We spent two jungle-filled weeks on the island of Borneo, in the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak. We saw orangutans in the wild, massive troops of proboscis monkeys and spiders the size of our hand.
This post is about our time in Malaysian Borneo. For our two weeks on peninsular Malaysia, go here.
Kota Kinabalu, 2 Nights
We flew from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. AirAsia flights between Kuala Lumpur and the KK are cheap and plentiful, with about ten different planes leaving each day.
Kota Kinabalu itself is a fairly nice coastal city. It’s not particularly vibrant but it does have some cheap, tasty food, and some great snorkelling nearby. Two nights was the perfect amount of time here. We stayed at Akinabalu Youth Hostel (92rm/33NZD/22USD for a private room, a/c, shared bathroom and breakfast). The hostel is located on Jalan Gaya which is famous for its weekend market. Unfortunately, because we were there during Ramadan, the market wasn’t running – however, there was a nightly street food market just around the corner, where we got the best beef satay and Nasi Lemak Assam of our whole month in Malaysia.
Island hopping is one of Kota Kinabalu’s main attractions. Just outside of the harbour is a marine reserve made up of four small islands, which are excellent for snorkelling and swimming. We – along with hoards of other tourists – headed to the Jesselton Point in the morning to catch a speed boat over there. We had read a lot of conflicting information about when the boats leave, but the reality is that they simply leave when they’re full. Buy your ticket from inside the large jetty office (all of the prices are much the same), and the attendant at the dock will load you into a waiting boat. We paid to go to two islands – Mamutik and Manukan, which we were told had the best snorkelling. Our ticket had the time on it for we would have to transfer to the second island. We also rented two sets of fins and two masks from the ticket counter. The process of getting on the boat, getting between the two islands, and then returning to the mainland was a kind of organised chaos, but everyone eventually ended up where they needed to be.
The snorkelling itself was good quality, considering the number of boats passing through. Most of the large tourist groups don’t venture past the shallows, so once we were snorkelling on the reef, we had it pretty much to ourselves. Once we’d had enough, the beaches were lovely to lie on. We’d packed a picnic lunch of bakery buns, as food on the islands was predictably expensive.
Notable eats in KK:
- Local Ramadan market for satay, matabak and Nasi Lemak Asam.
- Waterfront market for cheap whole fish. Pick what you want, pay by weight (4-5RMB per 100g), and choose how you want it cooked. Negotiate for a discount. Whole red snapper and 500g of cuttlefish set us back a measly 40rm (14NZD/9USD).
- Ampersand Specialty Coffee for good coffee and a pleasant environment to sit in.
Sepilok, 2 nights
The main reason to visit Sepilok is to see the famous Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. There’s not actually a town here to speak of – there’s an eatery beside the rehab centre, a few houses, and a handful of accommodation options for tourists like us. Two nights was plenty.
It was easy to catch the six-hour bus from KK to Sepilok. We jumped on a 9am bus bound for Sandankan, and were dropped off at ‘Junction 14’ just before three. This was essentially a large roundabout in the middle of nowhere – but it’s the closest point on the highway to Sepilok. A few dusty taxis were waiting for travellers like us, but we’d already arranged for our accommodation to pick us up (Paganakan Dii Tropical Retreat – 165rm/60NZD/40USD for a double room, attached bathroom, bad a/c, breakfast). Because of the lack of… well, anything in Sepilok, we had all our meals at our accommodation. They had a decent menu, and all of the items were a reasonable 8-12rm.
The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre was excellent. A ticket was 35rm (12.6NZD/8.5USD) for an adult, and an additional 10rm to bring in a camera. After packing away all bags and loose items into a locker, then you’re free to wander the park, which is made up of raised boardwalks that wind through the jungle reserve. Amazingly, the orangutans walk freely all over the boardwalks, and over the course of our visit to the centre, we saw at least six different individuals within a few metres of us. Whenever an orangutan was on the boardwalk, the attendant quickly appeared to keep all the visitors at a safe distance. There are two daily feeding times – 10am and 3pm – where a basket of bananas is emptied onto a platform at the edge of the reserve. Any orangs needing supplemental food come down from the trees and grab a few to take away. We went to both feedings (the park shuts down from 12-2pm, but you can use the same ticket to get back in). We saw two different mothers and their infants, and a completely wild male who had started visiting the sanctuary on his own.
