Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

My second time to be back at the Land Down Under...the Philippines. This time around is not purely for travel but something academic in nature as well. Together with my officemates, we presented our study at the Southeast Asia Psychology Conference 2012 held at Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

Fare was just around P2,500 two-way Clark-Kota Kinabalu-Clark via Tiger Airways. We got the promo fare..:)

Universiti Sabah Malaysia or UMS is the 9th Malaysian public university located in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia and was established on 1994. The campus was near Courtyard Hotel in 1Borneo Hypermall where we stayed which added to the ease of transportation.

Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Aquarium and Marine Museum

The state-of-the-art marine museum is yet another addition to the Universiti Malaysia Sabah campus. Situated within the Borneo Marine Research Institute (BMRI) Complex adjunction to the Sepanggar Bay area, this aquarium and marine museum boasts one of the best aquarium facilities on the Borneo Island.

Among its facilities are the free standing exhibition tanks, live open water reef exhibition centre, live shallow reef exhibition centre, mangrove walk, contemporary Marine and Maritime Museum, Multimedia Interactive Information Kiosk, and Sipadan deep dive diorama.

Visiting hours:

Day	Morning	Afternoon
Monday, Tuesday & Thursday	9:30am - 12:30pm	2:00pm - 4:30pm
Friday	9:30am - 11:30am
Saturday & Sunday	9:30am - 12:30pm
Wednesday and Public Holiday	Closed

Entrance Fee

Categories	Malaysian	Non-Malaysian
Child 4 - 6 years	RM2.00	RM4.00
Student 7 - 18 years	RM3.00	RM6.00
Adult above 18 years	RM5.00	RM10.00

Camera Pass

Malaysian	Non-Malaysian
RM5.00	RM10.00

* All prices are estimated and subject to change 

Source: http://www.sabahtourism.com/sabah-malaysian-borneo/en/destination/158-aquarium-marine-museum/

Perks of being a conference participant: We didn't pay for the entrance fee..yey! Dr. Zam Halik, the conference head, even offered to tour us around the city. Thank you so much Professor for being so nice to us. :)

Jalan-jalan in Sabah

Jalan-jalan in Tagalog means gala-gala. This has been on been one of the things that we have been looking forward after the conference. Good thing that our hotel, Courtyard Hotel, is located at the comforts of 1Borneo Hypermall. There is a shuttle bus which brings you to Warisan Square and vice-versa. The shuttle bus leaves every hour and last trip from the city proper is around 10PM. But there are a lot of taxi which can bring to any points of the city.

Waterfront is just across Warisan Square

Souvenirs from the Night Market along Waterfront

Malaysian night life..pretty much just like the Philippines

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

A gift to myself for graduating from my Master's Degree and my travel buddy's birthday...trip to the Land Down Under..the Philippines..hahaha! It was our first time to have our trip from the Philippines via Clark. We rode the Philtranco bus going to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport. The bus terminal is located at the back of Megamall Bldg. A, just right outside the grocery. Travel time is approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours depending on the traffic in EDSA.

My cousin and travel buddy, Maiden and Me

at the back of Megamall Blg. A

Philtranco bus fare 

DMIA Clark

got the ticket for PhP3,000 for two-way Clark-Kota Kinabalu and vice versa

still PhP 1,620

terminal fee PhP600 for international destination

i like this airport..konti ang tao, mabilis ang check-in..:)

We stayed at Courtyard Hotel in 1Borneo Mall...one of the biggest mall in Kota Kinabalu...The hotel is 10-minute drive from the city but the good thing is that 1Borneo Mall offers free shuttle bus going to Warisan Square (located in the city centre) and vice-versa.

go to this area and proceed at the concierge

get a ticket from the receptionist..bus leaves every hour starting from 9am till 8pm

Jalan jalan (gala, pasyal, lakad, in tagalog) in the city begins...

street of Kota Kinabalu

nice facade of Kompleks Pentadbiran

Tun Mustapha Building

floating Mosque

seemingly Baywalk

gumamela..hehehe

at Api-Api centre

Jesselton Point

the port of Jesselton

view of the Manukan and Mamutik island

hellow! ^_^

Jalan jalan in 1Borneo Mall

did a little research and this was well-recommended

meals cost around PhP130 plus drinks RM3.50 (PhP45)

serving is good for 2 picky eater on a diet mode..hehehe

got a 2-thumbs up..yum yum!

haven for a sweet tooth like me..^_^

my favorite Malaysian chocoloate

^_^

every country, every corner may branch..hehehe

look up..:)

Originally, we did not plan to go on the beach because we would be entourage for our cousin's wedding which would be held 2 weeks after this travel..maarte lang ayaw umitim..hahaha! But, still, we were "curious" of the beach of Kota Kinabalu...Tanjung Aru Beach.

at the entrance

taxi fare from the city to Tanjung Aru costs around RM15 (PhP200)

these slippers survived this travel

Anawangin-like ambiance

short stop for a snack at Sugarbuns

RM10 (PhP130)

may pine tress din sila..:)

sands are fine but not that white

cheers to friendship

this goes straight to the beach..kaya pala walang naliligo..hahaha

raisins-like sand formation

and there's more of them..:)

saging lang ang may puso..saging lang!:)

this is where you wait for the bus going the city..fare is RM1.50 (PhP20)

out of waiting in vain, we decided to walk towards the other bus stop 

Plaza Tanjung Aru, shopping complex near Tanjung Aru beach

Back to Courtyard Hotel..feel free to visit their website http://www.courtyardhotel1borneo.com/

Reception area

Courtyard room..PhP6,000 for 5 days with free breakfast

Luckily while dining at Elusion Lounge, we met Ms. Jessica Chin, the hotel manager. She gave us a room upgrade from Courtyard room to Deluxe room for us to have a room with a view of the city. We even had our dinner on her tab. Thank you so much for being so generous to us Ms. Chin..you are one of those people who made our trip memorable..^_^

Ms. Jessica Chin, hotel manager and Ms. Shu, Sales and Marketing Manager

our upgraded room...Deluxe roon

city at night

good morning..^_^

Elusion Lounge, the hotel's restaurant, located at the 6th floor of the hotel.

We tried some Malaysian cuisine..similar to Filipino cuisine..my taste buds didn't maladjust..haha

rojak Sabah

pour the sauce

ikan panggang samabal (fish with vegetable)

soup of the day

ulam-ulam (vegetable) and sambal belachan (dip)

looks like bagoong pero chili yan..hehe

buko-flavored jelly with watermelon cubes

sweet..indeed!

If you want a more budget-friendly accommodation, you could also try a lodge. You can contact Ms.Josie +601115263709. RM45 (around PhP600) which includes an overnight accommodation with food and airport transfers.