Sunday, July 21, 2013

Malaysia, Kota Kinabalu: Signal Hill, Sunday Market

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My holiday in Kota Kinabalu began on Sunday morning, and I tried to go to the overlook on Signal Hill on a few occasions, but kept getting put off by afternoon rains. Finally, on Wednesday, I made it. It looks like a couple of UFOs perched above the town--well, city. As you can see, KK is a bustling, growing place.

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Head toward the southeast side of the city center, and you'll find a sign behind the city gym; as you climb, you'll see flight after flight of stairs as shown below.

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But back to Sunday morning. I came into the city center using the hotel shuttle to visit the "Sunday Market" and find a room closer in. I was lucky at my first choice, Rainforest Lodge, where I got an air-con, hot water double for 115 RM. The room was small but adequate, clean and had a balcony. Furthermore, the Lodge is part of a complex that includes some small restaurants and a cool spot called BBs Cafe and BBQ Garden.

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The Sunday Market takes place adjacent to the Lodge, and has many items typical to southeast Asian vending tents: food, jewelry, toys, souvenirs, etc.

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In addition to tent markets, Malaysia has plenty of other stores, including a 7-Eleven knock-off:

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I also saw this store, but no Scaramouche, Galileo or Figaro:

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A few minutes walk from the Rainforest Lodge is a very useful pedestrian overpass that goes to the oceanfront market area:

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I took about 400 photos on this trip, and I'll share a few dozen more of them over the upcoming posts, which will focus on my trip to the Mari Mari Cultural Village, Lok Kawi zoo, and food and drink.

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