Kota Kinabalu

By Jenny Graham

So you want to go somewhere nice and warm - well, hot, actually?

Langkawi too quiet? Bangkok too frenetic? Well, try KK!

What's KK?

Shorthand for Kota Kinabalu, capital of Sabah, a Malaysian state in north Borneo. We recently spent six nights there on a special organised by travel.com.au.

We wanted a bit of culture, a bit of nature, a bit of nightlife and a bit of lazing around, and that's what we got. That special is over now, but another travel.com.au Sabah deal is on offer. We had dinner at the Shangri La Tanjung Aru (one of the accommodation options available this time) and it looked great. Although we didn't inspect the place, it had that relaxed resort feel and looked more luxurious than the Hyatt. It is a little out of town on the road to the airport, but taxis are not that expensive. The other Shangri La is closer to town but didn't look so impressive, although we didn't go close to it.

The highlight of our trip was a day at Sandakan, which we booked through Emily at Borneo Eco Tours. We flew to Sandakan early in the morning (40-minute Malaysia Airlines flight) and were taken to the Sepilok orang utan rehabilitation centre. Our guide was Neil Degullacion and he was just fantastic. If you are thinking of going there I recommend that you ask specifically for him. He was full of information and a very interesting and enthusiastic guide.

In the afternoon we went to the war memorial in Sandakan, where many Australian soldiers were held in a prisoner camp. It was a very moving experience, and once again Neil had read all about it and was able to tell us. Then we went to a village of houses built on stilts over water, and he had arranged for us to inspect inside one of the houses and have afternoon tea there. We flew back to KK in the early evening. This day's excursion cost about A$150 per person, including the air fares, which we thought was great value, and I'm so glad we didn't miss it.

We didn't climb Mt Kinabalu (highest mountain in SE Asia) but went to the botanical gardens half way up. There weren't many orchids at this time of year. I don't know when is the best time for them. We also went on a boat trip to an island (lots of tropical fish), and to a cultural village called Monsopiad where among other things you can see a collection of skulls of the warrior's unlucky opponents. I think they have traditional dancing and music there on weekends but we went on a weekday.

On the Sunday we took a bus to the market at Kota Belud, a market like no other I have ever seen, quite a cultural phenomenon. The traditional horsemen were a bit of an anti-climax though. There is also the very spectacular Sabah State Mosque (we didn't go inside), and I believe the museum is good. Didn't have time to do everything and veg out as well!

There's a good supermarket, and plenty of restaurants of varying appeal. The food from the street stalls down by the waterfront was off the menu for us after we read newspaper reports of food poisoning. We saw plastic bags of chicken and fish sitting in the sun waiting to be turned into the evening meal - so we weren't too tempted anyway. A restaurant we liked was Jothy's Banana Leaf Curry Restaurant. You get your meal served on a banana leaf.

Economically things seem to be on the up in Sabah. We were struck by the number of huge building projects going on all over the place to create cheap modern housing. The one thing we didn't do on this holiday was talk to a lot of locals - partly because KK is not all that touristy and most ordinary people don't seem to speak English, and partly because travelling as a group of four and staying at the Hyatt means you have to make more of an effort to connect.

Before we went I'd heard a lot of riveting leech horror stories and I was (kinda) looking forward to experiencing them first-hand (well, telling my story anyway). Never saw a single leech. Was that a plus or a minus?? Anyway we were happy with our choice, so if it sounds like what you're looking for, don't hesitate to visit KK.