Day 4 – 8 March 2025, Saturday

I woke up naturally at 6:00am this morning. The moment I stepped off the bed, I could feel the strain on my legs. The muscle ache has fully set in, especially on my thighs and calves. It’s not surprising because of the tremendous physical exertion from the past two days, but it’s also because we didn’t stretch or cool down after climbing Mount Kinabalu yesterday. We were overjoyed at completing our mission that we forgot to stretch. Big mistake. After washing up, I did one round of stretching in the living room, hoping it would help just a little bit.

At 7:30am, we went for breakfast at the Executive Lounge. The buffet spread was great, with the usual continental breakfast fare like hash browns, sausages, streaky beef, roasted carrot with honey, baked beans and an eggs station. There was also a good selection of pastries, salad, congee, cereal, cheese, teas and fresh cut fruits.  

After breakfast, TH went back to the room to rest because he still wasn’t feeling well. His tummy had been churning for the past two days but it seemed to have gotten worse ever since we arrived back in KK city. My tummy was also starting to act up but I retained my good appetite and energy so I could still venture outside. We suspect it could be the filtered water at Kinabalu Park that caused our tummy troubles.

Before heading out, I went to the rooftop to check out the swimming pool. I booked Hilton partly because of the pool, and it was quite nice indeed. The swimming pool was of a decent size, with plenty of sunbeds and lounge areas for people to chill. There was only a Caucasian couple and no kids around so it was peaceful in the morning. The sun was out, which made it even more tempting to go for a swim, but I was still full from breakfast so I decided to save it for another time.

At 9:00am, I headed out and started my exploration of Kota Kinabalu city. I walked slowly (gingerly) towards the waterfront. The temperature was a pleasant 27 degrees C and it was relatively quiet on this Saturday morning, with the roads blissfully free from traffic. I noticed that there are bicycle lanes in the city, even on single-lane roads, running alongside parallel parking lots for cars.

It’s easy to say that if KK can do it, Singapore should be able to do it too. But after giving it some consideration, I think the main reason why it is impractical to have bicycle lanes in Singapore is not because of land scarcity or the high volume of cars on the road, but it is because we have a lot more public buses and bus lanes compared to most other countries. Even though our MRT network is very extensive, the bus network is just as important in providing connectivity and spreading out the load. Buses carry a lot more people so they will naturally be given priority over bicycles. With many buses plying our roads and the need to keep them moving smoothly, it is not as safe or conducive to have bicycle lanes on the road.

Along the waterfront and opposite Le Méridien Kota Kinabalu hotel was Anjung Kinabalu, a huge market housed within a long, rectangular shed. As it was primarily a night market, majority of the stalls were not open, save for a row of stalls selling identical snacks and crackers. It will be a completely different scene when I return here tomorrow night.

Next to Anjung Kinabalu was the Handicraft Market, a large indoor market with dozens of stalls lined neatly along narrow aisles selling an endless array of souvenirs. I honestly wonder how the stallholders can make a living when the competition here is so fierce, because all the stalls practically sell the same things. As per my tradition of buying a fridge magnet from every city I visit, I picked one up here for RM5 (S$1.52).

Positioned at the front entrances of the Handicraft Market was a row of old-school sewing machines, providing basic tailoring services. Interestingly, all of them were operated by men. It was unusual because sewing is primarily thought of as a female-dominated profession so it was nice to see a role reversal here.

Continuing along the waterfront, I soon reached Pasar Besar Kota Kinabalu, or Central Market. It’s like our Geylang Serai wet market in Singapore, but way more massive. In fact, Central Market is even more organised, cleaner, brighter and better-ventilated than our Geylang Serai or Chinatown Complex wet markets. The amount and variety of fresh produce sold here was dizzying – fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and also dried seafood and spices. Even though I was obviously a tourist, no one batted an eyelid at me as they went about their business of shopping for the freshest produce. It was a typical Southeast Asian wet market so it wasn’t out of the ordinary for me, but for Western tourists, a visit to Central Market will provide a fascinating glimpse of local life.

I then crossed the road to KK Plaza, a mid-sized mall with a large Servay supermarket and department store in the basement. It felt like stepping back to the 90’s, when most shopping centres were simpler and had regular, rectangular layouts with a large atrium in the middle. In a way, it was a refreshing change from the cookie-cutter malls in Singapore with all the usual suspects (Uniqlo, Watsons, Starbucks, Toast Box etc). I went to the supermarket and bought a few packs of toothbrushes because they were much cheaper here. Who goes overseas to buy toothbrushes? Well, I do!

