"Sabah - Malaysian Borneo" a State of Sabah Travel Page by SanguiniA

Malaysian Borneo is divided into 2 states, Sarawak and Sabah. Both of them have plenty to do and plenty to explore and please don't ask me which state is best to visit because I had a great time at both! I guess the best is to see a little bit of both. (BTW : Please visit my Sarawak pages as well!)

Kota Kinabalu, or KK as referred to by the local is Sabah's capital. The shopping is great here, but it seems to lack the elegance of Kuching. Still, is a great base to start exploring Sabah, as it is a transport hub (both air and bus, and in some cases water as well).

As was the case with Sarawak, even though this time I had almost 2 weeks to explore this region, I still left some interesting things out ... but first I will highlight what I did ...

- Visited KK twice
- Visited the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, and stayed on Manukan Island
- Climbed Mount Kinabalu and visited the Kinabalu Park
- Visited Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
- Went to Turtle Islands
- Visited the roach infested Gomatong Caves
- Went to Sukau to explore the Kinabatangan River

Unfortunately, after climbing the Kinabalu and got caught up in a really heavy downpour of rain I got a very bad flu (no, not Bird Flu - normal flu) so I got a bit slowed down, I could have easily visited Sandakan City but I really had to take half day off and sleep.

And now on to what I missed due to lack of time ...

- Danum Valley
Apart from lack of time this was also a case of lack of funds :) It is really expensive to spend time there. It got to be a choice between that and the Kinabatangan River so I chose the latter instead. Danum Valley is a really great spot for birdwatching, but I heard that you have to be really really patient.

- Sipadan Island
Now this was a really heart breaking decision. I really really wanted to visit this island, but I went to see the turtles on turtle island instead. Not that I did not enjoy the turtles, but I heard that this is the last year that tourists will be accepted on the island as it seems that tourism is doing much more harm than good.

- Pulau Tiga National Park
Another difficult decision, I really wanted to see the sea snakes inhabiting one of the islands in this park, but it would have taken a bit too long so I chose Manukan instead.

- Crocker Range
Thought I would have enough of mountains after the Kinabalu climb! Still I am sorry I missed this.

- Tawau Park
I heard that this is a great park ... but I do not know much about it.