Kota Kinabalu Warnings Or Dangers

You should be given a lifejacket to wear on the journey but travelling safety is something Malaysians in general are a bit lackadaisical about. If you aren't given one, just grab one of the jackets lying around, or ask for one. There are on the boat though not all are functioning 100%.

People do drown at the deceptively calm waters off the 5 National Park islands overlooking KK. I find the lifeguards poorly trained and they do not have the best equipment either. Let's say they are a very poor version of the Australian lifeguards and those Baywatch guards. They aren't exactly too serious either. 2 hours after witnessing a drowning I saw one at the lifeguard hut not looking at swimmers but sending messages on his mobile phone.

I really couln't care less how good a swimmer you are. If going snorkelling do rent a lifejacket as well. I read somewhere that swimmers are more likely to drown compared to non-swimmers (who really take care). I saw one incident and I rather wish I didn't.

No, this is not about pickpocketing. I'm just saying that if you will be travelling to KK soon, please be sure to have Malaysian Ringgit in your pocket already before boarding the plane – at least enough to take you to your hotel.

My husband and I arrived at the KK airport’s Terminal 2, which was still under construction (and I believe it will still be for some more weeks or months). As in our other trips, we were used to just carrying US dollars and have them changed to whatever the local currency is. To our surprise, there wasn’t any currency exchange counter in this particular airport terminal yet. Also, we got out of the airport past 7pm, so the banks were closed and it was already hard to find an open foreign exchange stall.

Good thing that the taxi service in the airport was kind enough to ask the driver to drive us to the hotel, even if we don’t have Malaysian Ringgit on hand yet, and we will just have our dollars changed in the hotel.

This was our 3rd. trip to Malaysia. We walk all our and have never feel danger.
My opinion: Show normal carefully and don’t think you are better than anyone else.
Do this, and you will have an unforgettable vacation.

Climbing Mount Kinabalu may be exciting BUT at 3am (starting the last leg of the climb) you have to be careful. It is most important to hold on to the rope as your guide to the top (of course you have a compulsory guide in your group).

There have been people who lost their way to the mountain peak in the past...........some never to be seen again, let alone found.

In Sabah it is very normal for the electricity to fall out once in a while. It's very likely that in a stay of two weeks you will experience it at least once. I has the great score of 2 electricity- and one water-fall out in two weeks time :D

* Take a good look a the picture. Even the neon-letters of the Sabah Electricity building don't work all... *

If you plan to ascend the summit, please follow the white big rope which is tied to the ground and yours guide. There was an tragic incident which a girl got lost and ......... Generally, it's very safe for everyone up there.

Although most taxi are equipped with meters, drives are unwillingly to turn them on. So before getting on taxi, always ASK THE PRICE FIRST. With city centre(5-6 kilometres), it costs around RM6-RM10. Also, they charge more if you travel to or from Airport.