As advertised, we're having a bit of a summer run-around, which has kicked off very satisfactorily in Kota Kinabalu.

This is the capital of Sabah, the other Malaysian state located in the big island of Borneo (along with our Sarawak, little Brunei, and a massive tract of Indonesia).

It's only our third visit to KK. The first, at the beginning of 2009, pre-dated even my first blog, Travel and Food. We arrived on a ludicrously short flight from Brunei, where we'd spent a very quiet New Year; we stayed at The Jesselton; and pretty much all we did was go to the Sabah Museum, and walk a bit of the seafront. Just two nights, and then we were off again, to Kinabalu Park and other bits of Sabah.

The second visit was a full 10 years later, and we were here to escape the smoke pollution that was blanketing Kuching at the time. We made much more of an effort during that stay, tracking down lots of sights, cafes, and walking possibilities (start here, and work forward).

This time, we've walked a lot, and blobbed a lot, and it has been really, really nice, just what we've needed.

We're staying in a privately-run little flat at the top of the Sky Hotel:





Impressions of Sabah's capital, third time round:

1. As a place to live, I still much prefer Kuching. KK doesn't have an equivalent to Kuching's historical heart (it all got flattened during the war), and it definitely has a more frantic vibe. Tourism is much more perceptible, especially at the moment (it is, after all, a holiday weekend in the middle of the summer, and KK's busy airport is fetching the tourists in from far and wide...)

2. On the other hand, KK has sea... Our river is wonderful, but nothing quite compares with the sea:









3. We've been in the malls quite a bit (partly because we made a real pig's ear of packing for this trip, and forgot several crucial things; partly because Nigel's front-pack gave up the ghost on the journey over, and this was a good chance to replace it; partly because there are purchasing opportunities here that we don't have in Kuching; and partly because malls are great places to walk in the middle of the day when it's hot outside). Centre Point is one of the older ones, and it's quirky, characterful, and FULL of hairdressers, many of whom look as though they have interesting stories to tell. Imago, big and modern, is quite close to our flat, and has a handy supermarket. Suria Sabah, at the other end of town, also fits into the big-and-modern category, and is really quite a retail drawcard.


4. For urban walkers like us, KK is a mixed bag. On the one hand, some of the junctions are pretty fearsome; building sites not only obliterate pavements, but force pedestrians right out into the middle of the road to circumvent them; and walking the waterfront is a total obstacle course. On the other hand, there are tree-lined streets, and someone has shown quite a bit of vision in constructing aerial walkways, and roofing over some pavements to provide shelter from the sun and the rain:








5. There are some interesting monuments:





6. I have no complaints whatsoever about the streetscapes:











7. And there's also an excellent cafe scene:











So... All in all, this has been a very enjoyable stay, and as always, I'm struck by the mood-enhancing effects of a change of scene. We're off to Tenom tomorrow, but we have another crack at KK at the end of the week, before moving on to Labuan.