Visited parts of Sabah from Kota Kinabalu in December 2015. The flight to-and-fro was SGD 175. Our hotel at the city was very cheap, SGD 22 per night for two people. Here're some of the highlights and just a quick review, and there is another post in greater detail about Kinabalu National Park:
(1) Fireflies tour with Borneo Legend Travel
From KK, we travelled about two hours to Klias Nature Reserve at Beaufort, Sabah. Cost at 110 RM, including dinner, snacks, two boat rides at a mangrove (to see proboscis monkey and fireflies in the afternoon and night respectively), considerably cheaper than others tour companies but I think we did not have a dinner as sumptuous as the others.
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| Proboscis monkey & firefly tour |
The fireflies were very abundant and amazing. The guide used a light baiting method to mimic the female light patterns, that in turn attracted the males to light up and even fly. Think this trip was worth it because of the fireflies.
The tour company was reliable and fast in replying Whatsapp messages to book the tour (we only booked the day before). The tour was conducted in Chinese due to Chinese tourists but is also available in English.
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| Whatsapp number |
(2) Seafood
Friends ate the seasonally available Spanner crab Ranina ranina at Kota Kinabalu. It is very odd-looking. The carapace was cracked open from the top to reveal the meat.
(3) Kinabalu National Park
Stayed at the Peak Lodge by Sutera Resorts which was very lovely, had a heater and heated water for the cold nights and even cable TV. Cost SGD 120 per night for four people (two rooms), breakfast included. This was booked on Agoda.com.
Notably, the earthquake that struck earlier in June had resulted in closure of the summit trail and other trails in the national park. We had arrived on 30 Nov, the trail to the summit reopened on first of December with a fare hike in guides and a tougher route (thus one is now not allowed to complete the trail within one day). We did not go to the top though but walked the trails at the national park. The Liwagu trail and Bukit Ular trail were closed though due to the earthquake as well.
I lost the brochure but the cost of staying at Laban Rata is pretty exorbitant, one would have to book the accomodation (with Sutera Resorts) and then book a guide separately. There is a Malaysian and international rate.
Hope this helps those who are visiting the park in the near future!
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| The view of the mountains only available in the morning and evenings, when not obscured by clouds. |
(4) Kota Kinabalu City
Tried many food items, including Kolo mee, Bak Kut Teh (dry and wet), their laksa. There're cafes around as well.
We visited the natural history bookshop at the first floor of Wisma Merdaka too. Many useful guides to birds, amphibians, reptiles, stick insects, plants (e.g., orchids) etc. available there.
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| One of the cafes at Gaya Street, which has many eateries. |
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