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Published: November 23rd 2010
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We had been recommended Lucy’s guesthouse by Andy and Emma (who we stayed with in El Nido) and so we had formulated a very simple plan for when we exited the airport: 1. Find a taxi 2. Tell the driver the address of Lucy’s guesthouse 3. Reserve our room at the guesthouse and enjoy our first night in KK. The plan sounds tough – but part 1 and 2 were simple, which is a credit to the transport system here in KK. However, part 3 was a failure. Lucy did not have a room until tomorrow – so we reserved that. Every other place we tried was full until finally we found a nice enough place (albeit quite expensive) pretty much next to Lucy’s. By this time it was getting late and we were tired – so me and Laura departed to our separate gender split dorms.
The vibe of this hostel was weird – so we awoke early and left for Lucy’s where we were given a very nice double room. I will come back to Lucy’s guesthouse a bit later as it is worth a little write up but first we headed to the famous Sunday market of
Kota Kinabalu. We had been told about this market and so we made sure our arrival in the city coincided with this event; well done us. The market spanned the whole length of the main road that runs through the middle of the city. The stalls can be categorised quite succinctly:
Animals
t-shirts
food and drink
wood craft and souvenirs
Jewellery and accessories
Electronics (minimal)
My favourite stall was always the animal stalls – sure, it was sad to see them caged up but they all looked very healthy and very happy. The larger animals (cats and dogs) were bred professionally and were very lively.
“You want dog?” A friendly seller says to me as I admire a particularly cute little shit of a dog.
“Yes,” I reply as I have forgotten where I am and that I cannot possibly buy a dog. However, I did want the dog. This was not a lie.
The gentleman proceeds to take the pup out of the cage and says “14 Ringgit.” Now this is cheap – verrry cheap. I was tempted. The pup was being packaged and processed when suddenly my transaction was intercepted by Laura. At
the time, I was sad, but after a long think I was happy she was there. Don’t fall into this trap!
A good day was enjoyed here in the market and we spent the rest of the day wondering through the city to become acquainted with it. It is quite a large city but the main part of it is all based around the area that Lucy’s is located in. There are about 5 roads running parallel from the seafront, all cris crossed with vertical roads. These roads are packed with some little gems – especially some very good Indian restaurants.
Lucy’s guesthouse is just how Andy and Emma described it. Lucy herself is an amazing lady – who runs the place by herself and has links to everyone and everywhere in Malaysian Borneo. The rooms are well kept and her 3 tiger sized cats and the quaint little seating area/kitchen give the place a real homely feel. Lucy herself lives in a little room on the mezzanine floor above the “library.” Breakfast is included and there is always a bowl of fruit on the table. We spent a lot of time sitting around just reading and occasionally
chatting to Lucy. She has a wealth of knowledge and an extensive bank of traveller experiences. It is a very small place, which is good, but it does mean that rooms are limited. Try and book ahead. I highly recommend this place.
Along the front of the city there are a number of really nice little markets (all under cover). There is an abundance of goods on offer and we easily spent most of the day browsing. Other then this the city is a good place to relax before moving onto more grubby affairs that Borneo is more famous for. We had booked to do a 3 day trip to the kota Kinabatangan national park – all through Lucy herself. After three days here in KK we were picked up by a taxi and taken to the bus terminal – let the real Borneo begin!
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