Kota Kinabalu - Day 2

Wednesday, 14th Nov. We were on our own since Akmal had a full day of lectures and appointments with his supervisor. We would only see him for dinner tonight. So, we went out for breakfast somewhere near the hotel. It was an Indonesian restaurant and had bakso and soto ayam for breakfast. Food was quite expensive here. Roti canai cost RM1.60 per piece. After that we took the boys to Akmal's university for a visit so that they could see their brother's varsity up close. We drove through his school or faculty - School of Science and Technology. Then, we went to his School of Marine workshop at the end of the university, near the jetty. Here was where the aquarium was located but a pity it was closed on Wednesdays for cleaning up. They had this aquarium for the students. Noor and I had entered it when we came for the first time. So, we walked further in to the UMS jetty where Akmal used to hang around. Most of his samplings and studies were done at the islands near the jetty. Thus, being a very friendly and affable guy, he made friends with the "bengkel bot" guys. Here was his place to "lepak", learn how to drive the boat courtesy of these guys, fishing and diving. It was a nice place. Here was where he took his first sunset photo with his then new camera - the Nikon 3100. Now, for underwater photos, he used his latest camera - the Canon Powershot g1x with the underwater casing. Of course, both cameras were sponsored by Mum. Worth it because he had now become a better photographer.

Part of UMS

The hatchery for the aquaculture students

The view on the right side of the UMS jetty - very clear waters

The view towards the jetty

The UMS jetty - view from the gate

After that, we went to 1Borneo, another shopping mall. We did not do much here except for window shopping and had lunch at Ayam Penyet Ibu. We have to tick our own orders, queue to pay first and then wait for the food to arrive. Later, we proceeded to the Phillipine's market to look for souvenirs. They had a variety of pearls. The fresh water pearls were much, much cheaper than than the sea water pearls. I did not buy much because I was not very interested in it. I just bought for some friends who would like it. We bought some Borneo batik and of course, fridge magnets! Very soon, my fridge would protest for being covered with all the fridge magnets from travels and friends. What with the sticker pictures that the boys pasted on it when they were children and sticker-crazy!  :=D  

We stopped at Masjid Bandaraya or Masjid Likas for our Zohor and 'Asar prayers. Alhamdulillah. We got to perform our solat jemaah for 'Asar and recited the doa akhir tahun with the Imam. The next day was "Ma'al Hijrah 1434H". Small mercies and gentle reminders from Allah. So that we never forget Him even when we were travelling or gallivanting.

Masjid Likas @ Bandaraya - the only masjid in Malaysia with a water theme park

Akmal managed to join us for dinner at Jesselton Point. He was trying to get some work done so, he did not spend the night with us at the hotel but went back to his hostel. We would see him tomorrow for the trip to the islands. It was as usual raining. What did we we have for dinner? We had ikan jenahak asam pedas, baby kailan in oyster sauce, dry butter prawns, fried ginger beef and air kelapa. Akmal was really running here, there and everywhere. He was busy but he still wanted to spend some time with us. It was a thoughtful gesture and very much appreciated. Thus, we went back to the hotel to retire for the night.