Orangutans, Crocodiles, Hornbills - oh my!
I had the pleasure of traveling through East Malaysia with Destination Asia. After touring around Singapore for a few days, we flew the two-hour direct flight into Kota Kinabalu to get started on our Bornean journey.
I want to first off mention how impressed I was with Malaysia’s conservation practice. They no longer use plastic water bottles at any of the hotels and don’t use straws. We were given a water bottle at the beginning of our trip to use the entire time.
There are two Shangri-la properties in Kota Kinabalu. On this trip, we stayed at the Shangri-la Rasa Ria, which is nestled between the ocean and the rainforest. You can come here as a stepping stone on your way to the jungle or spend a few days here at the beach to relax. The hotel is equipped for water sports, including jet skiing and banana boats, has a massive kids playing area, and has golfing and horseback riding offered at the property.
The hotel is located on the Rasa Ria Reserve. We went on a sunrise hike to the top of Rasa Ria Point for amazing views overlooking the South China Sea. The hike also included spotting animals (including two vipers!) and had a few monkeys join us for our breakfast that we enjoyed at the top of the mountain.
From there we took a 40-minute flight to Sandakan and were immediately transferred to the beautiful Sepilok Nature Resort.
Later that night, we went on a nature walk where we got see to flying squirrels (who are so fast!) and look for other animals in the jungle at night. It was exciting!
The next morning we visited the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. As a reminder, Orangutans are ONLY found in Malaysia and Indonesia and they are an endangered species.
The center cares for young orangutans orphaned as a result of illegal logging and deforestation. Once they have developed their climbing and foraging skills, they are eventually released into the surrounding forest reserve to fend for themselves. At the Rehabilitation Center visitors have the opportunity to see them play, eat, interact with each other. You could easily spend hours watching these guys play…
Next door to the rehabilitation center is a Sun Bear conservation center. Sun Bears are the smallest member of the bear family. Sun bears live in tropical lowland forests and are the only bear in Southeast Asia. It was a fun and quick visit.
From Sepilok, we moved on to Sukau. We took a 2 hour speed boat ride to Sukau Rainforest Lodge, a Natural Geographic Unique Lodge of the World. The lodge sits on the Kinabatangan River and gives you the absolute sense of being in the jungle.
They have two different room types - standard rooms towards the center of the lodge or villas available along the pier. Sukau also has two swimming pools, two bars, and a main dining area. As of now, spa services are offered inside of the guest rooms. The villas are on the side of the property and are equipped with a balcony, large bathroom, and either have two doubles or a king size bed. It is very comfortable. All of the rooms at Sukau have air conditioning, while the other lodges in this area of Borneo do not.
Sukau offers at least three safari cruises a day. One in the morning (6:00 AM) , late afternoon (4:00 PM) and at night after dinner (8:00 PM). They have an activity board where guests can sign up for other cruises and hiking adventures.
During our two-night stay, we went on three safari cruises, saw hundreds of monkeys, beautiful birds, crocodiles, and left feeling like we could do more! It was a relaxing way to view all of the animals. I’d probably recommend 2-3 nights at Sukau.
We were able to go on three cruises but because it is a rainforest, that is not guaranteed. With every boat cruise, you see more animals and therefore have a better time of seeing the Borneo “Big Five” (orangutans, proboscis monkeys, crocodiles, pygmy elephants, and rhinoceros hornbills). On this trip we saw 3 out of 5 of the Borneo Big 5. We missed out on the pygmy elephants and seeing orangutans in the wild! Just a reason to go back!
It’s safe to say that everyone’s favorite parts about their time in Sukau were:
1. Our guide Rahman who acts as a guide, educator, spotter, tracker, and took us all around. He was such a riot!
2. The night cruise! There is absolutely zero light pollution. We could only see where our tracker’s flashlight was and luckily he was a pro so we saw crocodiles (full size and baby) and many birds sleeping. These multi-colored birds sleep right on trees at the edge of the water and we were able to get within two feet of them. It was amazing! My absolute favorite part of the night cruise was when there were no lights on and all we saw was the many stars above us and the fireflies among them. Nothing else.
From Sukau, we took a 2 hour boat ride back to Sandakan and flew to Kuala Lumpur! Kuala Lumpur is a fantastic big city, with new hotels opening up, great food, sky high dining like Singapore, and the beautiful Batu Caves! It’s a nice city to just explore for a few days after a Bornean adventure.
There were three new hotels that opened up in 2019: Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur, Four Seasons, and The RuMa Hotel. Other hotels include Mandarin Oriental and The Ritz Carlton. (Pictured is the floor to ceiling windows in the Banyan Tree bathrooms).
While my part of the trip ended in Kuala Lumpur, some of the FAM participants went off to Penang for a few nights. The feedback on Penang was extraordinary. Penang offers a mix of art, food, history, nature and other fun sites. If your clients are interested in a Malaysia itinerary I would definitely add Penang into the mix.
In my experience, Malaysia can sometimes be passed up on, or just added for a few days. But Malaysia as a destination can hold its own. It has the city life, jungles, beaches, and so much more. I’d suggest it to anyone who is the least bit adventurous.