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Flight: Kota Kinabalu Intl(WBKK)-Bali Intl(WRRR) Distance: 970.5nm Aircraft company/manufacturer/type: Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330-200 Estimated fuel burn: 5569.9gal/37313.8pounds Estimated time en route: 2 hours 6 mins Cruise altitude: 12000ft Cruise speed: 300kts Departure time: 12:45pm Arrival time: 14:55pm Weather condition at departure: Clear – wind 179 at 00 Weather condition at arrival: Clear – wind 178 at 00 Remarks: N/A
Climb Mount Kinabalu, Borneo
Location
The Kinabalu Park is famous the world over for the highest mountain in South-East Asia – Mt. Kinabalu, a vast, jagged granite massif rising to 4,101m. (13,455 ft). The mountain is the focal point of the whole Park, which covers an area of 754 sq km (291 sq miles) of Borneo Island in Sabeh, Malaysia and includes vegetation types ranging from the lush lowland zone through the tropical oak, rhododendron and conifer forests, to the alpine meadow plants and stunted bushes of the summit zone. The Park probably has one of the richest diversities of flora in the world.
Trek Kinabalu
Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain in south-east Asia and offers a unique climb from tropical luxuriance through sub-alpine forests to the rocky summit plateau. The climb starts from Mount Kinabalu Park Headquarters, only a couple of hours drive but already more than 1500m above Kota Kinabalu on the coast. There is ample accommodation here, from dormitories to comfortable two-person cottages. Whilst the round-trip trek to the summit can be accomplished in two days, a more comfortable 3-day trek is recommended for biology-lovers who want to fully enjoy the rich diversity of flora on the mountain. There are 2 trails up Mt. Kinabalu. The recently-opened Mesilau Trail offers more opportunities for viewing flora and fauna, whilst the Summit Trail is the more direct route.
The use of an authorised guide is compulsory, whilst a porter is an optional luxury. Many of the trees and flowers are unique or extremely rare but to the uninitiated novice in matters botanical, there is no doubt that the pitcher plant steals the show. Even the most casual observer cannot fail to notice these impressive insect-guzzling monsters, with up to a pint of liquid in their death-by-drowning chambers, waiting to lure and then drown the passing fly or mosquito.
The summit trail winds up a steep staircase of gnarled tree-roots to a mossy world of drifting clouds and orchid-draped trees, where pitcher plants and rhododendrons abound. Just above the tree line at 3350m is a comfortable rest house where most parties spend the night. Before dawn next morning everybody is up and climbing by torchlight towards the summit. A steep rock step is aided by a fixed rope which continues all the way to the summit even where the way becomes quite flat when it winds across bare granite slabs in an eerie moonscape of rock twisted and contorted in weird wind-fashioned ways.
The early start is a good idea in order to enjoy the views before the usual mist descends on the summit, which normally happens at around 10 am. It is not a good idea to climb too quickly as the wait for the magnificent sunrise at the summit is rather cold. The arrival of daylight reveals the remarkable summit plateau of the mountain, a vast expanse of smooth rock with a weird assortment of rocky pinnacles rising from it, almost like the udders of an inverted cow. In clear weather, you can almost see all of Sabah spread out below in a magnificent soul-expanding panorama of jungle and forest, river and rock. Luckily for peak-baggers the highest pinnacle, Lows Peak, is also one of the easiest. On the way down you can take a glimpse down the dizzying depths of 1,000 meter-deep, 16 kilometer-long Lows Gully, which splits the summit plateau into the western and eastern plateaus. With the early start the descent to Park Headquarters is easily done in one day and is normally accomplished with the satisfied glow of having climbed one of the world’s most spectacular and interesting mountains.
This great East Malaysian state on Borneo Island is naturally endowed with endless beaches and bays, ancient rainforests and amazing plants and animals, and the sacred Mt Kinabalu. Video brought to you by Best Destination Travel TV channel (www.BestDestination.com), travel guides and travel directory by Travelindex Network (www.travelindex.com). Video Rating: 5 / 5
Borneo ? Sun Sea and Orangutans
When my wife and I were deciding where to go on our honeymoon, we knew one thing, we wanted to go to Penang in Malaysia, to celebrate with relatives out there, but we knew we wanted to then move on to somewhere else after that, the only thing was where?
The Caribbean or Africa was a no go as the price to fly half way around the world and then back round again would have been monumental. Also the weather was a bit of a problem too. We tied the knot in early September, which ruled out the Maldives, Tahiti and Bali due to monsoon and rainy seasons.
We had been to Thailand the year before so decided we wanted to try somewhere else. We eventually chose to stay in Malaysia, but more precisely, Sabah in Borneo.
Well known for beautiful beaches and tiny islands great for diving, Sabah is also well known for orangutans, and has a world famous orangutan rehabilitation reserve at Sepilok, a short flight from our hotel at Kota Kinabalu.
However, we discovered that the hotel we chose had a nature reserve within the hotel grounds that was affiliated with Sepilok, and took in baby orphaned Orangutans, preparing them for their next stage at Sepilok before eventually being released back into the wild.
