A SUPPER SESSION WITH AN EX-CLASSMATE

  4TH MARCH 2023   ~ An ex-classmate of Budiman class, SMS Muar, was in town to attend a wedding reception of his friend's child. A quick supper session was set after he had returned to his hotel after the event.

The venue chosen was Der Cabin Bistro which was located just outside Amerin Hotel where he was staying in Taman Perling. That should be a huge relief as I was not that familiar with that place.

We had everything fried that evening: onion ring, fries and mushroom. There were many people at the bistro despite the rainy weather. Not a good place to go to if it is raining heavily though.

Thanks Mr. Zulfakrozi Mohamad for the short sit in session. The last time we met was many years ago when he was here because of work related matter. Hopefully we could do this again if he comes to Johor Bahru again.

ANNUR MOSQUE OF LABUAN REVISITED

  24th FEBRUARY 2023   ~ I did not expect to be back in Annur Mosque in Labuan after 8 months. This time, I had the opportunity to perform my Friday prayer here.

I went back to the mosque in the morning on the 1st of March, just walking around after breakfast so I could get a few shots of the holy building from different angles.

Right beside the mosque is where the Labuan Syariah Court is located.

The view of the mosque and the court from the hotel

There was a second time at this mosque in Labuan. Will there be a third time?

NOTE: My Sabah road trip would only begin the next day as my driver friend was still working on Friday,

[MY SABAH ROAD TRIP MAIN PAGE]

KACANG POOL SESSION WITH AN EX-STUDENT

Mr. Syazwan Shavarein, an ex-student of SMK Taman Universiti, was back in town because of work-related matter and it was kind enough of him to ask me out fot tea/early dinner. The chosen place was his favourite Kacang Pool Haji restaurant in Taman Dato' Onn in Larkin.

The meeting was just a short one but we had updated ourselves with essential news and gossips. There should be one more similar meeting like this real soon and I am looking forward to that.

MY SABAH ROAD TRIP WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN

The first leg of my Sabah Road Trip was to get to Kuala Lumpur International Airport from Johor Bahru to Labuan. To do that, I took the YoYo Express Bus at Larkin Sentral on 23rd February at 11:45 p.m. The bus took me directly to Terminal 1 of the Airport, and arrived at the wee hour of the morning, at about 4:30 a.m. on 24th February. The very last time I was here was one day before the Movement Control Order [MCO] was implemented when C19 hit hard, back in March 2020.

Then I had to wait for my flight to Labuan at 8:00 a.m. so I had a lot of time to kill. What else to do then to get something to eat. In my hunt for something light to eat at dawn, I settled for toast [but later opted for steamed bread], half boiled eggs and coffee at Ya Kun Kaya Toast. A simple traditional breakfast could now be commercialized and we have to pay much more for it, especially when it is located in the airport building.

I was lucky to get to fly with Malaysia Airlines [MAS] this time as I managed to buy my ticket when there was a special offer. Unfortunately, I could not fly back with the same airline as the time was not suitable so this was just a one way trip with MAS.

With RM200, I got my in-flight meal and entertainment, plus the 20 kg of baggage.

I met a friendly young man from Kundasang who is studying in UPSI and the whole 2 1/2 hours trip was a sleepless one as we chatted all the way.

It was time to continue with the next leg of the journey as I had to meet with my travel companion cum driver cum guide.

[MY SABAH ROAD TRIP MAIN PAGE]

PROLOGUE: MY SABAH ROAD TRIP 2023

Initially, it was just a plan which I did not expect could be carried out. However, one fine day, surprisingly, I was told by my travel companion/driver/guide that it was possible after all.

I was in Labuan in June last year but Labuan was an island gazetted as the Federal Territory. Therefore, this should be my very first trip to Sabah, the mainland on Borneo Island.

The focus of my holiday trip this time was a road trip covering the route Labuan [of Federal Territory] - Menumbok - Papar - Kota Kinabalu - Kundasang - Ranau, and back. According to Google Map, the journey from Labuan from one point to Ranau at the other point was 283 kilometres. Because of the [bad] road condition, traffic congestion and the rain, more time was spent on the road, trying to get to one place to another on time. I was there away from home from 24th February until the 1st March.

Most of the time, people from the Peninsular would fly straight to Kota Kinabalu but I guessed I chose the road not taken. Therefore, I got to see Sabah from a different perspective.

Even though I did not get to visit most of the tourist attractions as we had not enough time and the weather was not kind to us, this should be one memorable trip for me to be able to see Sabah from a different point of view. This should also be a valid reason to go back to Kota Kinabalu some other time in the future.

the friend I made from my last trip to
Labuan June last year

Be ready to check out more posts of my 4D3N escapade to the Land Below the Wind, coming to you real soon.

LINKS TO OTHER POSTS OF MY SABAH ROAD TRIP:

FROM JOHOR BAHRU TO LABUAN

ANNUR MOSQUE OF LABUAN REVISITED

DINNER AT YM CAHAYA RESTAURANT IN LABUAN

THE FERRY FROM LABUAN TO MENUMBOK [PART 1] [PART 2]

LUNCH AT RESTORAN NASI AYAM KIMANIS

BOWLING AT SABAH CENTRAL

GAYA STREET MARKET ON SUNDAY MORNING

SABAH STATE MOSQUE

SABAH MUSEUM [PART 1] [PART 2] [PART 3] [PART 4]
JAMAL SALIM RESTAURANT, RANAU

SABAH ORIENTAL HOTEL AND THE BREAKFAST BUFFET

SABAH TEA PLANTATION & THE BREAKFAST SESSION

DESA DAIRY FARM, KUNDASANG

JIC SENG NURSERY IN KUNDASANG & THE PLANTS

THE GATHERING THAT TOOK PLACE AT KLIA2

  1ST MARCH 2023   ~ An impromptu gathering with a few friends of UPM TESL Class of 1993 took place at KLIA2, specifically at Richiamo Cafe. I was lucky to have people who had taken the time and effort to accompany me at the airport after arriving from Labuan and while waiting for my next flight home to Johor Bahru.

Thanks Puan Hayati Ismail, Mr. Ridwan Wahid [and his wife and daughter] and Pn Salmiah Ghazali for the time and company. Luckily I had put something I bought from Kundasang in my backpack so I could hand over the souvenirs from my holiday to them.

The wait for my next [delayed] flight was not that bad after I got to meet and chat with friends.

BLOGGING FROM LABUAN WILAYAH PERSEKUTUAN/SABAH

Arrived at Labuan Ferry Terminal from Kota Kinabalu at about 9:40 p.m. last night.

Will be leaving Labuan at 2:30 p.m. later and my holiday will officially end.

Good bye, Sabah. Good bye, Labuan.