I promised you all a travel report of my most recent trip to Kota Kinabalu, so here it is. The focus isn’t so much on style and fashion as I travel, which is why you will see few outfits here. On trips like these, the focus is very much on experience and the environment does not normally lean itself for dressing too nicely. Usually, I just opt for one of the outfits from my beach holidays outfits roundup of last year.
Since I feel that travel does contribute a whole lot to the ‘feel-good’ factor (which in turn makes you look good), I have decided to feature my travels occasionally and will soon move over some of my older travel reports to this site too.
Our hotel, the Beringgis Beach resort. We had the block on the right. The hotel was located right at the beach which is pictured on top.
On the first day we headed for one of the Islands of Kota Kinabalu.
Lots of tropical fish there!
And a lot of tourists too….
Not difficult to make a beautiful photograph of such a precious child…
On day 2 we went to Brunei. More on that in a couple of days.
Day 3, we visited one of the nature reserves, home to the proboscis monkey, of which we saw several. We were out there on a (tourist) boat and you glide along the trees where we saw a lot of wildlife.
Here we spotted a big male!
Plenty of bees too.
And lizards.
In the evening you go out on the boat again to see the fireflies. It was the most impressive display of fireflies I have ever seen. Thousands of fireflies flickering simultaneously! Unfortunately, it was impossible to photograph.
On day 4 we headed for the Kota Kinabalu Park, which feature the botanical gardens. The below plant is what my son refers to as a toilet plant. No idea what its real name is.
And this, my friends, is the smallest orchid in the world. It is so small that my camera lens could not focus on it properly and I could not get a sharp picture.
Our lovely guide.
Kota Kinabalu Mountain. No, we did not climb it (for obvious reasons).
A very peculiar cloud indeed.
And if you are wondering why my family is never featured on photographs. This is usually what they do when I ask them to pose for a picture….
No orangutans as I promised earlier? Unfortunately we did not see them. They are located quite a way from Kota Kinabalu itself and we had no more time left. Still we were very happy to have seen so many proboscis monkeys!
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh my gosh – these pictures are beautiful! The colors are amazing – just what I needed to see on a day when I have spent hours digging out of snow and ice. I can feel the warmth of the sun in your photos.
I love the monkeys! Their faces are expressive. And the orchids. And the beach and blue skies. Thank you for sharing!
I do not know how you kept from putting that darling little girl in your pocket and bringing her home. She is so sweet! Your son and hubby are hilarious! I hope it was as joyful as it looks.
Glad you enjoyed the pictures Suzanne. Children are the best! Pictures of them are usually my favorite!
Great post, Sylvia! And what a nice trip it seems with all that special flora and fauna! Beautiful pictures too. Looking forward to more (Brunei);-)
Thanks Anja. A little off topic but a bit of travel info now and then is good for the soul too, no?
Hi Sylvia,
Thanks for your travel post. Nice trip! Reading your report was a good time out during lunchbreak on a very grey winterday in Holland.
Greets from Haarlem
Hi Sas, Great to see you keeping up with the site as well. I think it’s high time you come visit me in the tropics some time. And we still need to do that detox trip remember! I will be in Holland in a few weeks already. Will email you.
Sylvia, what a beautiful vacation you had. I couldn’t agree more with you on focusing on the experience rather than on fashion when it comes to vacationing. The pictures you capture are breathtaking, I feel as if I could reach through the computer and shake hands with that monkey. Thank you for sharing some of the highlights and your family with us.
Thank you Trina. I do my best to take the best pictures I possibly can!
Great pictures. I knew Anja would love them.
That is one ugly monkey you photographed. Boy oh boy.
And that “toilet plant”… Hahaha that was funny.
Also really nice to see your husband and son featured. Funny lot.
Hey, don’t insult my beautiful friend!
Hi Sylvia,
Great to read your travel post! Love the photo’s, Kota Kinabulu looks like a great place to visit! I agree about the attractiveness of those monkeys though…..
They are beautiful in their ugliness…. I find their faces fascinating!
I am so glad you had a lovely holiday Sylvia. My husband and I visited Borneo in ’97 and flew to Sandakan to see the orangutans. They are amazing but you can’t touch them which is a shame as they are so huggable.
I can confirm that they are better at posing for photographers than your family and almost as endearing!
I love to read about your travels. It makes me feel like I am on holiday a little too. I know that our ancestors where apes but I hope that this wasn’t the one. Just imagine how we would have looked having a cold. I can see that your husband and son aren’t really into becoming a part of your travelstories. But they look relaxed and that is where holidays are for. Looking forward to the next chapter.
What an amazing vacation! So many interesting plants and animals. I love the smallest orchid. You have a lovely and a bit shy family!
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