Malaysia – April 2018
Hotels: Little Gaya Hotel (Kota Kinabalu)
Sepilok Jungle Resort (Sepilok) | ParkRoyal (Kuala Lumpur)
Vaccines: Malaria & Typhoid
*At the time we visited, Uber was in its last week of operation. Grab App is now servicing as its replacement.*
Getting to Malaysia was no easy task (See: Shanghai), but after only one day in this breath-taking country, it already all seemed so worth it. I had been asking for an adventure, and, boy, did I get one.
Day 1: Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park
Since we lost one of our days on the island due to the airport fiasco, we arrived pretty bummed. Hello! I had islands to visit! But we still left early our first day eager to explore. Our first stop: Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. This is a group of 5 small islands off of the main island of Borneo, accessible by a 15-minute boat ride from Jesselton Point in Kota Kinabalu. Jetty tickets can be purchased in the marina from any of the many vendors, but since we weren’t trying to be on anyone else’s time schedule after the previous few travel days, we rented a boat to ourselves to take us island hopping – 315 RM or about $80. Worth it. (Note: You’ll need to return to Jesselton Point by 4 pm regardless of renting a private boat or not.)
We trekked through the jungle of Manukan, had fresh coconut water in Mamutik, snorkeled the waters of Sapi, and ran from wild monkeys on Gaya. Could’ve done without that last stop. And on all the islands? Got asked to take selfies with pretty much everyone. Being blonde in Asia is what I imagine Justin Bieber must feel like. No photos, please.
Day 2: Mount Kinabalu National Park
We started our day at 4:30 am — not because we needed to get there early or anything; that just happens to be when our internal clocks woke us up that day. So after calling an Uber and him telling us, “Big problem. Can’t go there,” but still continuing to drive, he eventually dropped us off at a bus stop, which turns out to be the better option to get to the park. We paid 25 RM – roughly $6.50 – each for a seat in the minivan for the 2-hour drive up the mountain. (Side note: Our driver was nice enough to offer to come back for us later that day too, so that saved me the stress of figuring that out. Double side note: He also asked for a selfie after dropping us off but didn’t even give us a discount for the ride. Ugh.)
We hiked a few different trails through the National Park. Starting with the Kiau View trail and finishing with the Silau-Silau trail. There’s also a “snake hill” trail somewhere in there, so I made sure to stay far away from that one. Reading online, people were estimating these at 2-4 hours long… each. Sarah and I finished walking the majority of the park in 3 hours total…. and thank goodness we did, because as soon as we went inside, it started pouring rain. Both trails are pretty easy and well maintained, Silau-Silau being more flat and Kiau containing more sections that involved climbing up stairs — stairs that I was hoping would lead to a view of the mountain… a view very similar to the one I noticed at the main gate soon after we had finished the trail and were already drenched in sweat. Oh, well.
Day 3: Jungle Cruise
We reached our next stop by a short plane ride into Sandakan, followed by a shuttle ride arranged by the jungle cruise company, Sukau Greenview Bed & Breakfast. When I heard we were booking a “jungle cruise,” I instantly imagined a real life version of Disneyland’s world famous ride — corny puns provided by me, of course. There were 3 different river cruises they took us on during our stay with them, and only 2 minutes into the first one, I was completely blown away by the beauty of it all. No one was blown away by how good my jokes were, however. We were also lucky enough to see an elephant that afternoon, which they said is extremely rare and only happens something like 5 days a year. Then at night during our second cruise, when we spotted a baby crocodile and the guide said we couldn’t get any closer, I assumed it was for our safety, but he informed me it was actually because of a tree branch and that we physically could not get any closer. Thank you, tree branch.
Day 4 & 5: Sepilok
After the 5:30 am wake-up call from the jungle cruise, we started our journey back into Sepilok. Completely drained from such an early morning, we took a relaxing stroll through the Rainforest Discovery Center followed by pina coladas by the pool.
After some much needed R&R, we headed out to see the Puu Ji Shih temple in Sandakan, only to arrive 30 minutes after its 4:30 pm closure. Although the view was still incredible from the outside, we reluctantly turned right back around and returned to our pina coladas to comfort our defeat.
The next day we headed to the Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre to catch the morning feeding. (Tip: The sanctuary is only open in two hour increments, so check times before visiting.) Sadly, we didn’t see many on the trails in the wild, but still were able to catch a few of the babies playing around in the nursery. One of the guides said the cool weather makes the monkeys lazy, so they don’t always come to the feeding. Confused what “cool weather” she was referring to, since I was currently standing in a pool of my own sweat.
Not realizing we’d be able to accomplish everything in less than a day, we were left with a few hours to kill before our flight later that night, so we headed into the city of Sandakan again, where we stumbled across Balin Roofgarten, the cutest rooftop garden perfect for enjoying the ocean view and enjoying a few more pina coladas before heading to Kuala Lumpur.
Day 6: Kuala Lumpur
I’m all for roughing it, but when my bougee ass pulled into this hotel the night before, I had never been so excited to see marble floors and indoor water fountains. Finally a shower and normal toilet!
This technically isn’t in Sabah, but chances are your flight is connecting here on your way in or out of the country, so I highly recommend spending a day — or a few — here.
Our first stop that morning was to the Batu Caves. With almost 300 steps of stairs to the top, we wanted to get there early enough to get back to our hotel before check out so we could cool off and freshen up from all the sweating we would endure. The cave is quite impressive, that is, if you can relax for long enough to enjoy it while trying to avoid all the wild monkeys.
Next we headed to KL Forest Eco Park to check out the sky box on top of Menara Tower. Surprisingly, for someone who freaks out over floor to ceiling windows in Vegas hotel rooms, I didn’t even think twice about being in a complete glass box. This might be because I was too busy being freaked out by everyone walking around barefoot. Ick.
Since our flight didn’t depart until late that night, we spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering the streets. This is usually when I end up wandering into a mall, getting myself in trouble and completely blowing my budget for the trip. (I’m talking 4 handbags, a wallet, 2 pairs of shoes, 3 belts, 2 sweatshirts, and a hat kind of trouble — but when I got all that for under a $200 price tag, I literally just couldn’t stop.)
Thankful to be leaving, seeing as I couldn’t possibly squeeze one more thing into my suitcase, we headed back to the hotel where they let us use the showers (even after we had already checked out) before our long flight home. Luxury life. I could get used to it.
With another stamp in my passport and my heart full of adventure, I am thankful for all the amazing opportunities I’ve had to explore the world so far. And although I enjoyed all the rice, fresh fruit, and tasty milkshakes, my love for Del Taco will always bring this So Cal girl back home.
• Everyday Davis • 