Blogs from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, Asia

We left Penang to fly to Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the state of Sabah on Malaysian Borneo. Our flight was delayed by 2 hours but we finally boarded and 2hr50 later we were in Borneo! We arrived to our hotel which was opposite the night food market so we went to have look around that evening. The market itself is dubbed the ‘Filipino market’ and has a large fresh seafood section, as well as fresh and cooked foods. We bought a couple of skewers and went back to the hotel with a couple of beers. The next day we walked around town, and found ourselves in one of the many malls to get away from the heat! Kota Kinabalu is interesting – the city centre is a bit run down but there are many malls ... read more

After an emotional departure from Sepilok, I set off for Kota Kinabalu (KK). KK is so different from Sandakan which was the nearest city to Sepilok. It’s much more westernised, cleaner and modern. I enjoyed KK the last time I visited and I was looking forward to the next few days. A couple of days relaxing and a couple of days trying to climb Mount Kinabalu. The day of the climb, I was collected from my hotel by Amazing Borneo Tours at 6:20am for the 2.5 hour journey to the start point for my climb. It was quite nice to get out of the city and see parts of Kota Kinabalu I hadn’t seen before. Quite soon in to the drive we were in to the hills with beautiful views over the city and Mount Kinabalu ... read more

I started the morning with a more leisurely start than usual at 7AM. I noticed that on the wall they have a world map with an unusual projection that I don't recognise. It's Malaysia centred with a split in the Atlantic and it looks kind of like a Lambert Cylindrical but it's not because it's a normal shape but because I'm not used to a split in the Atlantic I can't use the shape of Greenland as the judge that I normally would on what projection it is. Nice projection though! The boats to the islands depart when they're full, and mine left at about 8:50. My attire wasn't exactly typical for either place I visited. Khaki trousers, hiking boots, a camo shirt, and binoculars on a harness around my neck not exactly making me fit ... read more

Z izby vypadavam 6.05 s tym, ze si dam ranajky a kuknem net. Ani jedno sa nekonalo, lobby zamknuta (ma byt otvorene od 6.00) a net nefungoval. No nist, na bus stanici cakanie na bus c.37, 38 alebo 39. Na lavicke volaky zanieteny islamista co kazal vedla sediacim ludom. Mini pokec s domacim. Pracuje pre nemocnice, vsetky ich obieha. Vravi, ze su tu velke problemy ale nespecifikoval. Prichadza c.38 (6.35). Sadam dnu, nastupuju dalsi ludia. Bol som v tom, ze hned vyrazime ale nie. Bus odisiel o 7.00 ale bezomna. Bo medzi tym dosla 39 a ta mala ist priamo az do pristavu, neisla, i ked som sa pytal vodica. Stanicu opustame 7.10 Dnu asi 5 ludi, ti postupne vystupuju a do mestecka muara dorazam len ja. Cestou videnych par rezidencii inych krajin. Velvyslanectvo nemecka sidli ... read more

Mitten in der Nacht erreichte der Bus aus Tawau Kota Kinabalu. Im Bus hatte ich tatsächlich mit 2 Jacken und meinem Schlafsack gesessen. Ich fuhr in mein Hostel und konnte noch eine Mütze Schlaf gebrauchen bevor ich mich Richtung Innenstadt aufmachte. Bei meinem ersten Aufenthalt in KK hatte ich nicht sonderlich viel von der Stadt gesehen, da Nazmi etwas außerhalb wohnte und mir kein Auto zur Verfügung stand. Ich erkundete das große Shoppingcenter, das wegen dem chinesischen neuen Jahr bunt geschmückt war und lief durch die Straßen. Auf einem Markt kaufte ich einen frisch gegrillten Maiskolben und musste mir die Nase wegen des extremen Fischgetankes zuhalten. Mir wurde die Rafting Tour auf dem Padas River ans Herz gelegt. Daraufhin wurde ich am nächsten Morgen abgeholt und zur nächsten Bahnstation nach Beaufort gefahren. Mit einer kleinen Eisenbahn ... read more