Kota Kinabalu - Bukit Padang
69Escape the heat of the city
Just about everywhere I have been to in Malaysia, from Kuala Lumpur in West Malaysia to Tawau here in Sabah, Borneo, one thing you see people doing every morning and every evening is walking. Anytime from 4.30am until about 8am when the sun starts to hot up, and again from about 3.30pm until right up to 10pm when its cooler, you will see Malaysians in shorts, t-shirts, trainers, jeans, flip-flops, tudongs, raincoats, (actually any clothing or footwear seems to be OK!), towel wrapped around hand or neck, pacing either round a track or up a hill. It seems to be a predominantly Chinese activity, but Indians, Malays and all other races that make up "1Malaysia", can be seen breathing in the cool morning or late evening air and balancing their qi's!
I'd like to know what you think...
What time of day do you prefer to exercise?
See results without votingA stone's throw from the centre of KK
Heading out of town on Jalan Tuaran (catch the number 12 minibus (Bas Mini) if using public transport), straight across the lights at Jalan Lintas and straight across 3 mini roundabouts and you will arrive at Bukit Padang - also known as Taman Tun Fuad Stephen (named after a political "hero", who died in the Double Six plane crash - a monument to which can be seen at Grace Point in Sembulan, near the Magellan Sutera access road).
A former Resevoir turned recreation park, Bukit Padang attracts walkers, runners, mountain bikers, quad bikers, hashers, people training to climb Mount Kinabalu, families, friends, botanists, entomologists (people who study bugs), twitchers (bird watchers), photographers, and an array of other people all doing what they like doing. Rain or shine, there are always people there.
Around the lake is a metalled 2.2 kilometre track - predominantly flat but there are a few rises which, after you have run round a few times are deceptively steep! The surface provides easy access for disabled and pushchairs, but if you must take a pushchair try not to get in the way of the runners - some people do serious training regimes - they are the really fit looking chaps with no body fat! Surrounding the track on your left is lots of lovely woodlands and greenery which smell just gorgeous after a rain fall. There seems to be an unwritten rule that you walk around the lake in an anti-clockwise direction, keeping to the left side, but there are always rebels who walk round clockwise and walk on the right - ah well! On the way round you will notice 2 or 3 flat concrete area's. If you get up early enough, you will see this areas brimming with people (generally quite old I must say) practising the ancient art of... line dancing. Mmm, yes, and you thought I would say Tai Chi didn't you? Well they do that too, and a variety of other fun to watch activities. You will also find lots of benches and places to sit, some of them covered by little pagoda's - just in case you are caught in a downpour!
A walkway / bridge divides the lake in two. This can serve a few purposes:
- Too tired to do a full circuit so short cut across!
- Need to pee and have to get back the shortest possible route 'cause you're too shy to go in the bushes;
- To take nice photos of the reflections in the water; and
- To feed the masses of terrapins (like turtles) that get released here every year (its a luck thing apparently!), or the giant fish which look like monster catfish.
Lots of people bring the kids down at the weekend (best time to avoid it if you ask me!) with bags of bread to feed these aquatic monsters. There is a strict no fishing policy by the way!
Want something a little more challenging than a stroll in the park?
So you have walked around the lake and need a change of scenery. Perhaps something a little more tough on your calf muscles. Something to make you sweat a bit more and earn that bottle of water you've packed in your day pack, along with your camera, insect ID, bird ID, et al, eh?
How about a set of several hundred steps to set your pulse racing?
Steps, steps and more steps! Have a look at this slideshow of steps! But for the view, its worth the effort...
Click thumbnail to view full-size
Birds, butterflies and bugs.
Ok, I know, some days you just want to forget about exercise and just enjoy being at one with nature. Sit on a park bench or lay on a blanket and enjoy the tropical heat, the sounds of the cicada's and birds singing away. You've sprayed liberally with mosquito repellent, and then you spot a movement in a bush, or on a branch or in some grass. At Bukit Padang, this is a very likely scenario. One day on one of my strolls with the camera, in just one hour, I had seen a cicada larvae (had to look that one up - until then it just looked like a nasty beastie carapace), a Green Crested Lizard, some SwallowTail butterflies (among many others), another beastie which I later found out was a Stephanid wasp, and a plethora of toadstools and ferns and flowers. What ever is your particular passion, you are sure to see something to make you smile at Bukit Padang with out having to exert too much effort!
Take comfort in the knowledge that in the car park, there are stalls selling ice cold water and soft drinks, fresh local fruits and vegetables, some fried doughnutty type thingies which I have never tried as I'd likely eat more calories than I'd just run off, and a variety of other goods.
And so...
Should you find yourself at a loose end, not really fancying a long trip, but in need of some fresh air and to get out of the city, and of course you happen to be in Kota Kinabalu, then Bukit Padang is the answer. Don't forget to bring a little money in case you need to buy drinks or an ice cream, and your bus fare back to KK!
Kota Kinabalu - Bukit Padang, is the second piece in my series about Kota Kinabalu. Thanks for coming by and come back soon to read more. You won't be sorry.
Cheers and TTFN (ta ta for now)
Further reading...
If you would like to view my other Hubs in my Kota Kinabalu series, look here:
