After dhuha prayers, I finished packing. RH had returned by then. We left the villa just before 11:00 (check-out time) and went to the lobby to settle the bill. After that, I went to the library while RH went to rest in one of the small rooms near the pool area.
We went to the Pool Bar at 11:30 for early lunch. We finished at 11:53 and rushed to the jetty for our boat back to the mainland. There were a lot of people returning at that time so we had to board the second boat. Back at mainland, we walked to our hotel. It was a good thing we managed to check in immediately, alhamdulillah.
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bkimd-le-meridien-kota-kinabalu/
We went out to the dry seafood market to buy some dry seafood products then went back to the hotel to deposit our packed purchases at the hotel store room. Then we went to Centre Point in search of an ATM (!). I walked on but RH decided to return to the room. It turned out that he couldn’t enter the room with the key card for some reason. I rang him shortly after to ask him to meet me at Wisma Merdeka. We then returned back to the hotel to rest.
I ventured out again that evening in search of dinner. It was raining then so I went to borrow an umbrella from the front desk. We had dinner in our room (very generous portion!) and had an early night.
On Monday (Deepavali), we woke up early again for prayers. We finished packing and went for breakfast at 07:20. I must say that the breakfast spread at Le Meridien was better than Gaya Island Resort (!!!). We returned to the room but couldn’t enter. None of our cards worked so I told RH to get help. He returned with a technical support staff. Well, the batteries for the room key had gone kaput and they needed to replace the batteries. But oh it took some time to do that. I went back to the lobby to use the washroom and when I went up again, the situation was still unresolved. Another hotel staff showed up with a laptop - I think she needed to re-programme the door or something.
Having managed to open the door, we quickly entered the room and gathered our things. The hotel staff were still working on the door but left just before we did. We took the lift down and I quickly checked us out. RH then called for a Grab car to take us to the airport.
It took us 20 minutes to reach the airport and I quickly went to drop off my bag and box of dry seafood purchases. I rushed in and of course the security queue was long. I saw RH ahead of me and caught up with him at immigration. Then I went with him to his gate (his plane was at 09:50, mine was supposed to be at 10:05) and a good thing too for he didn’t hear the announcement and was wondering which gate to head for.
After seeing him off, I walked to my gate. A few minutes later, I had a message saying that the plane was delayed... to 14:00! We waited for further announcement then went to a counter to collect food voucher (a choice of either McDonald’s or Jesselton Food). I decided to go to the lounge.
At about 1 something, there was another announcement informing that the flight was further delayed to 15:00. What?! We managed to finish most food at the lounge but food was replenished. We finally were called to board after 15:00 and I dozed off while waiting for take-off. I believe we eventually took off between 15:30-15:40 for we landed at 18:10.
My check-in bag and box were out quickly and I took the 18:40 train back to the city.
As much as I love KK, after the delay on this trip, I don’t think I’ll return so soon... (my last trip there before this trip was back in September 2016, more than three years ago).
The flight left on time and we landed at KKIA at 18:10. I waited for RH to disembark and seeing the long queue to clear the immigration, we decided to perform prayers first. We headed for the airport bus kiosk and bought tickets to the city. The bus was scheduled to leave at 19:15 so I went to freshen up first. The bus was already there when we left the building at 19:00 but it only left at 19:25.
We got down at the last stop and made our way to Jesselton Point. There was a night market that evening (I didn’t recall there being one on my past trips) so there were quite a few people around. There were a lot of cars too seeing it was Friday evening and the start of a long weekend.
We made a stop at Suria Sabah before continuing on to Jesselton Point. I checked in at the resort’s check-in office then as we still had some time before our boat was scheduled to leave, we walked to a couple of convenience stores nearby before deciding to return to Suria Sabah to look for a supermarket. We found one at the third floor of Suria Sabah, which I thought was a bit strange as supermarkets are usually either at the ground floor or lower ground floor. Oh well.
We returned to the resort’s office. A few other guests had arrived in our absence. We boarded the boat at 21:00 and the boat left shortly after everyone was seated and had donned on the safety jacket. We arrived at the resort and were greeted warmly by the staff. After taking advantage of the cold towel, we went to Feast Village for our late dinner. I dithered and finally decided to have steak. While waiting, I went up to the library to browse the collection and returned to my seat with a novel. We finished dinner at 22:45 and went back to the lobby before we were shown to our villa. It was a good thing we had performed prayers so after changing, I hit the sack.
