We left the house just before 6 a.m., bound for Gaya Street. This street becomes a pedestrian mall every Sunday and there is much to see and buy from the people who set up small stalls along the street. Fruits, local and imported, a large variety of flowers and plants, including exotic orchids and cacti, local cakes, dumplings, buns, herbs, trinkets and lots of bling, hats, corals and sea shells, clothing, vegetables, fertilisers, garden tools, aquarium fish and pets like cats, dogs, hamsters and rabbits, traditional handicraft, antiques and hill rice too.
I made a beeline for the vendor that sells mangoes. They are from her own garden and I've tried her fruits before. There are no worms in the mangoes and they are large and sweet. She had a few types but I opted for the papaya mango and the mango that is shaped like a buffalo's horn. The mangoes are sold at 3 for RM10.00 but she gave me an extra one. My sister Doris said that it was still expensive. Anyway I bought RM40.oo worth of mangoes so that my siblings could take some home with them. Next on the list was the groundnuts, a special variety grown only in Kudat, near the tip of Borneo Island. My friend had told me a long time ago that once a person has tasted Kudat groundnuts, he will not go for any other types. I found this to be true. It has a special flavour, quite different from those that are grown in China or even the Mengelembu groundnuts from Perak, Malaysia.
Sharon asked me to buy four packets of a special fish kropok that is shaped into little balls, just like marbles, for her aunts. This is very tasty and it can become quite addictive if one likes to eat junk food. My siblings, Ellie and Doris bought bottles of chili padi source ( a very hot piquant sauce ). Doris showed me the plant which can repel mosquitoes and I bought two pots to plant in my garden. Haven't decided where I shall plant them. I bought the usual papaya and guava for Sharon and a local cake, hum chin piang kosong, for my daughter Grace.
Then we had breakfast at a coffee shop. Fish paste noodles with fish balls and wantan. It wasn't as tasty as it used to be. This is the common problem with the vendors. Once they have made a name, the standard of their food drops. So it was quite a disappointment.
Our next stop was what used to be called the Filipino Market where handicraft and clothing from the Phillipines were sold. These days it has just become a collection of tiny stalls selling a lot of trinkets and pearls, both fresh water and sea water pearls of low grade, souvenir T-shirts and handbags. Ellie bought T-shirts for her daughter Anita, son-in-law and grandson. They had pictures of Sabah's unique attractions on them. By then it was 9:30 and the sun was blazing hot so we went home, where it was much cooler with the strong sea breezes blowing in.
On Saturday we had gone to 1Borneo, the largest
shopping mall in East Malaysia. There are three hotels
there and a few blocks of condominiums are still under
construction. Many of the shops are branches of those found in Kuala Lumpur shopping malls. We browsed the
shops until we were tired and took a break at the food
court where we had lunch. We ordered individual dishes.
My granddaughter Chloe had chicken rice, grandson
Stephen had his fish and chips, while the adults opted
for different types of noodles. I 
found mine to be very
found mine to be very oily and the portion of chicken was very small compared
to what we usually get in town. It's edible by Sabah
standard but would definitely not pass the grade in
Kuala Lumpur. Yes, much of the local food prepared by
food court operators and coffee shop stalls are of low 
standard. The better food is available in restaurants
per se and in hotels.
A good example is the seafood dinner we had at a non-descript looking coffeeshop. It was surprising to find that they had a variety of good fish and different types of marine creatures (for want of a better word!!). I saw snails, clams of different types, crabs, etc. We made a selection and when the food was served, well......
it was beyond our expectations. The fish was very fresh
and it was steamed with ginger and spring onions. The crabs
were cooked with salted duck eggs and the clams with ginger
and spring onions to bring out its natural flavour. We also
had a vegetable and a chicken dish so that the grandkids
could eat. They have not acquired the taste for crabs or clams
yet. They did tuck into the fish as it was very fresh and tasty.
All of us enjoyed the dinner but the chicken dish was not
well-received. The style of cooking was not to our taste and
they didn't have much to offer in the way of chicken dishes.
Understandable since it is a seafood restaurant. Even more
pleasant was the bill!! It was a steal, really, for the quality
of food that the shop offered. Sharon says we must go there
more often! The food is good and cheap.
Soon it was time for my sisters and Grace to leave for the airport. Doris was flying back via Air Asia while Grace and Ellie would fly by MAS. So we sent Doris to Terminal 2 where she would check in for her flight scheduled to leave at 6:35 pm and later we sent Grace and Ellie to Terminla 1 where they would fly MAS, leaving at 6:40pm.
It was such a wrench to see them leave after spending 3 days here in Kota Kinabalu. They had given me a lovely surprise by coming to celebrate my birthday and it was a wonderful three days of bonding. It was sheer pleasure going out with them, showing them the places that have changed. Doris was here more than twenty years ago while Ellie's last visit was about ten years ago. They noted many changes, the most glaring being the horrible traffic jams. Their comment? So many cars and so few roads which also translated to a lack of parking facilities.
Ellie and Grace's flight took off as scheduled but poor Doris did not leave until 9 p.m. Her flight had been delayed, whatever the reason was. She did not reach home until 1:00 a.m. I received her SMS then, informing me of her safe arrival. Grace and Ellie reached home at 10:30pm. All of them must have been very tired as it had been a long day for them. Having to check in long before the flight and then the journey from the airport to home is exhausting.
I'm so blessed to have siblings and my younger daughter who live across the South China Sea flying all the way here to Kota Kinabalu to celebrate my birthday and it is the loveliest surprise I could ever wish for. The only thing that would have made it even better was if my son Peter could have been here too, but then he is working in Singapore and it is not easy to get leave from the office. I'm thankful that three of them came and I'm touched that they made it a surprise. 
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