Heart Of Darkness: Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu or KK as it’s referred to.(In fact most Malaysian cities are simply referred to by their initials) has a holiday beach town vibe. A lot of tourists come here to shoot off to the islands nearby in order to diver & snorkel or simply sunbathe on the glorious beaches.

We've realized by now that generally speaking we're coming across a slightly "higher end" backpacker than usual in Borneo. We're thinking it's because the activities that abound here cost a fair amount of money even though you can manage to stay in very cheap hostels if you wish. But Borneo knows that people will pay to see it's wildlife & exotic sites so tourism abounds & we pay through the nose for all they have to offer.
Apparently this kind of backpacker is referred to as a Flashpacker!
So I think Dave & I have teetered on the cusp of true hardcore backpacking.During this vacation so far we have mixed between the hardcore & the "normal" kind of accommodation that most sane people would stay in.
In KK we gave way to a lovely hotel called The Jesselton. It was such a haven from the heat & turbulence of the city. Later on we were to recommend this hotel to many flashpackers we met along the way when they needed something a bit more luxurious than a rank budget hotel.

Brightly colored buildings which look good in the strong sunlight


These Donuts rivaled those of The Donut Plant on Grand St-in fact I'm going to say they were actually better!

Once again the hawker food stalls had the best food.But you had to make sure they had a wok or else you'd get cold food (which a lot of people didn't seem to mind)

In the market just after torrential rain came down

market urchins abound!

The markets lined the shore in KK & sold everything. The food stalls were active crazy steaming places where you could get the most incredible sea food fresh as could be. Not a wiff of fish was in the air, only the smells of hot spices & smoky batter