Morning dawned early in that part of Malaysia so we woke up early on Saturday to perform prayers. I couldn’t sleep again though. At 07:30, I woke RH up and we then went for a walk around the resort before going for breakfast. We even found a small beach and sat down in the hammocks before returning to the lobby and then on to Feast Village for breakfast. We returned to our villa after that.
I stayed in after my shower and read my novel. RH decided to venture to the library to get some work done and returned at about 13:00. We had made booking to go to Tavajun Bay for lunch and our boat was at 13:30. We had satay and rice for lunch then rested before taking the boat back. It was starting to drizzle when we were there which progressed on to rain when we arrived at the lobby. We spent the rest of the afternoon indoors.
The rain was only petering off when we left for dinner, again at Feast Village. I felt quite full so was only picking at my main course. There was supposed to be a film show (movie under the stars) but because it had rained pretty heavily earlier, the movie was cancelled as the ground was wet.
On Sunday, we woke up early for prayers. RH went to the small beach to have a swim in the sea so I took the opportunity to run the bath and soak in. After dhuha prayers, I finished packing. RH had returned by then. We left the villa just before 11:00 (check-out time) and went to the lobby to settle the bill. After that, I went to the library while RH went to rest in one of the small rooms near the pool area.
We went to the Pool Bar at 11:30 for early lunch. We finished at 11:53 and rushed to the jetty for our boat back to the mainland. There were a lot of people returning at that time so we had to board the second boat. Back at mainland, we walked to our hotel. It was a good thing we managed to check in immediately, alhamdulillah.
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bkimd-le-meridien-kota-kinabalu/
We went out to the dry seafood market to buy some dry seafood products then went back to the hotel to deposit our packed purchases at the hotel store room. Then we went to Centre Point in search of an ATM (!). I walked on but RH decided to return to the room. It turned out that he couldn’t enter the room with the key card for some reason. I rang him shortly after to ask him to meet me at Wisma Merdeka. We then returned back to the hotel to rest.
I ventured out again that evening in search of dinner. It was raining then so I went to borrow an umbrella from the front desk. We had dinner in our room (very generous portion!) and had an early night.
On Monday (Deepavali), we woke up early again for prayers. We finished packing and went for breakfast at 07:20. I must say that the breakfast spread at Le Meridien was better than Gaya Island Resort (!!!). We returned to the room but couldn’t enter. None of our cards worked so I told RH to get help. He returned with a technical support staff. Well, the batteries for the room key had gone kaput and they needed to replace the batteries. But oh it took some time to do that. I went back to the lobby to use the washroom and when I went up again, the situation was still unresolved. Another hotel staff showed up with a laptop - I think she needed to re-programme the door or something.
Having managed to open the door, we quickly entered the room and gathered our things. The hotel staff were still working on the door but left just before we did. We took the lift down and I quickly checked us out. RH then called for a Grab car to take us to the airport.
It took us 20 minutes to reach the airport and I quickly went to drop off my bag and box of dry seafood purchases. I rushed in and of course the security queue was long. I saw RH ahead of me and caught up with him at immigration. Then I went with him to his gate (his plane was at 09:50, mine was supposed to be at 10:05) and a good thing too for he didn’t hear the announcement and was wondering which gate to head for.
After seeing him off, I walked to my gate. A few minutes later, I had a message saying that the plane was delayed... to 14:00! We waited for further announcement then went to a counter to collect food voucher (a choice of either McDonald’s or Jesselton Food). I decided to go to the lounge.
At about 1 something, there was another announcement informing that the flight was further delayed to 15:00. What?! We managed to finish most food at the lounge but food was replenished. We finally were called to board after 15:00 and I dozed off while waiting for take-off. I believe we eventually took off between 15:30-15:40 for we landed at 18:10.
My check-in bag and box were out quickly and I took the 18:40 train back to the city.
As much as I love KK, after the delay on this trip, I don’t think I’ll return so soon... (my last trip there before this trip was back in September 2016, more than three years ago).
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