Malaysia: Kundasang

From KK, we took a shared minivan to the foothills of Mount Kinabalu 4095 masl, tallest peak of all of Southeast Asia, to the town of Kundasang (1900 masl). We ended up having a geriatric visit, did little walking as transport was not easy to organize and the main road up had too many cars. We gazed at the mountain and enjoyed the cool climate.

Mt Kinabalu can be seen from 50 kms away if the weather permits. We were lucky to catch this view when leaving KK.


Kundasang is basically a hill station market town that happens to be the gateway to Mount Kinabalu. I guess that explains why there are giant vegetable sculptures around.










Can't beat a hotel room with a sunrise view of a vegetable garden.






Not to mention views of Mt Kinabalu.












Eating was better than average in Kundasang as we found some good "noodle joints".




Just after sunrise.

Malaysia: Kota Kinabalu

From Baguio we took a 5-hour direct bus (video below - lots of agriculture) to Manila airport for our flight to Kota Kinabalu (KK) in Sabah, Malaysia on the island of Borneo, third largest in the world after Greenland and New Guinea.



We immediately liked KK. It's lively but not crowded. It was super easy to find vegetarian food. Were we wasting our time in the Philippines? We could have been hanging out here... apparently that was the idea of many fellow Chinese. Being the tail end of Chinese New Year, there were tons of Chinese tourists in town. Later I learned that there are direct flights between KK and several major cities in China.

There is actually little to interest a tourist in KK. Originally a fishing village, KK was first established by the British as the seat of what is Sabah today; then leveled by WWII and rebuilt on reclaimed land along the South China Sea. For some inexplicable reason we liked KK.

We arrived in KK right after sunset and immediately headed to the night market at the waterfront - lively - and ate some very tasty fried noodles.





Many eateries in KK!




The Clock Tower, Jesselton Hotel, and the Old Post Office (now the Tourist Office) are the sole remnants of the Colonial town. Due to post-WWII land reclamation, they are no longer on the waterfront.








Mural.


We walked up to the Signal Hill viewpoint.






That's our hotel room on the left.


We ate at Liew Chai Vegetarian twice; once for dinner, once for breakfast.






Our electric kettle died so we headed over to the mall to buy a new one.




At sunset, the waterfront was busy quiet with water birds, fishing boats, and dining tourists.








We also ate at the CFC next door to our hotel. They served the best fried noodles so far on this trip. We also treated ourselves to some cold icy refreshments.






The Iceman.


There was a Lion Dance in progress across the street from our hotel as we were leaving to catch a shared taxi/van to Kundasang. Watch the video (2nd below) for some Lion Dance moves you've never seen before. Or click here.

Philippines: Baguio

From the rice terraces, we continued south in the highlands (Cordillera) to Baguio, 1500 masl (5000 ft), which was the comfortable summer capital of the Philippines until 1976 (I guess air conditioning technology made it unnecessary) from since its inception by Americans in 1903 as Camp John Hay military reservation. First Below is a view from the bus window on the way to Baguio. Second below is the current Camp John Hay, now a recreation area.





In February Baguio hosts Panagbenga, a month-long flower festival. We caught the opening parade. The dance groups here are a distinct departure from what we saw in other parts. They really highlight their indigenous culture. It was refreshing to see. The very colorful parade lasted over two hours, and passed right in front of our hotel!



















While we found the climate delightful, we didn't end up walking much. Instead we found the best vegetarian restaurants of our entire Philippines tour. One restaurant, Heaven and Earth, served a standard budget rice plate of vegan and vegetarian dishes from its mall location. The other, Little Milkyway Vegan , located in the aptly named "Artists Watering Hole," with a talented chef, featured flavorful vegan versions of traditional Filipino dishes like Adobo; and other fusion creations.













On the eve of the Flower Festiva, the Burnham Park Lake was busy with boaters.


Opening Ceremony of the Panagbenga Flower Festival


Around the lake, we visited the Orchidarium, the vertical garden exhibits, and the carpet garden exhibits. And more!
















On prominent positions on hilltops around Baguio sit the Buddhist Temple, the Cathedral and the SM City Mall.








More shots from around Baguio.