ZICO Penang retreat to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Our firm recently had a retreat to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. This was my first time to Kota Kinabalu, and in fact my first time travelling to East Malaysia.

We stayed at Shangri-La's Tanjung Aru Resort & Spa and as we entered the lobby, we were greeted by this:

Our room took some time, as it was not ready when we checked in, but the room that we got was worth waiting for, as it came with this view. The island-thing jutting out onto the sea is actually the spa belonging to the hotel, Chi.

Room tip: If possible, choose a room at the Kinabalu Wing, high floor and furthest from the lift, facing the sea. The walk is quite far, but it's worth it for the view. Tanjung Aru is famous for its sunsets, and from our room, we were fortunate to get to see this:

The room itself was quite standard, but the beds were big and super comfy.

That night, the firm organised dinner for us at the hotel, so it was good time of mingling and chit-chatting and taking photos!

KK is also famous for some local delicacies, and the next day we went to try a local pork noodle which they call "sang yuk mee" at Kim Hing Lee coffee shop located at Lorong Sinsuran. The pork was lean but tender and the soup was very flavourful.

When in KK, we must also try its seafood! We went to this restaurant called Welcome at Asia City and all these dishes were only RM500 plus for 10 pax. The most expensive was the fish (RM240) as we can find it only in Sabah. Everything was delicious.

Besides eating, we didn't do much but laze around the hotel. The firm organised a tour on the 2nd day to a cultural village and a river cruise but we decided not to go. Instead, we explored the hotel grounds, took lots of selfies, went for a swim and had a massage at the spa! Pictures below :)

The next morning, which was a Sunday, we headed out to explore Gaya Street morning market which is only held every Sunday. Nothing much to buy, so I just picked up some snacks and pearl earrings to take home.

After that, it was time to check out and head to the airport to come home. It was a short 3 days 2 nights trip, but it was relaxing and I caught up on some much needed sleep! Hopefully we can make a trip here with the kids in the near future.