Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

My apologies for not updating the blog more recently – I've been suffering from a nasty cold since we left Vietnam and haven't felt up to doing much of anything. Still, I was determined not to miss out on any of our ports of call, so I sucked it up and soldiered on through the last few stops. I'm going to try to catch up quickly, so forgive my brevity! Last Sunday afternoon we arrived in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Another sunny and unforgivingly hot day! As we disembarked we were met by locals who placed a lovely beaded necklace around our necks – mum always thinks I get a nicer gift than she does! We opted to take the city tour, and our first stop was at the Sabah Foundation Building, a 30-story glass tower that is suspended from high-tensile steel rods surrounding the central core. Apparently there are only 3 other buildings like it in the world. After a brief photo stop, we continued on through the streets of Kota Kinabalu to the State Mosque which has a beautiful golden dome with real gold plate. Unfortunately we weren't properly attired to enter the mosque, so again it was really only a chance to take some pictures. We then drove to the Sabah Museum and Kampung Warisan Heritage Village where we were given a tour of the various longhouses and the skull hut. The people used to believe that hanging skulls above their rice stores protected them from evil spirits. Finally, we drove back to the waterfront and were given a chance to explore the Kota Kinabalu outdoor market where vendors were selling handicrafts, souvenirs and foodstuffs. The heat and the smell were quite overpowering and we were all glad to see the bus coming back for us! All in all it wasn't one of my favourite tours, but Kota Kinabalu is a pleasant enough city. The streets were immaculately groomed and the vegetation was beautiful. There were also a lot of very interesting buildings throughout the city, including a beautiful floating mosque. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it much more if I hadn't been feeling so crummy!