Borneo isn’t a country. It’s an island divided among three countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. The northern province of Sabah, Malaysia, is really where the good stuff is. That’s the part this blog post is about.

I got to do some pretty amazing things during my trip, which I’ll mention below. The even cooler thing is that most of the stuff I didn’t do there (yet) are the things the province is most famous for.

So, this blog post is divided into three parts: 1) the stuff I did in Sabah, 2) the other stuff Sabah is famous for (that I didn’t do), and 3) the most amazing thing in Sabah that barely anybody has heard about (and which I really, really want to go back for).

Here’s why everybody needs to visit Sabah at least once.

Epic Jungles And Wildlife

Sabah is a jungle-laden province of extreme biological diversity. It’s home to some of the richest ecosystems — both on land and undersea — in the world. (I’ll talk a bit more about the undersea part later.)

Because of this, Sabah has a well-developed ecotourism trail including birding tours, animal sanctuaries, canopy walks, ziplines, river-boat excursions, and other low-impact high-enjoyment ways to explore the exotic natural surroundings.

Crazy Caves

One thing that I remember very specifically as a young man is reading in National Geographic about men who climbed narrow bamboo poles hundreds of feet up cave walls to harvest the nests of swiftlets, which are used to make the coveted Chinese delicacy, birds nest soup.

For some reason, of all the colorful cultural practices described in the magazine, this one struck me as particularly intriguing and I never forgot it. I hadn’t thought about it for years when I discovered that one of the most famous places for the harvest of these nests is Gaomantong Cave in eastern Sabah.

It’s the biggest and most majestic caves I’ve ever entered. Outside are the quarters where the bird’s nest gatherers live.

Cool Markets

Borneo as a travel destination is known pretty much exclusively for it’s natural features. Kota Kinabalu — although not the most happening city in Asia — is a pretty nice spot to hang out. One of my favorite features are the markets, where you can buy a fresh, cheap meal, pick up groceries for your travels, or just kill an afternoon walking around. The seafood is highly recommended.

Elegant Mosques

Malaysians practice many faiths, primarily Isalm, Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism. The most popular is Islam, a very moderate type of which is practiced by just under 20% of the population. Sabah one of the few parts of Asia where you can admire the beautiful architecture that is unique to mosques. The most famous in Sabah is the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, or ‘Floating Mosque’ pictured below.

Orangutans

Orangutans are notoriously difficult to find. They are solitary creatures that wander large territories, usually alone. Aside from a lucky sighting in the wild, the only places a person is likely to see a live Orangutan is in captivity (which, for many reasons I won’t go into here, is far from ideal) or in a special environment, such as the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary, which cares for animals displaced by farming and other human activities.

From what I could tell, this facility was run in accordance with the highest of ethical standards, which is very important to me. Visitors are restricted to a few walkways and are allowed to watch feeding, which is what attracts the orangutans to the viewing area. Interaction with the animals is forbidden, though curious young orangutans have been known to venture into the viewing area (check out the photos below).

Proboscis Monkeys

Perhaps the most interestig of all primates, the proboscis monkeys in Sabah are not to be missed. These mischevious big-nosed hooligans are definitely entertaining if nothing else.

These fellas can be spotted all around the province, but the best place to get up close to them is in the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, which is actually just down the road from the orangutan sanctuary.

The monkey sanctuary is quite different from the orangutan sanctuary. The monkey sanctuary is privately-owned and engages in practices that are much more questionable. Tourists are allowed to hand-feed the monkeys and to interact with them basically any way they want to. These types of practices pretty much guarantee that the monkeys would not be able to survive in the wild.

On the other hand, it’s not a zoo. They monkeys can roam in the jungle as they like and seem to have a very good quality of life. So, while I would not give this attraction the stamp of ‘ethical tourism’, I would not necessarily avoid it because the monkeys are treated either. I think this is a case where tourists have to decide for themselves what they feel is acceptable.

It’s also worth noting that these aren’t the only animal sanctuaries in town. There’s also a sun bear sanctuary.

Pygmy Elephants

I have to be perfectly honest; you’re probably not going to see any wild pygmy elephants when you visit Sabah. These guys are even harder to track down than wild orangutans.

I was extremely lucky during my trip to Sabah that the tourism board needed photos and were willing to roll the dice and provide me with a private specialist guide to go on a wild elephant hunt in hopes that we’d be able to find some.

Some local folks had spotted a herd of elephants near a village recently and I had a specialist guide. However, pygmy elephants walk dozens of miles each day and don’t stay in one place for long. So, even with those advantages, my guide still only gave us about a 50% chance of finding them during our 3 days together.

One really cool thing I found out later was that pygmy elephants were thought to be extinct until a study in 2003 examined the heritage of the Borneo Elephants.

Below are the photos I got.

