I went down to the City center this morning to have a look at the "Bonding With Gaya St." event ...
... of course, there was the official launching with the dignitaries and speeches ...
... a couple of antique rides ...
... and the ubiquitous volkswagens. Note the long banner in the background ...
... almost all the Kota Kinabalu shoppers appeared on the banner!
A very nice comprehensive timeline for Kota Kinabalu (from 1865) was put up on the windows of the Mandarin Hotel ...
... drawing the curious (including, of course, yours truly). I must say that there was a lot I did not know, or had forgotten about the history of our fair city.
Good write-ups and many old photos ...
... here's one of Jesselton in the 1910s ...
... another one from 1910s ...
... to Kota Kinabalu in the 1970s.
After WWII, Bond Street was renamed Gaya Street. Note the War Memorial on the road divider.
Here's another view of the Memorial ...
... and a view this morning (this "Memorial" was a rattan replica!).
Chop Teo Seng (mentioned in my
2 February 2012 posting as one of the old shops still remaining in Gaya Street) today ...
... and in the "yester-year".
So what was this corner shop in the old days?
It was United Trading Company. I remembered my mom buying cloth from this shop. Didn't the proprietors opened the KK Emporium? I could be (and most likely am) wrong!
So what about this corner shop location?
It was the Phenix Stores (why the "s"?) in them old days. It was the place to buy your musical instruments ( I couldn't afford anything from there in my youth).
I am sure there were many more things I missed. Kudos to the organisers!
