Throwback: Weekend getaway to Kundasang

Assalamualaikum. 안녕!

Hari malas sedunia! Home alone since last Tues. Bunda is currently in Bandung with her siblings. Aku ditinggal sendiri sama budak ² meow ni semua. Sob.

Pastu pagi tadi dapat message from her. Suruh cari accommodation di Kundasang, next week. Memang The Ismail's PA sign mati lah namanya si Err ni. Sigh. Ntah apa kejadian lah dorang ni kan suka buat plan last minute. Timing pun sangatlah cantik! Macam ndak kan ada date paling cantik lagi dari yang diorang pilih ni. Cuti Merdeka; long weekend.

When I told Bungsu semua guesthouses, chalets & hotels are fully booked boleh² dia replied "Impossible." Like, perlukah aku tikam jantung? Dugaan apakah? Hengat aku ni ada share sama properties di sana?

Gigih ni dari tadi aku call sana, call sini. Messange sana, message sini. Unfortunately for me, there are not many information about accommodations in Kundasang that I can get from the internet. Boohoo!

Pusing kepala aku fikir mana lah kami mau melepet di Kundasang ni nanti. Hmmm...kami? Confident kan kau dihangkut sekali Bie! Dalam aku cari info di laptop ni, I came across the Kundasang folder. Aku kan ada penyakit 'obses' sama street signboards. So memang banyak signboard accommodation yang aku snapped. Sudah buka folder tu, haruslah kegiatan lain yang aku buat.

Apalagi! Harus sesi throwback...cum sambungan cerita terbengkalai dari sini. Sedihnya perangai kau ni Bie! 

Buka tingkap dekat katil aku, tersaji view ini. Last time datang, kiri kanan pathway tu penuh bunga warna warni. Macam fantasyland gitu. Tapi haritu, bunga banyak yang kering. Bukan musim, maybe.

Kiram's Village memang menang besar bab scenery. Clear gila view Gunung Kinabalu di waktu pagi.

Aku bangun lambat pagi tu, so ini jaklah yang mampu aku snapped. Liat betul aku mau bangun walau Aunty sudah 'menyanyi' awal pagi. Siap dia berkenalan sama family sebelah bilik kami.

Bilik kami yang sebelah kanan tu.

Double-storey chalet. Boleh masak & ber-bbq di sini. 

Parking space. Memang ndak bertar so sila bertabah jalan atas gravel, park atas tanah berbatu batan.

A new accommodation opposite Kiram's. Masih belum complete sepenuhnya but it is already open for booking. Few chalets sudah siap.

Sesi buli Bunda. I counted 123 few times...just to annoyed her. The outcome? Of course lah anakonda berjaya! Aunty juga yang maintain. Walau facing the sunlight. 

Habis sesi bergambar, check out & off we went to Kundasang town. Sebelum tu try test bawa Fuchy naik bukit nan tinggi untuk pi Heritage Resort. Saja mau tunjuk dua beradik tu, Hotel Perkasa ain't alone anymore up there. Sudah ada chalets comel peneman diorang. 

Chalet at Mount Kinabalu Heritage Resort. More info about this; here. 

Dulu pernah stay sini with my girlfriends. But I haven't had the time to update about this place as yet. Gitu kan alasan. Seumur hidup aku akan blame sang masa. 

A bridge connects the chalet to the reception area (the main hotel building). 

Last few months, my family stayed at its hotel. We used to stay there when I was just a kid; every time we went up to Kundasang. It's been eons since we last went there. But nothing awed me anymore. Except for its new name. Part tu nanti aku buat another entry. Review gitu. 

Coincidentally. We wore the same hue.

Sanggup drive tinggi semata untuk masuk area trail ni. Located right behind the Mt Kinabalu Heritage Hotel. 

Another guesthouse along Kundasang road. 

More info & pictures of this lodge here. 

Macam biasa...kalau naik Kundasang, kerja Bunda & Aunty adalah borong bunga. Pastu sampai KK, belum sempat berkasih sayang sama bunga tu semua...diorang pun layu & mati. Sudah cakap, pokok bunga di tempat sejuk won't survive at place such as KK. Panas baq hang. Tapi tetaplah mau beli. Alasan...cantik. Nanti taruk baja, insha Allah bunga tu akan hidup.

