We head out to Kota Kinabalu

Saturday - September 23, 2006
Day 1

We had a plane to catch. We had already packed the night before and just as we left our apartment, the heavens opened and it rained... like cats and dogs... it poured... and poured...

Naturally I got a good soaking. It was so bad that I was asked twice, why I was so wet - once by the Airasia personnel at the check-in counter, and another time by the security personnel at boarding terminal. Bleh...


To our surprise, our plane from Penang to Kuala Lumpur, and the connecting flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu was not delayed. Although we did hear (a loud groan from the passengers in the waiting room) that the next flight right after ours was going to be delayed by more than an hour. Thankfully it was not our flight.

We arrived at Kota Kinabalu's Terminal 2 airport. It hardly looked like an airport because it was very small. I later learned that Terminal 2 is still under construction as a Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) for Kota Kinabalu.

Our driver was already waiting for us to bring us to where we'd be staying in Kota Kinabalu for the next 5 days - Trekker's Lodge, right smack in the middle of Kota Kinabalu city.

The place was basic. Basic rooms, basic bathrooms, basic everything. At least it was clean.


Here's how the common area looks at Trekker's Lodge. Click the image for a larger version. We ate our breakfast here for the next few days - 2 slices of toast with butter and jam, a slice of local fruit and all the coffee or tea we can drink. I was actually rather pleased with the breakfast.

Trekker's Lodge is right smack in the middle of the city center so everything we needed was within walking distance. There's a 7-11 right around the corner, literally. There are a few restaurants nearby, less than 5 minutes away on foot. Reload cards, toiletries, medicine, snacks, beers, all just a short walk away.

The people running the place were all very friendly and very helpful. There's even a Travel Advisor, Mike, who hangs around the place and is a source of information for tours or trips around the city or the nearby islands for snorkling or diving.

Strangely we hardly saw many fellow trekkers. Maybe they were busy trekking or exploring the city to actually spend time at the common area. Nah, we didn't spend much time at the common area as well. We had a mountain to climb!