[Activities] KK (Kota Kinabalu) Free Walking Tour

Sabah Tourism Board (STB) recently introduced the KK Free Walking Tour.  It is open for everyone (tourist, locals) who wish to learn more about the history (dated back to pre-post and post-war), heritage and culture of KK City.  The tour is currently available on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and starts at 9am, Sabah Tourism Board.  

Registration can be made via freewalk.sabahtourism.com or walk in and register at the counter at the STB building (please take note that each session is limit to 15 pax only, it is advisable to register early).  Oh yes, did I mention that it is FREE?

I had the opportunity to join this walking tour last Saturday (after my 2 hour gym in the morning). 

The tour starts at Sabah Tourism Board building at Gaya Street, 0km at 9am (don't be late ya) and ends the tour at Kadaiku in Sinsuran.

A licensed tour guide (English speaking guide) from the Sabah Tourist Guides Association (STGA) leads the tour covering places of interest within the city.  Our guide for the day is Mr. Lukhwan, wearing the pink KK Free Walking Tour vest (easy to spot).  Very knowledgeable and interesting friendly guy.  Feel free to ask questions during the tour. 

At the stating point

We made our way to the ruins of the former Land and Survey Building (currently a graffiti zone for local and international art enthusiasts) at Jalan Ewan, dating back to the British North Borneo Colonial Era.

This has got to be one of my favorite place to visit, especially when there's new artwork (the artwork changes from time to time).  I get to learn about the history behind this what used to be a building from this tour.

 

We then made our way to Gaya Street (Sunday market) and then to Jalan Dewan where we get to see other famous historical landmarks and places of interest like the Atkinson Clock Tower, Signal Hill Observatory Tower, Central Market, Handicraft Market and etc.

 

Making our way to Signal Hill Observatory Tower, you get to see the whole city from an aerial view.  Beautiful place to watch sunset with the view of the city too.  Just a short hike up the stairs to reach the tower.

What a beautiful day!  I love KK City.  I can see the ocean from up here!

Another mural spotted around Gaya Street before we made our way to the monument.

North Borneo War Monument at the city park.

Heading to Segama, you will get to spot more murals along the staircase.  There used to be local handicrafts along this bridge back in the days (not sure what happened to it).  Local night market starts 5pm under the bridge, famous fried radish cake (fried lobak) selling like hot cakes, been operating for years, I think the uncle don't age one bit.

 

Next stop: waterfront.  Believe it or not, I never had my photo taken here but I've took photo of beautiful sunset view from here hahaha.

Local food stalls operated in the evening. 

To the Central Market.

Spotted local avocados and OMG it's mango season!

 

You also can get salted fish, local snacks around this area.

Philippine market (Handicraft market), crafts, handbags, pearls and etc.

And finally our last stop, Kadaiku (Sabah Souvenirs & Handicrafts) at Sinsuran.

D.I.Y Batik Painting.

It was an overall enjoyable experience for me.  I get to revisit places that I used to visit in the past (when I was younger) and learned a lot about our city and see it from a different perspective.  It was interesting and wouldn't mind doing it again.  Definitely a nice way to explore the city (on foot).  Thank you Sabah Tourism Board for opportunity and for this amazing experience :)  Keep up the good work!

P/S:  Where's the ice cream potong?

 
For more info:

Website: freewalk.sabahtourism.com
Email: booking@sabahtourism.com
Tripadvisor: KK (Kota Kinabalu) Free Walking Tour
Instagram: kkfreewalkingtour
Facebook: KK Free Walking Tour

Thank you for reading and have a nice day!