Continuing from Doing Kota Kinabalu came the much anticipated visit to Gayana Eco Resort that took about 20 minutes boat ride from Jesselton Point Jetty (slightly longer than our ride to Manukan Island if my direction and navigation skills are anything to go by). If there’s one thing you’ll notice a lot in KK is the frequency of flights in and out of the airport. I could be wrong and at the risk of being absurd, it seemed as though a plane was flying over the apartment every 15-25 minutes or so. Marina Court aparment is located in the flight path so I had that impression. The picture below was taken at Manukan as a plane flew by. There are two parts to this post: The Landscape followed by The Marine Ecology Research Centre.
Despite the very wet weather the afternoon before, the weather cleared up over night and we had gray skies on the morning we made our way to Gayana. Half of the family members who had driven to KK had left and were on their long journey back home. This day the waters were calmer compared to just 24 hours ago we literally jumped off our seats given the rough waters and strong winds. Here, as you see, waters were calm enough to please the little boy in the boat.
Our visit coincided with a documentary Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) was producing of the resort and here we were filmed making our way there and there’s Linda (sales and marketing manager of Gayana) waving to us from across. She was recently in Brunei during the Sabah Tourism fair that was held at The Mall in Gadong.
↓ Expansion work in progress at the Marine Ecology Research Centre (MERC).
A common feature of the resort buildings is the thatched roof design that gives its a distinctive appeal of a “contemporary tropical style architecture”
↓ Dining at one of two restaurants: Alu Alu Seafood Restaurant and Fusion Poolside Restaurant
(see website for more information)
↓ Four types of rooms are available. Shown here is the Bayu Villas at RM1,460 per night
(see website for room rates)
The rooms are air-conditioned and luxurious with a spacious and elegant bathroom to match.
↓ Workers trimming the thatch roof of the new extension to MERC.
↓ Three scuba divers who had just returned from a morning’s dive making their way to the Gayana Dive Centre.
↓ My son Jamie sitting by the steps pondering the fate of the remaining of this long days and equally long nights how he’s been dragged from place to place and often denied of his Game Boy. If it’s any consolation, at least he has on a pair of genuine Crocs … the closest association to Marine life … though I have a feeling that he’s the least bit genuinely interested in them.
Stay tuned for the next post on the Marine Ecology Research Centre.I hope to return to Gayana to check out its after hours illumination. I imagine it to be quite spectacular when the night lights are switched on.
Interested in other resorts?
Visit Brunei and check out our own Ulu Ulu Resort in Temburong, Brunei Darussalam.
Hornbill photo © Jan Shim Photography | Brochure © 
