Written by Kayla Khoh

During the holidays, whether you stayed home or went on a trip, here’s how you can be prepared for the next time you go.

Must needs for ANY sort of trip: 

• Plenty of water
• Plenty of clothing
• Plenty of food
• Plenty of travel supplies
• Sanitizer, extra masks

Optional:

Travel Diary, A personal item, entertainment, and a camera.

My Travel Diary

During the end-of-term break, I went to Mt. Kinabalu with 2 friends, their families and my family. I’m going to tell you about my adventures in Mt. Kinabalu.

The Drive

The drive up to Mt. Kinabalu was very long-lasting. I suggest bringing some entertainment for driving up a mountain with just a car, or when you’re on a long road trip with nothing to do.

Perhaps some bingo cards, electronics, or some good old books.

My entertainment source included books, and a drawing pad. It was a long, wintery-like drive. I had to wear a jacket because the air conditioning was making the area even colder.

Bring a jacket along for the ride, that’s for sure.

Arriving

Finally, we had arrived at the destination. I met my friends there, and had some lunch. We all had noodles and water. Yum!
The sign of the restaurant was made from pipes. We collected rocks outside of the restaurant, just for fun!

At the houses/Day 1

I decided to head in my friend’s car for the rest of the drive. I saw lots of amazing sights, like statues of pineapples and cabbages. There were a lot of people there and the climb continued to get frosty.

We finally arrived at a valley surrounded by hills. We enjoyed looking at the plants, sat on large rocks and had some really great photography opportunities. We were waiting quite a long time before we were let in. There was no hotel, just a little house known as the ‘Little Green Cottage’.

We went inside, however the only downside was that there were a lot of flies. We got some smelly sticky paper that attracted flies and they got stuck to the paper. We settled in for the day. There was a tall ladder going upstairs.

Outside, it was cold, there were still lot of flies, but it was a fun night doing barbecue and having steamboat in an open air kitchen, by a little stream. 

We had a wonderful barbecue with noodles and sausages. We ate it outside of the Little Red Cottage (where my friends stayed), and we chatted. After rounds of sausages and noodles, we were allowed to roast some marshmallows, too. We celebrated my mum’s birthday, and enjoyed the moment. 

After that, I took an extremely cold shower and then we went to bed. Eventually, I fell asleep. Make sure to pack a jumper if you’re going to cold climates. It’s going to be really cold in your sleep. 

Day 2

The Little Green Cottage was amazing. I loved it! It wasn’t like any other house or resort, we were actually living in a farm. The beds were comfortable, though. The view in the morning was breathtaking. We saw Mt Kinabalu glittering in gold. It was magnificent.

We had steamboat leftovers for breakfast. There were fish cakes, quail eggs, meat, soup, noodles, and chocolate milk. Yum!

This was the day we moved to another cottage. My friend (who shared the Little Green Cottage with us) had to go home. She was only staying for a night. 

We decided to go on a little road trip around the mountain. Our first stop was the rabbit farm. We walked up a large ramp leading into a rock enclosure, where we fed the rabbits!

It was a whole lot of fun feeding the rabbits! Five rabbits crowded me. Too cute!
Make sure after doing anything messy, clean your hands. I recommend bringing sanitiser. 

Going back down the ramp, we got some drinks and snacks, then hit the road again. We made a stop to have lunch, where we explored the place and collected pinecones. There was a beautiful garden with different herbs and flowers.

The next area to go to was Sabah Tea farm. It was an hour drive. After arrival, we took pictures, ate ice cream, and had a thrilling

moment going on a canopy walk.

My sister and I fell asleep on the drive back to our cottage.
The exciting day wasn’t over yet. We went to a Bus Restaurant and had delicious dinner. We pretended to be a bus driver heading to London!

Day 3

Today was the final day. We were already starting to pack. I went outside for breakfast in my jumper (my jacket was dirty) and ate breakfast. Mmm… noodles and chocolate milk. Yum!

Even though we were heading home, it was a fun trip! Afterwards, my sister and I played on the swing, drank chocolate milk and told stories. My other friend came along, and took pictures with Mt. Kinabalu. It was beautiful!

Since it was a long drive, I packed a book and my drawing pad to play with during the trip home. Finally, after a long drive through the mountains, we were finally home.

Make your own Travel Diary

To make a Travel Diary, you can design a little notebook. 

Write down the date, and start writing about what you did. Add pictures, and start with “Today, I did…”

You can write captions for the pictures, as well.

Mt. Kinabalu!