Santa Clause and Santa’s Little Helpers, the Elves, will be scaling Mt. Kinabalu on 13 & 14 December.
But shhhhhh, don’t tell the kids, it’s actually a staff team from Raleigh Borneo raising funds for their Host Country Venturer Programme.
Raleigh Borneo is the local chapter of UK-based Raleigh, which has had a permanent base in Kota Kinabalu since 2002.
Over the years, Raleigh Borneo has facilitated over 3,000 volunteers from around the world to help rural Sabahan communities build basic necessities, such as gravity water feed systems, kindergartens and community halls, in nearly 100 projects.
The Host Country Venturer Programme
The Host Country Venturer Programme enables local youngsters to join Raleigh Borneo by subsiding the cost of their participation and enabling them to make a difference in their own communities.
“So far only RM 13,000 have been raised”, said Yolanda Graham, Raleigh Borneo’s Recruitment, Support & Media Coordinator (and one of the Elves climbing the mountain). “It will help fund just 2 Malaysians in 2011, but we’re hoping to raise enough funds to sponsor 10.”
Yolanda says the focus of Raleigh expeditions are to help youths discover their abilities and develop their confidence, benefitting communities and the environment as they go.
“In short”, she says, “our challenging and purposeful expeditions help make better citizens. And better citizens make a better country.”
More Donors Needed
Donors who have made contributions include Borneo Divers, Shangri-La Rasa Ria Resort, Popular Express and JR Pharmacy.
Sutera Sanctuary Lodges have offered lower accommodation fees for the climbers and Sabah Parks has waived entrance and permit fees.
“We are pleased with the encouragement so far. It shows that people are aware of our efforts and believe in our work. We hope more donors will come forward to support our youths and ultimately contribute to the good work throughout Sabah,” said Yolanda.
To make a contribution and donate to this worthy cause, contact Raleigh Borneo at raleigh
streamyx.com or call +60 13 880 2134.
Climb as much as you like is an attractive offer, especially when it only costs RM12. But SabahBah.com discovers that at the Sabah Indoor Climbing Centre as much as you like might be more than as much as you can.
Face The Challenge
Then I read about Sabah Indoor Climbing Centre’s ‘climbing as much as you like‘ offer. So I made plans and imagined the entire day spent just climbing up and down the various grades of wall. Possible, I thought, because I do running-type sports 3 times a week and I’m fairly fit.
Turns out though, wall climbing is not about running, in fact, it’s not even about cardio. Nope, wall climbing is about strength. Strength in your upper body, strength in your arms, and strength in your legs. I might be able to run, but apparently I’m not that strong.
Preparation is the Key
After getting a pair of hard, gum-soled shoes that fit my big feet from the Sabah Indoor Climbing Centre guys, I was up on a medium grade part of the wall strutting my stuff. It all went well too, until I got up to about 4m, 1m short of the top of the wall. My fingers started cramping.
Now there’s not a lot of muscle in fingers, so it didn’t hurt that much, but it cramped so hard I couldn’t release my grip from the wall. There I was, stuck; legs and arms in precarious positions, tiring quickly.
After a few failed attempts I eventually managed to pry my cramped fingers from the hold, but in the process also lost my balance and, hanging by the right hand, which was still cramped shut around the wall, proceeded to lose my footing.
Like Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 2 I hang there, back to the wall, gasps coming from below where other climbers had been watching. Tom, unlike me, didn’t have a safety rope that would prevent him falling to the ground below though, so I knew I was safe.
I managed to swing myself around, regain my footing and pry my hand loose. But I was exhausted and couldn’t make it to the top. My belayer gently lowered me to the ground where I recovered.
Although I felt very energetic, my legs and arms felt weak and I realised my climbing session won’t be as long as I hand intended. Although I managed to shake the cramps from my fingers, I only managed 2 more climbs up easier parts of the wall.
Easy? It is and isn’t
“3 or 4 climbs are about standard”, said my belayer. “When you do it often then you can do more”, he continued, “but it takes some practice.”
Sabah Indoor Climbing Centre hasn’t been open that long, but they’ve already gained a loyal following of climbers who are at the wall quite frequently. At RM10 per session during the week and RM12 over the weekends, it’s a very affordable sport.
You can rent all the equipment you need at the the centre itself, although basic essentials are just shoes and a harness. Ropes, chalk and even a climbing buddy / belayer, are provided and the walls cater to beginners and more experienced climbers.
