Borneo Lady: Three senior ladies on a road trip adventure

Pondering life mysteries😇

It is said that a journey of a thousand steps begin with a single step . In this instance, it began with a single invitation to visit Kota Kinabalu. However, my friends' visit coincided with a really hot spell.

On 12th April, 2023, the weather temperature of Kota Kinabalu was 32 degrees Celsius but felt like 40-41 degrees. So I thought we would escape the sweltering heat by "running" away to mountainous area. Unfortunately the heat followed us up😞

12.4.23
We were on the way to our planned journey around 6am.

It was recommended to start the journey as early as possible. So we set off around 6am and aimed to reach the viewing platform by 8am.

We managed to reach the the destination before 8am.

Unfortunately it was a hazy day so we couldn't get a clear photo of the majestic, 4095 meters, Mt Kinabalu. We continued our journey to the National park. The roads were not so good. A lot of repaired pot holes so the road was bumpy. Thanks to my trusty "Betsy", my 15yrs old car , the potholes were surmounted and we arrived at National park safe and sound albeit a tiny bit shaken.

ENTRANCE FEE WAS RM3 FOR ADULT WHILE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS LIKE US, IT WAS FREE!😍

We stopped by at Liwagu Restaurant at National park, for our breakfast, but unfortunately the restaurant didn't serve Ala carte menu, only a buffet which cost Rm50+, per head. We decided to just have a drink before heading back home. But the moment we came out of national park, we changed our plan and drove down the valley of Bundu Tuhan instead. We didn't know that it's a hidden Gem of Sabah until I searched through Google about Bundu Tuhan and came across an article written by "Lost Borneo", an interesting read and how the valley got it's name.

A lovely hidden treasure nestled in the valley.

Hidden Gem of Sabah, down the valley of Mt Kinabalu

There is a beautiful little church with a chapel, down the valley of Mt Kinabalu.

St Pius X church, Bundu Tuhan

Inside the church of St Pius, Bundu Tuhan

My Singaporean friends were amazed by the sight of Grotto down the valley.

The little church was surrounded by the hills in the valley and views was spectacularly beautiful. My friend, Antoinette, shared with me a beautiful poem written by Tracy Mayfield.

It's in the valley I grow

Sometimes life seems hard to bear,

Full of sorrow, trouble, and woe,
It's then I have to remember,
That it's in the valley I grow......

To read on, click here and it will link you to this poem.

On 13.4.2013 we decided to drive up to kokol hills and stayed overnight at Kasih Sayang hotel. It only took us less than 30mins to reached the top of the hills at 2400 feet above sea levels. Weather temperature was normally 18-23 degrees Celsius but when we were there the temperature was about 27 degrees Celsius. It was considered warm up the hills. Due to the heat, we hardly saw any fireflies around. Juliana, the hotel staff said there wasn't many fireflies left up in the hills because of the climate change.

There were 3 rooms on the top floor and we booked a room each for Rm150+ as an overnight stay. My room was 104 at the top corner end. It has a panoramic view of kokol hills, the forest and the city.

Room was reasonably clean and comfortable. Some items were missing in my room and other 2 friends' as well but the staff "Jan" solved it fast. All the staff at the resort were very friendly and polite, including the gardener, made us feel so welcomed,😊 They willingly answered all our inquisitive questions.

I enjoyed my room and would definitely come back for a few nights on another trip. There wasn't any mosquitoes in the room. Maybe because of the netting door. At night, I left the door open but with the mosquito netting door closed. It was lovely. No need to switch on fan because the mist and cool air penetrated through the netting so the room feels like there is air con in the room.

At night, it was so quiet. Only the sound of crickets and the forest insects can be heard. We had a good night sleep.

I don't mind seeing some harmless insects in my room. It's normal to have those around because the area is surrounded by natural forest.

Lunch at Cloud9 restaurant

13.4.23 @6.08pm

Getting ready to watch sunset from the restaurant balcony overlooking the hills. The view is amazing.

According to weather forecast, sunset timing on the 13th was 6.23pm. We decided to just relax and watch the sunset before having our dinner.

13.4.23 @6.12pm

13.4.23 @ 6.15pm

13.4.23 @ 6.18pm

13.4.23 @ 6.19pm
Sun looks so red. It was a very very hot day, but up the hills the air was cooler and comfortable as if you are sitting in an AC room

13.4.23 @6.23pm

sun going down fast

Video of the sun at 6.23pm.

13.4.23 @ 6.48pm

13.4.23 @6.50pm

After sunset, we had dinner.

Lamb Chop was really good. We complimented the Chef, Morris. We hope his name is spelt correctly. The lamb was done according to my taste preference. The salad was fresh and tasty, The chips were crispy and the sauce , wow, so good. 9/10 for this dish. The dish cost Rm38, that's cheaper than other places. Before we came to Cloud9 restaurant, we stopped by Kokol Haven for a drink and ordered fries- They were horribly looking ( more to orangey color) cold and tasteless.

Tom yum with rice.

While we were eating, we noticed a moth look alike insect on the table, quietly staying still, but it's antenna were moving. hahah....

13.4,23@ 7.23pm

Night view from Kasih Sayang hotel, Kokol Hills.

Spectacular night view.

Sun rise: 14.4.23 @5.59am
Photo taken from our front door.
For sun rise, we opened the front door, to witness sun rise behind Mt Kinabalu.

14.4.23@ 6.14am

14.4.23 @6.27am

14.4.23@ 7.03am

A very steep road beside the hotel.
Make sure your car brake is in A1 condition. We saw a few stones where guests used to anchor the back wheels of the car. Guessed it's for double safety.

There are so many beautiful flora which we have never seen before.

Beautiful big flowers on the rooftop 🌹

I know this ! It's Chinese Lantern flowers.😄

Looked fake to us but this is a real tree trunk

Looks like sunflower but it's not!

Viewing platform of kasih sayang hotel with lovely unique plants which we have never seen before.

Amy admiring the plants😃

Flowers on the rooftop!

Bees pollinating flowers

Unique loud Sounds of birds.

Down the hills surrounded within the forest filled with the natural sound of birds and insects.

Camouflage - I was wearing green! .hahaha.. can you spot me from this photo?

Easier to spot Amy though😁

Can see me better from this distance😂

Lovely place to view the forest from the hills.

The hills are alive with the sound of birds and insects.

Our Breakfast at KasihSayang hotel

The Mee Goreng (fried noodles) and Nasi Goreng (fried rice) were good

American fusion breakfast

Western breakfast were so so .

Water melon was crunchy though not sweet .

Staying overnight at Kasih Sayang hotel up the hills at 2000 feet above sea level.
The Balcony has a good view of the forest and city . Also an ideal place to watch sunset during good weather season.