City life in Borneo

Well, I’m back from my little Borneo adventure and I have some pictures to share with you guys!

Honestly, I’m feeling a little conflicted about bringing my camera on holiday. It meant that it was difficult for me to switch off (which was the entire purpose of the holiday). I was constantly looking at the world through the lens (as per usual) and sometimes this makes me feel like I am missing out on participating.

On the other hand, travel photography was what first sparked my passion for photography way back when. So taking photographs which depict the different way that people live and interact abroad is deeply satisfying for me.

We saw three very different faces of Borneo on this short two week trip. So I’m splitting it up into three different blogs. The first one on ‘city life’. I was surprised to find myself enchanted by the city life in Borneo. I’m usually not much of a city person and I like to flee the major city as soon as I arrive in a country but I was delighted to find that Kota Kinablu (KK) is full of gorgeous architecture and powerful street art.

We filled an entire day wondering the streets of KK exploring derelict buildings and ruins that had been adorned with the artwork of Sabahs artists. Beyond being beautiful the art carried a lot of powerful environmental and political messages and gave us a real insight into some of the challenges that Borneo is facing (particularly around conservation and environmental protection).

Here’s some snaps!