Sabah - Home of the spirits...

“Look at the stars lighting up the sky: no one of them stays in the same place...”

After breakfast, we departed to Kinabalu Park and had a leisure walk along the nature trails and listened to the sounds of the jungle and observe nature's plants, trees, orchids and butterflies. The Nature Park boasts an estimated 4,500 species of plants which includes 1,500 species of orchids, 77 of which are endemic to Kinabalu. The park also supports 289 species of birds and 290 different types of butterflies. The world’s largest pitcher plant, the “Nepenthes Rajah” grows in abundance here.

From the Timpohon Gate viewing platform, we had a majestic view of Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South East Asia. In a clear day, the mountain will look even more spectacular with a sheer wall of granite towering a few thousand meters from the virgin forest floor and ending in jagged peaks. Before we leave the Park we stopped at the Natural History Gallery, a small nature museum displaying the flora and fauna from the park.

Then we headed for another interesting natural wonder, the Poring Hot Spring located approximately 47 km from Kinabalu Park. Poring Hot Spring, named after the tall bamboo plant that is abundant in that area, is a natural spring where hot sulfurous water emit from the ground. There are Japanese Baths where visitors can soak themselves and let the invigorating sulfurous water stimulate the body. They are also heated swimming pools. We indulged in a leisure jungle walk and tried the canopy walkway, where suspension bridges are suspended and watched the tropical jungle from the top of the huge trees.



We had a hefty lunch at the Rainforest Restaurant and departed from Poring Hot Spring late afternoon to Kundasang. Tonight we pampered ourselves in body massage and foot reflexology at Perkasa Hotel and again had our dinner at Pines Resort.

Last night before we slept, hubby handed me a lovely card and wished me ‘Happy Birthday’. When asked what I want for my birthday, I told him that I already have what I want and I couldn’t ask for more…