Kota Kinabalu is the state capital of Sabah, Malaysia and the capital of the Kota Kinabalu District. It is also the capital of the West Coast Division of Sabah. The city is located on the northwest coast of Borneo facing the South China Sea. Source: Wikipedia
When Malaysia first became independent in 1963, it fused the previously distinct British colonies of Sarawak and Sabah on the northern coast of Borneo with the federation of hereditary states on the Malay peninsula. Today, Malaysia’s government is a parliamentary democracy with universal suffrage. There are 13 states, nine of which have hereditary rulers. The 11 states of Western Malaysia comprise 40% of the land but contain 86% of the population. The Eastern Malaysia states of Sarawak and Sabah, located 400 miles away from Western Malaysia, are each highly distinct in its ethnic and religious composition and its cultural character.
Sabah is so diverse that the ethnic Malays are actually a minority. There are 32 tribes there, as well as flourishing Chinese merchants and professionals and immigrants from the Philippines and other countries. Most important in Kota Kinabalu, or KK, as it is known, are people from the Kadazan and Bajau tribes who mix easily with their Malay and Chinese neighbors. Although it has a relatively small population, Sabah is rich in timber, oil, natural gas and other resources, which gives it considerable economic muscle within Malaysia. Source: Princess Cruises Port Guide for Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu, in East Malaysia
Where in the world are we?
I must have jinxed us when I talked about how good the weather was yesterday. We got a bit bouncy overnight- not bad bouncy, just a little. Still, we slept fine, but, for the first time, I had to separate the unused wooden hangers in the closet (we really packed lightly!) as they were tap-tapping about 2am. We were awake early but G immediately found NFL highlights and games on our cabin TV and we watched until nearly lunchtime. When we walked outside, we found it was quite overcast and not as hot as it had been yesterday. It’s funny, we used the covered Calypso Pool and hot tubs for warmth in chilly Europe…and here, too, as the air conditioning makes them much more comfortable.
We were not scheduled to arrive in Kota Kinabalu until noon today, but Captain Ravera had told us during his noon navigational update yesterday (I love that he does those himself) that he would try to get us there early. And he did…but it still took until nearly noon for the ship to be cleared by the local authorities. Naturally, as happens every time a ship arrives in port later in the day, people were crowding the Piazza waiting to disembark. Similarly, the Horizon Court Buffet and pizza and grill areas had long lines, too as passengers wanted to have lunch before they left the ship. We decided to avoid the congestion and went to lunch in the International Dining Room which opened early, at 11:30am. By the time we were finished, the lines had resolved and we easily walked off the ship…
…and into a steady rain. Though we appreciated not having the blistering heat we’d had in Singapore, we had humidity with a capital HUMID. We walked through the port terminal and out to the main street, where the taxis were located. Aslam offered us a slight price break off the hourly taxi fee and we arranged to spend three hours with him seeing three specific sites: the Sabah State Mosque, the Islamic Museum and the Sabah Museum. Destination Expert Narelle had covered these in her port lecture, and we were instantly intrigued. It helped a great deal that all three were located very close to each other and not far from the port.
Greeted by traditional dancers and drummers
Our first stop was the beautiful State Mosque. We weren’t certain we’d be able to go inside but Narelle had said it was open for visitors during non-prayer hours. I had worn my maxi travel skirt simply because it is comfortable in sticky weather, and brought my hijab in my day pack and was dressed modestly enough. G had worn long pants, so he was all set, too. We were welcomed to the mosque and taken into the actual area when men pray under the dome. We had a personal guide who pointed out the now familiar different parts of the mosque. While we were there, two young boys came in to practice their prayers, and we were told we could photograph them. They were quite focused…for about a minute, and then just lounged in the carpet. ;-)
The State Mosque of Sabah
State Mosque
The dome
The Mihrab, indicating the direction of Mecca
Two young boys practicing prayers...
...at least for a few minutes. Then they were just being boys. ;-)
On the way out, we passed a beautiful water feature used for wudu, the preparatory ablutions performed before prayers. We were made to feel so welcome by everyone we met there, and were happy we visited.
For the wudu, the cleansing ritual before prayers
Aslam pulled up right under a covered portico in front of the mosque to pick us up, and I was glad he did. It was raining quite heavily by that time, and it was obvious that this was going to be an all day rain. Our next stop was the Islamic Museum. It was quite comical; we were the only visitors there. We had to buy our ticket from one person, and then take it to another desk five feet away where a second person punched it. It made no sense to me at all, until we found out that our 15 ringgit tickets (less than $4) were also good at the Sabah Museum. Maybe the person who sold us the ticket was employed by the government and the other guy was employed by the Islamic Museum? Even so, it seemed very curious, especially considering there was no one else there.
Taxi drivers can visit the museums for free, and perhaps Aslam had never been to the Islamic Museum, because he enjoyed walking around with us, and actually was very helpful in holding down buttons to turn the lights on exhibits so we could take photos. The Islamic Museum had exhibits showing the history and culture of Islam in Malaysia, including several showing how the religion spread from the Middle East because of shipping and trade centuries ago.
An Arabian tent
Check out the metal finger tips
Our final stop, the one where we knew we’d spend the most time, was the Sabah Museum. It was packed, as a visit there was included in several of the ship’s excursions. We learned last cruise in Kuala Lumpur that ship excursions don’t allow nearly enough time to see everything we’d like to in museums, and it was true again today. We saw one group after another rushed through the exhibits while we were able to linger at those that were of most interest to us.
I really enjoyed the exhibits about clothing and fabrics through the ages, while G was most interested in the outdoor (but thankfully covered) car collection and train exhibit. The latter detailed the use of British built locomotives to transport rubber from the rubber plantations. I was looking forward to visiting the outdoor Cultural Village which features several traditional houses built without nails and many local plants used for food, clothing and medicine but it was simply raining too hard, plus we were running out of time. We had to skip it.
World’s largest bride whale skeleton
I took this photo just to show how they favor lots of ornately draped fabrics in their decor. Even the bus windows have swags.
Different types of woven hats worn over the past two centuries
Celebration attire
Traditional headwear for special occasions
I loved this woven fabric!
Traditional bride and groom attire
A model of the sailboat Lepa Sapit that was used to transport barter goods between the islands of Borneo, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Aslam drove us back to the port and we arrived back on the ship about 4:45pm, with just enough time to get showered before dinner. The on board time wasn’t until 7:30pm, so we still had local cellular internet, and, as I’ve done so often this season, I uploaded photos to this blog post one at a time while we were dining. That way, after I write the narrative for the day, I can add it to the Draft post and upload it quickly without using a lot of my ship WiFi minutes.
The entertainment tonight was vocalist Daniel Koek who has been on the ship since he performed late last cruise. We’d seen him before, but he was definitely worth seeing again. And that was as much energy as we had tonight. Thankfully, not only is tomorrow a day at sea, we move clocks back an hour tonight for our ports in Vietnam and Thailand. An extra hour of sleep, a sea day before two long port days and it won’t be a formal night AND there are no Captains Circle obligations AND we might even find Monday Night Football on TV in the morning. What an abundance of riches!
Life is good. :-)