The hub of Kota Kinabalu is the city itself, but in the greater beyond, there are a few treasures to be found in its neighbourhoods.

  Karamunsing - One of the closest areas and technically just a short walk from the city centre.  You do have to cross a few busy roads though, and it's not the most pedestrian friendly area.  The biggest attraction in this neighbourhood is the Karamunsing Shopping Centre. This place is now the place to go to if you are looking for computer and computer parts. But apart from this, there are also some furniture stores, a lot of clothing stores, and still a few electronics store. There is also a Malaysian Airlines ticketing office in this complex.  Across the road is the Berjaya Hotel.

  Sembulan - On the west side of KK and currently (in)famous for its watervillage.  It's populated by most illegal immigrants and as such not really maintained, resulting in it being a bit of a sess-pool.  The watervilliage is being filled in and will soon be replaced by a brand new shopping centre.  This is in progress and expected to be completed around 2008/09.  Across the road is another shopping centre in progress, expected to be completed before 2008.  In the neighbourhood is the state mosque and many Muslim families live in the area.  Restaurants and coffee shops therefore serve mostly typical Malay cuisine. The Grace Square complex is a cluster of shoplots with a few restaurants - but also feature a speciality chocolate shop, The Bamboo Restaurant, a Spa & Reflexology Centre and a fairly decent souvenir and curious shop - well worth a visit.

  Likas - Driving out past the harbour area, along the beach, towards the Floating Mosque, you pass the neighbourhood of Likas.  It's most famous for the sports stadium, home to the local football team, The Sabah Rhinos.  The stadium is venue to frequent match-ups, as well as the odd concert or charity event.  Next to the stadium is a sports complex presenting a range of activities, most frequently used for evening walks/jogs and swimming.  There is also a 2-storey driving range nearby that is open from day to night.  In this neighbourhood there is also the Likas Square Shopping Centre, one of the smaller ones in KK.  The KK International Exhibition Centre and the Likas Service Apartments are also here.

  Lintas - A little further out away from the hubbub of KK is Lintas.  A fairly built up area with many shop clusters and also the Sabah Medical Centre, a private clinic.  The area is famous for trendy eateries, many under names you could find elsewhere in KK, but here, for some reason, they are more upmarket.  This includes the Pizza Hut, as well as YoYo.  An average establishment in for example the Centre Point, but a trendy hangout spot for young locals in Lintas.  There is also Wagamama, a Japanese restaurant, Wan Zai, a Hong Kong restaurant, Brass Monkey, a western restaurant, and another driving range.  The remaining little shops are nice for treasure hunting for niknaks. Lintas also has a few pubs/karaoke joints.

  Damai - In the greater area of Luyang, Damai is another shop-cluster and a place full of cars from morning to evening. It features a Coffee Bean, a Burger King, a Japanese restaurant (Miyabi).  There is also pizza place, Pizza Ria, which serves some of the most decent pizza around at affordable prices.  A few lesser known pubs and karaoke bars litter the area.  Quite popular in the mornings and during lunch, Damai is rich with local eateries and on weekends is popular for serving pow and dim-sum.  Nearby is also a Japanese food wholesaler, where you can pick-up all your Japanese food supply requirements and eat quite a big portion of salmon sashimi at a cheaper price. 

  Penampang - Jokingly refered to as the Kadazandusun Headquarters, it is indeed a focal point for the Kadazandusun Culture.  Among other things, Penampang is known to be the Kadazandusun Harvest Festival which is a big annual event.  It is also the neighbourhood where you can find the Monsopiad Cultural Village. There is also a famous local market here too (held on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays), which sells a wide variety of local produce, curious and other things which makes an outing here well worth while. In addition, the area is rich in shop-lot clusters; most popular is the area around the Chua Kah Seng (CKS) - one of the biggest supermarkets around.

  Bukit Padang - In this area, towards the hill is the Sabah Golf & Country Club, and past this, a dam located in the hills called the Tun Fuad Park, is popular for evening walks/jogs and families playing in the nearby waterpark called Waterworld. Kampung Nelayan, the Floating Seafood Villeage is also popular for their fresh food, and inside this restaurant is another restaurant called Beijing, an open air BBQ buffet restaurant.  In the parking lot, locals often sell fruit and when in season, the smelly but popular Durian.

 Beverly Hills - Beverly Hills is a well-known housing area, but not as upmarket as its U.S. namesake.  Wherever there are housing complexes, there are shoplots, and this erea is no different. A couple of famous restaurants in this are the Atlantis, a seafood restaurant, and Supertanker, a famous Chinese restaurant. Populated by little shops, lots of other eateries and a collection of graphic shops, Beverly Hills is also near the DHL headquarters, which is located alongside a go-cart track.  There are various office lots and small industry lots around here too. 

 Each neighbourhood has its highlights, but in each one there is a vast array of little shops, not so little shops and various other things to discover.  Often excluded from the typical tour, tourists will discover a wealth of hidden treasures should they venture into these neighbourhoods.