Weekend in Kota Kinabalu

On the 21st of November, I flew to Kota Kinabalu to attend a Rotary Institute event.  What was supposed to be a straightforward function turned out to be an unexpectedly thought provoking weekend!

Getting there.
It's a two hour flight from Manila to Kota Kinabalu, formerly known as Port Jesselton.  The airline of limited choice was Tony Fernandes' Air Asia, an unabashedly budget airline that helped democratize and make accessible air travel.

Once there.
The airport is a rustic affair...a compound of several low structures designed in stark post war architectural style.  First impression...it's a sleepy town with only four aisles for immigration and passport control...with two for foreign passport holders and two for Malaysia passport holders and one of each was still closed.  However the runway put the Manila runway to shame, so well constructed was it, that even though the impact was a strong bump, the landing was smooth overall.


The immigration area turns into the baggage claim, with only a smelly restroom in between. And once claimed, bags are scanned anew before passengers are allowed to exit.

To the Hotel.
The hotel Pacific Sutera (pronounced as "sutra", but not as in Kama _____?) is part of a hotel complex and marina called the Sutera Harbor.  Its companion hotel is the Magellan Sutera. Both are four and five star hotel accommodations with your choice of the sprawling golf course or the azure sea waters for view.  Because of their proximity to the airport, these hotels have become popular convention venues. Because of their landscape and location, there is a vague resemblance to the Westin Resort Hotels of old. Like many Asian resort hotels, the rooms are fairly sizable, with both shower and bath tub options, and a shutter window from the bath looking out to the room and the view.

KK itself.
Kota Kinabalu or KK as the city is called is still a part of Malaysia in eastern Sabah.  It is a resort town, bounded on all sides by both the sea and the famous Mount Kinabalu.  Good roads connect the city to the towns and enable conveyance to reach destinations anywhere from minutes to a couple hours at most.  It is hotter than Manila, especially because Manila in November and December can be quite cool and breezy by contrast.

The people.
The population is composed of several ethnic components, namely Chinese, Malay, and Indian. People are generally of slim frame...I didn't see anyone overweight or obese in the streets, the eateries, or the stores, except perhaps for the undersigned.  It is a multilingual place, where Bahasa Malayu is spoken together with a smattering of Chinese and English. There are many Filipinos here, and it is not uncommon for the people to break into a Tagalog word or phrase when they find out that one is a visitor from the Philippines.   Ladies' dressing is conservative and modest here, what with the veil covering the head and hair, and long kebaya skirts and sarongs covering the legs and lower extremities.

The food.
Food options are quite many and varied here, and quite interesting. The breakfast buffet in the hotel though is not impressive, considering being Filipino, I am accustomed to the lavish spreads in hotels in the Philippines.   Spices predominate together with rich coconut creams in curries, satays, and the like. Dried fish and seafood not unlike Filipino tuyo and tinapa abound, such as dried shrimps, scallops, anchovies, used in Asian cooking.  There is a marked absence of pork, with most meat choices limited to beef, chicken, and lamb, perhaps because of the strong Muslim persuasion.  However, my naughty Christian Malay friend whispered that SPAM is such a precious and sought after commodity here! Chinese and Malay cooking are prevalent...such as the Welcome Seafood Palace, where live seafood swim in aquariums for customers to choose and have them cooked any number of ways into tasty, and fresh dishes best paired with steaming white rice.

The shopping.
Batik is still big here, as are handmade beadwork, and of course electronics.  I managed to visit three different areas for shopping, corresponding to three tiers of shopping options.  First off was Karamunsing, a bargain hunter's haven, a few minutes from the hotel.  It reminded me a little of the Greenhills Shopping Complex and Divisoria back in Manila, where interesting finds included ethnic costumes and local wear, cameras and tablets and phone accessories, many made in Malaysia and India. ( The vendor conspiratorially whispered that many Nikon cameras are made in Malaysia...) Second stop was Suria, a mid level modern mall that housed many international brands.  Final destination was One Borneo, about forty five minutes away by car, which is the destination of choice for Malaysian outlet mall retail therapy!  The mall is a global village of the best known names in the world....

The currency.
The currency is the Malaysian ringgit, approximately valued at RM3 to one U.S. Dollar.  That made it 15 times the value of the peso.  Strange the money never looked wrinkled or mussed up, even when the transaction took place in the wet market. I wonder why and how that is.... At 1:3 to the U.S. Dollar, it seemed that prices were not too high... Yet when converted to peso, it was a hefty sum.

The music.
I heard four bands throughout the event...two at the function gala dinner, and two in the hotels.  They played and sang competently, but without much sensuality and panache that Filipino bands are known for.  They were musical, but not magical.  And they sang My Way at the start of the set....!  Any red blooded Filipino warbler knows better than that.

The sights.
The Proboscis monkey in Kawa is a crowd drawer, attracting many people from all over the world to view its unique profile.  Mount Kinabalu with its awesome view and trekking paths was too far for this brief weekend, but pictures of it beckoned one to return to scale it some time in the future.

And the insight.
There is something quiet, tame and subdued about KK despite being a resort town.  Yet there are many tourists descending upon this town, enjoying the respectable sights of sea, sand, and hillside.  As a Filipino I feel a pang of envy and regret, that although I believe the Philippines can hold its own up against the offerings of KK to the international tourists, and be several shades more exciting and fun even, but because of poor peace and order situation, and decrepit infrastructure, only a fraction of KK tourists  even consider visiting us.  Having travelled extensively both abroad and around the Philippines, I know that sight for breathtaking sight, we are a match with even an edge, if you please.  We have all types of cuisine, we have no food restrictions, and we are a country of veritable foodies!!!! And shopping, why, KK natives dream of shopping in Manila!  There are lessons we can learn here...how can we stop being on the defensive for the things wrong with us as a country and as a people, and maximize the advantages of things right with us. Indeed, there are many similarities between KK and the awesome resorts and sights that the Philippines is home to.  Of course I am a biased observer, but I dare say that the Philippines definitely edges out places like KK in terms of being a party place, a  passionate setting, and exciting destination with a lower and more viable standard of living and bang for the tourist buck.  Yet KK has better roads, better peace and order situation,  a more organized less corrupt bureaucracy, a more enticing proposition for security conscious and worried tourists and investors.

I am no naysayer, nor a critic of either...just a Filipina who is proud of the natural blessings and epicurean resources that abound in my country yet remain unappreciated by most people of the world.... As our economy improves, the national and cultural sociology must follow.

Otherwise, more's the pity.