Mount Kinabalu

The only encounter that I had with Mount Kinabalu was riding a motorcycle up it at night…with no lights. That was, uh, interesting.

I’m really disappointed I didn’t get to explore it more. Mount Kinabalu is one of the tallest mountains in Southeast Asia, and is definitely among the best-known.

While climbing Mount Kinabalu is high on my to-do list, there’s something even better there I want to do: via ferrata.

There’s a company called Mountain Torq operating via ferrata tours on Mount Kinabalu that look absolutely amazing. I want so badly to go back and climb Kinabalu with them.

Photo: Lincoln SL Photography

 Photo: johnjodeery

Photo: BluËSky BlÜe

The Insane Scuba Diving At Sipian and Mabul

Tell a diver you’ve been to Sabah, and there’s no doubt they’ll be jealous. Some of the world’s best scuba diving and snorkeling spots can be found off the coast of Sabah, including world-famous Mabul, Sipadan, and Layang-Layang. Just a short distance from the shore, divers can find everything from whale sharks, sea turtles and hammerheads to a rainbow of coral reef colors.

Travelers staying in Kota Kinabalu will enjoy the 20-minute boat to the islands of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. This is an ideal place to start your diving or snorkeling excursion. The five islands are surrounded by shallow coral reefs that appear as though they were designed for novice underwater enthusiasts. However, even the most advanced divers won’t be disappointed when spotting the rare harlequin ghost pipefish, hawksbill turtles and whale sharks

Known as one of the world’s best places to dive, the underwater ecosystem off the coast of Sipadan Island offers more than 3,000 species of coral and fish to more advanced divers. Even more exciting to avid divers is the unique underwater “turtle tomb,” a cave system that’s full of sea turtle skeletons.

Just a short distance from Sipadan is the world-renowned muck diving destination of Mabul Island. While dive permits are required in Sipadan, they are not required here. Divers travel from around the world to snap photos of the reef inhabitants, including octopi, squids and an abundance of macro life. See what waits beneath the water’s surface in the photos below.

Photo: cakeordeath
Photo:Avoini

Photo: Gingergeek

The Exotic Islands

Some of of the coolest parts of visiting Sabah are the numerous opportunities to get on the water and explore nearby islands. Mari Mari Sepanggar Island takes just 15 minutes to reach by boat, and only a few dozen people are allowed to visit each day. There’s nothing quite like being transported to an island paradise and only having to share with it a handful of people at a time. Similarly, Mantanani Island is just 45 minutes from Kota Kinabalu by boat, yet it offers ideal opportunities to snorkel and explore. Several of the islands near Kota Kinabalu also offer hotels, making it possible to turn a quick day trip into a mini vacation.

Sabah, Borneo’s northeastern coastline is home to the city of Sandakan. Just 40 kilometers off the coast, in the Sulu Sea, is the world-famous Turtle Island Park. This safe haven for hawksbill and green turtles offers adventurous travelers the ability to watch as turtles come to shore to lay their eggs and witness baby turtles being released into the sea. The boat ride from the Sabah Park Jetty in Sandakan to the the largest Turtle Island Park island of Sandakan takes just 1 hour. Check out the pictures below.

Photo: Eddie Yip

Photo: Eddie Yip

Photo: garycycles8

The Best Kept Secret In Borneo: The ‘Lost World’ – Maliau Basin

The title “Lost World” is enough to draw any avid adventurer to Sabah’s Maliau Basin. It’s discovery is something out of an Indiana Jones movie. In 1947 a British pilot was flying through thick fog. He emerged from it to find a solid wall of rock directly in front of him. He veered hard and narrowly avoided the wall, which rose 915m above the jungle floor. This was the first modern human contact with what is now called the Maliau Basin, or Lost World of Borneo. Thanks to natural barriers it’s more-or-less evolutionarily distinct from the surrounding areas and it’s never been inhabited by humans.

Home to 12 forest types, many of which are rare, and the famed seven-tiered Maliau Falls, the Lost World is every nature lover’s’ dream come true. This remote and isolated area spanning 58,840 hectares is most ideal for jungle trekking, bird watching, waterfall swimming and snapping photos of rare wildlife. See the beauty of this basin, the places that have been discovered at least (many have yet to be explored), in the photos below.

This place truly mystifies me. Next time I return to Sabah, it will be to visit the Maliau Basin.

Photo: Tianyake

Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas

Photo: Lee Teck Seng

Have you ever been to Borneo? Would you like to visit? What would you like to see there most?

What would you like to see there most? Let me know in the comments!

The post Why Every Traveler Needs To Visit Borneo Once appeared first on XpatMatt.

PHILIPPINES ADVENTURES 2011

PT1: Manila to Banaue

PT2: Hiking the Rice Terraces

PT3: The Loboc Tarsier Conservation Area

Pt4: Swimming with Whale Sharks

Pt5: Diving with Thresher Sharks

“Don’t touch the whale sharks. Don’t go too close to the whale sharks.” We were lectured by the local official in charge of tourism.

