Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

We had a private tour arranged in this port also, this one actually private with 9 people in a 10 seat van. The person who arranged it left a message on our phone saying to meet as soon as the ship was cleared as usual. We were on the pier by about 7:15 even though we had a feeling it wasn't right. At 8:15 others in our group started showing up. They had been told 8:30. Not a great way to start. We were, however, entertained by native dancers and musicians while we waited. Many of the countries do this for cruise ships. Each passenger also received a beaded necklace as we got off.

When we were finally on our way, we headed for the Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre. It was a mangrove swamp, much like we had seen across the southern part of the US on our road trip. They had a boardwalk so we set out walking. It was supposed to be a bird sanctuary but all we saw were 2 egrets and a bee hive. It was a nice walk though. Almost to the end the boardwalk stopped and there was only a muddy path. It was fine to walk on but one woman in our group had quite a hard time. It was extremely hot and humid, we were all very sweaty by the time we got back on the van. 

Next we went to the Signal Hill Observatory Tower. It was just a platform at the side of the road on the highest point in the city. We could see the oldest part of town and the new which was built on reclaimed land. We could also see our ship off in one direction. Our guide pointed out the different shopping areas and where the ship's shuttle was picking up for after the tour. That was a big help. 

         

Our next stop was the Sabah State Museum. They had a Cultural Village there with old wood and woven homes of various different tribes. One large building was the skull room, with human skulls hanging from the ceiling. This was to ward off evil spirits from their rice which was stored in this room. Our guide told us that headhunting in Borneo stopped in the early 1900's with the exception of during the war when the natives killed a number of Japanese soldiers. Another guide that we saw said that it didn't stop until 1954, yikes! There was a pond with a lot of beautiful water lilies. The village was set up nicely. At the very end there was a suspension bridge about 100 feet long which we walked across. Not easy with 10 people on it. 

Once again, cameras were not allowed in the main museum. They had nice displays of the animals of the area as well as a lot of old ceramics. There was also some history about headhunters. After going thru the museum I headed to the Museum Shop. I was on a mission in this port to find more batik shirts like the ones I had bought in Malaysia 4 years ago. Much to my delight they had 4 in the museum, 2 of them fit. I picked up a couple of other small items before we loaded the van and were on our way again. 

 

                                  Sun Bear

We passed by the airport which was completed 3 years ago. It is very modern looking and quite large. It was about a 30 minute drive to the "wild animal park". It was a zoo, not what I'd been expecting. We all got on our own personal tram. They stopped at the most interesting animals, tiger, sun bear, proboscis monkey which can only be found in Borneo, and elephants. We also saw the clouded leopard which was sad. It was in a small enclosure all by itself. We got off the tram and walked the rest if the way past some colorful birds. It was a nice visit and easy having the tram take us around. I was hoping to see Sumatran rhino but they had been moved to a nature reserve on the eastern side of the island. There are only 5 or 6 that they know of still in the wild. They are trying to round them up and put them in the preserve so they can find each other easier and hopefully breed. 

                                                                    

The zoo was the last stop on our tour. We headed back into the city with a short stop to take pictures of a wooden clock tower which was a gift to the city from a country I can't remember! The van then dropped us at the Filipino market. It was a large market with dozens of tiny stalls just crammed full of things, mostly pearls and clothing. We walked up and down the aisles looking for the shirt I wanted with no luck. We did buy a brightly painted wood dragon to hang on the wall. From there we walked to the Central Market which was right next door. We had seen a lot of clothing on the second floor when we'd passed by in the van so we headed there first. We asked several ladies with no luck. One finally told us that that style was the old one and no longer available. Bummer. Glad I had found 2 at the museum. I had worn one to be able to show people what I was looking for. 

Down another couple of blocks was a large mall. We went into the souvenir shop and picked up a couple of things. Then we found some shoes for me to wear to dinner. I'd forgotten to bring nice slip ons that I could wear without socks. We still have a month to go so nice to have them. It was now time to get to the shuttle. The last one would leave at 4, all aboard was 4:30. We were back at the pier just after 4:00 with a few ringget left in our pocket so shopped at the market there. For a few dollars I was able to buy a small dress, coin purse and wooden cats, very inexpensive. It had been a great day but I was looking forward to a sea day to rest up. Next port is 2 days in Manila and it will be hot. Good to be rested.