THE HIDDEN

Formerly called Jesselton, this humid, tropical city on the western coast of Borneo is a main transit point for travelers going off to explore Southeast Asia’s fifth tallest peak (and Malaysia’s tallest) – Mount Kinabalu which is located just 90 Kilometers away as well as a jump-off point to the islands around it as well as a convenient and cheaper alternative to enter Brunei Darussalam (via the international port in Labuan). Rather than a destination on its own, Kota Kinabalu serves as a major international gateway to those who want to explore the myriad jungles and cultures, not only of Sabah but Borneo – so if you are in town – here is the best way to see and experience KK, as Kota Kinabalu is fondly called, all done in 24 hours. Shop! Shop! Shop! While most locals would tell you to head out to Centre Point (Lebuh Raya Pantai Baru corner Jl. Duapuluh) to get your fill of great bargains for souvenirs, do not go there – you’d be lucky if you can actually see an actual store selling so...

Sightseeing around Kuala Lumpur just got easier with the recent introduction of the KL Monorail & KL Hop-On Hop-Off One Day Unlimited Ride package. Although it's quite a mouthful to say, the promotion makes it convenient for tourists to access the many major tourist spots in Kuala Lumpur within one day. For just RM20 per person (adult or child), pass-holders can enjoy unlimited travel around Kuala Lumpur in any single day on two modes of transportation - the KL Hop-On Hop-Off (KL HOHO) bus and the KL Monorail train. With the ticket, tourists can hop on and off the bus and monorail as and when they wish. The KL HOHO bus follows a pre-determined route that covers 70 tourist attractions and 22 designated stops including several at KL Monorail stations. On board are pre-recorded commentaries of tourist attractions in eight different languages, i.e. Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mandarin, Hindi, Arabic, Japanese, French and Spanish. Traveling on the double-decker KL HOHO bus, passengers...

As we all know Malaysia is located right near the equator, therefore blessed (or cursed, you decide) with sun all year round. Rest assured you would get some action of heat even at the wettest time of the year. So normally when the sun is at its highest, we the mere mortals normally have to brace through it just to get our mid-day break of food and drinks. After out and about, slowly baking away in the heat, one is sure to crave for something cooling or icy. You may think of ice cream at first thought, but in Malaysia, you will definitely find more than just ice cream, or gelato or sherbet for the matter. Here is where, the ever enterprising epicurean folks in Malaysia, had created lots of icy treats of sorts, mostly from ice origins. Ice Ice Baby Photo by qwazymonkey When I was just a little kid in primary school, we have always loved the ‘ais krim potong’, translated loosely as ‘cut ice cream’, it is literary flavoured ice cut into thin long blocks each, each with a stick frozen insi...