The best time to visit is at 10.00 am and again at 2.30 pm when the primates emerge from the forest for their daily ration of bananas and milk. You can see the orang utans being fed from a platform in the centre. Nicknamed the ‘Wild Man of Borneo’, the orang utans are returned to the forest when they can fend for themselves.

Aside from the orang utan, over 200 species of birds and a variety of wild plants can be found within the 5.666 hectares of forest reserve.

How to get there

By Bus

From the local bus stand next to the Sandakan waterfront market, board the blue bus marked ‘Sepilok Batu 14′ (Sepilok – 14th Mile). The 30-minute bus ride will take you directly to the rehabilitation centre. Regular buses, marked ‘Batu 14′ or higher, will drop you at the turn-off to Jalan Sepilok. However, you’ll have to walk 1.5km to get to the Orang Utan Centre.The last bus leaves Sepilok to Sandakan at 4:30 pm.

Take a walk through the park, or a stroll on wooden the suspension bridge at the 950 metres canopy walk and view countless of exotic wildlife.

Night walks along the trail also offer a chance to catch a glimpse of wildlife such as the cunning mousedeer, wily civet cats, cute tarsiers and various insects and birds.

There are also many magnificent flowering shrubs a the Plant Discovery Garden, with about 250 species of native orchids. The orchid family, is known to be the largest flowering plants with about 25,000 wild species throughout the world.

Enthusiasts, naturalists, budding scientists and nature lovers from all walks of life will get to know more of the wonders of the rainforests through this unique Rainforest Discovery Centre.

The RDC helps to raise public awareness and appreciation of the importance of conserving forests, as well as the sustainable use of forest resources.

How to get there

Car or local transportation

When in Sandakan, you could opt to drive or use local transportation. If driving, go along Jalan Labuk from Sandakan Town. Turn left at the Mile 14 roundabout (with large orang-utan statue). Drive along until you see the large, pictorial RDC sign and turn right. Drive for about 500 m to the RDC car park.

This island was formed through the eruption of several mud volcanoes. The last explosion happened in 1941 and since then the volcanoes have remained relatively passive.

Several small mud volcanoes spewing cool, mineral-rich mud can still be found near the summit of the island. The notion that this mineral rich mud is good for your skin makes mud-bathing a must-do activity on this island.

The island’s lush green jungle serves as a soothing backdrop, while the fine, white sand beaches and the clear unpolluted water are a wonder for nature lovers.

The coral reefs encircling the island are home to many species of fish and other marine life. Among the activities that await you here are diving, non-motorised water sports, trekking, bird watching and mud bathing.

The Park Headquarters is situated on the southern side of the island, not far from Pulau Tiga Resort, the only resort facility available on the island.

How to get there

By Road

From Kota Kinabalu, drive 140km south to Kuala Penyu at the Klias Peninsula, then board a boat to the islands.

By Sea

The islands are 18km away and about 45 minutes by boat. Some tour agents also organise tours and ferry services to the islands.

The building is made of local building materials and can accommodate at least 200 visitors at any one time. The complex houses a Counter Bar and a Souvenir Shop with a good assortment of local handicrafts.

It also has a 30 feet observation tower that enables you to enjoy the sighting of tropical wetland and its rich wildlife across the river banks. The complex has a 500-feet boardwalk with Nipah Atap roofing and a river jetty providing a comfortable river cruise.

Facilities they have is built using Local Materials, Eco-Lodge consist of boardwalk, Bird Watch Tower, Dining Hall, Sundeck, Fish Spa and space for 300 visitors. Multi-media facilities for seminar for seminar etc are available. Incentive group event most ideal. River cruise boat 25-33ft, capacity 16-30 pax on most comfortable seating.

How to get there

By road.

Located about 100 km south of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and accessible by highway and takes about 1 hour 30 minutes to get there.

Covering some 21 ha., it is considerably larger than the nearby Sipadan Island and is home to the Bajau Laut tribe, one of many ethnic groups in Sabah.

Diving is the main activity on this island, and it can be done all year round. Marine life that can be seen here includes sea horses, exotic starfish, fire gobies, crocodile fish, pipefish and snake eels. There are over eight popular dive spots, each with its own speciality.

Three resorts cater to scuba divers — two are on the island itself while one is on a converted oil rig platform about 500m offshore. All of the resorts provide day trips for their guests to the nearby Sipadan and Kapalai Islands.

How to get there

By Sea

To reach Mabul Island, it is a 30-minute boat ride from Semporna and 20 minutes from Sipadan Island.

The little land mass supports a luxurious 90-room dive resort, a Malaysian Naval base and a nesting colony for several sea-faring migratory birds. The reef topography is essentially made up of a rich growth of hard corals; some so shallow that they break the sea surface during low tides, but most begin at depths of about 5m right down to the ocean floor.

Some of the marine animals observed around the 14 dive sites include black-tip sharks, hammerheads, jacks barracudas, bump-head parrotfish, lionfish, moray eels, turtles, nudibranches, gobies and the ghost pipe fish.

