Odd break start of the year.

Amid all the glooms of church building attacks and the shattering visions of 1Malaysia (I myself were trapped anxiously waiting for news updates), I feel it's time again to look at the sunny side of life and while it lasts.

Last week, my good friend Serena came over for a week's visit. Remember my previous post on Kionsom? I then took a Thursday off to to discover the feel of being a Sabahan again. Ya, being dramatic.

I always feel that the mountain areas in Sabah are very peaceful and it always reminds me of the Rainforest music. Sometimes I feel like I can stay there forever.

The journey began at 6am with me arriving at Yinsoon's house. 6am! You know, I don't even wake up that early for work. But nevermind, I get to see how the morning school traffic jam again. Just like the sweet old days where all of us begged to grow up fast.

A good early morning best starts with Tuaran Mee. Tamparuli version also accepted.

Tamparuli's wooden shophouses. Not many left in Sabah. You can still find them around Papar.

The lone hut overlooking Mount Kinabalu

Me and Serena

Our 1st stop was at Kinabalu Park. Well, this is not the 1st time I've been there. But all other times, the stop was just to pop by and say hello to Kundasang's 'must stop' park. I suggested the visit to be a little bit more adventurous since we can't climb Mt. Kinabalu.

Ya, jungle trekking!

A short one. To Bukit Tupai Shelter

Come follow me!

The walk was through tree roots and stony staircases. Sometimes muddy. All I wore on my feet was a pair of Vincci sandals.

Right foot

Left foot

And this - the destination for the 380metres uphill climb.

Seeing rainforest. Cool.

The next stop was Kundasang War Memorial. And again this wasn't the 1st time of me being there. But if you're in Kundasang, this is also another must visit place. For people who love to take pictures, this would be a good place as it housed many types of beautiful floras and sceneries. Charge per entry for Malaysians is RM2.00.

They have this visual room to show visitors about the Sandakan's death march. When it came to the part where the soldiers starved to death (and it's really sad), the visitors in front shook their heads in disbelief.

Bangau trying to catch some Koi fish

Blooms at the park

And the Kundasang Valley. Sometimes when the sky is good, you can even see Mount Kinabalu. The view is totally superb.

The last stop was in Poring Hot Springs. Ok this would be a memorable one. 1st, I get to junggle trek again to a waterfall. 2nd, I get to dip my feet in the hot bathtub! Finally!

This waterfall would be around 100+ metres walk from the TreeTop Canopy walk's entrance.

I started to feel that this day was meant for real exercise after all those office hours and unhealthy non-exercise life. Glad that I can still walk and breathe!

The water was icy cold but not as cold as the one at Mesilau. I felt as though fishes were nibbling at my feet but when I looked down there was none. Weird.

There's another waterfall about 3km walk from the TreeTop Canopy walk, but because of time contraint, I have to leave that for another day. This time perhaps I want to really dip in the hot spring tub and visit the Sabah Tea Garden.

Yinsoon's couz drove real fast and we reached KK in 2.30hrs. Normal journey from Ranau would take about 3 to 3.30hrs. Surprisingly also, there weren't any no loaded trucks around to slow us down.

It is advised to leave Ranau/Kundasang before sunset as the roads are not supplied with streetlights and sometimes foggy.