Kota Kinabalu

Monday September 20.

A mosque in Kota Kinabalu

Today we arrived in Kota Kinabalu the capital city of Sabah, the second of the two Malaysian States on Borneo that are part of this trip. About 400 000 people live in the city which is on the coast of the South China Sea. The are 5 islands not far away. Inland there are mountains. The highest is Mount Kinabalu which we will visit tomorrow.

About 32 different ethnic tribes make up most of the population (3.2 million) of Sabah. Most people are Christians, but there are Muslims, Buddhists and other religious groups. So we have seen churches, temples and mosques.

This man prepares fish for the barbeque

To shop, people can go to large, modern shopping malls, small stores, or open air food markets. At the markets fresh food is cooked and can be eaten there or taken home. Barbequed fish and chicken are popular meals. Sweets can also be bought. We tried deep fried banana slices, as well as sticky rice sweetened with sugar syrup and served with fresh mango.

There is a large university in this city. Thousands of students come from all over Malaysia and other parts of the world to study here.

Kotu Kinabalu city was destroyed during World War 2. Only two buildings from before 1940 remain. Australian soldiers were here during the war with Japan, and many were killed. There is a memorial park here to remember them.