Atmosphere Restaurant and Bar is situated on the roof of Kota Kinabalu & Sabah and is Borneo’s highest and only revolving restaurant.

A mere 15 minutes drive from Kota Kinabalu city centre, Atmosphere is housed on the18th floor of Menara Tun Mustapha (formerly known as the Sabah Foundation Building).

Atmosphere is billed as a modern dining restaurant. Ironically, the décor is funky retro, and from the moment you step into the express elevators that will whisk you away to Borneo’s only revolving restaurant, you know you’re in for something special.

As the elevator doors open, your senses are bombarded with yellow, orange, green and purple. Depending on the time of day that you arrive at Atmosphere, you will either look out on the ever changing panorama of Kota Kinabalu and Sabah, rotating before your very eyes during the day, or the faint city lights twinkling in the distance during late evening.

Of course, being up on the 18th floor and revolving through 360 degrees once every hour, Atmosphere is the ideal place to enjoy lunch, sundowners or an early dinner. Although Atmosphere might be a modern dining restaurant with retro décor, the menu is very much contemporary, with an eclectic selection to suit even the most discerning palate.

With the most expensive item from the current menu being the Oven-roasted Australian Beef Tenderloin at a surprisingly reasonable RM90 and desserts for around RM10 for a selection of sorbets and ice-creams, a fine-dining dinner at Atmosphere will not break the bank.

And there’s no reason to leave after dinner, because Atmosphere’s Happy Hour is Kota Kinabalu’s most convenient and best priced.

From 9pm to midnight every day, a generous Happy Hour menu offers a selection of the best cocktails at the best prices in Kota Kinabalu and Sabah. From around RM10 before taxes, a wicked Bloody Merry, a kau Long Island Ice Tea, or a sock-rocking Mai Tai is yours for the taking.

The Happy Hour menu also includes a generous selection of house-pouring spirits and wine, complemented by an accompanying choice of tidbits.

In addition to the culinary delights that you’ll find at Atmosphere Restaurant and Bar in Kota Kinabalu, little treats like valet parking and free Wi-Fi also await. Whether for lunch, tea, dinner, drinks or events, there’s always space for an occasion on the 18th floor at Atmosphere Restaurant and Bar.

City Mall in Kota Kinabalu is the newest, completed shopping centre in Kota Kinabalu to date.

This mid-sized shopping centre is located on the Lintas/Kolombong highway, just past the turn-off to Damai in the direction of Kolombong. With a variety of shops, including a multitude of eateries and restaurants, combined with boutiques, jewelery stores and computer shops, it’s a popular shopping and hang-out destination.

City Mall is on the fringes of Kota Kinabalu, about 5 minutes from Damai and 8 minutes down the road from Lintas. City Mall is approximately 20 to 30 minutes drive from the centre of Kota Kinabalu, depending on traffic conditions. For tourists taking a taxi, the fare should be between RM15 and RM20 depending on your starting point.

City Mall is serviced by a selection of unscheduled minibus taxis, but is not on any set bus routes as far as we are aware. No other forms of public transport is available to this shopping centre and few, if any, hotel shuttle busses frequent this mall.

For those who are driving, when City Mall is at her busiest, parking is inadequate. There is one underground level of parking and several around the perimeter of the mall. Additional, temporary parking, has been made available towards the back and right of the mall, to help cope with additional parking during peak periods.

City Mall is a spacious shopping centre consisting of 3 main levels and a mezzanine level. It has open areas with wide walkways and shops both inside the shopping centre, as well as the outside areas. The anchor tenants are Giant Supermarket, CT Department Store and Popular Express Books.

The main food and beverage outlets are located along the shopping centre’s front and includes Veda Blue, Olde Station White Coffee, Pizza Hut, KFC, Starbucks Coffee, Big Apple Donuts and Old Town White Coffee. On the mezzanine level with outside entrances, you’ll find San Francisco Coffee and Halo Cafe.

On the third, or top, level of City Mall, is Food Paradise food court. A wide variety of cuisine is on offer here at affordable prices. The variety of cuisine include Malay, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Western and several others. Popular for the affordable range of food and drinks, Food Paradise is usually bustling with a lunchtime and snack crowd.

The bigger tenants of City Mall, especially those located inside the shopping centre itself, usually close around 10pm. The outside tenants, in particular the restaurants and coffee shops, tend to stay open until late, and it’s not unusual to find them open past 11pm on a week day and past midnight on a weekend. Most of City Mall’s tenants open around 10am daily.

For a varied, unhurried and uncrowded shopping experience, the place to be is City Mall in Kota Kinabalu.

Ultimate Frisbee Sabah is still going strong, so much so that we moved to a new field for Ultimate Frisbee Sabah to expand our game and get that competition feel.

Fighting for space with the footballers were one of the reasons, but needing the space to expand our game, practice game strategy and getting ready for competitions were the main reasons behind the decision to move.

Additionally, the conditions at the Tanjung Aru rugby field were less than ideal, because the field would flood when it rains and usually be soggy on play days. The field was also uneven, making it dangerous for Frisbee, which is often played with eyes in the air.

With the above in mind, Ultimate Frisbee Sabah has moved to the football field near the Likas Sport Complex, immediately adjacent to the hokey field. With the new, bigger and even surface of the sports field comes a small fee. Previously Ultimate Frisbee Sabah had no costs associated with it, but the new field charges a small rental fee of RM50 per session.

