A few days in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia 16-20 September 2025 - Part 1

 “Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” — Dolly Parton

An opportunity arose at work that took me to Kota Kinabulu, the capital city of the State of Sabah, Malaysia. Hopping from Bhuj, Gujarat to Delhi and via Kuala Lumpur I arrived at the immigration desk of Kota Kinabalu on 16 September 2025. The first thing that surprised me about the trip was the need to clear immigration in Kuala Lumpur and again in Kota Kinabalu.

Both the international airports being in Malaysia, the dual immigration stamps on my passport bewildered me. My enquiries to find a reason for this elicited an unverified response that Sabah and Sarawak, having got independence and joined the Malaysian federation a few years later, have their own immigration requirement. In fact, there are many restrictions for movement and work between East and West Malaysia or, in other words, between the states in the Borneo Island and the mainland of Malaysia.

The stern looking immigration officer told me that I had arrived at a 'not-so-good' time for sightseeing in Kota Kinabalu. He told me of the foul weather they had been having over the past week. He told me that besides flooding and landslides, 13 lives had been lost in the aftermath of the mayhem caused by it. Later I came to know that the National Day celebrations, which fell on 16 September, was cancelled as a mark of respect for those who had lost their lives. I prepared for the worst and expected to spend most of the spare time indoors in the Hyatt Regency, a waterfront property. But, HE had other plans. Except for an overcast sky on the day I got into the city, I found time and good weather to walk around to see the sights in the immediate vicinity of the hotel and on another day to visit other sights in the outskirts of the city centre.

The Marlin Statue is literally a stone's throw from the Hyatt Regency, at an extremely busy roundabout in the heart of the town. This statue was put up in the year 2000 to celebrate the coming of age, as it were, of the city of Kota Kinabalu. There are many types of marlins - the common feature is their speed; they can swim 100 metres in 4 seconds. This makes the marlins a challenging game fish.

I walked along the theme painted wall of Hyatt Regency that fronted the street leading to the Jessleton ferry point. The waterfront walkway was forded off due to seafront reclamation and beautification projects, evidently a Chinese initiative. On the way to the Jessleton ferry point, almost bang across the massive Wisma Merdeka Mall, is a large new ferry terminal with floating jetties. I could make out these jetties are used for fishing tours and Borneo Wonders tours.

Beyond the imposing Suria Sabah Mall, the Jessleton Duty Free Mall and the Customs building is situated the quaintly scenic Jessleton Ferry Point that has an unmistakable historical feel to it. A large arch welcomes the visitors to the ferry point, and the commodious booking hall is replete with snapshots of a bygone era, those of Kota Kinabalu city (Jesselton). As if to remind one of the historicity of the place there are vintage red English phone booths. Not far from it is the ubiquitous "I ❤️ KK" signage for selfies.

The busy Jesselton Point Waterfront serves as the only ferry terminal for Labuan-bound passengers as well as the main boat terminal for Tunku Abdul Rahman Park and the resorts at Gaya Island. Jesselton Point Waterfront also offers casual dining, leisure and retail experiences with its array of F&B outlets, handicraft stalls, and a four-court futsal centre. As was to be expected, the waterfront was busy, it being a National Holiday.

The massive Suria Sabah, opened in 2009, is the most modern Mall in Kota Kinabalu. Spread over 11 acres, it houses premium and mid-range retail brands, food courts and a hotel. A good place to spend time in comfort, window shopping and grabbing a drink or sinking one's teeth into something delicious.

Just across the street from Suria Sabah to its right, is the awesome and colourful mural on Wisma Sabah. Across the street from Suria Sabah, in front of it, are brightly coloured blue columns without a ceiling, which are the ruins of the old Land and Survey Department in Kota Kinabalu. The building was destroyed by a fire in 1992. The ruins are now used by local artists and used to be the location for the Pillars of Sabah project, which featured pillars painted by local artists.

The Atkinson Clock Tower was built in 1905 in memory of Francis George Atkinson, the first district officer of Jessleton, who died of malaria - then known as Borneo fever - in 1902. Ships calling port at the Jessleton wharf used the Atkinson Clock Tower as their navigation landmark, as it could be seen from the sea. The clock tower was illuminated at night and was used as a shipping landmark right up to the 1950s. Extensive reclamation and tall buildings diminished the navigational importance of the Tower.

The Merdeka Square was the site where sporting events and parades were organised, during the British Crown period. It was here that the then Chief Minister announced the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on 16 September 1963. I was visiting there exactly 62 years after the event, on the very same day, the National Day. I could not explore the park any further as the grounds had become slushy due to the excessive rainfall the past few days.