'K'ruising Kudat, Kundasang and Kota Kinabalu @ Sabah

                 Sabah is the eastern part of Malaysia and is part of Borneo. All these years of travelling, I never thought Sabah was a place I would like to visit because I thought its only worth going if you are going to hike Mount Kinabalu. Plus, I have heard from few friends that there is nothing interesting in Kota Kinabalu at all. Somehow, by chance I came upong pictures of the Dairy Farm in Kundasang. They looked so inviting. Instantly, I decided to check Sabah out and look at all the interesting places around there.
                 

Inviting views of Kundasang

          
                   So, February 2014, we flew down to Sabah and moved around towns, mainly Kudat, Kundasang and Kota Kinabalu. We got our pre-booked rental car from Kota Kinabalu International Airport. We would recommend this company as the car was in good condition and it survived all the terrible road conditions in Sabah. You can get their contact details from http://www.journeykinabalu.com/. Standard price for Myvi-auto at most rental companies in KK is RM150 per day, but maybe if your lucky can get cheaper.

Greeted with beautiful views just outside of KKIA

                    Our first stop was Kudat, which is the northern most part of Sabah. You will pass by KK town on the way to Kudat. Actually, you can also fly in to Kudat and start your journey from there - just another option to explore. As we passed by KK Town, we noticed the sea very rough ang violent. We stopped by for a while and noticed a group of people gathered around an area. Still assuming it was nothing, we got the info that a car just plunged into the sea a few minutes before. It seems a Honda Civic with 3 teenager passenger swerved from the road, making all passengers flying out before it hit the sea.

Violent sea with no safety bariers

                 On the way to Kudat, you will pass by many towns like Tuaran, Kota Belud or Kota Marudu. They are all small towns with nothing special, just a place to find for food in between your journey. If you leave in the morning, you would be able to have lunch in Kota Belud. All the way from Kota Belud to Kudat, there are many shops selling grilled corn.

They look 'burnt' compared to the grill corns in Peninsular, but the inner part is not burnt and still good to eat.

                   Kudat is at the northern most part of Sabah map. There are not many places of interests to see or activities to be done there. Many people who take the detour to Kudat is only to visit the Tip of Borneo, which is the northern most tip of Borneo. If weather and sea tide permits, you would be able to set foot at the furthest tip of Borneo.

                   To visit Tip of Borneo, can choose to stay at Tg Simpang Mengayau itself, where there are lovely chalets in front of the virgin Kalampunian Beach. Another choice would be to stay at Kudat town, which is about 30 minutes away from Tip of Borneo.

The beautiful chalets @ Kalampunian Beach offers this view. Pic - Google Images

Violent sea views from the room @ Marina Golf Resort, Kudat

                    One of the best places to stay there would be Kudat Marina Golf Resort. You would be able to catch the sunrise here if you get the ocean view room.
             

Sunrise

                     The drive from Kudat Marina to Tip of Borneo can be quite 'painful' as you would need to endure about 2-3kms of gravel road. After that tiresome road, you would pass by Kalampunian Beach, which is worth a short stop to take beautiful pictures of white sandy beach and clear blue sea.

                 A short drive further, you will reach the parking lot of Tip of Borneo. Park your car there and walk a few metres to be greeted by a magnificent view of Tip of Borneo and its surrounding beaches.

                       At this point, I think I better stop typing, and let the pictures explain how beautiful it was for the whole family to enjoy a sunset at the Tip of Borneo.

  

                             Next day, after catching the sunrise at Marina Golf Resort, he headed back south and towards Kundasang. Before leaving Kudat, we dropped by at Bee Farm in Kampung Gombizau. We didnt go in, just grabbed some honey at the entrance of the Farm and took some pictures.

On the way, to Kundasang you can drop by at Tuaran town. We proceeded straight for a short stop at Nabalu Town. All the way towards Kundasang, there are many stalls selling fruits; most of them are fruits that you dont see in the Peninsular. They usually look like a combination of 2 or more of the fruits we get in Peninsular. Worth giving the fruits a try as there are many sweet tasting fruits.

