AREA:
Kota Kinabalu city is located on the north west coast of Sabah and is formerly know as Jesselton. Sabah is one of the 13 states of Malaysia and shares the Island of Borneo with Sarawak. Brunei and Indonesia's Kalimantan.

Kota Kinabalu, a bustling and frinedly city of a wide collage of races and religions, has a population of about 500,000 people in its metropolitan area with the official language being the Malay language while English and Mandarin are widely spoken.

TIME DIFFERENCE:
+8 GMT

VISA:
Citizens of Commonwealth countries, lreland, Switzerland, and the Netherlands do not need a visa to enter Malaysia. Countries such as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, Tunisia and USA do not need visas if the visit does not exceed 3 months. Citizens from Israel are not permitted to visit Malaysia while citizens of communist countries are only granted visas of between 7 and 14 days.

CURRENCY:
The Ringgit is the Malaysia currency with 1 Ringgit equaling 100 Sen. There are many local and international banks and foreign exchanges located throughout Sabah's urban centres. Major credit cards are accepted in most hotels, resorts, restaurants, departmental stores and shops. However, cash is required in local sundry shops and markets.

TAXES AND TIPPING:
There is a 10% service charge and 5% government tax on certain goods and services. Tipping is not generally practised in Malaysia.

BUSINESS HOURS:
Banks: Banks are open from 9.30am to 3.00pm on Mondays through Fridays and are closed on Saturdays and Sundays. Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) are available 24 hours.

Offices: Most government offices are open from 8:00am to 5.00pm and are closed every Saturday and Sunday. Commercial offices and business are open as early as 8.00am to 5.00pm on Mondays through Fridays. 8.00am to 1.00pm on Saturdays and closed on Sundays.

DRESS:
Lightweight clothing is ideal while shirts and ties make for appropriate office wear.

WEATHER:
Sabah has an equatorial climate with rainfall common throughout the year. Temperatures rarely rise above 32° C (90° F) except on exceptionally hot days, and along the coastal areas rarely drop below 20° C (68° F) at night. In higher altitudes it can get quite cold at night. Relative humidity is usually 85-95 per cent.