Tech bytes for tea?

I checked out more markets in KK before boarding the flight to Sandakan.

Sunrise at Kota Kinabalu. Taken with Olympus PEN E-P3 with 40-150mm kit lens using Frame effect.

Night falls earlier in Sabah than in West Malaysia.

Fishing boats at the dock.

This is because their time zones were standardized in 1982 even though East and West Malaysia are really from different time zones in terms of geographical latitude.

Sunrise is also much earlier.

So photographers wanting to catch the golden hours to capture the sunrise/sunset over the South China Sea in Sabah would be well advised that the two timings are around 5:30 am and 6:00 pm local time respectively – lest they gear up and venture out only to discover that the show’s all but over.

The vegetable market starts early at dawn by the seaside of Kota Kinabalu.

A Sabahan I spoke with mused rather pensively that when he was in Kuala Lumpur, the sunrise was always late and he had to wait so hard for daylight to come.

A local fish seller waving Selamat Pagi

This morning, I visited the early vegetable market across the hotel by the sea, followed by the fish market by the pier before hitting the Central market.

It was really interesting observing the locals do their marketing since these markets are really meant for them.

Upon returning, we headed for breakfast after a short visit to the gym, and returned to pack for check out.

At 11am, the guy from the car rental company swung by to send us to the airport.

The fish market in KK kicks off at the crack of dawn. Taken with Pop Art effect on a Olympus PEN E-P3 with 12mm lens which captured a wide FOV at the crowded local market.

Steven had offered to do so FOC when he turned up at the hotel to pick up the car on Monday night and observed that the fuel tank was still three-quarters full even though we were only required to return it with an empty tank.

Freshly sliced fish. Taken with Olympus PEN E-P3 with 12mm lens right in front of the crowded stall.

The rental company worked on a “pick up empty tank – return empty tank” principle.

A vegetables stall in Central market

The guy at the counter had advised me to fill up the tank for a drive from Kota Kinabalu to Mt Kinabalu and back.

It turned out I needed only one-third that amount.

Anyway, Steven took time out and picked a large clean car in order to send us to the airport, and refused to take any payment for his favour.

The guy from Kudat – some two hours drive from KK, at the tip of the dog’s ear – gave me a lasting good impression of an indigenous Sabahan.

The 45-minute flight to Sandakan on board the Air Asia Airbus A320-200 was uneventful. No more pigging out this time.

Another vegetable stall at Central market. Taken with Olympus PEN E-P3 with 12mm lens and Pop Art effect.

For the next three nights, we’ll be staying at a nice house in a gated estate that is so new that the optical fibre for Internet services has yet to be laid.

Seaside restaurant in Sandakan to which connoiseurs from West Malaysia specially fly to just to enjoy its fresh seafood.

Our friend depends on his BlackBerry service for messaging and communication. Anyway, the plan was for us to immerse ourselves in nature.

Prawns, clams, crabs and fish are the order of the day.

So it’s time to check out what Internet withdrawal symptoms are like – and the fabulous seafood that everyone in KK recommended up in Sandakan.