December Holiday Destinations – Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
Kota Kinabalu
Kota Kinabalu is one of those holiday destinations that you may not have heard of, but that is only due to the fact that it is in the process of growing in popularity, so you’ll surely start hearing more and more about it as time goes on.
Kota Kinabalu is the capital of Sabah, Borneo and is a veritable international gateway for the region. It is also a place of great beauty, being set against a backdrop of green hills and in front of it benefiting from the wide expanse of the green waters of the South China Sea.
This modern Malaysian city is watched over by the towering Mount Kinabalu, 4,095 meters or 13,435 feet above sea level, and make no mistake about it, this city is as modern as they come and it is this mix of modern, natural beauty and the exotic location which makes this place such an interesting and unique holiday destination.
The city itself offers a couple of very interesting and diverse attractions to its visitors, such as the Sabah Trade Centre for instance, which is a venue of many trade fairs, conventions and conferences. While you may be visiting the Trade Center to take part in one of the events there, you will be visiting the Sabah Foundation Building just to see the building itself because it’s construction is rather unique. It is built around a single support column which holds thirty circular stories.
On a different note, the State Mosque is a wonderful structure featuring domes and beautiful gold inlay which the State Museum was built to look like the traditional longhouses of the Rungu and Murut tribes. The museum is a great place to get a taste of the indigenous culture of the island via displays of totems, weapons, blowpipes and skulls – the Muruts were headhunters.
Now talking a bit about Mt. Kinabalu, this is the highest peak in the region and due to this it has an almost magical allure to it. While it may not always be visible because of mist and clouds that shroud it at times, this only helps to pile on the almost mystical magnetism this place is known for. The peak is very well known to climbers from all over the world, because they come every year to try their hands at climbing it.
The Mt. Kinabalu National Park on the other hand, is located 138 kilometers away from the city and this is a truly wonderous place, home to over a thousand species of orchids, 850 types of butterflies and no less than 621 ferns, it should definitely be visited on your trip to Kota Kinabalu.
These are only a couple of the main attractions that Kota Kinabalu has to offer, we haven’t even gotten into talking about shopping opportunities or the various activities that you can get involved with while on your trip, so rest assured that you won’t be bored one bit.
