Kota Kinabalu City

I didn’t realize that Borneo is the 3rd largest island in the world. Not only that, but it’s host to 3 different countries: Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Today we visited Kota Kinabalu, which is a city in the Sabah state of Malaysia. Our guide, Gwenda, spoke in broken English, but it didn’t take long to get used to her cadence.

The tour started with a drive through the city, stopping at two mosques and a market along the way.

We’ve visited open air markets all over the world. This one wins for having the narrowest aisles. They were just wide enough for person to walk through. I had to pu my purse in front of me to keep from knocking things over.

We spoke to two sweet ladies in the market. They were happy to pose for pictures with me. Wonder if they posted them to their social media, and if so, how their captions read? (“Met this silly American lady today…”)

We got stuck in traffic on the way back, so Gwenda regaled us with tales of daily life on Borneo. She told us that, “Even you have office job, still go to jungle when mushrooms grow, still find food. Even you live apartment, still pick fruit by road.”

She told us that her mother was Christian, her father Muslim, and her grandparents, “still worship old gods.” Her grandmother taught her about medicinal plants, for instance.Read more