MASAINT: My First Impression of Kota Kinabalu

KK as they call, is a hot and humid city in which you can get runny nose in half an hour after arrival. The shopping malls in KK are the ones where you may see a beautiful pair of shoes in five minutes after you step in. The rain in KK can come anytime without notice thus you might have to turn back while walking for @mosphere. and end up with Mee Goreng. And don't be suprised when your Mee Goreng is served on a plate which was covered with a layer of plastic. This is how they manage to serve many rounds without needing to wash the plates.

My first impression? KK is so accustomed to tourism that many things are pricey. Taxi fare for less than 15 min drive cost RM30, a room with ceiling fan and shared bathroom cost RM 70. The prices are almost the same as Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. A day trip of Ecotour cost RM 190 which I think is very clsoe to Bali.

This is the first time I ever travel to the east of Singapore. I can see the beauty of KK even before the plane has landed. The landing route of KK seems to be trickier than other air ports. We were above the Sea for quite a while. I can see the green patches of marine lives under the crystal clear blue sea. The coastline curving in and out, the mountains running up and down, the scene of blue and green was breath-taking.

Among the old fashioned shopping malls, a modern shopping mall has unique Sabah touches. As I walked along the water front, it got darker and can feel the cold air which told me that the rain was coming. It started to rain when I reached Jessleton Point Jetty (Jessleton is the name of the city before it was changed to KK). Since it was so dark, I had to give up my idea of having a nice dinner at @mosphere and turn back to the Step-in Lodge I am staying in.

In this part of the world, people learned how to live with the rain. Once the rain stopped, the shops at water front were crowed with patrons. Plenty of food are there; I would call it "Seafood by the bay". However, since it is the first day and with the threat of allergic reaction, I decided to have a humble Mee Goreng dinner. It seems to be very busy at night, the food was put on the plate covered by a transparent plastic bag so that they can be re-used for the next round without needing to be washed.

I will call it a day and get a good rest to compensate the nights with short sleeping hours during the last busy week.

Map of Kota Kinabalu