February 21 – Thursday
Our second day in Kota Kinabalu was scheduled for exploring it’s first marine national park aka Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park, so as to enjoy its sandy beaches and marine life. Based on my research, tourists are usually ushered to the different islands or what they call island hopping and are encouraged not only to swim but also admire the beauty of their marine life through snorkeling and diving activities. Since I was running a slight fever, I opted to stay in our accommodation and rest so I’ll be able to join them in the midweek meeting and the scheduled tours on the following days.
My brother and our friends proceeded with the supposed schedule for the day and contacted a grab driver to bring them to the Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal where they bought the tickets for a jetty ride to Manukan and Sapi islands. You can choose the number of islands you want to visit. In their case, they chose 2 islands only since they wanted to enjoy swimming and snorkeling. They paid a total of 125MYR all in for 3 persons – it included their fare, entrance to the 2 islands, tourism tax, lunch, as well as the basic snorkeling gears. So basically that’s 41.2MYR per person. Any swimming or snorkeling gear costs 10MYR and their lunch is 7MYR (1 rice, 1 viand) but if you want more then you have to pay 11.5MYR (1 rice and 2 viand).
Their first stop was Manukan island.
After two hours, they have to pack their things so they can go to Sapi island. According to my brother, the waters are clearer since there are a few tourists unlike in Manukan island. And for him, the fishes are much more friendly :).
The waters are crystal clear. So, even without using goggles or snorkeling gears, you can see different kinds of fish swimming in the water. You also have to be careful since there are a lot of sea urchins. They have also seen sword fishes. Some of the fish are really friendly since some of them kept swimming close to my brother.
Crystal clear water and white sands
Their unforgettable experience is seeing a big monitor lizard approaching their bags, but actually it was going inland and its route is the direction where their bags are located. Some foreigners shrieked with fright. Even my brother got scared and left their things while the monitor lizard was traversing its path. Afterwards, everybody continued basking in the sun and enjoying the water activities.
At around 4PM their guide asked them to board the jetty and they returned to Jesselton Point. Again, they boarded a grab car so they can return to our accommodation.
The next day is our tour to Ranau and Kundasang. So stay tuned.
Photos (c) are from the tour members.
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