Kota Kinabalu

Downtown KK is a dense grid of concrete buildings nestled between the waterfront and a range of low, forested hills to the east. It's compact and walkable - most of the restaurants, accommodation, tourist offices, tour operators, the main post office and transport centres are located here.

KK's main shopping complexes line the main road, which changes name four times in a relatively short distance. On the western side of Jln Tun Razak there are two sprawling, grid-like blocks of dilapidated two- and three-storey shophouses, Kompleks Segama and Kompleks Sinsuran. Between Jln Haji Saman and the waterfront is Wisma Merdeka and at the opposite end, on the way to the airport, are the huge Centre Point and Api-Api centres.

The international airport and the train station are at Tanjung Aru, 7km (4.5km) south of the city centre, which is bounded on the north by the upmarket bayside suburb of Likas. Between town and the airport the massive reclamation project, Sutera Harbour, is a luxury resort development.

The new northbound bus station is at Inanam, 9km (5.5km) north from the centre; other public transport congregates around three main sites in town. Taxis are common in the city centre. Ferries leave for the islands of TAR National Park, as well as for Pulau Labuan, from the terminal at the northern end of town.