So we got to have a little sleep in this morning as checkout wasn't until 12, which took the pressure off. We packed up our bags and then headed down to breakfast at around 8:30. Amanda and I had agreed to meet and go to the Sabah State Museum at 9ish but we didn't end up getting out the door until just before 10, so we arrived there at 10. It was a very small museum but was in a garden with some village house exhibitions. We went into the museum building itself and worked our way through the galleries about the history of Sabah (which prior to 1963 was the country of North Borneo and then Sabah). Downstairs it had exhibitions on traditional instruments (such as the nose flute??), basket weaving, farming methods, and traditional costume. Upstairs there was a gallery of Sabah's wildlife, with taxidermied animals, and a ceramic display with pots and other ceramics that had been traded with Chinese, Japanese and other Asian ships, and also traditional pots used to ferment and drink rice wine, and burial pots. It was all very interesting! We were keeping an eye on the time though, as we'd agreed to meet Lauren and Cat back at the hotel for lunch, so after a quick look through the gift shop, we made our way back to the hotel.
We met the other two at the hotel just as they were bringing their bags downstairs and checking out, perfect timing. One of the girls wanted to try a coffee shop in the 'Australia' district (was an Australian barracks at some point) so we walked down there and found a really lovely cafe, where we met Matt and Heather, two of the others from the group. I had a 'soy nut latte' which just seemed like warm foamy soy milk, but was nice, and some of the others had a black sesame latte, which looked really yum but I suspected it was made with milk. The food looked lovely too, but was quite western, French toast, bruschetta (which had meat and cheese served on garlic bread!), and other similarly bread-y items so I avoided that. We just sat and relaxed for quite a while, until Amanda had to head back to the hotel to get her stuff and get moving, as her flight was at 5 or so. Cat and Lauren weren't leaving until 7 tonight, so they had a bit more wiggle room. After about another half hour though, we decided to head back to the hotel. Once we got there, I grabbed my stuff and after a sad goodbye, walked over to the Fat Rhino, my hostel for the next 2 nights. Luckily it was only a 5 minute walk from the Dreamtel Hotel where we'd been staying, so that was convenient.
I checked into the hostel and made my way to quite a big dorm room, 14 beds (7 bunks), which was quite busy. I'm on a top bunk (as always) and there's a bunch of German girls here with their stuff all over the place - I can't believe their trust! At least I've got a locker, so anything valuable can go in there. After I'd dropped my stuff off I went for a walk to find some food. I'd spotted a steamed bun place down the street when we went to the Sunday market on the second day, so I walked down there and got a peanut steamed bun, which was very yummy. I should have got 2, but it looked filling so I didn't! Then I walked down to the waterfront and checked out a big shopping centre on the east side of the waterfront. It was very quiet in there, but I saw a flash mob doing some dancing! I think it was advertising, but didn't catch what it was for. After finishing there, I walked along the waterfront, checked out some of the markets, had a look at another mall, and then slowly made my way back to the hostel. I stopped on the way at 7/11 for some bottled water and a snack (pineapple, yum). Then it was back to reception to book the Mari Mari Cultural Village tour for tomorrow. It cost me MYR180 (around $60), which seems like a ginormous rip off compared to everything else along the way, but it'll be a fun day trip and lunch is included. Once I'd booked that, I had a bit of a rest in the hostel room and read my book. I've got a bit of a cough and have lost my voice a bit so will try to have a quiet couple of nights before the flight.
At around 6:30 I headed out to the night market on the waterfront, where I'd heard there was good food. There were so many stalls! Each stall had a big menu (but no prices) and then a table out the front full of fresh fish and other seafood for you to choose from. I thought I'd be brave and I chose a little skewer of calamari, which they cooked on a barbecue right in front of me before popping in a plastic bag for me to take away. I also got 2 chicken satay skewers, and then found a spot to sit and eat. The satay skewers were fantastic, should have got more of them! The calamari tasted a bit dodgy though, and I ended up only having a few bites and deciding not to eat all of it. After that I saw a little street market running up a side street toward my hostel so I had a look at that, and found a kueh (sweets) stall selling banana fritters! The container was empty so I got some fresh out of the fryer (very healthy), and they were great. By then I was still a bit hungry but not hungry enough to eat in a restaurant, so I had a bit of a wander around the backpackers area around the hostel. I found a little pastry/dumpling stall and got a chicken dumpling and a black sesame biscuit and ate them in the bar at the hostel. Both were really yummy! Not the healthiest dinner I've ever eaten, but oh well! After that I figured I'd just stay in the hostel and read my book, as there was no one else in the bar and I didn't feel like going out. So a really quiet night!
Kota Kinabalu
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
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