                              I would recommend you to stop at Nabalu Town to buy the souvenirs as it is expensive in Kota Kinabalu Town. Another reason to stop here would be the viewing deck that offers beautiful views of Mount Kinabalu, but unfortunately, for us it was closed for maintenance.

                       Then we headed straight up to Celyn Hotel. From what I heard, Pine Resort offers the best views but they are always full house. Another disadvantage of Pine Resort would be if your room view is blocked by Pine trees as the resort is covered by Pine Trees. In Celyn, you can choose to stay at Valley Wing or Kinabalu Wing. Kinabalu Wing offers magnificient view of Mount Kinabalu.
                       If ever you do get lost searching for Celyn Resort, come back to the main town and search for The Vanilla Shop. There is ONLY ONE way up to Celyn Resort and that road (with signboard) is right infront of The Vanilla Shop. So once in Kundasang town , dont look for Celyn Resortsignboard, instead look for the Vanilla Shop first, then you wont miss the Celyn Resort Signboard. The journey up was terrible with gravel road for about 2 kms. Nevertheless, its all worth it when you are greeted by breathtaking views up there.
                      

                   Although there is a cafe at the hotel, we preferred to explore the town, so we went down again for dinner. Grilled chicken wings seems to be the famous dish in Kundasang Town and we gave that a try. It was nice; anyway you cant go wrong with a grilled dish. Then we dropped by at the vege market to try some of their fruits.

 

                     At night, we just wandered around the hotel area it is brightly lit and even the car and bar is open. There is not much activity at night in Kundasang, so get a good nights sleep to get up early to catch the magnificent Mr Kinabalu.

                    After breakfast, we went back to town and turned into the road leading to Desa Dairy Farm. This was the very farm that made me want to visit Sabah. It was very picturesque, exactly as it was shown in the Internet. The place really did resemble scenes of Switzerland shwon on TV. I said scenes coz I am yet to set foot there. :)

There are 3 places to visit at the Farm. First would be the barn were the cows, goats and their cute little ones are waiting for you to feed them. Children and even adults would enjoy this activity. 

If you are at the right time, you would be able to see them milking the cows.

Then there is their dairy cafe where you can enjoy delicious produces of milk, like ice cream, gelato and such. 

Lastly, you should walk to the area where the cows are gracing and take beautiful pictures with them. 

After that, we left to explore Kota Kinabalu town. On the way, we passed by the famous Tamparuli bridge and we also stopped by at Rumah Terbalik at Tuaran.

Everything upside down @ Rumah Terbalik

As you are not allowed to take pictures inside Rumah Terbalik, I leave it to you to imagine the interior of an upside house. Here are some of the pictures taken outside of the house.

Finally, after all the driving, we had two days to rest at Kota Kinabalu town. Hubby had relaxing birthday at the suite in Promenade Hotel. It is highly recommended for the beautiful views,grand breakfast spread and walking distance to waterfront, shopping, eateries and also massage.

You can check out more about activities in KK town as we didn't do much; just walked about and enjoyed the seafood delight around town.

 

KK Waterfront Sunset. Bye Sabah.

 

Journey of a Pilgrim (iv): Life at Isha - by Nethianathan KrishnaKutty

I am very happy that this time I am able to write about a place that has been lingering in my mind for sometime - Dhyanalingga @ Isha Centre, Coimbatore.

Image of Isha Centre from Isha Blog.

 KL - Tricy

First, I will begin with my journey to Trichy by AA on 3 Feb 2014. I reached at 8.40 am, took 45 mins for Immigration Clearance. Changed some money at airport, I normally don't as the rate will not be good, but had to as I had mostly MYR only. Tried to get a taxi outside, but they quoted INR 400 for hotel 12 KMs away! Was trying to bargain, but to no avail. I saw an auto and stopped him. He quoted INR 250, so I jumped in. The ride to the hotel was a roller coaster one. Well, at least on a roller coaster you sort of know the next bend or turn.  Sitting in a fast moving auto which only gives inches gap with other motorists is an experience. Respect, bro! 15 minutes of adrenalin rush is worth every rupee spent for this ride.. Haha.

Beautiful Church

Room was not ready at hotel, so left bag and walked around. Ucchi Pillayar Temple is walking distance from the hotel.

