18 August 2006 - Kota Kinabalu

I woke up this morning with seriously itchy feet, figuratively speaking. So after a light breakfast and with a copy of a street map of in my hand I headed into KK. I felt like being adventurous & had come here wanting to find out a little about the local people & so decided that taking my life into my own hands by trying out the Bas Mini, the transport system the locals use, seemed like a good idea. The bas mini was certainly a life changing experience! They drive FAST in Sabah. Also the mini buses are constantly stopping for passengers, which lead to some fairly hairy situations. Especially when there are two or more of these things trying to pick up the same passengers! Still, it was a lot of fun & the locals seem to be appreciative of tourists experiencing a little of their way of life.

Once I reached KK, minus a few years off my life, I wandered around while drinking my way through about four litres of water. It's certainly hot & humid here! I think the temperature was about 30 degrees Celsius, but someone said the humidity was around 90%! There aren't as many beggars or hawkers here as I would have thought. Of what few beggars there are most are missing a limb or two. The few hawkers aren't obvious with stalls showing their wares. The ones that I came across wanted me to follow them so they could show me the VCDs, jewelry etc they had for sale. No thank you!

My initial impression of KK is that it's a filthy & smelly place, but wandering around I found it more interesting than offensive. Certainly the mostly open & friendly people make the place worth visiting. I was stopped numerous times by people wanting to find out where I came from I met more than a few who had family living in Perth or Adelaide. Fortunately no one took exception to me being an Aussie, infact Australians still seem to be liked here. Speaking a little Malaysian & making an effort to respect the local values helps also. It's amazing the broad smiles and obvious appreciation that results from even a faulty attempt at "Halo. Apa kabar? Di mana..." "Hello. how are you? Where is...". Actually the faulty attempts get a better reaction than the correct ones. I caused a few people to laugh & offer a correction to me... I think I actually asked for a fish to cut bread at one point!

The shopping in Sabah is good, although not what we're used to. The malls are probably more like our markets. I even dared to enter a local supermarket in the hope of buying some bits I needed. It wasn't easy, but certainly fun & I eventually found what I needed with the help of some kind & patient staff.

Having had enough of the heat I headed back to the resort, again on the bas mini - for a swim, a light lunch of Slipper Lobster in a beconaise sauce closely followed by a nice cold beer. The waiter seemed unsure but impressed when I asked for the beer :) After lunch I decided to take it easy & borrowed a book from the extensive library at Langkah.

Even thought it's an Islamic state, Sabah isn't as strict as some. It's possible to purchase alcohol & there are plenty of bars & even at least one nightclub that I saw in KK.