A few weeks ago Steve celebrated his Bday. Since birthdays are meant to be special we decided to book a hotel in Kota Kinabalu for a couple nights.
Kota Kinabula, or KK as the locals refer to it, a sprawling middle sized city in the center of the northern coast of Sabah, Borneo. As the capital it has all the expected amenities; international airport, a few decadent shopping malls, a grotty old town, and a steady stream of tourists. This also means that there are a range of hotels to choose from, perfect when you’re wanting a budget friendly but still kinda luxurious room.
I can usually find something in the $50-80 range downtown which includes a comfy king-sized bed, good air-conditioning, a private bathroom with plenty of very hot water, clean, fluffy towels, and a toilet that flushes at the touch of a button. A mini fridge, and free, clean water, tea, and coffee are standard in most rooms, but if I am lucky, I can maybe even find a rate that includes a buffet breakfast. Basically, all the amenities you’d expect in a western style hotel or home.
In other words, all the amenities that we live without onboard Kate.
Getting to KK is a 4-5 hour ride in a shared van that does not have a real schedule other than leave when it is packed full and not before. This means showing up early and usually sitting around for awhile, fingers crossed that the aircon in the vehicle works, the suspension is in ok condition, and the driver isn’t one of the those guys that likes to think his ride has enough power to pass three cars travelling at 100km/h, with oncoming traffic or on a blind corner.
We affectionately refers to them as the Death Cabs, although, thankfully, we’ve never heard of an accident, just breakdowns. But, since they are a quarter of the price of a Maxim aka Grab/Uber, they are the everyday go-to for most travelers to the city. Besides any time we’ve booked a ride share, say go to the airport in KK, they tend to accept our order a day in advance and then cancel 15 minutes before pick up. So, Death Cab it is.
And maybe the Death Cabs aren’t soooo bad.
After all, they do make the hotel room much anticipated and very welcome when you do finally arrive, legs cramped from being squeezed between seats meant for people under 5-foot and feeling stale from having sweated through your shirt waiting for the van to leave and then having it dry to your skin in the grimy air con on the way.
But, I digress. The real attraction I wanted to share was the Gaya Street Market in KK.
Jalan Gaya, or Gaya Street, is a wide street in the heart of the city, complete with a treed boulevard, dentist offices, banks, souvenir shops, and plenty of restaurants and hotels. It has that usual work-a-day local area with tourist wondering around aimlessly vibe that is common to cities all over the world.
On a Friday and Saturday night, however, Gaya Street transforms into a pop up street food, pedestrian only wonderland. The perfect place to eat, drink, and be merry for a bday celebration.
We’ve been to Gaya Night Market a few times and have noticed that many of the street vendors are regulars, with preferred spots to set up and a regular menu. You can pretty much find whatever you’re in the mood for here; hamburgers, dumplings, meat on sticks, BBQ chicken, grilled seafood, whole cooked fish, fruit, homemade cakes and doughnuts, noodles hot or cold, sushi, French fries, spring rolls, salad rolls, ice cream, coffee, and much, much more.
Steve gravitates towards the BBQ stands and usually picks out a nice selection of chicken skewers that are served with a satay sauce, or if it looks fresh some sort of squidito on el stickito grilled to perfection. He’s also been known to try things like mystery fish balls served hot in a cup smothered in a curry sauce.
I’ll have to believe him that it was delicious, because I tend to pick things like lepat jagung, which is a cornmeal mixture wrapped and steamed in corn husks, something akin to a tamale but without a filling and slightly sweeter, banana leaves stuffed with a sticky rice, and kari paps aka curry puffs, which are basically curried sweet potato turnover, that might be the best thing ever invented.
The only thing better than the food on Gaya Street is the people watching.
There are local families with toddlers, romantic couples out on a date night, tourists that are dressed to the nines, tourists that are not wearing enough clothes to be respectful to anyone let alone the local cultural norms. There are people in costumes, ladies in hajabs, old men in button down shirts and well creased polyester pants. It is both a place to see and been seen, and a place to disappear into the crowd.
And often we do, tucked into a dodgy open air spot that feels and looks more like a garage than the kitchen/bar that it seems to be. The tables are mostly clean and the chairs wobbly plastic but the buckets of beer are cold and cheap and since it looks out onto the middle of Gaya Street the scene lively.
It is easy whittle away hours simply observing.
I find evenings spent like this – exploring, eating, hanging out with my favourite person without the weight of boat responsibilities for a few hours, having a beer and literally watching the world go by – recharges me on a curiosity and creative level. I feel inspired to take photos and capture notes about scenes.
Conversations between Steve and I spark writing and cooking ideas and possible travel plans. We often hash out boat issues and project ideas in a relaxed and easy going way, something that isn’t always possible when you’re living in it all.
I usually wake in the morning feeling full, not from the food we ate but of life.
Love,
H…&S