So far, memang hasil baja sekadar anganan di tasik madu jaklah. Usually after two or three weeks...pasu akan tinggal tanah without bunga sudah. Gah!

Spoil with fresh vege & varieties of snacks. 

Yang ni part aku suka. Harus aku yang riang ria membeli. Sebab confirm lah di KK sayur adalah extra mahal. Kurang fresh lagi. Selalu kalau balik dari Kundasang, berhari² lah aku akan masak sayur bukit + lada putih. 

Ok sudah jauh terlajak membebel. Task yang di-assigned pun belum terbuat. If all else fail, aku akan suggest untuk kami stay di khemah jaklah. Banyak port tepi jalan ngam jadi tapak khemah di sana. Memang cadangan minta duku kepala. 

Anyway, I came across this unique type of accommodation in Kundasang (here). Would love to try it someday. Boleh feeling tidur di Mongolia. Belum mampu menjejak tempat tu, jadinya tripping jak dulu. As for the date proposed by Bungsu, the place is already fully booked. Duh! What do I expect lah kan. Nama pun long weekend.

eryantierdabdulkarim

CutiCuti: Kundasang - Kiram's Village

Assalamualaikum. 안녕!

Trip last few weeks tapi baru sekarang ada mood mau update. Yang ni memang cadangan tanpa diduga made by Yours Truly. Macam biasalah, kemaruk mau berjalan tapi cuti semester belum start therefore kenalah bertabah untuk terjah tempat yang berdekatan jak. 

Bunda has no upcoming plan on Diwali so aku pun book beliau dengan pantas. Berjaya hasut beliau supaya jangan jaga kedai; tapi dengan syarat aku kena cari extra pekerja to replace her. Itu paling kacang, since cafe tutup for the public holiday so aku pinjamkanlah sorang pekerja. Problem solved!

Was supposed to leave Kota Kinabalu early in the morning but we have to attend a kenduri kahwin that very afternoon. We departed super late & ended up being caught in a heavy rain on our way up to Kundasang. Selamat tinggal angan² untuk melihat view of Mount Kinabalu in the evening.

Arrived Kinabalu National Park after two hours of driving. Kabus tebal on the way up tapi sampai jak entrance park tu, hujan berhenti. Yet again, selamat tinggal Mount Kinabalu.

We stopped at the cafe (Panataran Cafeteria) right in front of the national park. Bunda & Aunty sudah bagi hint even before we reached the park. 

And I thought we just came back from kenduri kahwin; I asked. Both looked at me & said "Macamana kalau kami lapar?" 

Fine, lets makan. Lucky Angah didn't joined us else memang aku tekanan gaban berjalan sama tiga beradik. Each with their own super unique characters! Baru dua orang pun boleh seteghes ok.

On our way to the Kiram's Village. Its the same route to Kundasang War Memorial. Just that the memorial can be seen from the main road...but the Kiram is located farther inside. 

There will be lots of signboards along the way therefore chances to get lost is near to zero.

Jalan masuk

Ala Alice In Wonderland feeling. As per Ms H; macam di alam fantasi ouh Err. Datang time fog tengah turun ke kaki gunung, memang superb lah view.

A bit disappointed with the management though. That's their reception office but look at the windows. Macam terbiar, ndak kena maintain. The village is strategically located as the Mount Kinabalu can be clearly seen on a bright sunny day especially early in the morning...yet keadaan sekeliling macam langsung ndak dijaga.

Even when the Open sign was up at the cafe, there was no one to layan or take ur order. Spiders decorated the ceilings with their webs. Meja kerusi semua ndak terjaga. We were there on the weekend & all the chalets are fully booked. Patut peluang macam ni lah untuk diorang ambil hati guests & show great hospitality. Supaya orang akan datang balik...and recommend sama orang lain.

This used to be their laundry house located not far from the reception office. Now it's a cabin, available for rental. I like the design. Comel jak. Rumah kecil, tingkap seribu. Eh?

The reception area. It's ok untuk buat konsep sempoi but too sempoi & lack of well-kept somehow gave a not-so-positive vibe to the guests. Anyway, wifi is free here. And the connection wasn't bad too; considering my Celcom internet signal died the moment I went up to the village. 

Santai area near the office. 

