Kota Kinabalu is famous for being a great place to watch the Sunset. Imagine delicious seafood, beautiful sunsets in the sea and rich tropical fruits. We’ll be happy to be there. But there was another important reason why I decided to go on vacation to this utopia. Unlike Korea, which recorded it’s highest temperature of 40 degrees Celsius this summer, Kota Kinabalu is located near the equator, but the highest average temperature per day is 35 degrees Celsius and the lowest average temperature is 25 degrees Celsius. I think it's a good city to travel. Two Hongik Tidings reporters traveled to this city. However, the reporters had different ways of traveling there and different feelings about there. I want to tell you their story of Kota Kinabalu in their own words.

Yugeong- free tour with friends
Hyejin – package tour with family

-Island Hopping Tour (Going to an island by boat and enjoy leisure and sightseeing)

(Yugeong’s tour)
I went to the island Sapi to do an island hopping tour. This island was not clean because it was an island famous as Kota Kinabalu’s tourist spot. I did some seawalking, which is an activity where you wear a helmet and walk under the sea. I arrived to the area by boat to do some seawalking. The device was only a helmet attached to an air hose and I went under the sea. Thanks to the helmet, there was no inconvenience in breathing. There was a walkable road on the bottom of the sea and we moved while holding onto a handle. I could touch coral reefs myself, and I could see fish in front of my eyes. It was a wonderful experience to feed and take pictures.

(Hyejin’s tour)
I sailed from the hotel to the island Mamutik for an island hopping tour. At first, it was different from the weather forecast I saw in Korea. The weather changed a lot because it was an island near the equator. That's why I had to give up activities – seawalking and parasailing. I felt very disappointed, but the natural scenery was really good. Just looking at the sea made me feel so relaxed. I want to go there again on a fine day. (Unfortunately, its weather was so changeable that I also couldn’t see the sunset...so sad)

-Firefly Tour

(Yugeong’s tour)
There were many kinds of firefly tours, and I went to the Dongmakgol Firefly Tour. The Dongmakgol Firefly Tour schedule consisted of seeing a monkey, viewing a sunset, and a firefly tour. I went by boat on a the river surrounded by trees and saw monkeys, giving them bananas and enjoying the sight. After that, I also watched a sunset. It was so touching that I was standing with the background of the orange sun and a black sky…Then I saw the final purpose of the tour: fireflies. The guide rubbed the green light hard and called out the fireflies. The guide pointed to the big tree and said, 'I'll show you the Christmas tree.' The tree glowed with fireflies. Some of the fireflies came toward the boat and it was so amazing.

(Hyejin’s tour)
To watch fireflies, I had to go to a river that runs deeply through a group of mountains. Our guide also rubbed a flashlight, mimicking fireflies to call them out. There were sentimental songs from the speaker, countless stars in the sky, and fireflies in the trees were shining. I thought that it would be nice for couples. When the guide called the fireflies, it was dark and suddenly all the fireflies were shining. It was the most memorable tour in Kota Kinabalu. But the sad thing was that the population of fireflies has declined from that of 10 years ago and we would not be able to see this much light in the future. I hope many people will be able to see fireflies again and again by protecting nature from now on.

-Mosque Tour

(Yugeong’s tour)
I went to the pink mosque. but in fact, the name of the Pink mosque is UMS mosque. UMS com from the initials of University Malaysia Sabah, because this mosque is at the university. It was pink all over the mosque, so it was really pretty. To enter the mosque, you must wear a robe covering your body. If you pay the entrance fee before entering the room, you can borrow a robe. It would be better to know information about opening times for entrance beforehand. An employee in the mosque explained about Islam. It was nice to learn about Islam even if it was shallow knowledge

(Hyejin’s tour)
We were not allowed into the blue mosque. Two Chinese women were caught wearing short clothes and dancing in front of the Blue Mosque, which shocked people, because it is considered sacred by the people of Kota Kinabalu. Then the government banned tourists from entering the mosque. I even had to pay to take pictures outside! But the night before the rules changed (paying for pictures in front of the mosque), we were able to get off the bus and take pictures. It was really grand and blue. I was so disappointed that I couldn't go in...

-Food Tour
(Yugeong’s tour)
Most of the food I ate in Kota kinabalu was delicious. Especially, at ‘Welcome Seafood’, you must eat the cream sauce tiger prawn! ‘Old Town White Coffee’ is also a famous coffee shop in Kota Kinabalu. This place sells not only coffee but also meals. It had a unique flavor in Southeast Asia, but it was all right. The nasi goreng in Waterfront is really delicious. Nasi goreng is like fried rice and it is well matched with chili crab. Most restaurants were inexpensive except for Welcome Seafood. I think prices are cheaper than our country. Mango and raw fruits were also cheap. I recommend you to drint a lot of mango juice and fruit juice.

(Hyejin’s tour)
I went to the ‘Crab House’. because it was package tour, we had to sit at a table with other family members. However, it did not really matter as it was a rotating table, and it became an opportunity to create a new relationship. The guide had already chosen a delicious menu. The most delicious food was fried bean leaves. This fried food was really tasty. The guide told me of a sauce recipe (soy sauce, garlic and red pepper), it was really well matched with the food. Later, I went to Starbucks and had a drink, which included yogurt, mangoes, and peaches. This drink is not sold in Korea. I want to eat in Korea too. It was a delicious drink.

-Filipino Market
Thanks to the package tour, I could get a lot of information about Kota Kinabalu. At Kota Kinabalu, the government came up with many policies for poorer people, one of which was the Filipino Market. The Filipino Market is guaranteed to help the lower economic class open stores and make a living. Here, you could buy various fruits, seafood, and spices. Our guide bought me a mango juice at the market and it tasted different from Korea’s juice. I ate an unknown fried fish like eomuk, and I put chili sauce on it. It was very delicious more than my thought possible. But I thought that it was not healthy. As I went around, I could see a sign written "jon-mat-taeng" and "haek-mat-it-seo-yo" (very delicious) that made me laugh. From here, my family could buy pepper powder and calamansi at a cheap price. It was a good place to go.
(Yugeong)
Unlike Hyejin, I had free traveling with my friends. We always went to travel to local places and it was very meaningful for us to go aboard for the first time. The first destination was Kota Kinabalu, so it was even better. I am so grateful to have good memories under the beautiful sunset and landscape.

(Hyejin)
I’m satisfied with the package tour. First of all, it was the most comfortable travel because I didn't have to think about travel plans. In addition, I learned about the history of Kota Kinabalu and people's values. Also, there was no time for people to feel hungry because the guide always gave us snacks (fried bananas and cups of mango juice). But I was very sad due to the bad weather. If I had a chance to go there again, I want to go there to do the things I couldn’t do

Choi hyejin  gpwls2108@naver.com

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