CEBU PACIFIC AIRLINES (www.cebupacificair.com) recently concluded the second year of its Backpacker Adventure Challenge. Last year contestants proved how far they’d be willing to go with a $550 travel budget without having to scrimp on fun and adventure in any local destination. This year Cebu Pacific flew participants to nearby Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. But the challenge remained the same: be a Don Juan of adventure while going down low on your bank.
Acting as an information central was the Sabah Tourism Board which adequately highlighted the many activities that awaited the adventurers. Canon Philippines lent each participant DSLR and point-and-shoot cameras to document the fun.
The grand prize was a three-night, four-day Kota Kinabalu travel package for two, courtesy of the friendly people of Sabah Tourism Board (many thanks to its noble chairman, Datu Seri Tengku Zainal Adlin!), and three round-trip tickets to any of the 16 international destinations of Cebu Pacific. These include Bangkok, Beijing, Brunei, Busan, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Macau, Osaka, Seoul (Incheon), Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei.
Second-place winners received two international round-trip tickets, while third-place winners received two round-trip tickets to any of 34 domestic destinations from the Cebu Pacific hubs in Manila, Clark, Cebu and Davao.
For special prizes, Canon Philippines gave away two units of the popular Canon PowerShot SX 210 IS cameras. With a wide-angle, image-stabilized 14x zoom lens, 14.1-megapixel resolution and DIGIC 4 processing, the PowerShot SX210 is a compact and superbly versatile camera with 720p HD video and stereo audio. Its easy-to-use rotary bezel allows users to tweak its many functions and options, including manual exposure. Small and handy, these cameras have the heart and soul of a DSLR, can interface with both Mac and PC systems, and must be on your shopping list before Christmas. Meanwhile, for its own special prize, the Sabah Tourism Board bestowed a three-night, four-day Kota Kinabalu travel package for two. (Again, many thanks to Datu Adlin.) We were billeted at the Gaya Centre Hotel by our gregarious tour guide Alvin Quek, who took us out to dinner with members of the Sabah Tourism Board at the Port View Seafood Village in the Waterfront area the first night.
On the second day, we explored the city’s many tourist shopping spots including the recently-built Suria Sabah Mall, Warisan Square Shopping Mall and Wawasan Plaza to check out the yearlong deals on electronics and devices. Kota Kinabalu is a laptop buyer’s paradise with bargains going as low as 60-percent off the suggested retail price.
Day Three, we visited Lok Kawi Wildlife Park with over 280 acres of rare tigers, white rhinos, orangutans, and other curious animals—not the least the proboscis monkey which had an elongated appendage for its nose and was known to be a top critter to the satisfaction of its many wives.
Next was Monsopiad Cultural Village, which offers a glimpse into the pre-industrial civilization of Malaysian Borneo, and the Museum of Islamic Civilization, which has an astounding collection of gilt and hand-painted Qurans from the 17th and 18th centuries.
We also visited the islands of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park which offers five idyllic isles of uncrowded beaches and clear waters.
Last, we took a day trip to Mount Kinabalu National Park for a swift run through its awesome trails and rain forests. Mount Kinabalu, a mere two-hour ride from the city, is Malaysia’s first World Heritage Destination, an honor bestowed by Unesco in December 2000 for the park’s role as one of the world’s most important biological sites. It is also the highest peak in Southeast Asia.
***Cebu Pacific flies thrice weekly between Manila and Kota Kinabalu.
