Sunday, April 5, 2009

Will Gayana be next?

Manukan Island. This is one of the popular resorts at Kota Kinabalu and is the second largest of the five tropical islands. The island is known for its sandy white beaches and snorkeling. Being the backpacker I am, discovering things on my own, I didn't sign up on the tour packages but instead went on doing what I like to do which is exploring. With that I saved at least a 100 bucks.
What we had to pay for:
RM 50 - Boat ride back and forth per person
RM 20 - For goggles, snorkel and life vest (but you can rent them at the island itself at a cheaper price). You can pay a bit more for flippers if you want to swim faster.
RM 50 - Take away food for 13 people at one of the food stalls. Not bad. Unless you want to dine at one of the restaurants or buy the package tour.

* Note that we had to deal with an agent from Jesselton Point but do make sure you have proper goggles. Otherwise, you might be unlucky to get sea water leaking inside your goggles while snorkeling.

We didn’t try rafting and the banana boat looked tempting. Maybe next time? I, however, tried the parasailing (RM180 for 10 mins —> expensive aye?) but I really enjoyed the 10-minute parasailing. Two thumbs up. A friend of mine had a bad experience with the parasail in Empire. It may be cheaper but I do NOT recommend you to Parasail there after hearing the story, imagine falling high up from the sky crashing into the sea. Because their motor got jammed?! That's just mad. Inexperience. Which was why I rather pay a lot more for my safety.

All in all, it was great fun especially the snorkeling bit. A recommended island to visit if you happen to be in KK.