Kota Kinabalu

In the north eastern corner of the island of Borneo lies Sabah, a state that has many little wonders, one being the busy city of Kota Kinabalu. A city of quite small proportions when compared to others in south east Asia. I had assumed when booking a flight in here that it would serve simply as a stopping ground for the rest of the state. On further inspection, its quite the treat.
The massive food market that occupies the river side during the dark hours can more than compete with the famous markets in Marrakech, Sudan and Egypt. It is a sprawling area of fresh fish, smoke fish, barcecued fish and fish salad and sure if fish isn't your fancy, there's more than enough fruits, veggies, nuts, potatoes, pancakes, bananas, fruit juices and so on. It is a treat for the senses. The smell of smoke, cooked meat and night air meshes with the colorful visual and the clatter of music, chatting and selling. Its a must see for anyone that flies into Sabah.
And...thats not all, only 8 kms away from the shore of the city lies a beautiful national park with islands that could put hollywood sets to shame. Yesterday, myself and my fellow travelling folk headed for pulau sapi, a small island not far from the city. Bound with tents and appropriate snacks and beverages for the night, once the clock struck 4 and the last boat left the island, it was all ours. We had the precious sand, water and jungle to ourselves.... I lie, not quite to ourselves, we had various visitors throughout the night. Monitor lizards, ant eaters and other such jungle goers came to say hi, grace us with their presence and scarper when they saw a camera emerge.
All in all, kota kinabalu is a small city, it serves its own functional purposes but don't discount it as somewhere to lay the head before your next stop. It is well worth exploring and the people are more than willing to help out with local tidbits and food favourites.
I understand that this blog entry may sound like a tourism forum or awful guidebook entry but hell its easier than trying to remember the good spots in a few months time! And its always nice to give my mum something to read.