Sabah Delight

Every year staff from the UK offices make a number of visits to Asia, ensuring that we are always 100% up-to-date with new and past favourite hotels, that we’re the first to explore the new and upcoming destinations and that we all spend time with our local teams. These trips also ensure that we keep our ‘ears to ground’ – meeting travellers, learning new routes and discovering new and exciting activities and sites.
In 2010 Lionel and Karl visited Borneo's eastern state of Sabah to discover more about the incredible wealth of natural delights the region has to offer.

Arriving at midday in Kota Kinabalu (KK) we took the opportunity to grab a couple of hours sleep at our hotel, The Beverley, before meeting our colleagues from Sabah for a tour of the city and dinner. The city of KK is quite spread out and traffic during peak hours can be heavy. We had actually arrived during the Muslim festival of Hari Raya, celebrating the end of Ramadan, and traffic around town was particularly heavy as many of the locals were out and about, either shopping for the festivities or making their way to visit friends and relatives. After a tour of the city and harbour areas we settled into a traditional open-air seafood restaurant for a sumptuous feast of fried grouper with garlic, chilli clams and lemon-roasted chicken, all served with steamed rice and tiger beer.
The next day was spent inspecting a number of hotels which we regularly use, this part of the trip is definitely work, but essential stuff. We managed to find time for a brief visit to the Monsopiad 'headhunters' village about 30 minutes outside of KK. The visit gives a fascinating insight into the life of tribal warriors in past times.

The next morning we left KK for Kinabalu National Park, taking a stop en-route at Poring Hot Springs. There is a small but enjoyable canopy walkway and some jungle trails which are worth exploring, but the actual hot spring pools are perhaps a little disappointing. They are overcrowded at certain times of the day and are man-made pools rather than natural ones. Continuing on to KNP we arrived around mid-afternoon and had time to explore a jungle trail before dark. Being at elevated location means that the National Park has a cooler climate than the surrounding lowlands, and fleeces were essential in the evening.
The restaurants in the NP serve delicious, hearty food, catering for the numerous climbers and trekkers that visit each day. The next morning started cloudy with the peak of Mt Kinabalu hidden from sight. Being a whistle stop visit we did not have much time to explore the many trails, and were envious of the groups setting off in various directions with guides leading the way.

We drove back to KK Airport in time for the short flight to Sandakan where we met our new guide for lunch and some hotel inspections, followed by a brief tour of Sandakan. The sun was setting as we arrived at the beautiful Sepilok Nature Resort, adjacent to the world famous nature reserve and orang-utan sanctuary. Karl and I enjoyed a delicious Malay meal at the restaurant and bumped into and old friend from UK (small world) enjoying her honeymoon with her husband. We shared stories and a couple of drinks before retiring to our comfortable chalets.
Feeding time at the Sepilok Orang-utan sanctuary was a very enjoyable experience and due to it being a public holiday the majority of visitors were locals. The work done at the sanctuary is extremely important for the long-term survival of the orang-utan and to see them feeding at such close quarters is a remarkable experience. A three hour boat journey up the Kinabatangan River Kinabatangan River followed and we were extremely lucky to spot a wild orang-utan as well as numerous other primates and numerous species of birds before arriving at Bukit Melapi Lodge . The lodge makes an excellent base for exploring the waterways of the region, and also serves delicious food and wonderfully cold Stella Artois!

The following morning we left at sunrise and drove to the Danum Valley , home to the Borneo Rainforst Lodge . Switching to a 4WD vehicle we set of for a further two hours on unsealed jungle roads into the heart of the primary rainforest in Danum Valley Conservation Area. The jungle trekking and night cruise were fantastic experiences and the 5-section canopy walk is amongst the finest anywhere in the world – absolutely breathtaking. It was a shame to leave again so early the next morning but Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort beckoned and so we hit the road again.
Arriving at Sipadan-Kapalai Dive Resort (a remarkable water-village built entirely over water) on a 40 minute boat ride from Semporna Jetty on the mainland, one goes past Mabul Island and has the chance to view the extremely odd oil-rig (yep) that has been positioned just off shore. Even though it is not actively drilling oil, one must question the thought process that allowed such a monstrosity of a “resort” to be located here.
Kapalai was beautiful, a haven for divers to the nearby Sipadan Island sites, and also popular with honeymooners drawn by the clear blue sea, numerous turtles and incredible corals and reefs.
The next morning we returned to the mainland and flew back to KK after an incredibly busy but enlightening week in Sabah. What a land of contrasts; high mountains, humid jungle, stunning beach, and a huge of wildlife both on land and at sea.