The Shangri-La Rasa Ria resort is situated on Pantai Dalit Beach, a beautiful stretch of beach that is sheltered and exclusive to the resort. The hotel was fantastic, and deciding to treat ourselves to a stay in the Ocean Wing, the exclusive wing with its own private pool, breakfast and luxury rooms with sea views and giant soak tub on the balcony, was well worth the extra money.
The hotel had a great choice of restaurants, and deciding to go half-board was a good option. Half-board entitles you to breakfast and dinner at the Coffee Terrace restaurant, or 100RM (about 17 quid) per person towards a meal in one of the other restaurants. This allowance pretty much covered the full cost of a meal in the other restaurants, except for the gourmet Coast restaurant which really is fijne dining at its best.
The culinary highlights for us were dinner at Naan and Tepi Laut ‘Makan Street’.
Naan was, funnily enough, and Indian restaurant and this award winning restaurant served some of the best Indian food I have ever had, food which went perfectly with the Malaysian local brew, Tiger Beer!
Tepi Laut ‘Makan Street’ was a typical Malaysian style food court, offering all the tastes that make Malaysian cuisine so special, with dishes from China, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Each station offered something different, and the vegetable station featured baskets of uncooked Chinese vegetables and sauces where people could put what they wanted on a plate with the sauces of their choice. The chef would then quickly stir fry these while you wait.
Our favourite was the kangkong belacan, what is basically ung choi fried in garlic and sambal (a fiery hot shrimp paste) with some red chillies – very hot but very tasty.
The real highlight for us was the orangutans. Each day, guests can make a donation to the reserve and trek a short way into the jungle to a pair of viewing platforms to watch the baby orangutans feed. The experience is quite simply amazing.
They are extremely cute and very agile. Some shy, others mischievous it is fantastic to watch their playful antics. We went twice to see them, the first time I filled my camera’s memory card of around 500 photos well before the hour came to an end and was frantically having to delete bad shots in order to take more.
Simon travelled to the Shangri-La Rasa Ria on honeymoon in September 2008 and writes for American Sky, the US travel specialists who offer escorted tours and multi centre holidays in the USA.
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Kota Kinabalu National Park covers a vast expanse, 754 sqkm. of pristine rainforest and the 4095m tall Mt. Kinabalu which is the highest mountain for a thousand miles. Many people come to the park to climb the relatively easy mountain that has fantastic views of the Philippines on a clear day. Our mission was to enjoy the dipterocarp rainforest trails on the mountains slopes and find nice views of the mountain from below.
Sipadan-kaplai Dive Resort In Sabah Borneo Malaysia
Kapalai Island Resort or more correctly Sipadan-Kaplai Dive resort in Sabah Malaysia although it is part of Borneo is only a short distance by boat from the islands of Sipadam and Mabul. Having said all that it is another world altogether.
Kapalai Island Resort actually sits on stilts on the shallow sandbanks of the Ligitan Reefs. It is not attached to any land whatsoever although over a mile of powdery white sand appears at low tide for sunbathing.
The architects who designed the complex must have been extremely innovative, because the Sipadan-Kapalai resort consists of a chain of chalets that are all linked by almost two miles of walkways, so you will never be short of exercise here, especially if you like jogging. The incredible thing is the plethora of fish just a few inches between your feet as you travel along the boardwalk.
Kapalai is totally peaceful and quiet, just a turquoise sea stretching off into the distance, and yet right underneath is the water which is literally teeming with life, so you can snorkel straight off the resort.
Kapalai accesses the best diving spots in Sabah Borneo, which makes it the best hotel in Sabah if you want to dive. From here you can dive in Sipadan where you will find big fish and turtles. You can go muck diving at Mabul, or stay close to Kapalai itself.
The Sipadan-Kapalai Island Resort, whilst geared towards divers is also a wonderful escape from the pressures of the 21st century. The rooms are a bit like the Maldives were a few years ago, and as an added bonus they are a fraction of the price, and at no time to you feel crowded on this very special hotel in Sabah.
The food is good, very varied, and served buffet style, plus there is a lot of it, and is served almost 24 hours every day.
You can dive five times a day and never go to the same place twice, but of course Kapalai Island resort is one of the world’s top diving destinations. Everyone at Sipadan is very helpful, and you will get exceptional service from all of the staff from the divemasters to the hotel staff.
If you are visiting the region of Sipadan then without doubt the airy sunny resort of Kapalai, totally built on stilts is the place to stay. This is an absolutely tremendous resort !
If you are interested in othr far East Hotels and destinations then go to http://www.worldwidevacationspots.com/categories/Far-East-Hotels/
Peter Stewart writes about in Kenya Safaris as well as Worldwide Vacation Spots He also recommends Travel Tennis a great Game to play on Holiday.
This entry was posted in Kota Kinabalu Malaysia and tagged Borneo, Dive, Malaysia, Resort, Sabah, Sipadankaplai. Bookmark the permalink.← Kota Kinabalu Airport: Kinabalu National Park – Adventurous Nature TrekKinabalu Hotel: Things to do in Kota Kinabalu ? A plethora of choice along the coast of Malaysia →Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked
