A 'work-cation' to the Land Below The Wind

Cloudy skies

I am back from the Land Down Under Below The Wind (aka Sabah)!! It was my 2nd time to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah. My first and also virgin visit to the East Coast was somewhere in August where I had the 'opportunity' to see and experience what it is like to open shops in the airport. Anyway, this time around, somewhere last week, my lady boss told me that my colleague and I should make a trip to KK to have a check on the shops there. And so we booked our tickets and headed to the Land Below The Wind!

What's better than NOT sitting in the office for 3 days is that we're on our own with no superiors following us! Doesn't that already spell F-R-E-E-D-O-M? As the title suggests, it was more like a work-cation (work + vacation).


A bird's eye view of the murky river water

We booked a darn early flight on Wednesday, I had to wake up at an ungodly hour of 4am! Our flight was at 6.50am, got delayed about 20 mins and reached KK's LCCT airport at 9.20am. Knowing Air Asia, you can tell my whole body was aching upon touching down. Anyway, after collecting our luggages, we headed for breakfast (food pictures in the next post), did our 'work' although there's nothing much to do. Since we didn't have a car, we took a cab to the Imperial Hotel where we'll be staying for the next 3 days of our little 'working' trip.


Imperial International Hotel @ Warisan Square, KK Waterfront

The Imperial Hotel has a whole block by themselves and is located within Warisan Square at the KK Waterfront. In other words, our hotel faces the sea, ~woot! We were staying at the much cheaper Radius Hotel during the first visit and I must say our decision to move to Imperial this time around was an excellent decision (albeit more expensive lalalala). At about RM205++ per night, it is pretty good value as there is buffet breakfast provided too.


Spacious and comfy beds


I love the shower!

What distincts the Imperial from Radius is the bathroom. Like many of you out there, the first thing I always do is to check out the bathroom and Imperial did not disappoint. Minimalistic, clean and the shower head totally rocks. The water pressure is excellent and makes you want to stay in the shower for hours, it makes me (one who doesn't have the habit of showering in the cold early mornings) want to shower in the morning. My colleague and I were so frustrated with the shower in our last trip as the water pressure at Radius is as good as the dog peeing.


Bars, clubs, bistros, cafes, water and night breeze @ KK Waterfront

From the rooftop of the hotel, one can see the lovely scenery of the KK water. The row of shops by the waterfront are clubs and cafes which is open at night, so yes, KK does have a night life. On my first visit, my operations manager brought us to one of the bars 'Cock and Bull Bistro' which I found out they have an outlet at The Merchant Square, Tropicana.


Too sunny for a drink

At night, it is very therapeutic and relaxing to have a sit outside, having a drink and chatting while enjoying the night breeze. Other bars and cafes I know of are Bed (a club), The Shamrock Irish Pub, Bar Su, Euro Cafe, and a seafood restaurant, Port View.


Fishermen's rides

Located in the vicinity is a fleet of boats for fishing and it makes quite a picturesque view.


See the island?

Notice the 'island' with houses on it? Well, it isn't exactly an island as we later realized that that whole land is the famous Sutera Habour- a resort only for the rich. As we were having our breakfast overlooking that particular house, can't help but to dream "if only that house was mine... I'll be having a garage for my boats instead of cars and waking up to the sea breeze every day!"


The sea is my neighbour

... well, if only!

Food pictures up next :D