I continued walking north and reached another old-school mall called Wisma Merdeka, where I did more shopping at…Guardian pharmacy. Whenever I visit Malaysia, I always stock up on sunscreen and Sensodyne toothpaste because they are much cheaper here compared to Singapore. I think you can see a trend here. A lot of my shopping revolves around toiletries haha. My legs were also getting increasingly painful with every step I took, especially when going down the steps, so I bought a large tube of Counterpain cream to provide some muscle relief.

Next, I went to Suria Sabah, a much larger and more modern shopping mall with over 250 shops and tenants spread over 10 floors. All the notable brands can be found here, including international brands like Uniqlo, Adidas, Sports Direct and JD Sports, popular local ones like Brands Outlet and Padini, and my personal favourite fashion retailer, DRUM, where I bought a few pieces of clothes. There is also a good variety of restaurants and F&B outlets, so you can easily spend a few hours shopping and dining here.

I had lunch at Kenny Rogers Roasters because of its all-you-can-eat promo at only RM29.90 (S$9.06), where you can have unlimited refills of roasted chicken, side dishes, muffins and Rosy Selasih (rose syrup drink) for 60 minutes. The time starts once your first serving arrives at the table. It was great value for money and I enjoyed my lunch.

As I was eating, I couldn’t help but overhear the group of locals talking as they dined at the next table. If we think that Singaporeans are amazing because we are all bilingual or trilingual (for those who speak dialect at home), it is really nothing compared to Malaysians, who are even more amazing when it comes to language abilities.

I would say that most Malaysian Chinese are quadrilingual because they speak English, Mandarin, Hokkien/Cantonese (depending on their dialect) and Bahasa Melayu, which is their national language. Even though Malay is one of the four official languages in Singapore, most Singaporean Chinese today do not speak Malay, unlike our Malaysian counterparts of the same age/generation. I am not good with languages so I always find it incredible that people can speak more than three languages fluently.

At 4:00pm, I took a Grab car to Imago shopping mall. The ride took 15 minutes and it cost RM17.51 (S$5.47). As usual, it started to rain heavily in the afternoon, a complete contrast from the sunny skies this morning.

During the ride, my friendly Grab driver told me that Imago is more high-end than Suria Sabah. He added that the locals and Chinese tourists prefer to shop at Suria Sabah while Korean tourists prefer Imago. I then asked him why there are so many Korean businesses and tourists here in Kota Kinabalu. He said it is because there are direct flights from South Korea (Seoul and Busan) to KK and the flight duration to KK is about an hour shorter compared to Singapore or Peninsula Malaysia, which make it convenient and attractive for Koreans to visit KK. Also, the South Korean tourism board did a good job in marketing and promoting KK.

He added that Korean tourists are very particular and they will only patronise a shop or restaurant if it is operated by Koreans. At the very least, the staff must be able to speak Korean, otherwise there is no chance of doing their business. Hence, that is why there are so many Koreans working in KK and many businesses with Korean signboards at their shopfronts.

Compared to Suria Sabah, Imago is newer and more luxurious, with around 300 shops and tenants spread over its four floors. Some of the shops are similar (Padini, Brands Outlet) but there are more luxury brands here at Imago like Coach, Rolex and Boss. The anchor department store here is Parkson, a beloved homegrown brand.

As this was my last stop for the day, I went all out for my shopping and I bought a few pairs of pants and shirts from Brands Outlet, which offers good quality and trendy clothes at reasonable prices. For my dinner, I tried to find a decent place but everywhere was crowded because the Muslims had just broken their fast (it was Ramadan) so I settled for the only eatery that had no queue, Subway.

After the unsatisfying dinner, I took a Grab car back to the hotel. It was still raining so I decided to skip Gaya Street, which hosts the Api-Api Night Food Market every Friday and Saturday night from 6:00pm to 11:00pm. Anyway, my stomach was getting uneasy and I couldn’t eat any street food so there was no point going there. The Grab ride took 13 minutes and it cost RM11.33 (S$3.53). I arrived at Hilton Kota Kinabalu at 7:47pm and called it a night. In all, it was a relaxed day but an ailing one, as my stomach woes added to my aching thighs and calves.