THE QUICK SHOPPING AT FILIPIN MARKET IN KOTA KINABALU

28TH FEBRUARY 2023 ~ The first challenge when we arrived at the famous Filipin Market was to go through the bad traffic congestion in Kota Kinabalu city. The next challenge was to find a parking space. We were lucky as there was an empty spot near the fish market so it made our life easier,

The market was divided into many sections. There were even people selling in the open air outside the market.

The first section we went to was the place which sold seafood products. I managed to get the blue eyes anchovies, some local snacks and preserved shrimp cake.

The next part of the market was the hunt for the usual souvenirs like t-shirts. keychains and fridge magnets as souvenirs for friends.

Everything was done in such a short time as we had to get a ferry to catch to take us back to Labuan.

Will definitely come back to this place again when I make a return trip to Kota Kinabalu one day.

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THE BUFFET BREAKFAST AT SABAH ORIENTAL HOTEL

26TH FEBRUARY 2023 ~ To get breakfast buffet in the hotel stay would always be something to look forward to. We went for the meal that was included in the room purchase at Sabah Oriental Hotel after coming back from the morning market at Gaya Street at about 9:00 a.m.

By the time we arrived, the cafe was occupied by not many people. Guess many had come for breakfast much earlier.

The food was actually something that I would not remember. In other words: not impressive. They also did not have any creamer in the sachets and I had to ask for milk for my coffee and that took a long time to be sent to the table.

We were still thankful for the food as we were ready to continue with our next leg of the trip: Kota Kinabalu - Kundasang - Ranau.

That should also serve as my only gastronomic adventure in Kota Kinabalu. The stay was too short to eat outside and that is another valid reason to make a return trip soon.

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SABAH ORIENTAL HOTEL IN KOTA KINABALU

The accommodation chosen for the one night stay in Kota Kinabalu was Sabah Oriental Hotel. It was given a 4-star rating on Agoda so my expectation was a bit high of this place but it was not met unfortunately.

It was located at a strategic place of the city but the main road was congested during peak hours. The room was spacious and clean. However, the hotel was an old one and one furniture door was broken and left like that. The air conditioner was not working well and we were informed that some kind of maintenance work was in progress.

the night view from the window

It was just a one night stay so it should alright. The best thing was the stay came together with the breakfast package - but that will be another story.

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SABAH TRADITIONAL HOUSES IN HERITAGE VILLAGE AT SABAH MUSEUM

 26th FEBRUARY 2023  ~ The last section of Sabah Museum was the Heritage Village where the traditional houses of Sabah were built for people to visit.

There were many houses which belonged to the various ethnic groups of Sabah.

Unfortunately, I found that the place was not in a good condition as it was not well taken care of. Most of the houses needed some kind of cleaning job as it looked abandoned and unattractive.

A few houses were locked and therefore visitors could just observe the building from outside.

The occupants of the few of the houses were people selling their handicrafts and they were not friendly enough to approach visitors.

The museum authority has to do something about upgrading the house exhibits in the Heritage Village. Malaysians always have problems with maintaining the existing facilities after spending a lot of money building and developing them.

It was still an educational visit but if I were to make a comeback to Kota Kinabalu, I would make it a point to visit Mari Mari Village for a better experience.

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