Kiram's Village totally menang bab landscape! Kawasan sejuk memang cantik kalau tanam bunga banyak² & warna warni. Subur jak. The view here never failed to captivate my heart. Gitu!

These chalets are new. They weren't here when I last came in 2010. 

Our Onion Room (RM 110.00/night).  Consists of a queen bed & single bed. The single bed is placed near the door. 2 steps up to the queen bed area...and the toilet. Again, poor maintenance. The toilet is so smelly I nearly puked each time I entered our room.

For more info about the rooms/cabins here, please check their website. 

Another new chalets built a bit further up from Kiram's. I asked the reception guy during my check-in & he told me it belongs to Mr Kiram's brother-in-law. There are already few cabins available for guests & few more are still under construction. 

Semua cabin/bilik di Kiram's Village membelakangi Gunung Kinabalu but these cabins are facing the mountain. 

Masa kami di sana, all the cabins were already occupied. I only came to know about this place when we were there. Else, boleh aku book chalet ni. Cuba angin baru sebab sudah pernah stay di Kiram's juga dulu. Next time perhaps.

I hope by the existence of this new cabins, it will motivate the management of Kiram's Village to improve their business. Saingan yang sihat, kan. 

Ms H stayed here during her visit last week. Since Kiram's Village is fully booked, I recommended this to her. And she is uber happy with what she got. Beautiful view of the majestic gunung from her balcony; seawal Subuh diorang bergambar. Bangun awal untuk dapat view magic! 

Haraplah management Kinabalu View Chalet ni maintain the good service. Jangan awal jak bilik wangi & cantik, sudah lama operate...semua ke laut.

p/s All things written here are mainly from my personal point of view. 

eryantierdabdulkarim

CutiCuti: Kundasang - Zen Garden Resort & Desa Dairy Farm

Assalamualaikum. 안녕! 

Reminiscing the first family get together we had after Aunty Ana's departure. Time to unwind everything. Time to move on albeit she is very much missed by all of us. Especially Bungsu & her children. Life goes on; so it says. Forget not the people who've left us...and live life to the fullest. Sayang pada yang masih ada; appreciate & cherish them.

The short getaway was during the Kaamatan (Harvest Festival) 2010 long holiday break. Cafe was closed for nearly five days so we thought it would be of great idea to have a family getaway. It's been a while since we last gathered. Those past few months had been rather depressing for us hence a short vacation certainly will do different to us. And so I planned in the very last minute. 

Alhamdulillah, I managed to get rooms at one of the resort in Kundasang despite the peak season. Always, very thin chance to get even one room during the Kaamatan season. What's more when it falls on Thurs & Fri. But I successfully booked a deluxe room & 2 standard rooms few weeks before the getaway. Talked about being lucky ya'll. Puke!

We stayed at Zen Garden Resort, Kundasang. It is located not far away from Kundasang town, but secluded enough to give a romantic & tranquil feeling to its guest. Major landslide occurred few months later...and unfortunately, swept the resort away. According to the locals, the only thing left there are remnants of the buildings/chalets. Its website said they are currently under renovation. I really hope they will start doing business soon. This resort offers magnificent view of the nature in Kundasang...especially the majestic Mount Kinabalu. 

Our room has balcony...in which automatically voted as tempat masak memasak for dinner. That's ours on the left.

Settled with check-in, we headed to the restaurant situated near the main road; which lead to the resort. It is on the right side if u're arriving from KK city. Intan Restaurant is famous for its delicious 'chicken wings panggang', it was already quite full when we came for luncheon that day. But we managed to get a table for all of us. 

The only downside of this restaurant is the flies. They are like everywhere. Flying across ur face, near ur food...sometimes singgah bertenggek atas muncung gelas. Bunda said it's because of the cold weather hence they are more than usual that day.

Bunda & her eldest sister.

After lunch, we drove to Desa Dairy Farm. The route heading to this farm leads to Kundasang War Memorial first (on the right side). While the War Memorial can be seen from the main road for it is situated just opposite the row of shop-houses; this farm is located a little farther. Actually, the hilly & winding road make it looks far. 

10 minutes of driving from the main road, entrance to this farm & its big signboard will be seen on the left side. The right side will lead u to Dream World Resort. We took roughly two minutes driving on the gravel road to the entrance gate. 

