Saturday, February 22, 2014

..Hiatus in Borneo.. Part 2

Chasing a little green turtle around Mabul Island, Sabah Malaysian Borneo

Second part of my adventures in Borneo!

After Mount Kinabalu we wanted to take a break from the rain forest and its tropical atmosphere, so we went near Samporna and Mabul island on the east cost... to dive with turtles and lots of different fish !

Lion fish, trigger fish, crocodile fish, parrot fish, etc.
It's like all the animal names have been used for fish as well!

You can also encounter big barracudas and sharks near Sipadan island but I skipped this part, I'd rather stay with those lovely turtles.

Some of them were huge!

A friend lended me his Gopro camera !! Click on play to launch this video on my Instagram, the quality is not that great but I hope the magic still operates... so relaxing to watch a turtle swim!





Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and the largest island of Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra.

The island is divided among three countries: Brunei and Malaysia on the north, and Indonesia to the south. Approximately 73% of the island is Indonesian territory. In the north, the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, along with the federal territory of Labuan, make up about 26% of the island. The sovereign state of Brunei, located on the north coast, comprises about 1% of Borneo's land area. Borneo is home to one of the oldest rainforests in the world.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

..Hiatus in Borneo.. Part 1

Halfway up mount Kinabalu in Sabah Malaysian Borneo.

As you may have notice on my Instagram, I ran away from rainy London for a few days!

Where? to Borneo!
I m surprise quite a few people around me got confused about Borneo; they can easily locate Thailand and the Philippines, but not Borneo! So Wikipedia attack:
Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and the largest island of Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra.
The island is divided among three countries: Brunei and Malaysia on the north, and Indonesia to the south. Approximately 73% of the island is Indonesian territory. In the north, the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, along with the federal territory of Labuan, make up about 26% of the island. The sovereign state of Brunei, located on the north coast, comprises about 1% of Borneo's land area. Borneo is home to one of the oldest rainforests in the world.
I have to say my travel time was terrible: 7-hour flight from London to Doha, another 7-hour flight from Doha to Kuala Lumpur, then local 2-hour flight from KL to Kota Kinabalu (capital of Sabah) and finally 6-hour to 12-hour bus to reach the other side of Sabah, our final destination.

 ・・・  ・・・ 

So yes, Borneo is less connected to Europe than the rest of South East Asia BUT it was definitely worth it! Being a Muslim dominated area and having less Western tourists, you can't expect to party all day long like in South Thailand but if you're looking for stunning landscapes, amazing rain forest biodiversity and adventures...
That's the place you should go

I even managed to climb mount Kinabalu (4,095 m/13,435 ft) despite not going to the gym regularly


Majestic view about 1 hour away by car from the starting point.


Beginning of the trail, still looking good (and innocent)...


Carnivorous plant! Nepenthes rajah is endemic to Sabah.


Lack of oxygen but amazing landscape.


Stairs, stairs and more stairs! Nothing compared to stone climbing later on!


Lonely tree fighting against strong winds.


Almost there!


Weirdly shaped rocks, who put them here?


Aaaaalmost!!

And..... shortly before the top

I did not post any pictures of the sun rise or Low's peak on purpose as my iPhone camera really sucks compare to what I have seen in real. The last 4 pictures were taken on the way down after that epic moment.

No spoiler

Voila! It's quite expensive but fair in terms of comfort and safety measures. When I climbed Mount Fuji I didn't pay anything but had a mountain sickness for going to fast and I almost fainted on the way back... this time I was totally fine as I rested halfway and got plenty of food!
If you are a hard core climber you can also start a 8 am, arrive halfway around noon, go to the peak and come back around 4 pm, all in one day as well. I assume this option is a lot cheaper but you must be fit!