Travelogue: Kota Kinabalu, 25 Sep 06

Flying

0607 Arrived at LCCT, Sepang

0615 Checked in

0623 Went for piss & bought breakfast

0634 Got in line for flight … it’s a long long one sigh

0650 got my seat on the plane … aah

0900 scheduled to arrive on 0923

0935 announcement – cannot land due to heavy pour at KK

0950 announcement – still cannot land, pilot jokes that we got enough fuel for another 2
hrs ... ironic sense of homour

1025 eventually land. Air Asia guy does not allow me to snap a pic … darn

finally, at KK

1035 hopped into a cabbie, (RM20). Airport (terminal 2) is under reno and lots of mud
everywhere … yucks

1200 Got out, walked around & found food at Gaya Street … good ngau chap (better than the one in JB). The place is like a mini chee cheong kai … with lots of Chinese shops
& a large gerbang

1215 walked up signal hill to the observatory

1305 started promisingly from Merdeka field, small road, very lush, not steep

1320 reached the observatory, quite a good view & got a Jap to snap me a photo. Coolio.

1340 reached the foothill

1350 Went to GSC, an old cinema building. Why not a movie? Day’s young, covered more
than half of the city centre. Watched DOA.

1545 done with movie. Bummed around

1615 reached open market … a lot of goods from boats, mostly vege & fruits. Also a lot of
food, it’s the open food market & brisk business due to buka puasa. Lots of BBQ
seafood of all sizes. Smelt good, but doubt cleanliness. I passed.

1630 went into nadicraft market. Lots of wood stuff & interesting, not the usual crap from
KL’s Central market … nice carvings at ok prices.

1700 Bought myself some nice pieces … quite happy & thought they were bargains. Went
back to rest

1800 sky started getting dark. Realized time zone is slightly different in East Malaysia &
dinner starts earlier … so made a move. Asked for recommendations from the hotel
guy. Gave some idea, which was good, cheap & fresh (although different from original
plan)

0900 finished dinner. Very full, so started to work off the excess … walked to bistro row
near promenade, and kept walking until the end of the city centre. Didn’t walk to
Sutera Harbour cos had to pass squatters, so went back

2030 got back. TV showed news about KK as a nest for child prostitution. Funny, cause I
didn’t see any on the way back since the hot area was where my hotel is. Maybe it’s
too early.

Observations for the day:

1. A lot of bumis working in Chinese restaurants, almost not possible in KL

2. a lot of poor bumis walking around me, but I didn’t feel threatened, whereas in KL, I would have been afraid

3. people are more simple, they smile more, they are more sincere & not so defensive

4. a lot of foreigners per square km for such a small city, probably cause KK is a checkpoint city to other parts of Sabah