Feb 2020

CITY: Kota Kinabalu

HOW LONG: 6 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

If you can’t stay at Faloe Hostel while in KK, then change your dates 🙂 This is my favorite hostel I have ever stayed at!! Like by far… and I have stayed at plenty of hostels. It’s very small so max there are like 20ish people at one time. This means its super easy to meet people, which is key. There is one big table in the middle of the hostel that everyone congregates at and socializes together. Every time someone checks in, Vanessa and Ivy (the two amazing hosts) introduce them to whoever is around, which contributes to everyone becoming like a family while you are there.

There is a washer/dryer at the hostel and it’s free!!!!!! There’s also tiny kitchen, which is a rare treat amongst the many kitchen-less hostels in Southeast Asia. There are loads of board games ( 🙂 ), plugs, curtain, and personal night in each bed, and decent wifi.

I could go on and on, but just stay here! No need to do more research.

WHERE TO EAT:

I spent my time here cooking mostly, as it was such a treat, but a group of us from the hostel went to Lucy’s Kitchen KGC for drinks and dinner for sunset and it was lovely!

WHAT TO DO:

Kota Kinabalu isn’t known for having a ton to do; it’s mostly a gateway for what the rest of Malaysian Borneo has to offer.

One of the main things to do here is to a bit of island hopping and snorkeling. I spent most of my time in KK playing board games because I don’t get to play that often while traveling, but my friends who went snorkeling said they enjoyed it!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

While KK itself isn’t anything to write home about, I spent 3 days here before heading off to other parts of Borneo, but literally flew back to KK just to spend more time at my favorite hostel ever, Faloe!!

CITY: Sepilok

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Louisa and I dragged two new friends from Faloe hostel along with us to Sepilok and the 2 day river adventure to see the wild orangutans! While in Sepilok we stayed at the Sepilok Nature Lodge. It’s more of a lodge, but there are a few dorm rooms, which is what we booked. Wifi is only available at the reception and the room are basic, but do the job. We stayed here the night before and the night after the Mr. Aji River Adventure.

WHERE TO EAT:

There’s not many options as it’s not really a town, but don’t eat lunch/dinner at the restaurant on site. Instead eat at the cheaper, better restaurant across the street!

WHAT TO DO:

For such a small area, there’s quite a bit to do! The main reason to come to Sepilok is it’s a jumping off point for the many river adventures to see the wild orangutans that Borneo is famous for, but beyond that I went to two sanctuaries: The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. Both were fabulous and are doing great work to provide safe places for these animals to live and rehabilitate. We ran out of time, but there is also the Rainforest Discovery Centre which I heard was worth checking out.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I really enjoyed hanging in Sepilok. There were a surprising number of other cool travelers so we ended up playing cards and having beers at the restaurant across the street late into the night. You wouldn’t go here other than for the river adventure, but it’s a lovely stopover.

CITY: Mr. Aji’s Jungle Experience

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I am so glad we booked with Mr Aji. There are a few tour options, but we thought the 3 day/2 night option was perfect. Louisa, Ross (from Scotland), Will (from Idaho) and I headed off into the jungle for 3 days of non-stop wildlife. We saw wild crocodiles, elephants, proboscis monkeys, white tailed monkeys and the best of all, the orangutans! Also, during the night river cruise and night walk, we saw civet cats, bats, and all types of birds and spiders. It was awesome. We stayed in basic hotel rooms, but note that there is no wifi available. Food is included as well as transportation to and from the Kinabatangan River from Sepilok. While this tour is more expensive than others available in the area, there is no question you should book with Mr. Aji (just email him at mr.ajisdk@gmail.com) as his knowledge and expertise are unparalleled. Also, we met some folks who went with a different company and said they barely saw any animals and wish they had come with us instead.

CITY: Mabul

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Will and I headed to Mabul island to do some scuba diving so we said goodbye to Louisa and Ross (but don’t worry, we reunited a few days later in KK on our way out of Borneo). We took a bus from Sepilok to Senporna. Once in Senporna we took a speed boat to the island through the company we booked our scuba diving. Scuba Junkie offers some packages so we had our transportation to and from the island, accommodation, food and two days scuba diving. The dorm rooms were fairly basic, but on an island this small, you can’t expect much. The wifi barely worked for me, but Will had service so that works if you have a sim card.

WHERE TO EAT:

Because our package included food, we ate 3 meals and 2 snacks all at the resort 🙂 The food was pretty good for a basic island!! You definitely don’t go hungry.

WHAT TO DO:

The only reason to be on Mabul is go scuba diving. In fact, one of top 5 dive sites in the world can be accessed from Mabul. Sipadan is undoubtedly a must see. It’s home to black, white and grey tipped Sharks, Trevallies, and Chevron and Yellow fin Barracudas. We also saw Bumphead Parrotfish, Potato head Groupers and tons of turtles.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Sipadan is an actual dream. I feel so, so lucky to be able to have dove here. I personally think the diving at Mabul itself wasn’t anything to write home about, but I can see why Sipadan sometimes is even listed as the number one dive spot in the world. Mabul is a tiny island but it was pretty cool to feel like you are in the middle of the world with a few thousand people.