Travellers,
Departing KL for Borneo was exciting because it felt like this is where the adventure would really begin. We arrived early evening to find a quiet seaside town which belied the true size of the city. Kota Kinabalu is the capital of Sabah, the Northern state of Borneo Malaysia. Sabah is considered a natural wonderland due to its rainforests, mountains and spectacular coral reefs and KK is without doubt the gateway. Its population is 600,000 which is roughly equivalent to that of the Gold Coast. But you would never know this by the city’s outward appearance. The visible KK is a seaside town with four main roads running parallel with the shoreline of the South China Sea. At one end is the Jetty from which you can book passage on one of the many shallow, canopied boats to take you to the nearby tropical islands. The numerous hotels, tour agencies on every corner, two 24 hour KFCs, a Starbucks, an Irish Pub and a supermarket which sells Tim Tams is indicative of an economy suckled on the fat dollar of tourism. But this is not to say KK is without its indigenous charm. You only need cast your eyes away from the neon-lit promenade along the water’s edge to see tightly packed streets with concrete-floored, roller door cafés. At night, markets literally rise up from the pavement to occupy the available floor space. An empty lot becomes a hive of hawker stalls where you can choose from a fisherman’s daily catch and have it cooked right before your eyes!
Departure lounge Dynamics
No announcement was made, nor signals employed on the monitor – indeed, the monitor was broken! – yet the 300 passengers on flight AK5108 moved in unison towards the gate like a flock of birds changing direction, a school of fish evading a predator, or maybe a head of cattle arriving at the dairy of their own accord to be milked.
The Travel Bug
Have you ever met someone who was obsessed with travelling? So much so that they re-arrange their life in order to accommodate more travel? We met a Frenchman at the airport who was looking to split a taxi with us into town. He was a (former) software engineer in his late 30s who apparently had a “crisis of faith” and took to the world. He spends between two and six months of every year travelling the globe (mostly cheaper continents such as Asia). To satisfy his addiction to travel, he quit his job as a software engineer and became a tour guide in his home town in the South-West of France. Part of me was inspired to follow him on his adventures but the greater part of my being was pretty happy I will return to my job and, more importantly, my beautiful girlfriend.
Stowaways: Part 2
Citing jetlag, food poisoning and a host of other imaginary ailments, the turtles remained in the hotel in KL. I occasionally caught them sifting through my guide book of Malaysia but when questioned they denied reading the book. I am beginning to get very suspicious . . .
Now that we are in Borneo the pair have begun venturing away from the hotel. I saw them at the jetty talking to local boatman. I asked around and there are legends of a sunken trading vessel in the region but I am doubtful even Oscar and Mr T. would be foolish enough to believe there is any lost treasure to find. The local pearl industry is quite lucrative but so is the counterfeit pearl industry which preys on the ignorance or tourists.
VIP
KK has a host of VIP services of which two stand out. The supermarket next door ot our hotel has valet parking for a mere 10 rm ($3AUD) per hour. The second is a little more vague but it appears MacDonald’s has some sort of VIP Drive-Thru service. I have seen several cars with stickers identifying them as MacDonald’s VIP Customers!
Suria Sabah
Just south of the Jetty, occupying a crop of land along the shoreline is Suria Sabah. Suria Sabah is an eight story shopping centre complete with designer clothing stores, cinema and food court which offers spectacular views of the South China Sea and nearby islands. Nothing could be more out of place in KK than this megalithic colossus. In a community which has few buildings more than two stories high (save for the hotels) and whose residents are accustomed to shopping in street stalls, markets and small retail outlets, I can’t fathom that a single local person would shop there. This is not to say the City is a poor one – every other car on the road is a Hilux or Hilux equivalent car!! But it doesn’t feel like the rest of the city. To walk the shopping centre is to walk a ghost town. There are few open stores. So few in fact that the unoccupied stores outnumber the occupied by a ratio of 3:1. Clearly the building is brand new but you can’t help wonder if this is a sign of rejection by the residents of KK. Maybe the glittering home wares and genuine designer clothes (as opposed to imitations) do not possess sufficient allure for a community spoiled by the rich natural beauty that surrounds them.
