Kota Kinabalu - Trip toThe Markets & Farewell

Okay, this is the continuation of the KK trip. Fatigued after the hike, the girls woke up quite late the following morning. Gone the thought of going to a nearby island. But I knew what I wanted to do. Shopping! ;-)

We had breakfast in the room. I was busy feeding Nadeen to monitor what the girls ordered with HB. Somebody had to order cornflakes cereal from room service? I wonder who that was...

HB found out about a Pasar Tamu somewhere near the hotel. He after all this time night stopping in KK had never once been to Pasar Tamu, decided to check it out with us. I suppose Pasar Tamu is meant for the Tamu - guests. That is why it is held only on weekends. Right? Wrong?

The girls at the lobby waiting for the walk (no more hike... pheww!) to Pasar Tamu

Even Nadeen was thrilled!

As we were approaching the market, I was amazed with the crowd right in front of my eyes. What more at 11am, under the hot sun...

I had nothing in particular to buy. Just some souvenirs. It was very interesting observing the items sold. You can find almost every souvenir you can think of from jeweleries to handcrafts & even plants.

I was most of the time shooting photos. Nadeen was in the stroller with HB pushing. The other girls were most of the time with me. You should be there to witness me stopping here & there focusing my lens. Whenever I stopped, Yasmin & Wardah were ready to take control of Balqis. They understood well of their mama's passion in photography. Thanks girls! Muuwwah..!Pardon me for some of the underexposed shots. HB disliked the idea of me carrying my big flash around & at the same time had to monitor the girls. He had a point there... So, I simply made do with the built-in flash. Enjoy the pictures.

Jeweleries

Orchids

Sea shells

A table lamp out of shells

More jeweleries

Air plants - no soil needed

Hens & chicks

Machetes (parang)

More parangs

Vases

Old coins

Reflexology

Vegetables

Weaved bags

More shells

I liked this in particular. A hat or a table lamp top? I forgot to ask.

Food. Not sure what they were called though. I was told they were made out of beans.

Gongs

Someone was even playing the Gamelan

Designer purses anyone? ;-)

Even puppies!

Girls will be girls. Look at HB entertaining his girls choosing pearl bracelets. Lucky him they did not really cost him a fortune ;-)

Yasmin was somehow attracted to these hats & HB was again doing the bargaining.

He wanted to buy this one for me. Good for gardening he said (his wife quit long ago after finding out her hands were no green..)

I was checking out the pearls but did not fall for any

We treated the girls for ice cream. All of them but Nadeen. I couldn't bear looking at her watching her sisters licking on their share. Wellllll.... I did give her to taste but she did not like it. Not used to the cold, I guess ;-)

An elderly local man passed by whilst the girls were busy with their treat. He fell for Nadeen & was trying to bargain with the girls to give their youngest sis away.

Obviously Yasmin & Wardah knew that man was only joking but look at Balqis. She could not keep her eyes off him. Her ice cream forgotten, melted in her hand... hehehe. She is very protective over Nadeen.

Who would resist this girl?

I wanted to go to the Philipines Market. Like it or not the whole troop had to follow the General's command ;-). This was the overhead bridge to Pasar Besar Kota Kinabalu. One thing I realised about KK, there were lots of not sure whether the locals or immigrants conducting their business along the corridor. Well, I guess better that than begging.

It sure was a long bridge

Pasar Besar Kota Kinabalu

What did I tell you...? Another corridor trading.

I of course did not miss a chance of good photos. These were amongst the items sold along the corridor of the market.

Dried & salted fish

Not sure about this one. Perhaps another type of salted fish.

A local delicacy

Corns

The market was huge. This is the place HB gets our dried anchovies & shrimps supply. Sometimes prawns too. They are fresh from the ocean & pretty cheap too. KK is like his second hometown. We however did not go to the wet market. He knew well how I didn't really like it ;-)

This was one of the stalls at the dry area

Avacadoes

HB at his regular stall. My mom-in-law loves to snack on this kuih cincin as she calls it. (check the arrow in the centre)

Next was the place that I had heard so much but had never been. The Philipines Market. I'd been wanting to shop for...

Yeah right... Not exactly. I was looking for these actually... ;-) Crystal accessories.

Seriously the authority needs to do something about the ventilation in this market. It was incredibly stuffy. I had to thank HB for babysitting the younger girls outside while I was in my shoppingland...hehehe. We then headed to a nearby food court for a drink & found coconuts! My girls' favourite.

Yasmin's conical-shaped hat, not only served to cover from the sunlight but also as a fan . Nadeen tasted her first drops of coconut drink. Frankly, this trip to KK, Nadeen's taste bud was slowly introduced to food beyond baby food ;-)

HB & I chose to drink in the plastic glass. The girls of course didn't know that ours tasted better with added sugar. Theirs were totally pure coconut drink... hehehe.

By now, I'm an expert nursing my baby in public. Hahaha! Nobody even noticed. Of course I know. I have another set of eyes observing. HB's. He thought I didn't know but whenever Nadeen was thirsty, I could see him guiding the surrounding making sure I got nothing to expose... ;-) Whilst Nadeen was feeding, Balqis climbed onto the stroller & even buckled herself up! Check out the pictorial chronicle of Balqis & her coconut drink.

I told HB that I needed air-conditioned room so badly. I even stepped into a pharmacy with my troop pretending to get something. Just for the air-cond really... ;-) Again pretended that the thing I was looking for was not there & stepped out. Hahaha!

HB took us to Plaza Warisan instead. We tried Big Apple donuts (had to find a better excuse for free air-conditioner... ). It was our first time & none of us liked the donuts. HB always prefer DD & the girls & I are fans of JC.

HB & Yasmin choosing the donuts for us

I rested for like 5 minutes. Wardah volunteered to play with Nadeen.

The donuts.Can you see the resemblance to JC? You can read here.

Finally back to the hotel. We opted for a cab. Here are the girls cramping at the backseat. (pssst... Wardah, you got choc on your tooth!)

Later in the evening, before checking out , we had a quick tea. Thanks to the staff of the hotel for such hospitality.

All this while I never let my girls touch my dslr. But this trip Wardah braved herself. She was lucky as don't know why both HB & I were rather laid-back with the idea. Had been snapping pictures whenever she had the chance. In fact, she does have talent. Remember the Babysitting posting? That video, I later found out was her idea. These are the photos she took while HB was at the reception checking out & me holding my sleeping Nadeen.

We enjoyed this ad hoc vacation. I was kind of worried about HB though. It might be a vacation to us but he was really officially on duty. But knowing him, responsibility is his utmost priority. I could have shopped more that day but he cut it short for. He needed his nap. Perhaps it was his duty as a father to take his girls for a holiday but he owed the passengers whom flying with him, his rest. He did take a nap whilst I was on duty keeping the girls' volume low ;-)

This is the last shot of them for this trip at KK International Airport

The End.