3 Nights 5 Days Trip to Kota Kinabalu: Floating Sunset and Kawang Firefly Tour (+ Great Massage Spots)

Floating Sunset Tour

Sea Spa & Massage

Unit Nos. A-3-10, A-3-11, A-3A-11 Lot 10 and Lot 11, Block A, Level 3 and 4 Lorong Lebuh Sutera, Sutera Avenue, 88100 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Beringgis Riverside Seafood Restaurant

Beringgis Papar, 1, Jalan Baru, Kg. Beringgis, 89500 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Suria Sabah

1, Jln Tun Fuad Stephens, Pusat Bandar Kota Kinabalu, 88000 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Travel Dates: 2024.01.20 – 2024.01.24

Places Visited: Grandis Hotel, Suria Sabah KFC, Bintang, Sea Spa Massage, Beringgis Riverside Seafood Restaurant

Kota Kinabalu 3 Nights 5 Days Trip Day 3

Today’s tour starts in the afternoon, so we had a leisurely breakfast~

First day, I have a photo of the dishes that I didn’t take at that time haha.

I went to the rooftop pool for a morning swim but there was also a gym on the same floor, although it wasn’t very well-equipped.

The hours of operation are from 8 AM to 8 PM, but they close from 3 PM to 4 PM.

You can borrow towels at the café on the first floor, so check the photo for reference!

There was a hotel under construction in front, and once it’s finished, it might be hard to see the ocean view from Grandis?

Had a solid swim.

Since it was early, nobody was there, which was great!

The sun was blazing, so the floor was super hot, make sure to wear shoes!

For lunch, we decided to have something light at KFC in the shopping center.

I ordered a chicken set and a single hamburger with a cola, but it turned out the hamburger was a buy 1 get 1 free, and I was surprised.

Looking back, it said [free] in the detailed description haha.

The drink that came with the chicken set was lemon iced tea, but it was super bland.

Same for the carbonated drink; it was also very bland.

The drinks seem to taste like a little bit of powder everywhere.

We wrapped up the remaining hamburger to take home.

Then, we went shopping at Bintang, a famous general store in Malaysia.

I originally wanted to just look around, but I ended up buying two cute and cheap bags…

I had booked a massage before the tour, so while waiting, I took a selfie with my mom~

I thought I looked exactly like my dad, but in the photo, I also seem to resemble my mom a lot haha.

We got in a van and arrived at the Sea Spa massage shop.

It was close to the number one mart we went to yesterday.

This one was much better than the massage shop we went to yesterday haha.

I had a 90-minute full-body aroma massage and it was just the right amount of pain, just enough to feel good??

Here too, the owner is Korean (or at least, I think so).

I personally think it’s good to make a reservation and visit.

(On the last day, I went again and highly recommend the foot massage)

After the massage, we went to Beringgis Restaurant for the sunset and firefly tour.

This place has a small jetty for us to take a boat.

While waiting, we saw ice cream for sale, so we each got one.

It cost about 12 ringgit for two!

And this place was a total cat paradise….

There were so many, but only this friend came out clearly in the photo.

It didn’t run away and liked to snuggle with us, such an angelic cat 😭

After a short boat ride, we arrive at the sunset tour location!

The river connects to the sea, and it took less than 5 minutes to get there.

However, there was a lot of trash on the beach…

I’m really sorry, humanity……..

Round and mounded sands

We took a lot of jump shots, but the beach wasn’t that beautiful.

There was a lot of trash, plus it was low tide…

And it was such a beautiful sunset…

Which angle do you think is prettier???? 🤔

I even tried to eat haha.

This mini quality is so frustrating 😭 Next time, I will definitely buy a pro camera.

The moonlit sky was also beautifully pink.

After the sunset tour, we returned to the restaurant.

For dinner, they served a Korean-style buffet, and the kimchi here was absolutely delicious haha.

Both the cucumber and the radish kimchi were so tasty…

Before going on the firefly tour, I played with the cheese cat haha.

(Firefly photos courtesy of Modu Tour)

Due to the nature of the firefly tour, we were told to refrain from using our phones as too much light would hinder our view, so I couldn’t take any firefly photos.

And also, it’s not like you can see them up close like in the pictures; there weren’t many fireflies, so they weren’t very bright.

Only a couple came close to the boat, and even those only briefly.

But we saw trees that looked like Christmas trees and they sparkled quite a bit, which was pretty.

The guide mentioned it was a day when there weren’t many fireflies, so that was disappointing.

We also spotted a crocodile living by the river for a moment.. wow.

After returning to the hotel, I had a late-night snack…

I enjoyed some beer deliciously.

And the guide told us that there’s an arrow on the ceiling of each hotel room, and when I looked, it was indeed stuck in a corner, very small.

Being in an Islamic country, it indicates the direction for prayers…