Discover a new side of Malaysia: Sabah

Malaysia has been known to be a great tourist hub with a large international mix of cultures, ethnicities and a diverse landscape to please locals and visitors alike. Malaysia’s beautiful diversity is what makes it “truly Asia” and as visitors flock the main peninsula of Malaysia, it’s rare that one would venture out to the other locations such as Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan (Malaysia Timur), the eastern most states located on the island of Borneo. While most visitors start off their journey into Malaysia from Kuala Lumpur along with some of the most visited locations such as Langkawi and Penang, the Eastern territories hold more landmass and more nature reserves than the whole Malay Peninsula. Visiting the Eastern territories is a delight for a laid back vacation, to get in tune with nature, experience a mixture of activities rarely found in one location and to simply enjoy Malay hospitality.
The furthest state off the Malay Peninsula is the state of Sabah, home to the most pristine and luscious green forests, clear blue waters and some of the craggiest mountains. Sabah is significant for its location on Borneo Island, it’s a natural theme park with jungles as far as the eye can see mixed in with the coastline dotted with small islands, some inhabited and others not so much. The island is well-known for its sanctuaries and reservations. Sabah’s parks and wildlife preserves encompass some of the most beautiful pristine natural beauty in the world. With 10,000 square kilometers of jungle, mountains, lowlands, wetlands, valleys and coastlines that seem to be untouched by human technology. Sabah’s weather is typically equatorial, with temperatures ranging in the 30’s and higher 20’s all year round with significantly high humidity, it’s the monsoon season between October through March that are rainy and thunderstorms are common, the rest of the year it’s pretty much dry and pleasant for the area. Planning a trip ahead of time is wise.
To start off, there are more than 20 daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to either Kota Kinabalu (on the west coast) or Sandakan (on the east coast) that are about two hours and a half. From there, travelers can either arrange a pick up by the hotel or through a tourist agency booked ahead of time. For the best experience in Sabah, it’s best to book ahead with a tourist agency for pickups and drop offs at the selected attractions with the payments as well for visiting the designated sanctuaries, dive sites or jungle expeditions. Travel agencies can also provide hotel accommodations and 2-3 day trips exploring the lush green rainforests and jungles of the areas. Hotels aren’t as abundant as they are in cities in the main Malay Peninsula, but some of the most relaxing and friendliest hotels can be found in the area in very reasonable prices. A wide range of hotel classes can be found, the top hotels in Sabah are Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort and Spa, Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa, Lankayan Island Dive Resort, Hotel Eden 54, Four Points by Sheraton Sandakan, Gaya Island Resort, Hibiscus Beach Retreat, Langkah Syabas Beach Resort and so many more. All hotels and accommodations provide the best of services and the friendliest of staff, one of Malaysia’s many accomplishments for being a great country for tourism.
Visitors will never tire of Malay cuisine, with its array of dishes rich with spices and a variety of ingredients, it’s never a bore to try some either at a 5-star restaurant or a street vendor. Malaysian cuisine is as diverse as the nation itself, with Arabic, Indian, Thai and Chinese fusions, making Malay gastronomy an exciting experience to have. Some of the more well-known dishes of Malaysia are Nasi dangang, Asam Laksa, Asam Pedas, Nasi Goreng, Satay and Keropok Lekor. The names of these dishes can be a head-scratcher but they vary in fish, meat and chicken alongside noodles or more frequently rice. The use of coconut milk is found in almost all dishes that give them a creamy texture. Each region naturally has its own signature dish and Sabah is no exception. Sabah’s signature dish is called “Ambuyat”, a dish derived from the sago palm, resembling tapioca in a way and served with an array of sauces to dip. It’s a must try dish for any visitor of Sabah or its nearby states of Sarawak and the Kingdom of Brunei.
