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After years of planning a trip to Kota Kinabalu, the closest city to Mount Kinabalu, COVID-19 delayed my dream of hiking Malaysia’s highest peak with friends. Recently, I convinced my wife to join me for a long weekend there, where we stayed at the well-located Hilton hotel. We explored fireflies and proboscis monkeys via boat tours, enjoyed scenic views of Kinabalu Mountain from Nabalu and local dairy farms, and even hiked near hot springs and saw the world’s largest parasitic flower. A visit to the MariMari cultural village offered fascinating insights into local tribes and their traditions, while evenings at the vibrant quay added a lively touch to the trip. Despite a lackluster museum experience, the journey was a mix of adventure, culture, and unique wildlife, making it unforgettable.

The first day

Kota Kinabalu is the place where I wanted to travel for a long time. Mount Kinabalu is the highest point in Malaysia with a stunning 4 km height. My friends and I wanted to hike the mountain a long time ago. We even booked a tour to bring us all the way up, but then COVID happened. Some friends moved out of Singapore, so we didn’t make it. And I couldn’t go to Kota Kinabalu, the city closest to the mountain for a long time.

But things changed recently as I convinced my wife to travel there for a long weekend. A quick flight, a taxi ride, and we are at the pre-booked hotel. We didn’t plan our itinerary at all, and simply bought a few tours - to the mountain, a tour to see famous proboscis monkeys, and the local cultural village. I’ll come to all the activities one by one.

We decided to stay at Hilton, which is a relatively cheap, but decent hotel in the area. The hotel is very well located, with an amazing bar and restaurant inside, so I strongly consider this hotel for the next trip.

After a short break, we handed over our luggage (just two backpacks) to the concierge and boarded for a trip to see fireflies and monkeys. The way to the boat tour was about two hours in one way, so I had plenty of time to complete The Legend of Vox Machina, a show based on a critically acclaimed D&D campaign. If you have a few free hours and a passion for D&D, I strongly suggest checking it out.

After a bumpy ride, we arrived at the observation sight at the nearby city. At the site, we had some basic refreshments like tea & coffee, and snacks, and after a short break boarded on a boat. Each boat has about 10 people armed with binoculars. That’s a must-have! It’s not a zoo, so it’s not always possible to spot a monkey with a naked eye. I bought binoculars for my trip to Antarctica, so it wasn’t an issue for us. The trip lasted for an hour and it was great fun. Firstly, it’s always entertaining to be like a ranger, trying to spot a monkey on a tree. And it’s always a ton of exaltation when you can spot a specimen or a whole family. Secondly, it’s fun to see unique wildlife and fauna - birds of paradise, region-specific trees, etc. The experience was great, and I enjoyed seeing such funny-looking, unique monkeys in the wilderness.

After the monkey observation trip, we stopped at the same spot for a quick, simple dinner, and boarded the same boats to see fireflies. The ride was pretty short, just half an hour, but completely out of this world. It’s a totally magical experience to see how suddenly a tree got entangled by firefly traces in pitch darkness.

After the fireflies, the bus was brought up back through the pan-borneo expressway. That’s probably the first time I can see an operational highway without any lights on the roadsides.

The second day

On the second day, we had a trip to the Kinabalu mountain foothill. We started the journey at a short stop on the way to the mountain, where we were able to try a local BBQ. After that, we stopped at a place called Nabalu, which is just another tourist trap. You can try some local fruits, buy souvenirs, enjoy local music, and, enjoy the stunning view of the mountain.

The next stop was at the largest dairy farm in the district. Unfortunately, the tour schedule was quite packed, so we didn’t have much time at such a big, crowded place. My wife and I managed to try freshly made ice cream, check out cattle, and enjoy the view.

After lunch at some local establishment, we did a quick hike near the local hot springs with a part of the road through hanging roadways. It wasn’t easy and a little bit scary for some of the people.

Lastly, we check the world’s largest flower in the nearby garden. The flower is amazing, but it was a great surprise to realize that it’s a parasite. Ironic…

In the evening, we checked out a quayside not far from the hotel. The place is very nice, lively, and vibrant with a plethora of restaurants, bars, and a couple of nightclubs. We checked a couple of local delicacies and I got some Kilkenny, which is almost impossible to get in Singapore.

Last day

On our last day, we visited Mari Mari cultural village. It’s strongly suggested to get a cab from the hotel and ensure that the guy will wait for you or get a tour. The village is located in a quiet secluded area and it would be challenging to get a taxi from there. We had an extremely nice, pleasant guide who showed us through all the activities in the village such as local tribes’ culture, craftsmanship, food, and incidents. I enjoyed the way of solving problems by the local hunters - just chop a head.

After the MariMari, we checked a local museum, but it wasn’t nice, so I don’t recommend spending time there. I had only one interesting revelation there - actually, there are quite a lot of standing monoliths on Borneo, so some of the places in my must-visit list now.