Kota Kinabalu for non-climbers



The Sunday market at Gaya Street is a must-visit in Kota Kinabalu.  Haggling is a must too! (Photo by Richard Ramos)

When my husband got free tickets from Air Asia to Kota Kinabalu, I didn’t hit the roof with excitement.  But it is an amazing treat!  So I figured there must be other attractions in this Malaysian city for non-climbers like me.
True enough there were other adventures (albeit tamer) that we found to make our four-day stay truly awesome.

Part One:  Shopping at Gaya Street

Our first adventure was the Gaya Sunday Street Market.  All kinds of wares were for sale from the classic Muslim shawl to Sabah coffee and chocolates, to plants and animals including a dehydrated Persian cat.  

The street hawkers displayed their goods on tables under tents all lined up and down the street on a weekly market that is open from six in the morning till one o’clock in the afternoon.

So I asked one seller, “Why do you close at 1 o’clock?”  “Because it’s very hot!”  He retorted.  And indeed it was hot; an excruciating 35 degrees Centigrade.
Maybe it was wrong to leave this poor Persian cat exposed like this.  Anyone wanna rescue kitty for RM 2,000?
If you’re looking for things to bring back home as gifts or souvenirs, you would love their chocolates.  We bought quite a bundle in a stall along Gaya Street only to find them sold a few cents cheaper in a Chinese grocer right at the corner.  But the difference was only a few cents so it didn’t matter much.
Sabah coffee is among the local products worth trying and this bag at RM3 was ground right before our eyes!

Funny how prices tend to get cheaper farther down the street.  A shawl was pegged at Malaysian Ringgit (RM) 25 at the corner near OCBC Bank, which lowered to RM20 at the next corner.  

A six-pack of nail clippers cum key chains with Sabah and Kota Kinabalu scenes on them, started with RM 18 on one stall to RM 15 on another, until we finally got them at RM 13 at the farthest end.
That's me and hubby Richard who was quite game about walking for shopping.  Hey, he wanted to look for souvenir shirts and found some at a great bargain!
Actually, you can find these items at shopping centers, others even cheaper.  The Sabah coffee that was RM 7 at Gaya was just RM 6 at a stall in a department store, and the chocolates that were RM 27 were just RM 15 (but these were of a different kind) and were offered at buy two take one.

At the airport, prices definitely became higher!  The keychains were RM 8.90 - per piece! While the shawl was RM45!

Anyway, we ended our jaunt at Gaya Street with a quick stroll around the local crafts fair called "Promosi KRAF Malaysia", before we headed back down the street and back into our hotel.

Sabah handicraft products were on display here, quite convenient for a tourist to see.

She weaved a basket right there at the crafts exhibit - interesting!

We had a one-stop shop for Sabah crafts!

Location: Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

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