16 years ago, I was living in a house on stills,  I owned a 486 dx and my phone was an Atur (Automatic telephone using radio and it weighed a ton). KK airport was a shabby little building and KK town had three main roads. There was Center point and Kinabalu Emporium as shopping malls and Tong Hing was the only decent grocery.
The biggest surprise  when I landed in KK this time was the airport. It is huge and all fancy pansy with beautiful facade..( Somehow it is impossible to imagine KK airport  as a fancy place)
I was not expecting anyone to come and meet me at the airport.
But then again, friendship is such that you are always surprised. Before leaving Brisbane, I had contacted a friend to help me arrange a rental car for me, least expecting that he would tell everyone that I am coming home. Three of my friends took time off from work to come to the airport to meet me and my kids. One insisted that I take his vehicle instead of wasting money on rental cars.The first impression of my kids..unanimous..they are just like their mother.. as soon as my friend told me that I must take his vehicle, my son started asking him about the vehicle, the model..etc. My younger one was trying to practice her Selamat Pagi and terima kasi..She greeted everyone who came across her path..and Yaya was reading her book..

My first impression of KK..
Hot..it was so bloody hot and I was hopelessly lost. There were too many bypass roads, too many shopping malls..and the traffic jam was horrendous.. But most off all, I just couldn’t drive..I lived in KL for many years and I was used to the chaotic KL traffic, so I thought.
Two lane road had 4 lane of cars and every cm of space in front of my car was apparently a welcome sign in bright neon light for someone else to butt in..It was so frustrating.

We went for Makan at my favourite Indian restaurant. It is still there. It is where we all used to meet on Sunday morning. The 4D shop next door is gone. I had roti canai and teh tarikh. Kids had ais milo ( milo ice), roti canai, dosai and more ais milo. 7  of us..and the  bill came to RM 64. ( 21 AUD)

At the time I was leaving KK,  Api Api apt had just finished construction.  It was supposed to be nice and clean and spacious. So I booked a place to stay there. My friends gave me a kind of look when I told them I was staying at Api Api.
It didn’t take too long to find out why.
The place is in real bad shape..
There was a dead mice in the corridoor..
The ceiling in the washroom was about to collapse! The toilet seat was broken and was fixed with tie wire!!
I was expecting my kids to complain about the place. They didn’t. not a word.
Double bed room for 50RM/night..it was good..if you didn’t look at the aesthetic part..

For dinner we went to Chinese shop
We had

Chef’s special ( Crab in secret sauce)

Clay pot tofu

Sabah vege in garlic sauce

Deep fried red snapper in Soy sauce

My son’s plate at the end of the meal

The bill..including beer, fruit juice, rice, a dish of prawns( can’t find the photo) and all of the dishes above..for 4 adults and three kids..191RM (68AUD)

And the biggest surprise of the day..
not the heat
not the shabby apt
not the horrendous traffic
not the blatant destruction of environment
but the one sentence my son told me on our way back to Api Api after dinner..
“Mom, this is home”