And if u drive straight, u will see more guesthouses located on the hills. Also will lead u to Mount Kinabalu Golf Club; where just before its main entrance is the Kiram's Village. I stayed at Kiram's Village with my girlfriends few years back, when it was just opened for business. But I never blog about it...will find sometime to scribble about that later. Insha Allah. 

View that instantly put me in a peace of mind. Subhanallah; regardless how many times I went here the landscape never failed to amazed me. 

Local visitors entrance fee is RM 4.00 (adults) & RM 2.00 (kids). IF I'm not mistaken. Desa Dairy Farm is a local chain owned by Sabah. 

We were there just on time for the milking process! The process starts at 3pm daily. These cows are super clever. They know their schedule. When to eat, when to play, when to sleep...and when to queue for milking process. It was very cute to see them running to queue upon hearing the alarm. Siap ada bergaduh sebab potong queue ok. See even cows know how to line up lah, us human being pula macam cipanzi berebut². Erm, kenapa cipanzi dapat nama pula ni.

Entrance door to the viewing area of the milking process. 

Credit to owner for pictures above & below.

Final product can be purchased on-site. Friends from West Malaysia once asked me why they never saw the fresh milk with Desa brand sold at their place. And that's when I found out that this brand is only famous among the Sabahans. So if u ever go here, try the milk. The fresh product is processed & pasteurized here. It taste different than the imported ones. Well, that is based solely on my opinion of course. 

Last time we were here, the merchandise store hasn't open yet. All those souvenirs in the picture are available after our visit; I reckoned. I bought the fridge magnet when I went there with my Kolumpor's friends who came visiting last year. They requested me to bring them here. "Bie, we HAVE to go to the New Zealand farm. Period". 

Yeah, people always compare the view at the farm to New Zealand. I don't know why because I have never set foot upon New Zealand. But friends who've been there said, there are no view like this in New Zealand. And that got me confused more. Why people kept saying the view resembles the Kiwi Land? Hmm perhaps it is time to explore New Zealand. Gitu!

Picturesque! We didn't get to see even a glimpse of Mt. Kinabalu. He was just too shy to show himself. Moreover it was the end of May. Haruslah weather akan jadi a bit gloomy. Its the end of the harvesting month, the rainy season. Don't act like u don't know, miss. 

Back in 2010, where everyone still kurus. Ayat memang minta sumbat lada.

Part of the family. Along + Aunty were out of town. While Angah's in Kolumpor. Duduk jauh, memang susahlah join family get together yang dirancang sangat impromptu kan.

The restaurant/cafeteria.

Some view of the resort area in the evening. Just ignore the woman in black tudung. 

We cooked our own dinner! Luckily the room we rented has balcony. Else, berasap lah kan masak dalam bilik. Siap masak guna portable stove ok!

Dinner served for the two nights we're there were purely homemade dishes brought all the way from Kota Kinabalu. Apa guna ada cafe kalau beli yang siap² marinated, kan. Harus segala pinggan mangkuk, periuk belanga, sudu garfu hangkut cafe mari!

Ade Harry Jozef & Ary Stefan Jozef; the twins in the family.  Enjoying the scrumptious dinner made by Yours Truly. *puke*

Sunset view from our balcony. Too blissful an evening it was. 

Morning view from our hotel's room on the second day. The fantastic Mount Kinabalu finally showed himself. And he was out for more than ten minutes. Ouh how I extremely wish to wake up to this view every morning!

I was reading a friend's entries about her vacation in Sabah recently. And it hit me hard upon realizing I never scribbled any of my vacations in Sabah before. Taking things for granted; just because I'm a Sabahan I never give it a thought of scribbling about the places I visited in Sabah. Sangat lupa diri, yes? It hit me hard after reading how well she scribbled & described my hometown. Siap boleh buat reference to future visitor as well. Whilst me, did nothing to promote my own negeri. Boohoo!

And I decided to write about Kundasang. Not in details like hers but at least this entry will give a sneak peek to people who haven't visited or who will visit Kundasang. In the future, Insha Allah I will try to make entries for each places in Sabah that I've visited before. Sesi throwback bakal bermula, woot!  

Sibuk mau explore negara orang, negeri sendiri belum habis aku jelajah. Shame on u, Bie! 

eryantierdabdulkarim