July 21  12:44pm

Hi Everyone,

   “I loved the diversity of the city and the huge wet market.”  That’s how our friend Jamie Fritsch described the center of Kota Kinabalu.  It’s true.  You feel like you are in China and India at the same time.  The women in their saris are just so colorful.  I’ll try to get some photos of them.  But here are just a few photos to get you oriented to Kota Kinabalu.  We have lots of boat work to do and the best “natural attractions” are inland, so I think we might miss them. The mall has Starbucks and Body Shop but the upscale shops of Hong Kong or Makati.  Our friends Bob and Audrey, from Subic Bay, are here for a too short long weekend.  They went off with Randal to do boat stuff today.  I just don’t feel great enough.  So I’m having a quiet day catching up on some email and watching the Sox lose their 3rd game to LA. 

We will probably be here for another 2 weeks.  Of course that’s what we said about Subic.  But we have to be done to make it to Indonesia to meet the Indonesia Rally in the beginning of September.  Randal and Bob were looking at possible routes this morning.  Bob and Audrey have their own growing business in Subic so just hanging out here is a relaxing vacation for them. 

http://www.sabahtourism.com/en/home/  is a site for Sabah which is the specific area of East Malaysia where we are now.  Malaysia is two islands in the South China Sea.  East Malaysia is on the north tip of Borneo. 

Here we are at the Sutera Harbor Marina.  We are next to this sailboat owned by an American.  The owner isn’t here now.

The Pacific Hotel just next to the Marina.  The Magellan Hotel is on the other side of the Marina. Lots of families with kids here. Lots of golfers.  Lots of upscale prices.  Wine in the Magellan gift shop was 138 ringgits.  That’s $46.  We took a pass. (Randal and I are the $5-$10 per bottle wine drinkers.)  A small (two bite) Hagan Das was about $7.  We did buy some wine in the supermarket for 36 ringgits, $12.  It was the cheapest one they had, but not bad.  Alcohol is way more expensive, some food is more expensive, but clothing maybe not.

There is a guarded gate onto the docks.  The Marina building has several restaurants, a chart room “library” with chairs and tables and magazines.  Looks a bit like Subic but kept up with very helpful staff.

City center.  Randal in the backpack leads the way; Audrey with the braid.  Bob took the photo.  This is one of the main streets in the commercial center of KK.  The first impression is very modern, the secondary roads are more “foreign” so more interesting.

My old umbrella is a rusted mess.  I bought this one for 7.9 ringgits.  3 ringgits make a dollar.  We’ll see how long it lasts since it sort of opens cockeyed.  But it was the first small fold up one that I saw so it will fit in the side pocket of my back pack.  Bob’s photo

  A trimmings and buttons and beads shop.  I would say 70% of the women here wear head coverings.  About 30% wear a full sari.  They sell all of the shiny things you see sewn onto clothes from India.

A woman at the fish market. Men were eager to pose, but women were more shy.  I did ask first if it was ok to take the photo.