Walked along Burma Bazaar where they sell everything from slippers to head gears. 2 guys in their late 50's were offering exchange for 19, which was too good to be true. I accepted to change RM1000 and he gave me 20 notes of INR 500 and 8 notes of INR 100. I told him according to his exchange rate, I should get INR 19,000. 20*500+8*100 is only INR 10,800.
As expected (well, we know that this is a normal practice around 'certain' countries to cheat while exchanging money), the guy started giving excuses that his friend can't hear well etc. he told his friend to give INR 8000, like an innocent man. Anyway, he asked me for a discount from 19 to 18. For me, it's a win win situation. So I took the INR 18000 and gave him RM10 as I know he would have been disappointed for not being able to cheat me.

Took a nap after a heavy meal, then off to visit Ganesh Ji @ 5 pm. Sun was setting and weather was good. Paid INR 20(camera) + INR 30(entrance).

Shady walkway as its mostly covered. Steps were well constructed, accessible by elderly, too. Nice mid day view, overseeing the church and some goats below.

Able to get into the 'sannithanam' and pray at own pace (which is quite rare as in most temples you get pushed away before you even get a glimpse of the altar). It was not so crowded, perhaps it was the timing.

It is a nice small temple at the peak. It it also known as RockFort Temple. It's about 300-400 square feet (the temple). One round and you're done seeing Ucchi Pillayar. Ample space to hang around at the peak as its granite flooring provides good sitting area for hot weather. Spent 1 hour to cover whole temple, comprising of Amman and Sivan. Huge Sivalingam on the other side of temple.

Once down, I planned to window shop but ended up buying Kurta's, cotton pants and shirts.

 Lots of choices for kids but kept some to be shopped before I leave to KL. After light dinner, back to room to have good rest before I continue my journey early on the morning.


Trichy - Coimbatore

Checked out of hotel @ 5.15. Got an auto and reached Sentral Bus station @5.45am.

Wanted to get a quick bite as its going to be a 5 hour journey. Ordered some poori's at restaurant in bus station. The set comes with Vadai and coffee. As I was having my breakfast, a guy approached me and verified wether I am working in Westports. He said he had seen me at Beekay Restaurant, Port Klang many times, (thats where we usually have lunch) and he works there as driver. He was on his way to his hometown, Velanganni and invited me to join him and was offering to show me all the nice places in his hometown.Told him that I already have plans but shared contact details with him. He quietly paid for my breakfast.

Journey from Singganallur to Coimbatore : 5 hrs and ticket price is INR 116 only! From Singanallur took another bus to Gandhipuram @ INR 5 only!
Reached Gandhipuram @ 12.15pm. Bus to Isha was @ 12.45- (14G). As hunger kicked in, I went for quick lunch. Came back @ 12.35 only to find out that 14G has left. Next is 14D, scheduled for 1.25pm. Ordered a tea and waited.

14D came at 1.05 and left by 1.15pm. Ticket price at INR 25 only for a journey close to 2 hours. Isha Centre is the last stop.

At the entrance itself, the volunteers informed that photographs are STRICTLY PROHIBITED . Now I will have to take you through a journey through my very own lenses. As I walked in, I had mixed emotions; puzzled as well as excited. Greeted by a huge Nandi, near a large pond filled with lotus flower and Koi fish.

Image of Nandi from Isha Blog

I went straight to register myself and get room keys. There are dorms and also private rooms. I booked a room for myself. It took about 1 hour to get my keys.just before I left the counter, the volunteers informed that Sadhguru will be coming in and we will have Satsang @ 6pm. The time was about 4pm as I quickly dashed to Isha Shoppe. Looking at my clothes, I will look very odd with a group of people at a Yoga Centre. Thank God, they were selling cotton pants and shirts.grabbed 2 pants, 3 shirts and a pranayama pillow. That cost INR 3390. Also bought a Rudhraksh and Dhyanalingga picture.

Image of Isha Shoppe from Isha Blog

Came back to the room, which was up to expectation with basic amenities.

Image of accomodation from Isha Blog

Left my stuff, took shower and got ready to meet Sadhguru. Was there by 5.30pm and as time flies, the place was filled. I was sitting a mere 10m away from Sadhguru and it was such a good feeling. He gave a short speech about the importance of human being to be conscious and act responsibly. The session was over by 7.15pm. Came back to the room, changed and headed to Bikhsha Hall for dinner.

