Calypso's Journal: Kota Kinabalu, aka KK.

KK, in the province of Sabah, is quite a large and modern city which, we have to confess, rather surprised us as had Kuching in Sarawak. Borneo is not just the wild jungles and head hunting tribes of the (relatively recent) past but rather a fairly wealthy region with modern structures, first world four and five star hotels, resorts, shopping malls and sophisticated infrastructure. And, even more surprisingly , these cities are beautifully planted and maintained; the gardens and roadsides are a delightful mix of well groomed lawns, flower beds, trees and shrubs.

All of this may not be what the adventuresome being desires when thinking of travelling to wild Borneo but those 'wild' places do still exist. Unfortunately it's true that so much of the land here and in Peninsula Malaysia has been turned over to oil palms, but there appears to be a concerted effort to save and protect vast areas for conservation and wildlife where, previously, slash and burn was the order of the day. I'm not saying that this doesn't happen any more, it does, but there is certainly a major effort in some quarters to put a stop to it and a big concern to protect the environment.

We anchored off the very prestigious Suteri Marina and Golf Resort in somewhat rolly conditions. We were allowed to take our dinghies into the marina for the duration of the festivities but it was fairly clear that this was a concession that wouldn't last long. I guess they're not catering to the sea-faring nomads of the world. Regardless, the staff were very friendly and cheerful.

Delicious Laksa

Saol Eile and ourselves made several trips into the city to sort out computer problems and simply to have a look around. We found possibly the best laksa ever as well as a fish market where one chooses ones fish which is then taken away, cooked to perfection and delivered to the table. However, Paul, Myra and I chose Tom Yum, which was really spicy and delicious whereas Paraic chose a huge snapper so nicely prepared. All this with the ambiance of the colourful fishing trawlers basking in the setting sun beside us.

The beautiful mountain of Mount Kilabalu is rather famous in its own right. It's the highest mountain in the Malay archipelago at just over four thousand metres and is a favourite for mountain climbers of all levels from simple hiking to serious rock climbing. We didn't get to hike up it but it certainly looked as though it would be a great challenge.

On one of the days, we were taken on a tour around the town. We visited a few mosques, a Chinese temple and the state museum which included a Heritage Village, a display of numerous traditional houses from some of the many different tribes who inhabit Sabah. After this, we were given an amazing presentation of Sabah and all that it has to offer which, we have to say, is a lot. We were then introduced to representatives from the Navy, Coast Guards and police who would be responsible for ensuring our safety while travelling in their waters.

After five days, we said farewell to Kota Kinabalu to head off around the tip of Borneo after which we'd start moving southwards down the eastern coast.

PHOTO GALLERY:

Scenes around the fish market: