I was absolutely dreading this part of our trip to Borneo - the climb up Mount Kinabalu. We intentionally arrived one day early so we could acclimatise ourselves to the weather and altitude. We stayed in very very basic accommodation next to the entrance to the national park but it only cost MR50 for the room whereas the park was charging MR120 per person per night in their lodges!!! On our first day we decided to visit another national park attraction Poring Ho...

Sepilok is a tourist attraction because it is home to the world famous Orangutan Rehabilitation Sanctuary. Initially we were just going to visit the centre as a day trip from Sandakan but then we changed our minds and decided to stay a night in one of the hostel complexes on the edge of the forest. Our accommodation was really nice and situated in pretty gardens complete with deer and ducks. The cente has 2 orangutan feedings every day which it opens to the gener...

After a week of full on activities we decided it was time for a rest (and also time to do some washing!!!) The guys from Nature Lodge very kindly drove us right up to the front door of a hostel in Sandakan located on the waterfront so we didn't even have to think about finding somewhere to stay. We decided to splash out and opt for a seaview room which at 2pm had really pleasant views at 8am the next morning however it was a completely different story as the tide...

Despite visiting 3 ATM's there was no cash in Semporna. This would not normally be an issue but as we are heading for a 3 day, 2 night trip to Nature Lodge on the River Kinabatangan and we have to pay for the trip on arrival we kind of need the cash! We had instructions to get on a bus heading for Sandakan or KK and ask to be dropped off at a cafe called Medan Selera in Bukit Garam where we would be picked up by our guide at 1.30pm. This all went very smoothly bu...

How to describe Mabul Island? A very hot paradise for scuba divers! To get here we caught the bus from KK which took about 10 hours and then stayed one night in Semporna. Semporna is not the best as it's really just a gateway to the islands - I think they're really missing a trick here but never mind! The following day we caught the 'Billabong' boat out to Mabul Island which took about 1/2 hour. I was a bit worried that we might be classed as the poor cousins a...