For more information, visit our Sabah Indoor Climbing Centre page.
It’s been a while since a new restaurant in Kota Kinabalu has received so much attention from the food loving public, but the new Sailors’ Café is making a name for itself for good reasons.
Set the Mood
Many restaurants in Kota Kinabalu are food focused, which is why often restaurants are shoved into the stark-white squares where service is dim in comparison to the bright neon lighting.
So it was then that the first thing to strike us about the Sailors Café was the restaurant’s décor.
From the quality tiles on the floor, to the textured detailing on the walls and the kitchen counter, right up to the wooden beams against the ceiling and the soft golden lighting highlighting detailed pictures and other collectables on the walls; the mood was set for a feast.
Quick Service with a Smile
The second thing to impress us about the Sailors’ Café was the service and staff.
At once friendly and attentive, we took it for granted when we were the 2nd of 2 tables in the restaurant.
However, when the service was maintained 20 minutes later as the restaurant filled up, we noticed, and were suitably impressed, that the staff didn’t waiver.
Now Feed Me!
Of course the ambience and service is just half the battle won and the final test is the food itself.
Sailors’ Café’s menu is somewhat flexible, the Chef told us, as you sometimes have to improvise with what’s available at the market on any given morning.
However, the menu always features fresh western inspired dishes, which are varied enough to cater to most palates.
The food is served quickly and in relatively quick succession, which means that the entire table will be eating together in a short span of time.
Upon SabahBah.com’s visit we had enough people at our table to sample 11 dishes and overall the food is not just good looking (well presented, interesting garnish), but it’s also very reasonably priced and surprisingly good sized portions.
The Sailors’ Café gets a big thumbs-up. And not just from us, so perhaps it’s better to phone ahead to make sure they’re not booked out.
For more info, check out SabahBah’s Sailors’ Café listing.
As promised, party planner Renaissance of Borneo delivered one of Kota Kinabalu’s most high-profile parties on Thursday, 17 December.
With subtle lighting, the KK Waterfront’s biggest night club, B.E.D. (Best Entertainment Destination) was transformed into a pastel-coloured playground, which accentuated the size of the venue and gave impact to the theme, Elegance in White.
Chivas, as one of the main sponsors, had a Welcome Drink Station set up at the entrance and party goers were greeted with a shot of Chivas and a mixer of their choosing.
True to Sabah’s party spirit, those who attended Elegance in White stayed true to the theme of white and the venue slowly filled with beautiful people wearing a manner of all-white and partly-white outfits.
DJ Ash got the crowd going with some bopping tunes before DJ Fine China took over the reigns to put his own particular spin on the party.
Although Elegance in White perhaps fell a little short of the descriptions in the press releases, it was an overall success and Borneo looks forward to future events organised by Renaissance of Borneo.
Ice Bar, unlike what the name might suggest, is one of Kota Kinabalu’s hottest nightlife venues, filled with beautiful people up for a party any time of the year, but especially on New Year’s Eve.
But not just on New Year’s Eve. Nope, Ice Bar, in the habit of pushing party limits as they are, will be throwing a massive party that stretches over 2 nights, both New Year’s Eve and the 1st of January, making Ice Bar’s party the longest, the last of 2009 and the first of 2010!
What you can expect at this massive Sabah New Year’s Eve & New Year’s Day celebration is 6,000 megawatts of bass power, 3,000 party people wanting to say goodbye to 2009 and hello to 2010, 16 hours of partying hard, 13 DJs for your entertainment and 9 dancers.
The tickets are RM70 each, and aside from the quality entertainment that Ice Bar’s got lined up for this New Year’s extravaganza, you’ll also get a free drink, a party pack and entry into the lucky draw for some awesome prizes.
Check out the details of what New Year’s Eve in Kota Kinabalu has in store for you by zooming on over to the Ice Bar New Year’s Eve Party page, or see the insane specials that Ice Bar 1Borneo has during December and January at the Ice Bar main page under Kota Kinabalu nightlife!
Party hard at Ice Bar this 09/10!
Exclusively for Facebook Page members of SabahBah.com, 2 sets of tickets (2 for 31 Dec and 2 for 1 Jan) are up for grabs.
Visit our Facebook Page at Facebook.com/SabahBah and win yourself tickets to this awesome event.
Golf
Spas
Sabah Weather
Airport
Transport
Cinema Listings
Contact Us
