Kota Kinabalu stands to Borneo as Kuala Lumpur stands to Malaysia . Sabah’s capital is the most modern and cosmopolitan of all Malaysian Borneo , made up of wide roads , modern buildings and shopping centers at every corner. Even though not boasting the elegant malls of KL , it is a future-oriented city that tries to give a gorgeous new pictures of itself with gleaming glass and steel buildings . But the restyling process has just begun and the city still has a strong Asian footprint , the one that strikes at first sight : dirty alleys crammed with Chinese shops selling all sorts of goods of uncertain origin, local diners of steaming hot noddles with worn-out furniture , markets where hygiene concerns are far from our standard. For travelers who are not familiar to the Asian world , the impact with KK, as the locals call it , can be pretty shocking. But it is in this universe of humanity and ways of life so different from ours you can experience the real South East Asia, teeming with life and activity.

