Full day

What's the best toy store in Kota Kinabalu? We don't have Toys 'R Us here, but we have something which I think is infinitely better! We have KK Toys! Why better? Well, for one part, they have quite a selection of toys. If you're into action figures and models, they have a pretty impressive collection as well: Gundam Mobile Suits; action figures from Final Fantasy to movie tie-ins; and models of cars, aircraft, and battleships. They also have games consoles, boardgames, baby products, dolls, teddy bears...no, we don't miss Toys 'R Us at all here.

The second, if you're a member, you get a year-long discount of at least 15%! And the best reason, they have a sale - twice a year! One's middle of the year (today...err, yesterday!) and the other one is before Christmas, in December. It's not your usual 10-15% discount. Everything is 30% off minimum while some can go to as high as 70%. But, the biennial sales are for members only - which I am. So, that's where my wife and I headed today. We brought Adelle along as well!

But, before the hard work of selecting the toys that we wanted to buy, we went for breakfast first at a nearby Indian Restaurant. The name is Devi's Restaurant. It's quite a popular place (it's even featured in the Lonely Planet guidebook) and it's a good place to have your fix of mouth-watering Indian cooking. Both my wife and I ordered a thosai each, and we shared a chapati. What can I say, they were both very yummy and this was enhanced more by the delightfully delicious curry, dhall, and that thosai sauce which I don't know the name to. The teh tarik that I had was excellent as well, so was the teh halia that my wife had (according to her): creamy enough with just the right amount of tea. Mmmmm...

I was also intrigued by colourful decorations hung on the ceiling of the eatery which I took a shot of.

Nice and colourful, don't you think?

After having our tummies filled, it was off to the battlefield that is KK Toys. When we entered the shop (it was only about 9.20 am), there was already a long queue at the cashiers and more people were milling about the place, searching for that perfect toy. We wanted to get Adelle some Mega Bloks, so we went upstairs where they are on display.

More people were upstairs. We didn't go straight for what we came for, we looked around first while Adelle busied herself getting on those tricycles with a long handle behind which parents can use the steer them. She was contented just sitting in them and mock cycling them, so that kept her occupied for quite some time. We decided to get her Mega Bloks because they were bigger than the Lego bricks, so easier for her to hold. Duplo would have been good, but it's hard to find them here. Not to mention, they also more expensive. After getting the biggest bag we could find (wife says it's more economical that way), we proceeded downstairs for more browsing. In the end, we ended up with a children's the Mega Bloks, a children's badminton set, two children's cooking sets (different ones), and a couple of bubble blowers (for the neighbours daughter). I had to queue for more than 20 minutes before it was my turn to pay. So, you can imagine the number of people that were there.

Adelle immersing herself fully in the whole shopping thang

Having accomplished our mission, we went window-shopping at nearby Centre Point (another shopping complex). We finally went home just before 1 pm. Adelle was especially tired by then, so she had a quick lunch before getting her nap.

Late in the evening, a neighbour came over to our place, and all of us (she and her two daughters, my wife, Adelle and me) went for a walk around the neighbourhood. I had been taking pictures of my wife's plants before she came so I brought my camera along on the walk. I managed to snap a few pictures of some small flowers which some would regard as weed. I thought they were until my wife pointed out that they are not - they are just wild flowers, she says. Well, whatever they are, I thought they looked quite beautiful standing against an all-green background, though I struggled a bit in getting them sharp as the sun was already low and light levels were not exactly helpful for handheld photography. Anyway, I was quite pleased with the results, one picture of which I'll share here.

Wildflower by the side of the road

So, that's our day. Hope you had a good one.