Image from Isha Blog

 Meal was very 'different'. Boiled nuts, sprouts, cucumber chutney, vermicelli porridge and pickles. Had a healthy dinner, though. . Went back to room for a good rest.

Image from Isha Blog

Image from Isha Blog

Image from Isha Blog

Image from Isha Blog

Image from Isha Blog

Image from Isha Blog

Image from Isha Blog

Image from Isha Blog

Image from Isha Blog

Shoonya - Day 1

Got up at 7 and left room at 8am. Went to Peppervine for a hot cup of coffee.

Image from Isha Blog

To confirm the time for Shoonya Registration, I approached the VRO (Volunteer Registration Office) . She told me registration started at 6am. I had about INR 1k with me so I had to leave to the room  to take some more as I heard that it costs about INR 1750. I took around INR 3k anyway, as if I was gonna shop at the registration booth.. When registering, they told me it cost INR 2750. Thank God, I had enough with me. They asked if I could help to manage the valuable counter as they were short of volunteers. I agreed and helped as much as I could and passed it on to another volunteer at 1.15pm. By that time, program is about to start.

Meditation Image from Isha Blog

The first day was extremely tiring (coming from a person who goes to gym everyday without fail) Kriya's from Inner Engineering + 2 Asanas was physically demanding. I was wondering how I would survive the next 3 days. The program was over at about 9.15pm. Came back to room, took some medication and straight to bed!

Shoonya - Day 2
Program starts at 6 am. The medication I took managed to reduce my body ache. However, Towards the evening, body started to adjust to the asana's. Could sit for longer hours. Program was done by 9.25pm. My universal adapter malfunctioned. Managed to borrow an adapter from Martin, from Norway attending the same course.

Shoonya - Day 3

Program started at 6am. Body was feeling great. Asana's and Kriya's were manageable. Had good experiences. Program ends at 10pm;quite late, but I am still energetic. Started to like the session but missing my babies back home very much. Called it a day by midnight.

Dhyanalingga

Image from Isha Blog

Theerthakhund

Image from Isha Blog

Summary of few days @ Isha.
5 days in Isha Yoga Center was an experience that I never felt before. Being around so many wonderful people makes you to think the quality of life that we have been living so long. One important thing I've learned is that living life without ego is so wonderful. There is really nothing to lose in losing your ego.

Trichy
Came back to Trichy on 9th Feb 2014. Had 1.5 days at my disposal before my flight back to Malaysia. Reached Trichy at around 2200hrs on 9th Feb. The journey back from IYC was quite tiring. 10th Feb was busy shopping. Most of the shopping was done as Saratha's. It's an enormous shop filled with clothes for cradle to grave. Checked out at around 1100hrs on 11th Feb to catch my flight back home.

Fun @ Pusat Sains Negara

One weekday, we decided to do an adhoc visit to Pusat Sains Negara. We just went hoping that it will be fun for the kids. In the end, the adults had fun too. Pusat Sains Negara is situated at Persiaran Bukit Kiara, KL. Open daily 9am - 5pm.Ticket counter closes at 4.30pm.Tickets are priced at RM6(adult),RM3(children 6-12 & senior citizen). Free entrance for less than 6 year old.
Park at the parking bay opposite the road and use the bridge to enter into PSN.

There are so many places to visit on site:

 Went we went some of the places were under renovation, so the ticket counter was near the Aquatic Life and we began our journey there.

You get to feel the water, but the fishies will shy away from your wandering hand

You will be greeted by a tunnel filled with aquatic species of all shapes and sizes. This will always fascinate kids.

Then comes the Wonderspark - you can touch, feel and play with the displays that feature 3 natural elements air, light and water. Kids enjoyed this too.

At the electric corner, there were so many interesting stuff to meddle with. We all had fun...

Then you get to check out stuff about our body, natural minerals, aviation world, how things work and many more before you come out to an open space where there are stage shows , a place for big kids to shoot sponge balls at each other and also a little play area for little ones.

ohh shoots i just realised more pics in another cam. no wonder parts of the galleries were missing. to be continued...