As though we have not tortured ourself good enough, we headed back to KK town for a free & easy day, just to wind down a bit before going to Beaufort to catch a train upstream ... for the start of our white water rafting escapade!!!
Just slightly after breakfast, we parted with the rest of the gang, making our own way to KK in a chartered van. almost kena cheated though when a junk (yes, it was a yellow junk they call van) turned up at our chalet. NO way Jose that I am going to step into it ... pity that I dont a picture of the whole van .. it sjust so worn out, rusty, had bald tyres, worst-than-minibus-seats that you wouldnt wanna look at twice, let alone cling your life onto it for a 2hr downhill journey back to KK. Thats suicide!
the junkie ...
and the junk ... my dirty look at it ...
and our government wonders why therez so many road accidents. Wake up dude!
So after much haggling, the obviously pissed driver referred us to his friend and thank god ... a much decent/clean/well maintained van turned up for you. Oh yea .. we managed to psycho him into giving us a better rate too!! Hurray .. pays to travel with a bunch of buyers.
Shopping time ...
Once in KK, we went round looking for a budget hotel; found one; not bad @ $70/night and therez 7 of us .. u do math!
thats how u do the crab walk ...
wah.. got free shampoo and soap, take first b4 the rest sapu ..
Once settled in ... miracle happened. =) We went round looking for FOOD and boy were we lucky.
Found a Chinese chicken rice shop in a nearby shopping complex and it was god-given ... goodness, I could swear on my pet-dog's grave that it serves the BEST char-siew/roasted chicken rice ever!!! Maybe all of us have not had a single decent meal for almost 5 days.. hence the scavengers in us came to life. ...Pity that gluttony took over that day so much so I forgot to snap a pic .. just for the memories after all are digested..buuurppp..
With much time to kill .. we typical malaysians headed for the pasar tani/philipino market ...
Shopping time again ...
Ah Sou : makcik, kalau beli SATU biji boleh kurang gah?
and again....
Lina : Mahal la, tak mau tak mau ... saya kolompor beli lagi mulah!
quick la, wait until neck orso long adi lo
and the compulsory seafood for dinner ... sorry no pic again (didnt u notice by now whenever we eat, therez no pics?)
Final Day
9th June 2005
Quite honestly, one of the most anticipated part of the trip for me.. wonder how I got hooked after trying it for the very first time in Bali couple of years ago.
Our van/tour guide came just as promised to pick us from the hotel. From there, it was yet another 1.5 hr journey to the town of Beaufort, a small little town to the southeast of Kota Kinabalu and what lies ahead was something we totally did not expect, the train ride.
a quiet little town ...
I guess words alone are just not enough to express the magnitude and sheer adrenaline rush from just trying to board the train as it comes to rest at the station... my my, it was frentic to say the least. All ye minibus graduates sure fail one ...
You see, the train functions like a commuter bus, which means it makes regular stops along the way to its destination and therez only ONE, so if u missed it, sorry la brader ... wait la for the next sunrise. Hence, you would have to shuffle and bulldoze your way through the (much experienced) locals, chicken and tourist; aim for the nearest window opening and slam dunk your belongings onto a seat. Now this still does not give you the birth right to seat though ... you'd still have to home run your way in ...
What else is so "chee-kek" bout the train u might ask ... well lets go through the vital stats then
1. Its old .. dont ask how old .. just take it as very OLD.
2. There were no air conditioning or fan
3. There were not enough seats for everyone
4. It spews out carbon monoxide like a chicken backside
5. Everything under the sun travels with you ... yes, thats including inanimate objects such as cars to chickens.
6. It makes the most annoying noise that you could ever imagine and bear!!!
Rite, enuf of the train .. maybe some info on Padas River and its rafting capabilities.
a compulsory photo of the train station
and of the track ... but no thanks to Pandi, u cant see it... hehehe
Pandai nkau Pan
Lina getting restless ... showing off her body step moves and grooves, that poor kid on the left must be traumatised la!
Plan B if I cant get into the train ...
the boarding frenzy ... pandi reaching for the coach
VIDEO : Boarding Train
Lina : no Siew Foong, thats NOT the door!!!
Siew Foong : aiya, same one ...
my precious .... mine! mine!
the calm after the storm ...
got place to seat sure happy le ...
Ah Soh ah ... itu rafting puya tempat macam mana pergi? ... train driver stoping by to ask for direction
The Padas river ... nice train ride (scenery wise) as the track run parallel to the river
are we there yet? letihnye, whoz brilliant idea was it 2 raft after climbing Mt Kinabalu
aaarrghh...
Pan : Pandainye nkau .. main air ah..
One two paddle !!! hmm.. we were making more than necessary noise actually!
excited ma ...
see the two guide behind .. selamba onli ..
hey look ... the raft is on auto-cruise ...
u might wonder whether we raft or pose more ya?
no tis is not the Trojan invading KK ... this is the finale!
this is the kandang where we had our private function
those lamb chops were superb, BBQ tea time by the river bank after rafting ... heaven!!!
never play on a railway track .. hv to tell how many times?
We did it !!!
as the trip unfold and comes to an end, so is our itinerary in KK ... as we were driven to KK Airport, exhaustion soon took over and it was obvious we could barely open our eyes ... let alone chat.
Guess deep in everyone thought while they slumber was a well spent holiday and never wanting it to end (of course I need not work for at least 3 more weeks... hurray!!!)
caught on tape ... mouth never stop one ..
zzzzzzzzz..................
Pan : Pandainye nkau ye .. main tangan/muka blakang
See you again KK next year ...
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