Sabah boasts Malaysia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s highest peak, a UNESCO-listed tropical jungle, pristine beaches, world-class dive sites, and orangutans in the wild<\/span>.<\/b><\/p>\n Amazing!<\/span><\/p>\n Who wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want a week-long layover in what sounds like an ecological paradise? You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be completely mad not to seize the opportunity to explore the riches of Sabah.<\/span> So what happened?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Sabah <\/span>does<\/span><\/i> have some genuine gems\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut like most treasures, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re highly protected. That means that in order to explore the majority of them, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need to book packaged tours.<\/span><\/p>\n That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s right\u00e2\u20ac\u201dforget the dreamy <\/span>National Geographic<\/span><\/i> fantasy of you and a local guide machete-ing your way through lush, steamy rainforest. In reality, unless you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve paid big bucks to have a private experience, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll walk over clearly marked paths\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 with lots of other tourists.<\/span><\/p>\n Want to climb Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tallest mountain? You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need to book your overnight expedition months in advance\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll set you back around \u00e2\u201a\u00ac270. Keep in mind this was in 2013.<\/span><\/p>\n Or maybe you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re envisioning a peaceful canoe safari through jungle rivers? Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be surprised when your guide refuses to stop for a monkey posing on the riverbank because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already 6:05 PM\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand your tour officially ends at 6. (True story, shared by several travellers I met.)<\/span><\/p>\n You’re obviously not the only one taking these tours. Expect hordes of (mostly Chinese) tourists, island-hopping with you and leaving trash behind on what are no longer deserted beaches.<\/span><\/p>\n As for seeing orangutans swinging freely through the treetops? You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll likely be pointed to a rehabilitation centre, where you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll spend seven hours getting there, only to fight for space on an overcrowded viewing platform. Again, things are different when you really cash out to have an exclusive private experience in remote places of the island.<\/span><\/p>\n Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get me wrong<\/b>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dit <\/span>is<\/span><\/i> possible to experience Borneo more authentically, without tours. But doing so will require <\/span>time<\/b>, <\/span>effort<\/b>, and <\/span>a decent budget<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n So, back to the question: <\/span>what happened?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n I simply wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t in the mood for extensive travel, nor was I feeling the whole Disneyland-style outing\u00e2\u20ac\u201deven though many of the attractions are truly unique. I decided to skip the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153mandatory\u00e2\u20ac\u009d tourist trail.<\/span><\/p>\n Instead, I spent most of my time in Kota Kinabalu working from the hostel, getting massages, eating like a queen, and socializing with fellow travelers and the hostel crew.<\/span><\/p>\n After a while, though, I started feeling a bit of that familiar <\/span>traveller\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s guilt<\/span><\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthinking:<\/span> So I took three short trips from KK\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand as it turns out, you can absolutely \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fake\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the tourist trail by going on day trips. Even though I was in full-on lazy traveler mode, I still managed to see most of Sabah\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s highlights.<\/span><\/p>\n One trip (actually an overnight) took me to Kinabalu National Park.<\/span> Another outing was just a 15-minute boat ride off KK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s coast, where I landed on truly unspoiled beaches\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/span>yes, they exist<\/span><\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u201dno trash, no crowds, just turquoise water and palm trees.<\/span><\/p>\n My last trip was to Rasa Ria<\/a><\/span><\/span>, a five-star resort that has its own private nature reserve. Just a 45-minute taxi ride from KK, it gave me the chance to get up close and personal with our orangutan cousins. The resort’s rehabilitation centre works closely with the more famous Sepilok Nature Reserve<\/a><\/span>. Sure, there are fewer orangutans here\u00e2\u20ac\u201dbut also fewer tourists. And the monkeys play much closer to the viewing platform. Win-win.<\/span><\/p>\n The only activity missing from my <\/span>lazy travel itinerary<\/span><\/i>? <\/span>Diving.<\/b> I spoke with many fellow travellers in Sabah, and they all confirmed what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d been feeling: visiting this part of Borneo doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t translate to a rugged, raw, authentic adventure\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/span>unless<\/b> you have <\/span>plenty of time and resources<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n Sabah is a great destination if you want to comfortably experience the highlights of Borneo <\/span>without<\/b> the hassle of permits, planning, or long treks. But if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the time, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d recommend combining Sabah with <\/span>Sarawak<\/b>, the other Malaysian state on the island.<\/span><\/p>\n And if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a truly untouched cultural and natural Bornean experience you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re after?<\/span> The post “Lazy travel: Sabah, Borneo<\/a>” first appeared on Travel Cake<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One Week Layover in Kota Kinabalu A one-week layover in Kota Kinabalu\u00e2\u20ac\u201dor KK, as the locals and backpackers call it. Capital of Sabah, the second-largest state in Malaysia, nestled on the island of Borneo and famed for its rich natural diversity. Sabah boasts Malaysia\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s highest peak, a UNESCO-listed tropical jungle, pristine beaches, world-class dive sites, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,118],"tags":[5,41,18,6,42],"country":[240],"class_list":["post-478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-destinations","category-malaysia","tag-asia","tag-borneo","tag-budget","tag-malaysia","tag-sabah","post_format-post-format-image","country-malaysia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=478"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4344,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/478\/revisions\/4344"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=478"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.travelcake.net\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/span>And yet\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthere I was, comfortably curled up in my hostel dorm, with zero activities planned.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"entrance](\"https:\/\/travelcake.site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/kinabalupark.jpg\")
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n<\/span> \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I really ought to visit something… <\/span>anything!<\/b>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t climb Mount Kinabalu, but I did hike some sloping hills around it and scored some epic views. I solo hiked a few kilometers through the rainforest\u00e2\u20ac\u201dlush, quiet, and green.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n<\/b>Sipadan, the underwater paradise everyone raves about, requires an extra flight, a long bus ride, and a whole lot of cash (at least \u00e2\u201a\u00ac500). It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably worth it\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 but unfortunately I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the budget.
\nI still got to see plenty of fish\u00e2\u20ac\u201don my plate.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n<\/span>Head to <\/span>Kalimantan<\/b>, the Indonesian part of Borneo.<\/span><\/p>\nHave you ever skipped the main tourist attractions because you just didn’t feel like it?<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n