Land below the winds – Sabah
From Brunei I took a boat to Kota Kinabalu, which is the largest city. Dominated by shopping malls, a night market, and a handicraft centre the city has not much to offer. The next day I left for Kota Kinabalu NP. With a massive towering peak of 4.000 m it dominates the skyline. Although tempted to climd I skip it, since I usually suffer from altitude sickness. Honestly I think that the the lowland forest was very nice to hike through. Two days of hiking resulted in many insect photos and beautiful landscapes. Trails that are less visited… I was the only one. The place was quite cold, so to warm up I went to the hotspings nearby… but I never arrived. In Ranau I got to know what taxi maffia means! Nobody in town who dares to tell you where to find the minibus and when I found the bus (after 30 min of asking and walking around) the driver refused me. And you know why? They are afraid for the taxi drivers (maffia). Instead of RM4 for the bus, tourist need to pay RM30 for a 5 min. journey. Of course refused to support maffia, I continued to a better place: Sepilok (for RM30, 3 hr).
Sepilok is a forest reserve with giant so called dipterocarp trees. They become up to 85 m. tall. I have loads of photos and more detailed info about the giant I found during my hike. This place is home to the man of the forest: the orang utang. I was lucky to encounter one from very very close… and I mean very close. This was enormous luck and effort, but it was a very special feeling. So strong, big, and gentle animals. Oh, so close to us; the threat of their survival.
In this forest 3 species of hornbills showed of, the rudy & stork-billed kingfisher, raffles birds, woodpeckers, and cuckoos. Also a flying squirrel flew close over me, a shy pangolin, and red leaf monkeys which made the mammal list complete. I’m amost getting obsessed with my “have seen” list 🙂 What I forgot is that all I did was “leech-free”. These disgusting bastards are everywhere, but I choose my trails carefully; asking the rangers about the “leech-infestion rate”. I heard people getting them in their nose, ears, eyes, and more delicate places you definitely don’t want to have them! Yes, Sepilok was perfect. Although the night walk failed with a guide (not enough people) I did some on my own just near the guesthouse. This was fine too.
In the historical place, Sandakan, I finished my travels in Borneo. Something I will never forget! I want to come back to visit the places I missed this time. I wonder if the forest will still be there. Do you want to know why? The answer can be found in my news letter.
Dutch leftovers
After Borneo came to an end, my visit to mainland peninsula was also coming to an end. I finished in the pleasant town Melaka where you cann find some nice Dutch left overs. The Stadthuys (town hall) is even the oldest Dutch building in the far East and is a nice piece of work. Melaka’s beauty attracts many tourists from Malaysia, making them an attraction on themselves. It is is so funny to see them packed on the river cruises, the observation tower, and other historical sites. From here I took the bus to Singapore, again a bit closer to Down Under.
Travel plan
Only 5 weeks lasting now in Asia, before I hit my final destination: Australia! First Singapore for a few days. At last to Jakarta to start the exploration of (a part of) Indonesia in a month.
Stage 4: Krabi (T) – Pulau Penang (M) – Khota Bura – Taman Negara – Kuala Lumpur – Borneo – Brunei – Melakka (M) –Singapore (17 Dec – 21 dec)
Stage 5: Singapore – Jakarta – Yogakarta – Denpasar – Gili islands (22 Dec – 19 Jan)
Stage 6: Denpasar – Perth (20 Jan)