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Started out our day by having a hearty meal of fish noodle for breakfast. Yum~

Notice that hawker/kopitiam food here is slightly more expensive by 10 – 20% percent as compared to Kuching, but the serving size are usually of more generous proportion. Also, it seemed like 3/4 coffee shops here have bak kut teh of some sort on their menu, which leads me to conclude that, bak kut teh to KK is the equivalent of what kolo mee is to Kuching.

White water rafting at Kiulu rapids

Where got rapid??

It takes about an hour’s drive from KK to the Kiulu rapids. Did I just mention rapids? We arrived half expecting to be greeted by the roar of a raging river, but instead found ourselves staring at calm & tranquil river. At this point we were wondering if we’ll actually be rafting downstream or carrying it instead…

Drove up a couple of miles upstream to the starting point, got into our action gears & a short briefing before we hit the waters. Hitting the water as in deliberately capsizing the raft as an initiation warm-up just for the heck of it. Like getting a shot of adrenalin rush into your veins.

Not much drama as we negotiated downstream for a distance of about 6 – 7km except for a couple of aggressive stretches that tossed us around like rag dolls. Wished it to be like that the whole way. But sadly for most of the shallower parts, the raft kept getting stuck on rocks. And it is a b!tch to get that thing over & thru the rocks. The scorching weather is unforgiving. Took us about 2 & 1/2 high-noon hours to reach the destination. Like sitting ducks roasting under the sun, but we’ve had our shares of fun being first-timers.

Over the firewood: barbequed lamb & chicken lunch which we wolfed down in a matter of seconds.

Our raft-master Ram, without him we’d still be stuck at the first bend by nightfall.

Verdict: To begin with, Kiulu is the lesser of the few well known rapids in Sabah in terms of difficulty – for beginner levels. Its big brother would be the Padas rapids, which promises amplified fun factor & is reputed to be one of the most challenging in Borneo. It takes an hour’s drive plus another 2 on train thru Beaufort to reach the rapids. Costs: Rm130 for Kiulu; Rm160 for Padas. Adrenaline junkies should just pick Padas.

Hung out at Palm Square for the later part of the afternoon. When it comes to shopping, with the likes of Center Point & the newly opened Warisan Square, KK beats Kuching hands down. I wonder we are ever going to get a decent sized mall worthy of capital city here?

ING F1 roadshow. They’re sponsoring a new team & recruiting new breed of F1 drivers. We jumped at the chance to play Schumie & to camwhore with the showbabes.

Doing my best Schumie impersonation. But I sucked big time – clocking a miserable 5’21” 3laps at the SIC. Qualifying time to win some freebies is 5’15”. Seriously, I should start playing more racing video games.

Siong having his Kang Tao Moment of the Year – shaving 3s off KK’s best & setting a new record at 5’02”.

Dinner at Secret Recipe at Warisan Square. They’ve got an outlet here too.

They’ve got a few joints of Coffee Bean, Starbucks, San Francisco Coffee, McDonalds & etc., more than a handful of designer label outlets, heck they’ve even got Scoops over there… when we’ve got only..? Well, let’s just say that Kuchingites are more of a homey lot.

Anjung Samudera – KK’s Waterfront

KK Nightlife – Part II

Exploring the best pubs in KK

@ Cocoon’s

@ Shenanigan’s at Hyatt Regency

Good music, charming live bands, wide selection of drinks, enthusiastic but non-rowdy revelers & most importantly abundant with hot babes grooving on the dance floor is a concoction of an addictive night life. I suddenly feel 3 years younger.