Biz trip to UK

One week after my KK trip, I was off to UK for business trip. I will be meeting my boss for the 3^rd time. Most people see their bosses’ everyday, for me meeting my boss and team is like an annual affair. The first week was rather packed with meetings and dinners at night. The second week was vacation – on personal expense of course. Met up with an ex-colleague, Jo and her dearest 3 years son Zac on my first day. We spent some time around Thames River, near Windsor Castle.

First of all I would like to share an interesting story about gaps in expectations and cultural differences. Before departure I was very excited - first time staying in a four star hotel in UK. As I arrived I was rather disappointed with the hotel service – no one bothered to greet as I entered the hotel, the reception area was rather small, the baggage storage was not very organized, there are many fire doors in the hotel and the sound proof was bad. My boss reminded me that I am not in a service-oriented country and must lower my standards, and I did. In addition the hotel is an old building – poor sound proof, plenty of fire doors and staircases are rather common. After staying in multiple hostels during my own travel I must say that the hotel is quite good – points added.

During my first week in the UK sandwich or pasta (normally less than GBP 3) was a norm for lunch. At first I was rather excited. After some time I can start memorizing the menu or types of sandwich or pasta available in Tesco. As a Malaysian I started to miss our food variety - sweet, sour, spicy, fried, soup, steam etc. Good thing they have a variety of fresh juices and smoothies. I really miss those healthy drinks.

Travelling around UK is very convenient via bus, train or flight. Booking in advance saves a lot of money and can be done online. It's better to book long intercity trains in advance for several reasons:

- it can be much cheaper but must travel on the schedule booked

- to reserve a seat. You can choose a front facing, back facing, aisle, window, table etc. Normally intercity has a lot of coaches. As long as A to M - you can imagine how long it takes to walk from one end to the other. The trains arrive and depart on-time. They don't stop for a long time. Not booking in advance means you may not get a seat before the train leaves the station.

Airport check-in in UK may take a long time due to strict checking. Sometimes travelling between airports and cities may take a long time and inconvenient. Depending on the route, taking a bus or train maybe a better choice. 

A brief escape to Kota Kinabalu

The past six months has been crazy, with ups and downs. April was the “travelling month”. I went on a brief escape to Kota Kinabalu (commonly known as KK), “the land below the wind” with my mum. It was a leisure trip – no expedition to Mt Kinabalu.

KK is a small but developing city. A big mall is currently under construction. The old KK town has the 80s feel with pre-war houses, small roads and trees. We stayed at Best Western Hotel which is of walking distance to 1 Borneo Shopping Complex, Jesselton Point, Gaya Street Sunday Market and Filipino Market. Taxi fare in KK is very expensive – minimum RM10 and does not go by meter. If you plan to get out of the city center or outskirts then renting a car would be a better choice.

Lok Kawi Wildlife Park is highly recommended for those who want to have a look at some of the Borneo animals. It takes around 20 minutes drive from the city center. It’s rather near if you go straight from the airport or Tanjung Aru. In Lok Kawi you can see the Sun Bears, Orang Utans, Proboscis Monkeys and other rare species under one roof. Note: You don’t need to sign up for a tour package for Lok Kawi – just grab a taxi, get there and pay the admission fee. However the taxi can be quite pricy – remember paying around RM120 for the return trip. But it’s still cheaper than the tour package for two and there’s more flexibility.

Island hopping or snorkeling is quite convenient in KK. Just go to Jesselton Point and grab a package which includes boat transfer, snorkeling equipments and life jacket. The fare varies according to the number of islands. For those who plan to cover two or more islands, it is advisable to depart early in the morning as the last boat transfer back is around 5pm. We got there around 11am and manage to cover only one island – around RM80 for 2 pax. Pulau Manukan is the biggest island and also with the most visitors. You may get a better snorkeling experience at the smaller islands. Seafood is very cheap in KK – whether it’s cooked, dried or preserved ones.

There are plenty of seafood restaurants around KK. There is one along the same row as the Best Western Hotel which is always crowded with people – unfortunately we didn’t manage to try. We spent most of our dinners in the Filipino market where you can pick the seafood and get it cooked. There is nothing to brat about for the cooking style but the freshness of the seafood has greatly enhanced the taste. Simply delicious!

Our favorite spot for dried seafood is the Filipino Market. There are a lot of varieties and the price here is generally cheaper. Explore the shops at the back – they are way cheaper. We bought several huge packets of the algae for about RM10-15 each – price varies according to the grades.

There are many night markets around KK city. Ladies will be happily shopping for bracelets, necklaces and accessories as they are really nice and cheap. There’s a wide selection as well. For those who miss the night markets, you can still shop at the Gaya Street Sunday Market. There’s much more things to see comparing to night markets e.g. local fruits and handicrafts but selections maybe less. Note: Do bargain when going to markets – you can get quite a good deal.

Soon after my KK trip I was off to UK for 2 weeks - 1 week biz and 1 week leisure. Then back for election, work, the alumni association's annual dinner, house moving, funeral etc. Shall share more on my UK trip in the next post.