Things to do in Malaysian Borneo – Sabah
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Kohinoor
There are several excellent restaurants along the Waterfront Esplanade, including this Indian place offering comfortable indoor seating and a breezy outdoor patio. Take advantage of their authentic tandoori oven and don’t forget to grab a side of pillowy garlic naan.
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Mt Kinabalu
Towering 4095m above northern Borneo, Mt Kinabalu is the highest mountain between the Himalayas and the island of New Guinea. Known as Gunung Kinabalu in Bahasa Malaysia, the mountain is quite unlike any other on earth, rising almost twice as high as its Crocker Range neighbours and culminating in a crown of wild granite spires. When the summit is visible (usually in the morning, before the clouds close in) the mountain literally demands your attention. .
It is clearly visible from many parts of Sabah, including Kota Kinabalu and the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park. Even if you decide not to do the climb to the summit, the park itself is a beautiful spot, and …
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Night Market
KK’s brilliant Night Market is a place of delicious contrasts: it huddles beneath the imposing Le Meridien as venders hawk their knock-off wares. The market is divided into two main sections: the southwest end is given over mostly to produce, while the northeast end (the area around the main entrance) is a huge hawker centre, where you can eat your way right through the entire Malay gastronomy. If you’ve never seen a proper Southeast Asian market, this place will be a revelation.
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Rainforest Discovery Centre
The Rainforest Discovery Centre, about 1.5km from Sepilok Orang-Utan Rehabilitation Centre, offers an engaging graduate-level education in tropical flora and fauna. Outside the exhibit hall, a botanical garden presents varying samples of tropical plant life, with the accompanying descriptions every bit as vibrant as the foliage. There’s a 1km lakeside walking trail as well. A series of eight canopy towers are being built – three have been completed. Paddleboats (RM5) are available to ride around the inviting lake near the centre’s entrance.
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Restoran Sempelang
Eating outside is a Kota Kinabalu tradition and Restoran Sempelang is a great place to do it - right smack in the middle of the colourful Kompleks Sinsuran. There's a lot to like about this bustling Malay eatery: giant fresh fruit juices, English menu, good seafood barbeque (from 18:00 nightly), a canopy to keep off the rain, and friendly staff. As with other restaurants in the complex, your meal will be accompanied by the ubiquitous pro-wrestling videos.
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Grace Point
Take bus 15 out near Tanjung Aru for some local grub at this Kota Kinabalu (KK) mainstay. The development is actually quite chic compared to the smoke-swathed food courts in the city centre – KKers joke that the public bathrooms here are Borneo’s nicest (and it’s true!). Go for the Sabahan food stall (located in the far right corner when facing the row of counters) and try hinava.
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Borneo Wavehunters
Borneo Wavehunters is a reputable outfitter with a band of cheery guides. Day trips organised out of Kota Kinabalu cost around RM200 per person, including transfers by van, and normally require 24 hours’ advance notice. Tourists who seek calmer waters can ride the rapids of Sungai Kiulu (bookable through the aforementioned operator) near Mt Kinabalu.
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Little Italy
Dear homesick holidaymaker; this is your place. Create your own carbo-lode with a variety of saucey tributes to the Bootland. All things considered, it’s a rather pricey endeavour, but it’s definitely worth stopping by if you’re in desperate need of a rice respite.
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Bed
Get those bed puns ready: the space that launched a thousand quips is arguably the fulcrum of Kota Kinabalu nightlife, and it’s a rare night out that won’t see you ending up in Bed at some point. Bands play from 9pm, followed by DJs til closing.
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Centre Point Basement Food Court
Your ringgit will go a long way at this popular and varied basement food-court in the Centre Point mall. There are Malay, Chinese and Indian options, as well as drink and dessert specialists.
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Science & Technology Centre
Just north of the main hall of the Sabah Museum, at the end of the parking lot, the Science & Technology Centre has some small exhibits on the petroleum industry.
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Wisma Merdeka Food Court
Not as large as the one in Centre Point mall, this simple food court is still a good option for a cheap meal up at the northern end of town.
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Upperstar
Opposite the Hilton, this pleasant semi-outdoor bar offers cheap booze and decent pub grub.
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Liwagu Trail
The 6km Liwagu Trail, which follows the Liwagu River, is the most rewarding trail around park HQ, and it's a great option for those who just can't face the trek up Mt Kinabalu. It's a pretty easy walk, but there are few drop-offs which make it unsuitable for children below eight years of age, and those with fear of heights.
The start is 200m before Timpohon Gate (you can catch a minivan from HQ to the starting point). It's very straightforward until the last kilometre or so (just as you get back to the park base area). At one point, you come to a junction where you could go left (downhill) but the trail is closed off. Do not go downhill here. Follow the arrows marked 'Sil…
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Mt Kinabalu Summit Climb
Thousands of people of all ages climb Mt Kinabalu every year. It can be close to freezing near the summit but if the weather is clear on your summit day, you'll be rewarded with an incredible view that starts with the otherworldly summit plateau and extends across all of northern Borneo and the islands of southern Palawan, in the Philippines.