When the sanctuary closed in the middle of the day, we popped across the road to the Sun Bear rescue centre. While not quite as large and extensive as the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, it was great to watch the rescued bear cubs chew on carrots, and the viewing platforms were a great escape from the heat.
Kinabatangan River, 2 nights
The Kinabatangan River is one of the last areas of rainforest reserve in Sabah. Almost all of the long river is bordered with jungle, but the palm plantations (which stretch as far as the eye can see) are never more than a kilometre out of sight. This has forced all the local wildlife to the river’s edge, which (tragically) makes it the perfect place to see them.
We stayed at Osman’s Guesthouse. Osman himself was worked as a wildlife fixer for the BBC (he had photos with David Attenborough on his wall), and personally took us out in his boat twice a day, exploring through the river in search of wildlife. (75rm/27NZD/18USD per day for us to stay at Osman’s house, full board – his wife is an amazing cook. 50rm per boat ride – Whatsapp +60 19 841 5259).
We went on three boat trips while we stayed at Osman’s – two in the afternoon, and one in the early morning. In the afternoon, we could see huge troops of probiscus monkies settling into trees for the night, as well as iridescent silver-leaf monkies, snakes and birds. In the morning we saw a pair of wild orangutans, alligators longer than our boat, and five of the eight species of native hornbill. Being within a few metres of so many truly wild animals was an amazing experience.
Kuching, 2 nights
We caught the bus back from Osman’s to KK, where we spent one night, and then flew to Kuching the next day.
Kuching is probably Borneo’s coolest city. A river winds it’s way through the downtown area, and the waterfront has an excellent boardwalk to stroll along. At night this area is full of food vendors, and there are benches and patches of grass to sit on. Kuching also has great street art, a bustling Chinatown, and is full of sculptures of cats.
In Kuching we visited the Semenggoh Nature Reserve, which is an Orangutan feeding platform, similar to the one in Sepilok. However, this one is not a park you can wander around. You arrive for the feeding, watch the orangutans enjoy their food, and then leave. The number of animals that come is totally unpredictable – when we visited, three orangutans came for afternoon tea – a young male, and a mother with her child. We watched them crack open coconuts and carefully make tiny holes in raw eggs. Just a note, if you catch a Grab to the Orangutan Centre, you will have to ask your driver to stay and negotiate a price back. There are no taxis or buses that go to the park, and terrible cell reception.
Notable Eats in Kuching:
- Lepau Restaurant – If you come to Kuching, you have to eat here. This restaurant gave us one of the best meals of our entire trip. For small dishes between two people was the perfect amount – we ordered sambal squid, butter prawns, jungle fern and a sour fruit dish.
- Waterfront stalls for whole fish and various rice dishes. Fish has a standard price of ~7 RBM per 100g.
- Black Bean Coffee for good coffee.
Bako National Park, 1 night
Bako National Park is a 30 minute Grab or 45 minute bus from Kuching, but can only be reached by an additional fifteen minute boat ride. You can also stay the night in the park by booking accommodation through the Sarawak Forestry site. Staying the night is definitely worth it – the wildlife really comes out in the early morning and late evening, and the nightly guided walk run by the park rangers was well worth the 10rs price of entry.
Unfortunately, because we arrived at the boat jetty at 1pm, we had to pay for a ‘private’ boat to take us across to the park – which set us back 150rm return. If you arrive in the early morning, you can share a boat with other visitors, and pay only 40rm per person return. The only catch with sharing is that you have to liaise with the other passengers so that you all return at the same time. The private boat meant that we could set our own return time.
We arrived later in the day because we wanted to miss the worst of the midday heat for the numerous hikes that cover Bako. Hiking at 35 degrees C is horrible, but it was manageable at 30. The hikes are clearly marked and range from a 30 minute boardwalk stroll all the way to a seven-hour return loop of the park. We completed four trails over the course of our stay.
Most of the wildlife we saw were actually around the park HQ, where a huge family of bearded pigs were snuffling around. A nearby large tree also proved a popular sleeping spot for a large hareem of probiscus monkies. On the guided night walk, we saw a pit viper, a flying lemur and the largest array of massive spiders, scorpions and millipedes I have ever seen. Apparently, all of them were venomous as well.
Food at the park canteen was passable, and reasonably priced (considering that it’s the only place on the island that you can purchase food). Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all pay-per-scoop, with a few meat and veggie options, as well as rice and noodles.
Once we finished up at Bako, it was one more night in Kuching, then back to KL, and onwards to Seoul.