“They are gentle creatures.” He informed us. “We have had years where fewer whale sharks returned. We don’t want to scare them away.”

Once the lecture was finished, the hunt was on. The three filipino spotters climbed into their traditional outrigger canoes and fanned out across the bay, pausing every few moments to hold a snorkelling mask to their face and dip their head in the water.

The Leyte Whale Shark Swimming Experience

On the dive boat I and half-dozen others sipped instant coffee, chatted idly, and gazed out across the broad empty bay. We were on the island of Leyte in the southern Philippines with Peter’s Dive Resort, one very few (I know of only two) operations on the island that offer whale shark tours.

After about 45 minutes a shout rang out across the bay and one of the spotters waved his hand in the air. Everyone began scrambling to put on their fins, snorkels, and masks (snorkelling is preferable to scuba diving with whale sharks because they don’t like the sound of scuba regulators).

I put on my mask and strapped my waterproof GoPro video camera to my head. I prefer swimming without fins and a snorkel. This turned out to be a mistake, though, because, although I’m a fast swimmer, the whale sharks are faster, and because making a video with a camera on your head while bobbing your head in and out of the water to look for whale sharks in between breaths doesn’t make for a very enjoyable video.

We all jumped in the water and started swimming toward the spotter who was pointing at the water. The whale shark began to swim away from the group. I stopped to fiddle with my camera’s settings and fell behind. Fortunately, one of the spotters allowed me to grab on to the back of his boat and towed me to the front of the group where I caught my first glimpse of the enormous shark. Here is a video of the chase.

Why Leyte?

There are several places in the Philippines where you can swim with whale sharks, many of which are better known than Leyte, but Leyte is my favourite. There are three reasons for this.

Reason 1: Seclusion

Leyte is an island in the southern Philippines seldom visited by tourists other than the divers who visit the few shops there. So, although there are few amenities that cater to tourists other than a few dive shops and nearby restaurants, you also avoid the crowds of tourists.

I’ve swum with whale sharks twice on Leyte, and both times the only people there were about eight people on one boat. This is in contrast to other better-known destinations, such as Donsol (which is much busier because of its proximity to Manila) where dozens of boats can be out on the water at the same time.

Reason 2: Visibility

The water in Donsol are said to often be cloudy, whereas the waters in Leyte were crystal clear both times I was there.

Reason 3: Sustainability

The town of Oslob on Cebu is another popular destination for swimming with whale sharks. There, fishermen will feed the whale sharks shrimp to draw them near the boat for the tourists. This practice is frowned upon by environmentalists who say this practice may cause sharks to stop looking for their own food and become dependant on humans, which would make them less able to fend for themselves and more vulnerable to poachers.

Although the first time I swam with the sharks on Leyte several years ago a young filipino boy surfed underwater on a shark’s back, the second time things had changed. We were lectured by a local official about how to behave near the sharks. Contact was discouraged, no feeding occurred, and few people entered the water to disturb the whales.

How to Get There

Leyte’s capital, Tacloban (about a 3.5 hour drive to the resort) can be reached from Manila or Cebu by plane. Massin (35 minute drive from the resort) can be reached by ferry from ferry from Cebu City or by banca boat from Ubay on Bohol.

I stayed at Peter’s Dive Resort, which was as clean and well-maintained as any dive shop I’ve been in with reasonable rates. They can arrange to pick you up from the airport or ferry terminal

The staff were also very friendly. One great bonus of getting of the beaten path is this: when you visit touristy places, you meet employees who deal with large numbers of strangers, many of whom can be rude. When you venture a bit farther from the crowd, you meet employees who aren’t as burnt out and bitter towards tourists. The experience is almost always better.

I’d like to thank Peter’s Dive Resort for hosting my stay. Although my stay was sponsored by the resort, the opinions expressed here are my own and accurate.

Lead image by spettacolopuro

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Place

Los Cabos, Mexico

Los Cabos Location

Los Cabos is a 3,452 square kilometer municipality at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico.

Major Cities in Los Cabos

The largest cities in Los Cabos include San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, both of which have populations near 70,000. Colonia del Sol is the third largest city in the region with just over 48,000 residents.

Geography and Ecology of Los Cabos

Los Cabos is 3,452 square kilometers, making it about three times as big as Hong Kong, and slightly smaller than French Polynesia. Located on the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, the municipality is surrounded on three sides by water with the UNESCO World Heritage Site Gulf of California to the east and Pacific Ocean to the west.
The geography of Los Cabos is dry, rocky, and desert-like. The most prominent natural features include the UNESCO World Heritage Site the Arc (a majestic natural rock arch), the Sierra de la Laguna mountain range which touches on the northern end of the municipality, and, of course, numerous picturesque beaches.

