Kota Kinabalu

On day 78 of our cruise we have sailed 20,563 nautical miles and docked this morning at a city called Kota Kinabalu. It is in the state of Sabah, in the nation of Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. Before we planned this cruise I had never heard of this place. Now I’m in love.

Again.

This city of 600,000 was occupied and burned by the Japanese in WW2, then bombed by the allies. Only three buildings from the war survived, and one of them has since burned down. The result is that the whole city is brand new and beautiful. It contains immigrants and descendants from the scores of tribes of Borneo, China, the Philippines, and all over Southeast Asia. Into the 1960's canibalism was still practiced in the jungles near here. In the streets everyone speaks the Malaysian national language or English. At home they speak in 20 different languages. The majority of people in Malaysia are Christians, though the largest group in this city are Muslims. There are also lots of Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, and animists, yet somehow they all seem to get along. An obviously Muslim family happened to be walking toward Glenda in the market on today (Friday), the Muslim sabbath. My guess is that they were coming from the nearby mosque we had just photographed. The matriarch of the family, approximately our age, touched Glenda’s arm and asked in halting English, “Where you from?” Glenda answered, “America.” The woman stared at Glenda for just a moment, looking somewhat surprised. Then she said, “I not hate you.” Glenda took her hand and said, “I don’t hate you either.” Then they went on their way. So did we.

Kota Kinabalu's heritage museum was especially meaningful for me. This is about as close as we will come to New Guinea, an island where my father's infantry unit was assigned in World War II. The museum shows houses, clothing and buildings that would have been in this part of the world when my father arrived in 1944.

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