my first working trip to kota kinabalu

this is what sunday mornings look like up the skies

there's always a first to everything. this is my first working trip abroad (well, technically since it's over and beyond the seas anyway), and also my first trip to the east coast.

DAY 1

last weekend, i had my first taste of working + travelling. my colleague, jennifer and i together with our lady boss, her two teenage sons, girlfriend, and husband (aka my big boss) boarded the 9.30am flight to KK on what else but 'now everyone can fly' airasia.


airasia now everyone can fly

we reached the land below the wind (negeri dibawah bayu??) at about 12pm touching down at the KK LCCT (aka Terminal 2). comparing the KL LCCT with the KK LCCT, well i think the KK one looks a little bit worn out and messy, not that the KL one is any much better.


perfume shop at terminal 2

upon grabbing our luggages and arriving at the arrivals hall, i followed my fellow bosses to check out our perfume and emporium shops located near the entrance. this is my first time seeing for myself the shops that i have been raising purchase orders for the past 2 months. got to put faces behind the names of people that i have been conversing through phones as well.


radius international hotel room 507

we stayed at the radius international hotel which was located at 7th floor of warisan square. the rooms are pretty cozy but small, just what people on business trips need- a bed and a bathroom with heater.


from L-R: eiling, daphne, jennifer, lady boss, me

on the first day, we had our lunch and dinner at this seafood restaurant which is pretty well known among tourists for seafood but more well known among locals for the cut-throat prices. well, i aint paying, so i really don't care as long as there's good food! HAHA.

sorry no photos, too shy to take in front of bosses. for lunch, we had 2 servings of fresh water prawns, siput tarik (local escargots which goes really well with the mustard dipping), sabah paku pakis (my fav!), fu yong omelette and steamed fish. for dinner, we had the same paku pakis -belacan style, steamed red snapper, fried fish with spicy sauce, fried soft shell crabs (*drools), siput tarik again, fried rice, butter prawns (yumz) and clams. servings were large but the bill was even larger- about rm750 for that night!

nvm, boss pay.

DAY 2


the new Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA)

it was back to work on day 2. after a well-fed dinner, we were obliged to work hard the following day. don't think anyone of you would be interested to know what i did the whole day but it roughly includes being stuck in the store with 700 over cartons of chocolates around you (looks like a dream job for you, jen but no eating any!), having mcdonalds for lunch and dinner, cleaning the perfumes' wallbays and gondolas, receiving stocks and displaying them etc... all the way from morning till 4am the next morning! we had to rush for the opening dateline which Malaysian Airports Berhad (MAB) has set as the first inaugural flight for the new airport was at 6am that day!

to cut the long story short,

DAY 3


perfumes and cosmetics section @ Emporium Departure Level 3 KKIA


chocolates section @ Emporium Departure Level 3 KKIA



inside the emporium- yukiko jewelleries, timepieces, convenience, toys, luggage and fashion


going down to level 2, after the immigration is our 2nd shop right infront of gate A4/5

the shop opened on the same day, imagine the hectic to manage both shops! luckily i wasn't the outlet manager, else i would have fainted.




chocolate shop @ Level 2 Airside KKIA


convenience section @ Level 2 Airside KKIA

as you can see in the picture above, my sister (eiling) was with me on this trip as her company is our supplier for fidani chocolates. hence, it's only appropriate to show you guys the beautiful gondolas and tempting chocolates on sale in the shops.


FIDANI's finest chocolate creations


BERYL's fine chocolates


ferrero roche golden tower!


Hershey's say it with kisses

after a hard day + night's work, we chilled out at one of sutera habour's resorts- magellan sutera's lounge for a drink. we had the black opal cabernet merlot 2007 which was very smooth and easy to drink. the sutera habour is really beautiful and with the sea breeze blowing right to your face at night, sipping on redwine, good live music, good company... well it makes you ask, "why can't life be like this everyday?"


magellan sutera's lounge


cock and bull bistro @ kk waterfront

we had another bottle of black opal at cock and bull bistro after returning from magellan sutera. a bunch of alcoholics who just won't go to sleep without buzzing the alchohol-o-meter :-p


of cos must take pic with the FR tower before leaving! (with jennifer and the very awesome angie who was once a radio announcer!)

DAY 4


i love this pic of the sun rays and the clouds

byebye and hello peninsular! will be back to KK again soon for another shop opening.