GAYA STREET

THE Sunday morning street market along Jalan Gaya in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, is simply a boon for tourists. Right in the heart of KK within shouting distance of several hotels, including five-star establishments, the market is popular with both locals and visitors to the State.

THE Sunday morning street market along Jalan Gaya in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, is simply a boon for tourists.

Right in the heart of KK within shouting distance of several hotels, including five-star establishments, the market is popular with both locals and visitors to the State.

The tamu, as the morning market is called, offers a tantalising range of products that both excite and educate.

The market starts about 6.30am and until its closing time around noon, hawkers and vendors do a roaring, and at times, noisy trade selling food, kuih-muih, potted plants, sea shells, clothes, antiques, pottery, puppies, kittens, birds, rabbits, ornamental fish and other stranger animals.

The tamu is such a hit that the half a kilometre Jalan Gaya market branches into adjoining streets.

There is something for everybody — tribal artifacts, Filipino handicrafts made of shells, fibres and pearls, Sabah handicrafts, ancient brass gongs, Chinese ceramics and rattan furniture.

Loud music from stalls selling cassettes and CDs add to the atmosphere. Every Sunday is a carnival for the large multi-ethnic crowd who throng the tamu.

Some stall keepers display their wares on plastic mats, while others use low foldable tables.

The Gaya Street market also has a ‘mobile clinic’ manned by the Sabah Nurses’ Association where visitors could get simple medical tests, including blood pressure checks.

Come election time, it is also a fair ‘fishing ground’ for votes by politicians, both aspiring and veterans.

A dealer in old stamps, Chan Yee Lam, 65, sells First Day Covers from Malaysia and overseas as well as stamps at his stall.

His stall is also the informal meeting place for some 30 members of the Kota Kinabalu Philatelic Society. Members include children and the retired.

Chan, who started selling stamps at Gaya Street in 1984, said his clients included foreigners and Malaysians from the peninsula.

Artist Daiman Bona is one of four members of the Sabah Art Gallery who paint and sell their work on the spot.

Daiman said the miniature paintings were popular with artists as they get to take home a piece of Sabah for as little as RM15.

On other days, the group paints at their studio close to the Sabah Museum or conduct workshops for students. Daiman can be contacted at 016-8454 636.

Away from the hawkers and traders, shops along Jalan Gaya — goldsmith, cloth merchants, hardware traders and coffee shops — also do a roaring trade on Sunday.

Even the Sabah Tourism Board office is along the road, at No. 51.

Jalan Gaya is named after Pulau Gaya, one of the five islands in the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park opposite KK.


Getting there

Kota Kinabalu International Airport is well connected by both domestic and international direct flights daily.

Accommodation

Kota Kinabalu has a good selection of hotels and boarding houses to meet every budget.



For details, contact the Sabah Tourism Board at 51 Jalan Gaya, 88000 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Tel: 088-212149, 212121, Fax: 088-21075 or visit www.sabahtourism.com.

For flight details, contact Malaysia Airlines or AirAsia or visit www.malaysiaairlines.com.my/travel/ or www.airasia.com/

Must Do

Go early to avoid the hot weather and take time to view every stall and items on sale. Chit-chat with the friendly street vendors.

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