West coast of Sabah

This morning we left our hotel with the amazing view and started down towards the west coast. Before we left the village of Kundasang we stopped off at the Kundasang War Memorial Gardens.

These gardens were originally set up in 1965 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Death Marches but fell into disrepair and were damaged by an earthquake before being rescued about 10 years ago by a local man. There is an Australian garden, an English garden, a Bornean garden, and a roll of honour listing all those who were killed. It relies solely on donations and admission charges to survive. It was really well done and really touching to see to locals so invested in their history.

After the gardens we wandered around the local Sunday markets before heading to a restaurant for lunch and then on down the mountains to Kota Kinabalu.

KK as it is known is the main business and industrial area for the state of Sabah. It is a lot bigger than Sandakan and boasts a number of tall buildings. After the war much of the land around the harbour was reclaimed and there are loads of shops and big hotels here.

Our guide took us to a mosque which is one of the few non-Muslims are allowed to enter. Not anywhere near as big or as flash as the one we went to in Casablanca but still interesting. We were required to dress in Muslim attire which was rather unusual.

We are here for the next three nights staying at the Hilton hotel which is a step up from our comfortable but spartan accommodation to date.Read more