It’s difficult to choose where to start in Sabah, a wide range of activities are just footsteps away in any direction. So starting off in Kota Kinabalu, it’s the gateway to the acclaimed Kinabalu National Park. Kinabalu National Park holds the highest peak on the Borneo Island, Mt. Kinabalu, which is 4,025 meters high. It’s a rough climb but you don’t have to be the best climber in the world to explore what the mountain holds in wonders. Upon reaching around 2,000 meters up, the view changes as you are surrounded by swiveling clouds and the smell of orchids start to set profusely putting any climber into a magical place surrounded by beautiful flowers and miniature trees, something you wouldn’t normally experience in a mountain climb. Upon reaching the summit, the panorama is something that would surely take your breath away
The jungle trek around the Mt. Kinabalu holds some of the most beautiful flora and fauna found, over 5,000 species of plants can be found, over 300 species of birds and 100 types of animals inhabit the mountain’s slopes. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site that makes the habitat intact and untouched by deforestation or logging development, a physically challenging trek through jungles that can be described as one of Earth’s most beautiful Edens. A rare but very beautiful sight, or smell for that matter, can be found in the jungle of the park, the parasitic rafflesia plant whose giant flowers are over a meter wide in diameter and smell of rotting flesh, yes it’s not pleasant but if caught in bloom, that would be a rare sight indeed since the flower only blooms a maximum of 5 days a year! Oh don’t be frightened if you caught a whiff of orangutan fur swinging above you from tree to tree or dangling off a branch, that’s just your neighborhood forest friendly orangutan. The orangutan is one of the most endangered species on the planet and the jungle reservations on Borneo Island make sure their habitat isn’t spoiled for the species to thrive again.
The Maliau Basin is one of Sabah’s most beautiful attractions, a bowl shaped jungle depression found by mistake as a WWII British pilot was flying overhead and noticed the basin surrounded by sharp rock walls and dense forest, nicknamed “Borneo’s Lost World”. The biodiversity of Maliau’s is amazing, it holds 38 percent of the island’s animal species alone, from the clouded leopard to the Sumatran rhino and many more. To reach the Maliau Basin, it’s a seven hour drive from the city of Kota Kinabalu and the drive can be a bit of a discomfort with some off-roading involved. The camps in the basin are basic with minimal facilities such as hammocks, camping stoves and trampolines to begin with. Several logging sites can be found for camping out, the remote location of the basin makes it significant since it’s a protected site and enables campers to experience a sight not so common in this time of age. Campers must pack a lot of mosquito repellent and leech socks when visiting the waterfalls (leeches can be very discomforting, an important precautionary warning).
A visit to one of the many orangutan sanctuaries in Sabah is a delight, Sepilok Orang-utan Sanctuary is a rehabilitation facility taking in orphaned baby orangutans and rehabilitating them into the wild. The animals aren’t kept in cages and can roam the grounds freely, the animal is known to be a shy breed so don’t expect to find it waltzing toward you for a banana, these beautiful creatures can be seen high above on the trees but aren’t bothered by the visitors. They’ll simply stay where they are and not run away so much as you keep your distance, orangutans are some of the friendliest and kindest of the animals. They can only be found on the Islands of Borneo and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, so preserving their habitats are extremely important.
The islands off the shores of Sabah are a diver’s galore. Sipadan Island, the only oceanic island in Malaysia, forming a beautiful atoll secluding and protecting its sea animals and fish. To visit Sipadan island isn’t easy especially that only a number of divers are allowed in the area a day (max. 120 divers) but divers can stay in either Mabul island or Kapalai island. The best part of diving in Sipidan island is the amount of fish in the area to see, there is the hump head parrot fish, schools of hammer head sharks, whale sharks, tornado like formations of barracudas, turtles, schools of tuna fish, and so much more. A permit is very important to obtain before heading out to Sipadan Island, so don’t forget to have one. Another great diving site would be Tanku Abdulrahman Park, which is comprised of five islands just 45 minutes off the shore of Kota Kinabalu by boat. Named after the first Malaysian Prime Minister, the park is a natural reserve with over 4,500 hectares of protected land and sea and best known for its water activities, diving, snorkeling and swimming. Visitors of the island can also witness one of nature’s most beautiful wonders at nightfall when turtles come ashore to dig up their burrows to lay their eggs. Divers benefit from the clear waters of the sea and can dive amongst the various ranges of fish and colorful coral making it one of the top destinations for divers in the world.
Sabah’s many wildlife and rainforest sanctuaries make it one of the few places where you can get in tune with nature at a personal level. Sabah’s various villages and cities are home to many different ethnicities that still hold on to their dialects and traditions to this day, welcoming visitors as soon as they’re spotted with the friendliest of smiles. Sabah’s serene environment makes for a laid back, tranquil and relaxing vacation away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Experience Sabah and its wonders for your next trip and you’ll want to visit again and again.
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