KK on Foot

Guess what I did today? Note : I'm staying in UiTM Sabah, with no car. Or friends that staying here too that own (or bring) their cars. There's no event in plan for today, except for tonight's talk. So, what on Earth could I be doing?

Well, let me tell you how the day begun. I woke up at 8.30 in the morning, even though we've planned to sleep all we want and wake up late. But thanks to my body's alarm clock, I'm always awake the latest around 8.30am. Since I knew that I will never be able to continue my sleep, I showered and turn on my laptop to do my assignment. Okay, that's not entirely true, I wanted to do my assignment, I opened the folder, wrote a few sentences, then I played the Sims 2.

Anyway, around 10 o'clock, Krissy came to my room to use my laptop to check her e-mail. While she was here, I've asked what she has in mind for our activity today. And we both agreed that we will not spend the rest of the day in cafes to use the wi-fi facility. We did that yesterday. From 4pm to 7.30pm. (Yes, pathetic.) We made a snap decision. Movies. No, not on the laptop. In the cinema. I wasn't really serious when I said to her yesterday that we should take a bus to town and watch movie. But there's nothing better for us to do here. So, immediately, we dressed up and waited for the bus at the bus stop downstairs.

The problem was, we never rode a bus from the campus. (And UiTM's buses don't count!) We don't know if there will be a bus, when will the bus be here, or where the bus goes. When we're finally ready to go down, the bus just left. So, we've to wait for another bus to come. So, we waited. And waited. And waited. It almost felt like the bus is not coming. I even messaged my friends if they know the bus schedule. If they know anyone who could give us a ride. They said the bus will come every hour. And they're right. After almost an hour of waiting around noon, the white bus with "T.U.T" written on the side finally showed up. And it's heading to Kota Kinabalu, using the Sulaman route. We were planning to catch a movie in One Borneo. So, it is the right bus, we'll have to ring the bell to stop when it passes One Borneo.

It was kind of exciting actually. I haven't rode a bus in Kota Kinabalu since I was... I can't even remember when was the last time I rode a bus anywhere! But I remember the last time I rode a bus in Kota Kinabalu was with Intan. I remember riding a bus in Singapore in 2007, but it's an entirely different country, so it doesn't count. It's not suprising that I haven't rode any bus for a long period of time. We have cars. My father is willing to drive me anywhere. And I have a driving licence. Why should I ride a bus?

Anyway, there were a change of plan. We didn't stop at One Borneo. It's not that the bus didn't pass near it, it's because neither of us ring the bell to let the driver know we would like to stop there. The driver slowed down nearby One Borneo because he knew there would be passangers that would want to stop there. But no one pressed the button. The driver kept glancing at the rear view mirror to see if there's any passanger that show any sign of wanting to get off the bus. But we just sat in our seats, looking at bell, trying to decide whether we should ring it or not. We thought that there will be someone else who wants to stop there too. Ha-ha. I know, silly mistake. And we took a little to long to decide. And the bus driver made the decision for us. We're going to town.

The bus ends it route in front of the High Court. So, we got off the bus there. You know what, I forgotten today's Sunday, and there's Gaya Street Market on Sunday. I haven't been there in years. Even at 12.40pm, there's still a lot of stalls up and packed with people. I thought the Market will be over before noon. I didn't go to there though, Krissy and I were hungry, and have been yearning for Burger King for days. On the bus ride, we've made a decision to have lunch at Burger King. So, we walked to Burger King in Segama. Under the hot sun. Wearing long sleeves. Ha-ha. It wasn't bad. I'm used to walking anyway. Just it felt different, walking around in Kota Kinabalu. I'm so used of going everywhere with a car in here.

The plan to watch a movie is still on. After all, it is the main reason we took the bus anyway. We weren't sure what the movie schedule in Cathay or GSC KK, because I only checked the schedule for GSC 1borneo. It doesn't matter anymore what movie we're going to watch, as long as we served the purpose. So, around 1.20pm, we headed to the cinema. We haven't decided which cinema, GSC or Cathay. It didn't matter at that time, because both of them situated oppossite each other anyway. Oh yeah, I made a stop at Maybank to withdraw my money first. And since Cathay was nearer, we went to Cathay. And watched The Pink Panther 2, since it's the only one starting at 1.30pm. We couldn't watch Underworld, the movie we wanted to watch, because it only shows at 12 and 4.

The movie was okay. Aishawarya Rai as the baddie. A hot villain. And Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau. Althou I think the first Pink Panther movie is better, but I wouldn't be a spoiler. You have to watch it yourself. Okay, you know what, save your money and don't watch it. Yes, I did have a few laugh watching Inspector Clouseau in action but the movie was quite moderate. And I've kind of know what to expect next. Anyway, the 2 hour movie ended around 3.30pm. We were half way to the bus station before we remember that Yan asked us to buy somethings for her. So, we walked back to Centre Point Sabah to run the errand. Do you realise that I haven't entered the building for a few months? Yes, it's true. I used to know every nook and cranny of that building due to the amount of time I spent in it. Thanks to bowling. My friends used to say that CP was my second home. Ha-ha. Thou I haven't been there in a while. Nothing has changed. Figures.

Apart from buying the things Yan wanted, I bought some things for myself too. I totally can't control myself. I survived a whole week without buying anything, apart from food, and under a controlled budget since I haven't withdraw my money. But as soon as the cash is in my hand, I spent it so easily. Need to change that. That habit will cost me. Literally cost me.

Yan asked for Big Apple Donuts as well, so we needed to cross the road again to get to Warisan Square. I haven't gone out to hang with my friends in Kota Kinabalu in a while since the semester started. So, I got confused which side of the building Big Apple Donuts is located in. I lead Krissy to the wrong side. Ha-ha. Darn, my navigational instinct is worsen. Anyway, while Krissy queued to buy the donuts for Yan, I went to the Padini Concept Store. Sale. Of course I 'had' to go in and check it out. Disappointingly, there's nothing new or interesting. (Not like I will buy it then and there anyway) However, I did have an eye for a shirt. A long-sleeve purple shirt from SEED. It's, well, I don't know what the word to describe a shirt.

After mingling in the store, we realised its getting late already. Well, late if we intend to be back in campus before 5pm to avoid being held for a checkup at the security post in UiTM. It's a routine for them to check the latecomers. Since we're violating the UiTM's dresscode, we do not want to be held and be fined. So, we walked back to the bus station where we got off. Oh, I drawed on a map about our trip.

I remembered a saying that touring a place on foot can change one's perspective on that place. Or something like that. So, has this walk changed my perspective on Kota Kinabalu? Well, the answer is no. I still think Kota Kinabalu is a slow, small, laid-back town (ops, city), suitable for retirement, and overcrowded by Pilaks who been trashing and making the place a worse place to stay.