Of course, with more than 10 players attending the average Ultimate Frisbee Sabah game, it means less than R5 per person, which for the fun of Ultimate Frisbee Sabah, is a small price to pay.

The game time is as per usual, with warm-ups, skill development and light play starting at 4pm, before moving on to the serious fun associated with a team game, usually consisting of 7 aside, depending on attendance.

Ultimate Frisbee Sabah is a fast paced, action packed team sport that requires speeds, stamina and skill. The Sunday sessions of Ultimate Frisbee Sabah is a fun environment consisting of outgoing people, who are eager to develop these skills.

If you are into non-contact, fast paced team sports, then join us at the football field next to the hockey field at the Likas Sport Complex, every Sunday from 4pm to 6pm for a thrilling game of Ultimate Frisbee Sabah.

Said to have cost over RM30 million to develop, the park is located on the old road from Penampang to Papar in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The wildlife park’s main aim is to educate the public about the endangered animals of Borneo, by giving those who might otherwise never see them, an opportunity to get a glimpse of Borneo’s wildlife up close.

Showcasing endangered animals such as Borneo Pigmy Elephants and Sumatran Rhinos, Lok Kawi Wildlife Park hopes to bring the exotic animals of Borneo to those who are either on a short stay in Sabah, or who perhaps have had no luck finding these animals in the wild.

The Lok Kawi Wildlife Park features a primate zone where Borneo’s popular animals can be found. The orang utang pen features several of Borneo’s best known icon at play, whilst their neighbours, Proboscis Monkeys, are to be seen next door. The Proboscis Monkeys with their trademark bulbous noses consists of a large male with a harem of 4 or 5 smaller females. Their holding area is glass enclosed and therefore provides an excellent vantage point from where to observe these unique creatures.

Right next to the Proboscis Monkey enclosure is a series of smaller enclosures that is home to a variety of hard-to-spot nocturnal and other forest creatures.

Although the enclosures are relatively small, it remains difficult to spot their residents, leaving you to realize how hard it must be to catch a glimpse of these elusive little critters in the wild.

Lok Kawi Wildlife Park’s other interesting exhibits include the elephant pen, were several elephants can be seen going about the business of being an elephant.

There are also sun bears and tigers, and these fascinating animals can be observed from the safety of a raised area.

A very impressive aviary, at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, is home to a variety of Borneo and foreign birds as well as some small animals. The aviary is a large, untouched area of jungle, enclosed inside a giant netted dome. A small river runs through the middle, recreating a very real piece of Borneo jungle. Although the birds can fly freely, the aviary ensures that they are never far away. When you remain in one place long enough and things quiet down a bit, the residents of the aviary start to appear from the shrubs and branches, making the aviary come alive.

Lok Kawi Wildlife Park also has an interesting overseas visitors, who you’d hardly associate with Borneo wildlife. From the southern hemisphere ostriches as well as emus have their individual pens.

A botanical garden, run by the Sabah Forestry Department, occupies the one end of the wildlife park and provides and opportunity to get to know the plant life of Borneo. A 1.4km walkway stretches up into the low-lying hills and winds along the contours before circling back to the entrance gate.

Lok Kawi Wildlife Park is located less than 30 minutes drive from Kota Kinabalu and is a worthwhile destination for both young and old, locals and foreign visitors alike.

A mere RM10 for locals and RM20 for foreigners, and half price for children respectively, will get you in the gate at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park.

The 3000th Airbus off the assembly line at Airbus Industries flew straight into AirAsia’s arms and started commercial operations from its permanent base, Kota Kinabalu, today.

Low Cost Carrier AirAsia’s first Airbus destined for their East Malaysian hub, is the first of four planned for Kota Kinabalu and is the 32nd addition to AirAsia’s growing fleet of Airbus aircraft, scheduled to replace all Boeings by mid 2009.

By the end of 2008, Kota Kinabalu will serve its 3 international and 7 domestic AirAsia destinations with more comfortable, cost efficient Airbus aircraft only.

Airbus Benefits

The Airbus spells big savings for AirAsia, and by extension their passengers, because not only is it more economical to operate, but it also seats 20% more passengers than the current Boeings. With a potential arrival count of 180 passengers per flight, AirAsia’s new Airbus additionally promises a tourism injection for Kota Kinabalu.

Three routes will benefit from the new plane, namely Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu to Macau. Operating on a rotation basis, the aircraft is scheduled for 3 return flights daily, starting with a return flight to KL, followed with a return to Kuching, and ending the day with a return to Macau.

Airbus Comfort

Taking no-frills to a new level of comfort, AirAsia’s new Airbus A320 is fitted with 180, plush leather seats, configured in two rows of 3.

The front half of the plane features seating slightly more spacious than currently on the Boeings, with a 30-inch seat-pitch, whilst the aft half of the plane features seats with a pitch equal to those of the Boeings, at 29-inches. Although half the seats have the same pitch as on AirAsia’s current Boeings, the space may appear more, thanks to the slightly wider leather seats.

In addition, the Airbus’s seats do not recline. However, from a space point of view, this is in fact a benefit, as it means that you will not end up with somebody’s head in your lap during the flight. You can therefore rest assured that the space you have when you sit down, is the space you’ll have throughout the entire flight.

With a current 11 flights daily from Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur, be sure to catch Kota Kinabalu’s permanent resident, the AirAsia Airbus 320, on your next flight out.