How to get there

By Air

The nearest kick-off point to Layang Layang Island is Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, where a private charter company flies clients to Layang Layang. This is arranged by Layang Layang Island Resort. Direct flights to Kota Kinabalu are available from Tokyo, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Seoul, Hong Kong, Manila, Cebu, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

It was gazetted to preserve this valuable natural environment. The mountains have a fascinating geological history, taking ‘just’ a million years to form. The mighty Mount Kinabalu is actually a granite massif that was later thrust upwards through the crust of the surface.

Subsequent erosion removed thousands of feet of the overlying sand and mud stone, exposing this massif. During the Ice Age, glaciers running across the summit smoothed it out, but the jagged peaks that stood out above the ice surface remained unaffected, retaining the extremely ragged surfaces. This rugged mountain is the focal point of the National Park.

How to get there

By Taxi

Car rentals can be arranged through major hotels in Kota Kinabalu. Taxis go to Park HQ at Ranau and take a maximum of four passengers. You can negotiate for the taxi to pick you up from Park HQ for your return if you hire the whole taxi.

The fort-like Memorial was designed by a local architect by the name of J.C. Robinson. It has 4 interlocking but separate gardens to represent the homelands of those who has died: an Australian Garden, a formal English Garden of roses, a Borneo Garden with wild flowers of Kinabalu and at the top level is the Contemplation Garden with a reflection pool and pergola.

The memorial is open to local and foreign visitors not only to view the perfect gardens but to remember those who sacrificed their lives for the Freedom of others. The Memorial is open to visitors with minimal entrance fees charged.

How to get there

By road.

Kundasang is located 90km, about 2 hrs driving from Kota Kinabalu and only 10 minutes driving from Kinabalu Park.

It also boasts one of the first eco-resorts in Sabah, known as the Borneo Rainforest Lodge. This comfortable resort has a restaurant, bar and comfortable chalets overlooking the Danum River. Jungle treks, river swimming, bird watching, night jungle tours and excursions to nearby logging sites and timber mills are some of the activities offered here.

How to get there

By Road

The journey from Lahad Datu takes two hours, with the first 15km being the main Lahad Datu-Tawau road. The rest of the ride is on an unsealed but well-maintained private logging road.

Shop! Shop! Shop!

While most locals would tell you to head out to Centre Point (Lebuh Raya Pantai Baru corner Jl. Duapuluh) to get your fill of great bargains for souvenirs, do not go there – you’d be lucky if you can actually see an actual store selling souvenirs at Centre Point otherwise this huge building, with a pretty messed up, complicated layout houses pretty much cheap (and of doubtful quality) knock-offs of every kind. We had no choice but get our luggage at the Centre Point, after our old luggage, a veteran of many international travels, just broke apart the moment we arrived at our hotel. The luggage is about RM 160 – pretty cheap for one big suitcase and an extra medium-sized suitcase (we will see how it is going to measure up on my future international travels).

Whilst in Centre Point, beware of scam artists operating in the area- I had the misfortune of being accosted by two men (not in uniform) flashing two little cards, just moments after I stepped out of a money changer and demanding that (in broken English) I needed to come with them (to where, I do not know so I resisted)- it was about 9:45AM on a street just outside Centre Point (on the Wisma Square side). One of the guys told me that I littered, but the funny part was there was litter all around the area and I asked for a sign that says No Littering and they both pointed on a badly tattered old sign in Bahasa and then afterwards asked me for RM 20. I told them, I needed Ringgits so I needed to go back in the building and buy more Ringgits. This time the messed up layout of Centre Point worked to my advantage and I deliberately lost them and went straight to the Sabah Tourism Board to file a complaint. Apparently, I learned later on that these scam artists prey on unsuspecting tourists and basically extort or mug them outright even in broad daylight. Thank heavens that I was also not traveling alone, as I was with another travel writer from the Tourism Paradise Philippine site that time but that shook me a fair bit.

So where to buy? The answer is actually not too far away from Centre Point. For best value shopping, nothing beats the souvenir stalls at Asia City, a mall just across Centre Point. We got great discounts from the traditional Sabah weaving, a Murut tribe mask, fridge magnets and even a copy of the Holy Quran. We basically did our entire souvenir shopping at Asia City and were quite happy with the heaps of discounts that we got compared to getting it from any other place. Haggling is expected here (the Filipinos who man the stores there gave me tons of discounts which I don’t think would be given to other people), and as common sense dictates – start very low and work your way to a compromise. The stuff at Asia City is even generally cheaper than those that you could find at the Handicraft Market (Jl. Tun Fuad Stephens) although the Handicraft Market does have a lot of choice- the prices here are pretty much touristy- therefore, way more expensive..

There are little stores that dot all over the Kota Kinabalu city that also have quite good selection of yards and yards and yards of great quality sarongs, malongs and sampings (the traditional Malay men wrap-around skirt).

