Tigerair Taiwan’s inaugural flight to Kota Kinabalu arrives

KOTA KINABALU: Taiwan’s sole low-cost carrier, Tigerair Taiwan, has paved its way into Malaysia through the airline’s chosen gateway city, Kota Kinabalu.

Yesterday, Tigerair Taiwan celebrated its inaugural Taipei to Kota Kinabalu flight at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), making Sabah its tenth international destination thus far.

The flight arrived at around 10.15am with a 98.3% flight load, which is 18.3% above the airline’s load factor target.

“We would certainly like to see more than 80% load factor. We have already achieved that on the first flight,” said Tigerair Taiwan CEO Kwan Yue at the launching ceremony at KKIA here yesterday.

“That really is very encouraging for us, because it only took us a very short time in Taipei to start marketing Kota Kinabalu. We are very encouraged that within this short period of time, we are able to generate such a high interest among the Taiwanese who are very happy to come to Kota Kinabalu,” he added.

Kwan added that the Taipei-Kota Kinabalu route caters to existing clientele among Taiwanese who are looking for affordable airfares to visit Kota Kinabalu.

“We will offer the lowest possible price based on the cost of operating into Kota Kinabalu. Of course, during the first couple of flights, there is a promotional price. We are now pricing below TWD2,000 for a one-way based fare, and we certainly would like to keep the fare as low as possible to offer the opportunity to the travelling public.

“They would actually be able to purchase at a lower price, be able to do more flights, more frequently and come here more often. Instead of only being able to maybe travel once a year in the past, now with lower fare they can actually do it more frequently.”

Although there are some other options to travel into the city, Kwan believes that Tigerair Taiwan also provides more opportunities and options, in terms of flight time and traveling days, for the Taipei-Kota Kinabalu route travellers.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Tigerair Taiwan’s inaugural flight to Kota Kinabalu arrives

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Climbing Mount Kinabalu [Gunung Kinabalu] @ Sabah, Malaysia

Ever thought of climbing Mount Kinabalu ? Hesitate or edger to ? Anyway, if you have ever once thought of climbing Mount Kinabalu then you should definitely go for it and if this is your first time climbing Mount Kinabalu, then have visited the write blog page ! hahaha !

I am here proud to tell you that i've done it and successfully hike up Mount Kinabalu and back down safely on my first try. There are probably a lot of questions in your mind right now ? Thinking, is it hard ? What should you bring ? What should you do ? Well, that is exactly what i asked too.

Climbing Mount Kinabalu is honestly not easy, if there is anyone who tell you that climbing Mount Kinabalu is a piece of cake, then you probably should let him trying climbing Mount Kinabalu while eating a cake ... !

I mean like, seriously ? 9/10 of people who i ask about climbing Mount Kinabalu tells me that it is very easy, let me repeat .. very easy ... and the truth is, i was half dead up there .. ! hahaha .. So if you ask me, is climbing Mount Kinabalu easy ? i will say No, it is Hard but it is possible for anyone!

Getting Ready For Mount Kinabalu (Mentally And Physically)

Getting physically fit is important and also the first thing i would stress out in this post. You can't go hike Mount Kinabalu if you are not physically fit.

It takes me one year to get ready for Mount Kinabalu with a lot of running and hiking trying to get into shape.

You will need a lot of physical strength especially on your thigh for the first day of hiking and a lot of stamina on the second day of hiking.

If you are from Penang, Malaysia probably i can suggest you a few place for hiking and a few marathon that you can join to build up your stamina and strength (Marathon/Hiking Trail) but do note that none of those i've suggested are any where near to the level of climbing Mount Kinabalu, you will need to do more than just normal run and hike.

Don't worry, even if you can't do more, by doing what i've done, is good enough to bring you all the way up to the summit of Mount Kinabalu.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Climbing Mount Kinabalu [Gunung Kinabalu] @ Sabah, Malaysia

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Sabah International Folklore Festival to feature legendary warriors

KOTA KINABALU: The 11th Sabah International Folklore Festival (SIFF) 2016 will bring the cultural heritage of the state and world’s legendary warriors centre stage, from July 24 to 30.

Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun said SIFF’s annual rotating theme usually showcased some of the local and world’s dance performances, exhibitions and other programs around a specific cultural aspect to the public and foreign visitors.

“Every year we try to change the theme. Last year was ‘marriage’, this year is ‘warrior’. Actually in this world, there is diverse cultural heritage; it is just we do not know,” said Masidi at a press conference after the first SIFF 2016 meeting here yesterday.

“We feel there is a lot that we can learn from the heritage among warriors of many cultures in the world. In a way, it is something to educate every one of us and to showcase the rich cultural heritage that is related to warriors of cultures in the world,” he added.

The minister added that although Murut warriors were prominent and synonymous in the state’s tourism scene, many other warriors are also found among Sabah’s vast and diversified cultural background itself.

Among the major programs in this year’s SIFF are the KK (Kota Kinabalu) City Folklore Parade here on July 26, 7th Folk Art Exhibition at the Sabah Art Gallery Conservation Centre (SAGCC) between July 25 to 30, Sabah Traditional Food and Handicraft Exhibition at Sabah Cultural Centre, Penampang between July 25 and 30, and the 8th Tugu Budaya Local Folk Dance Competition at Sabah Cultural Centre, Penampang on July 26, 27 and 29.

