Long weekend? No idea where to go? Kota Kinabalu may be your perfect destination to fly from Singapore! I had booked for my trip a week prior to my departure and it cost me about $180 SGD (for a return trip on a public holiday weekend). It could have been cheaper if I had book my trip in advanced but for my case, you can say that it was a pretty impromptu trip. Nonetheless, no regrets because I had the best time there. You can get the best of both worlds – beautiful greenery mountains or the clear blue sea. On a side note, it was my first time flying with Malindo Airlines and all I can say is, if you have limited time at your holiday destination, do NOT fly with Malindo. They are pretty famous for flight delays. Moving on, here is what you can do in Kota Kinabalu!

Island Hopping Day

Get your boat tickets at Jesselton Point at 8am in the morning! There are many counters available everyday at 8am to 5pm. Do note that last boat service ends at 4pm. Price varies depending on the number of islands you are visiting. Here is the price breakdown:

	Adult (RM)	Child (RM)
Two Islands	33	28
Three Islands	43	38
Four Islands	53	48

There is also an additional terminal fee and conservation fee at RM8 (Adult), RM4 (Child) and RM10 (Adult), RM6 (Child) respectively. You may also rent snorkelling gears at the counter (it will be cheaper as compared to renting at the island itself). I went for the two island package hence we visited Sapi Island and Manukan Island. At Sapi Island, you can go for Coral Ziplining at RM86. Based on my research, Sapi Island is the best place to snorkel. Unfortunately, we could not swim near the corals due to low tide. Instead, we took the boat to Manukan Island to have our lunch before going for a 2 hour snorkelling session with our guide. The sea water was cold but it was the best snorkelling session I ever had at that point of time. Clear water, swimming with the fishies – so much fun.

Road Trip Day

You can easily rent a car in the city. Once you have exited the airport from the arrival hall, keep an eye out at the car rental companies. Make an arrangement in advanced or get their contacts so you can make a booking arrangement with them easily. You can even arrange for a pick up location at your convenience (that depends on their availability too). My friend and I had rented Perodua Myvi at RM150 for a day and paid an additional of RM50 for the petrol.

We drove to Desa Dairy Farm which took us about a 2 hour drive. Mind you, it was not easy to get a parking lot. It is recommended to arrive early if you want to see Mount Kinabalu clearly. The view can get pretty foggy by noon. You HAVE to get the gelato, milk and yoghurt! The queue may be long, but I think it is worth the queue. Once you are done spending some time at the farm, you may take another 1 and a half hour drive to Le’ One – Kokol Elf if you are up to taking insta-worthy pictures! It cost us RM40 per pax. By the time we head back to the city, it was already 6pm therefore we took a quick drive to the beautiful Kota Kinabalu mosque.

So that sums up my 2 days adventure trip in Kota Kinabalu! I am pretty sure there are more places/island to explore, hence I would love to come back if given the opportunity. Shout out to my friend for being spontaneous about this trip! ;)

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I have been to Langkawi with my family a couple of times but a trip with family and a trip with friends are incomparable. Going for a vacation with my family holds me back from exploring or trying out new activities where else with friends, you can basically do whatever you want (provided your friend are on the same boat as you). Hence on this trip, my friend and I decided to strike off a few things off our bucketlist!

Day 1 – Explore Kuah

A visit to Langkawi is incomplete without visiting the famous Dataran Lang. It is a famous photo spot featuring a huge eagle statue just beside the waterfront plaza. The reason why eagle’s representing Langkawi is from its name ‘Langkawi’ itself. In malay, helang means eagle, where else kawi stands for reddish brown. If you happen to be in Kuah on Wednesday or Saturday, do not forget to drop by Kuah Night Market as well! It opens from 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm.

Day 2 – Ziplining & Langkawi’s Cable Car

Go on a zipline adventures tour which can be reserved via Klook! I chose the big zipline waterfall adventure which cost us about $150 SGD. It is quite pricey but I promise you that the experience is worth it! We really did enjoy our ziplining experience with Umgawa. Ziplining just above the waterfall is surreal! The tour guides are very friendly and helpful too. This package includes:

• A 2 to 2.5-hour adventure
• Fly 80m high over the Seven Wells Waterfall
• 12 Ziplines and 3 Bridges
• Great abseil
• Honeymoon Double Line
• 4 Free HD pictures at the base
• Free One-way transport to Umgawa
• A truly immersive and engaging adventure through the treetops

After ziplining, the team dropped us over at the cable car which is just 5 mins drive away. The tickets for the cable car cost RM40 for adults. If you are afraid of heights, then this is the time for you to conquer your fear! Get on the cable car and watch as it goes up the mountain. It was quite terrifying to be honest because the cable is so steep! One thing to note about going to the sky bridge is the weather; we were there in May and it has been raining. Hence, sky bridge was closed and we had to wait for quite some time for the rain to stop before it opens again.

Day 3 – Jetski tour & Parasailing

We bought a 4 hour jet ski tour via Klook at $234 SGD for double riders. The guide will bring you to island to another island. Transport from your hotel is provided too! We were lucky that there were no other groups on the tour with us, so it kind of felt like a private tour. Jetski was SO much fun! I would definitely do it again and again (oh how I wish it is not an expensive activity). After the 4 hours tour, we chill at Pantai Cenang waiting for the sunset to come. We had booked for a parasailing trip before sunset at the beach that morning for RM120 per person (which can be bargained). Parasailing looks scary but it is actually pretty chill when you are at the top. There is nothing to be scary about. In my opinion, ziplining has more thrill as compared to parasailing!

All in all, I definitely loved this trip as we get to try out new things! If you are travelling around via taxi, then I would recommend you stay around Pantai Cenang as it is a very accessible location.

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