Also do not forget to check the Sunday Market at Jl. Gaya for more souvenirs and handicrafts, however, get there in the morning- as the place folds up early.

Average time spent- 3 hours.

A Taste of Sabah

Whenever I travel, I also make it a point to try the local fare, and being a fan of Malay food; I was curious how different Kota Kinabalu was from the rest of the more popular Penang flavors. The more expensive Evening Food Stall at Sedco Square (Jl. Sapuluh) is a small square with seafood restaurants with big aquariums lining its sides. The Old Village Seafood Restaurant is one of the cheapest around – and the soft-shell crab cooked any way you liked it is just wonderful – the shell was so soft that you can actually eat it as well. I had mine cooked chilli crab style, it wasn’t too bad at all since I had to pay about $100 SGD for a plate of black pepper crab in Singapore’s Chinatown plus we got a heap of discounts plus a free fruit platter for dessert from our waiter (who was also Filipino). The Evening Food Stall has a Fried Ice Cream stall, the batter was very underwhelming but the luscious Durian Ice Cream inside it saved the day.

In my opinion, the best place to eat is by the Filipino Market – food stalls that resemble a complicated mini-tent city right next to the Handicraft Market by the Waterfront. Food is pretty inexpensive here but very savory. Check out the Martabak (RM 1.50); Pisang Goreng (RM 1.00); Ubi Manis (RM 1.00) but our most favorite is a steamy bowl of Soto Ayam for a mere RM 3.00 and delicious Cendol (similar to Filipino’s Coconut-Pandan on Milk and Shaved Ice) for RM 2.Extremely yummy and the best meal we ever had in Kota Kinabalu, hands down.

Before leaving Kota Kinabalu, I had some Kwey Tyao at Sri Melaka Restaurant. It was not quite as good as the Kwey Tyao I had in other countries before though. One thing of note if you are dining in Kota Kinabalu, make sure that you do not touch the peanuts served nor the table napkin – you will be charged extra for it. Those peanuts are not for free. Knowing this, as I had the same experience in Singapore, I skipped the peanuts and using the table napkins. I checked our receipt and we got overcharged several times- it took the waiter three times to finally give me the correct bill.

Average time spent – 3 hours.

Walkabout KK

Kota Kinabalu has some interesting sights that one can check out by just walking around the city center. The city’s most famous landmark would be of course the Atkinson Clock Tower by Bandaran Berjaya (a very short walk from the city centre) was built in 1905 and used to be the navigational aid but is now dwarfed by the taller buildings in the area. One can also trek up the Signal Hill (which can use a little bit of cleaning as well – we spied a big pile of trash going up near the Merdeka Field) to view the other side of the hills and do a little trek to get a taste of the Bornean jungles (especially near the Istana can be quite lush and green and a refreshing respite away from the dusty city centre). On a clear day, one can see as far as the peak of Malaysia’s most famous mountain – Mt. Kinabalu.

Other great places to check out would be the State Museum, Sabah Art Gallery and the Heritage Village – however opening times are sketchy and going there is a bit of a stretch – one needs to get a cab at a taxi queue at Centre Point – one way is about RM 10. The cabbies in Kota Kinabalu does not use any meter or at least not in any of the cabs that we took while we were there. If you are heading away from the city centre, one should know that it is very hard to get around Kota Kinabalu if you do not have your own transport – taxis are hard to come by anywhere – be prepared to walk a long bit to get one like we did when we went by the State Mosque at Sembulan).

Average time spent – 3 Hours.

Relax and play

Whilst not exactly a stunning beach, Tanjung Aru Beach was a passable and a good short escape from the city centre with al-fresco dining that lines parts of beach. If one cannot hop on to the several islands off Kota Kinabalu like the islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park nor Pulau Tiga, Tanjung Aru Beach is the cheap and the most accessible option to hang around by the beach. Be careful, however, of the rip tides that are common all throughout this area. We did not see any lifeguards on patrol, so you swim at your own risk.

Tanjung Aru Beach is about 15 minute walk from the Kota Kinabalu International Airport so if you want to drop by just before your flight out, you may do so and grab a few drinks and catch some sea-wind and sun before leaving Borneo.

Tanjung Aru Beach is also close to the Kinabalu Golf Club and the local Race Course and the Sutera Harbour Golf and Country Club.

Average time spent – 2-3 hours.

Kota Kinabalu has different characters thrown in together, mainly because of its very multicultural nature. Kota Kinabalu and Sabah in general is home to the many indigenous peoples as well as the Malays, Indians, Chinese and Filipinos which makes this tiny city a curious, interesting and at the same time complicated melting pot of cultures. A step into the real Kota Kinabalu is a step into the region’s underbelly- so go on, walk and see the real Kota Kinabalu and experience Malaysia like nothing that is on any hyped guidebooks.

Dave Ryan A. Buaron is a travel writer on Tourism Philippines. For him, travelling is just not about getting drunk every night during a trip but actually soaking up the local culture, appreciating the beautiful sceneries and doing something new each day. More [+]