Climbing Mt Kinabalu is a two-day exercise for most people. The usual routine involves starting around 08:00 on the first day, taking a minivan to Timpohon Gate and walking four to six hours to reach Laban Rata at 3273m where you spend the night. On the following day you rise at around 03:00 and climb to the summit in time to catch t…
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Mari Mari Cultural Village
Located about 25 minutes outside of the city centre, the Mari Mari Cultural Village is the most interactive centre of its kind in all of Borneo. Visitors are taken on a three-hour show/tour (beginning at 10am, 3pm and 7pm), which winds through the jungle passing various tribal dwellings along the way. At each stop, tourists learn about the indigenous way of life, and can try their hand at a variety of interesting (and fun) activities, like traditional bamboo cooking, rice-wine making (and drinking!), fire starting, tattooing, blowpipe shooting etc. But the most fascinating part of the tour is little tribal titbits offered by your guide. For example, in the Dusun tribe, an…
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Mahua Falls
Off the north-south highway that runs between Ranau and Tambunan, you'll find lovely Mahua Falls, one of the most interesting sights in the valley. When coming from KK, you'll descend into the Pegalan Valley and reach an intersection with the north-south highway where you turn north (you'll see a sign indicating that Mahua Falls are 13km from this intersection). After 7.3km you will come to a sign on the left for Mahua Falls, after which it's 7km down a rough dirt road to the falls.
We really don't recommend that you take an ordinary car down this road (we can still remember the horrible sound of our Proton Wira scraping over the deep ruts and rocks of the road). You'll n…
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Mt Trus Madi
About 20km southeast of Tambunan town is the 2642m peak of Mt Trus Madi, Sabah's second-highest peak. It's possible to make an ascent of this peak, but it's more challenging than Mt Kinabalu, and more difficult to arrange. Though Mt Trus Madi is surrounded by logging concessions, the upper slopes and peak are wild and jungle-clad and classified as forest reserve.
The muddy trails to the summit can be treacherous in parts - just the thing for those who find the open expanses of Mt Kinabalu a bit pedestrian. Independent trekkers must be well-equipped and take all their food and water up the mountain. Most climbers take a 4WD vehicle to Kampung Kaingaran then trek for most o…
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Tamu
Every Sunday a huge tamu takes place on the outskirts of this small, sleepy town. The market is a congested, colourful and dusty melee of vendors, hagglers, browsers, gawpers and hawkers, all brought together by a slew of everyday goods in a bustle that consumes the whole town each and every week. A smaller version takes place on Wednesday.
A tamu is not simply a market where villagers gather to sell their farm produce and to buy manufactured goods from traders; it's also a social occasion where news and stories are exchanged. Sadly tourists now often outnumber buffalo, and the fascinating local Bajau horsemen have mostly moved away from the car park, though some do put o…
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Balsam Cafe
Headquarters is set in gardens with a magnificent view of the mountain, and there are two restaurants to choose from. Both restaurants are open 06:30 to 23:00 daily. The cheaper and more popular of the two is this canteen-style spot directly below the park office. The cafe can little disorganised and chaotic, particularly when busy; they can't quite seem to decide if it's a buffet-style restaurant or a proper sit-down place. It offers basic but decent Malaysian, Chinese and Western dishes at reasonable prices. There is also a small but well-stocked shop in Balsam selling tinned and dried foods, chocolate, beer, spirits, cigarettes, T-shirts, bread, eggs and margarine.
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Cultural village
In the small town of Penampang, about 13km south of KK, this high-quality Kadazan-Dusun cultural village on the banks of Sungai Moyog is named after a legendary warrior and headhunter, whose direct descendants established this private heritage centre in 1996. The hefty entrance fee includes a tour, a dance performance and several activities (similar to Mari Mari). The highlight is the House of Skulls, which supposedly contains the ancient crania of Monsopiad’s unfortunate enemies, as well as artefacts illustrating native rituals from the time when the bobolian (priest) was the most important figure in the community.
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City Mosque
Heading north out of KK, you can’t miss the four minarets and graceful dome of the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, in Kampung Likas, about 4km north of the city centre. Overlooking the South China Sea, this mosque is more attractive than the State Mosque in terms of setting and design. Completed in 2000, it can hold up to 12,000 worshippers. It can be entered by non-Muslims outside of regular prayer times. To get there, take bus 5A from Wawasan Plaza going toward UMS (RM1.50). Just ask the conductor to drop you off outside the City Mosque after the Tanjung Lipat round about. Taxis are about RM15 each way.
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Penimbawan Water Village
About 5km north of Tuaran (around RM1.5 by minivan or around RM20 by taxi) is the tiny kampung of Surusup, which overlooks a lovely estuary. From here you can charter a small boat (around RM40 return) to the picturesque water village of Penimbawan. The trip up the estuary takes about 15 minutes, and the boat will wait while you wander the plankwalks of the village. Your boat driver may accompany you into the village or he may just wait for you in the boat.
Needless to say, don't part with your cash until you arrive back in Surusup (and don't be surprised if a few villagers tag along for a free ride).
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Kipungit Falls & Bat Caves
The start of the trail to Kipungit falls and the bat caves is just beyond the entrance to the butterfly farm. It's 400m to the falls and 760m to the bat caves. It's a mostly flat stroll through the forest to the falls and it's well worth the journey. There is a small shelter at the falls and it's a nice place to wade and cool off. It's a fairly sweaty uphill slog to the caves, which actually crevices between giant rocks.
If you're going to see proper caves in the rest of Borneo, don't bother. We recommend doing these hikes before you take your bath, unless you fancy stinking out the minivan on the way home.
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Agnes Keith House
On the hill above town, overlooking Teluk Sandakan and the scruffy port itself, is Agnes Keith House, an old two-storey wooden villa now renovated as a museum. Keith was an American author who came to Sandakan in the 1930s with her husband, the Conservator of Forests, and ended up writing several books about her experiences, including the famous Land Below the Wind. The Keiths’ villa was destroyed during WWII and rebuilt identically upon their return in 1946. The house fell into disrepair during the 1990s, but Sabah Museum restored it as a faithful recreation of Keith’s original abode.
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