“As usual, SIFF will once again invite primary and secondary schools to participate. We find, through experience, that this event is among the most spectacular event because schools really care to ensure a good presentation of their performance,” said Masidi.

Continue reading at: Sabah International Folklore Festival to feature legendary warriors

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DAiLYSHAZanigansAbroad - Mt. Kinabalu and Kota Kinabalu

The pain Mount Kinabalu inflicted on us is second to none on this trip so far. As we write this post we are attempting to drain the lactic acid from our legs by stretching them above the head posts in our upgraded room at Le Hotel. This will definitely be a climb to remember, this is how it went…

After a flying visit to Kota Kinabalu to drop off our bags at our hotel we packed a small bag and headed towards the bus station to go to Mt. Kinabalu.

Like most other places in Asia we had to go from mini bus to minibus to find out what drivers were going where and ended up getting in a taxi with a Malaysian couple in the end as no buses seemed to be moving in any direction! The two hour trip only cost us €8 so the budget wasn’t blown thankfully!

After paying our park and climbing fees at the park office, (most complicated process ever!), we set off on what we thought was a 1km walk to our hostel.

It turned into a much longer walk, up and down dirt tracks towards the forest but we were well impressed when we finally reached Kinabalu Mountain Lodge as it turned out to be retreat accommodation.

We had a delicious vegetarian salad for lunch and ate it on the balcony looking out over the mountain - it was such a stunning view. We then chilled out for the rest of the day reading and snoozing as wifi was non-existent!

At dinner we met a few people who had climbed the mountain that day and they put the serious fear in us about how cold it was going to be at the peak. We put gloves, hats and scarfs on our list to buy the following morning!

After a very bad nights sleep due to a freezing dorm room and a snoring man we wearily got up for breakfast and headed to the park for 8am to meet our guide Johnny. Once everything was in order we set off to climb Southeast Asia’s highest mountain, Mount Kinabalu, standing at 4,095.2m above sea level!

The first days climb wasn’t too bad, we took it slow and steady and stopped a few times to acclimatise and refuel. We made it to the Laban Rata Stayhouse after four hours climbing at 1pm. We had a bite to eat looking out over the mountain and watching the clouds come down which was pretty cool and then went up to our dorm for a nap before dinner.

The food was really good and there was plenty of it. After going up for her second helping of noodles, Kym overheard a woman in the seat behind her ag caint as Gaeilge. (‘Talking in Irish’ – for our international followers!)

She was speaking to her friend about the overly flamboyant couple at the table opposite! When Kym turned around to confirm that it was Irish that she was speaking, Erica and Tracy, as we soon came to know them by, said “are we caught?!” Kym said, “you are indeed!” and the Irish banter and chat started from there. It was the first time we had heard people speaking in Irish since we left the green isle!

We chatted to Tracy and Erika for a good while after that and even made plans to meet for a drink in Nancy’s in July when Tracy is back visiting family for the summer as she is from Caherdavin in Limerick but living full time in Singapore as is Erika. It’s a small world!

We all went to bed at 8am in the hope of getting a few hours sleep and set our alarms for 2.30am, just enough time to eat a quick breakfast and start the second climb at 3am in order to reach Low’s Peak for sunrise. This part of the climb was really tough due to the altitude, the fact that we were climbing an incredibly steep mountain in the dark and it was absolutely freezing every time we stopped to take a break.

All of that aside though, it was such an incredible experience. We hiked for two hours under the stars following the line of head torches up the mountain. When we passed through the checkpoint at the halfway stage we saw a shooting star, the sky was so clear we knew it was going to be a beautiful sunrise but we had another difficult climb ahead of us to the peak.

With our amazing guide, Johnny, we finally summited at 6am and took a spot on the peak to watch the sunrise- it was incredible. The fluffy white clouds then formed ahead of us and made a fabulous back drop to our photos! It felt like we were walking and sitting on the clouds!

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: DAiLYSHAZanigansAbroad - Mt. Kinabalu and Kota Kinabalu

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Help to promote and make Sibu attractive

SIBU: People here are encouraged to be ambassadors and ambassadresses of inbound tourism.

Minister of Local Government and Community Development Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh made the call when launching the 1Malaysia Food Fair at Sibu Town Square Phase Two on Tuesday night.

He said though Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) had launched the Visit Sibu Year 2017 (VSY 2017), everyone’s involvement, especially the private sector, was needed to promote the town and places of attraction.

“Each individual must play a role to make VSY 2017 a success. I know with combined effort, with concerted effort, I am sure VSY will be successful,” he enthused.

Wong, who is also the Second Minister of Finance, said some government leaders, including himself, had been trying to get Sibu connected to the outside world by air.

“Datuk Tiong (Thai King) and some leaders, including myself, had been talking to the airlines to buy the idea to fly to Sibu, but all of us must play a role because tourism is a concerted effort,” he pointed out.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Help to promote and make Sibu attractive

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