The southern tip of the California Baja Peninsula used to be an island. Because of this it developed a unique ecology. There are many endemic species of plants in the area, especially in the Sierra de la Laguna mountains, which have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of their “highly important and contrasted ecosystems, including arid zones, matorrales, low deciduous forest type, evergreen oak, (etc.)”.

Los Cabos Weather and Climate

Los Cabos is warm all year round, with July, August, and September being the hottest and most humid months. The heat and humidity coincide with hurricane season, which lasts from June to October and reaches its peak in September.
The average temperature during the day in Los Cabos is around 26-28°C during the winter (October to April) and can rise to 38°C or higher during the summer. Los Cabos is said to receive between 300 and 350 sunny days per year and receive less than 10 inches of rain.

The temperature of the ocean around Los Cabos is hovers around 23-25°C in the winter and can rise to over 30°C in the summer.

Los Cabos Description

Los Cabos is no stranger to tourism. Cabo San Lucas and the Los Cabos Corridor (also known as the corridor del oro, or Golden Corridor) is one of the most popular and successful tourist destinations in the country. Located between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose, The Corridor is a twenty-mile stretch of coves and beaches filled with upscale resorts and golf courses that draw affluent clientele from around the world.

The area also has a wide variety of activities for outdoors lovers. No description of Los Cabos would be complete without a mention of fishing, which is a huge draw for sportsmen (Cabo San Lucas is home to the largest marlin fishing tournament in the world). The area is also rife with hiking trails, craggy cliffs for climbing, excellent surf breaks, scenic ocean kayaking, and breathtaking scuba diving and snorkeling sites.

The best natural features of the area include the UNESCO World Heritage sites the Arch and the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains. Los Cabos also well situated for whale watching, as many whales travel there each year to bear their young in the warm waters.

Los Cabos Outdoors Adventure Highlights

• Surfing in Los Cabos is excellent with breaks for everyone from beginners to experts both near the tourist corridor, and elsewhere.
• Cousteau called the UNESCO World Heritage site the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez) “the world’s aquarium” and “the Galapos of the north”. The scuba diving and snorkeling are epic.
• Los Cabos is ideal for whale watching from January to March, as each year gray whales travel there from the cold waters of the north Pacific to bear their young.
• Ziplining in Los Cabos is an excellent way to view landscape without having an impact on the local environment. Los Cabos has some of the longest zip lines in Baja Mexico.

Los Cabos Outdoor Adventure Activities

• Surfing
• Stand-up paddle boarding
• Scuba diving (wreck, reef)
• Snorkeling
• Surfing (all levels)
• Whale watching
• Sailing
• Kitesurfing
• Windsurfing
• Parasailing
• Paragliding
• Hang gliding
• Sky diving
• Bungee jumping
• Hot air ballooning
• Kayaking (ocean)
• Hiking/trekking (all levels)
• Via Ferrata
• Canyoning
• Ziplining
• Rock climbing (all levels)
• Abseiling/rappelling
• Mountain Biking (novice to expert)
• Horseback Riding

Budget Travel in Los Cabos

Prices in Los Cabos are not cheap, especially by Mexican standards. Many of the people who visit Los Cabos stay in luxury timeshares, such as those at Fiesta Los Cabos.

Cheaper accommodations start at around $50 USD per night for a double room

Dining out in and around the tourist corridor is also fairly pricey. However, once you move away from the touristy spots you will find much better prices at local restaurants. There is also a great selection both American and local supermarkets in the area.

Travel Insurance

I like to use World Nomads. It’s not too expensive and signing up is fast and straightforward. They also have pretty good coverage for sports equipment like surf and snowboards, but it varies depending on your country of origin, so be sure double check. You can get a free quote on their website.

Los Cabos Photos

[nggallery id=54]

Images (in order) courtesy DieselDemon, HawaiianVirtualTours, Melanie Lukesh, *r3M’S*, *r3M’S*, *r3M’S*, cplbasilisk, Susan E Adams, *r3M’S*, Sirsnapsalot, Camerons Personal Page, and lecates on Flickr.

Suggested Reading

Click on the images for more information

Los Cabos Map

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Disclosure: If you purchase insurance, book a hostel, or purchase one of the recommended books on this page using the links provided, I will receive a small commission. I do not, however, recommend these products simply to make money. I recommend World Nomads travel insurance because I use it myself and feel that they offer a good product that suits my needs at a fair price. I recommend Hostelbookers.com because they have the cheapest booking prices that I have seen online and a large selection, and I recommend the selected books from Amazon.com because they have reputations for quality information and were up to date at the time of writing. If you have found my blog useful I hope that you will consider purchasing some of these products using the links on this page to help me to continue providing free information about adventure travel around the world.

Los Cabos Vacations

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