Borneo Sabah Kinabalu ~ Malaysia Travel Pictures
Kinabalu Mountain Lodge, Kinabalu Park, Market vendors
I'd come to the Kinabalu national park in Sabah, Borneo, in eastern Malaysia, on a tour of Borneo Island. This day, we were at Kinabalu Park. We'd started our trip in the capital, Kota Kinabalu, flew to Sandakan to see the Sepilok orangutans sanctuary, then went by road and boat to Libaran Island near Sandakan. After an afternoon at Turtle Island, and a night at Libaran, we continued by road from Sandakan to Poring Hot Springs. Boxed lunches were provided by the tour company. From there we drove further west, to the park at Mt Kinabalu for a two night stay here at Kinabalu Mountain Lodge and a tour of the market. From here, we'd continue our drive west to the coast, and the Kota Kinabalu airport to catch our flight south to Sarawak for a two night stay at Royal Mulu resort, a hike to the limestone caves and a rmorning of exploring by river boat. The pictures on this page were taken at Kinabalu Lodge and the nearby market.
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Kinabalu Mountain Lodge  Our first view of the two storey building at Kinabalu Mountain Lodge. We were here in late April; the flowers and flowering trees and shrubs were in full bloom, with day lilies lining the roads; the air so sweet and fresh I can still smell it, and, after the heat and humid coast at Libaran and Sandakan, a wonderful treat. Kinabalu Mountain lodge is located about a 15 minute drive from the park main entrance. This is a very quiet area, wth few visitors at the time we were here. At night, I estimated the temperature dropped to about 17C (63F). |
Kinabalu Lodge dining room  The peaked roof indicates the dining room at the main lodge, set high above the valley with lovely views to Mt Kinabalu. Breakfast for us was at 7:30 a.m.; dinner at 7:30 p.m. Groups that travel together eat together. If I sat at a table apart from my travelling companions, thinking they might enjoy one meal on their own, the staff moved us together. Meals were included on the tour I took, though drinks are not. You could order soft drinks and beer and pay as you go in local currency. |
Kinabalu Mountain Lodge Room  Room 8, Kinabalu Lodge, on the upper level of the building in the top picture, with comfy twin beds. The ensuite bath was up a step from the bedroom area. Bottled drinking water was provided; the south facing windows were screened; a space heater provided for use on chilly nights. No televison -- I hadn't seen televison or internet since Kota Kinabalu a few days earlier. Outside the room, a lobby area offered minimal reading material, including a guest book, which I signed. I was interested to see from how many and varied countries others had come from, including one family from Alberta, Canada (Home!), the year before. |
Mt Kinabalu view  From outside the building that housed my room, a short walkway crossed to the access road, where a small covered gazebo offered shelter to all guests. From this road, looking roughly east, the peaks of Mt Kinabalu made a wonderful view. Early morning mists that filled the valley had burned off. At the end of this road furthest from the lodge, a large home housed the owner's family and served as an admin center for staff. |
Kinabalu Market  Kinabalu market is about a 15 minute drive down the mountain from Kinabalu lodge. The day before, we'd arrived here in a tropical downpour, so we didn't stop. This day, after our hike at Mt Kinabalu and a tour of the information center, the rain was still holding off. We came here for a lovely half hour, in late afternoon, to wander the stalls and have a snack before dinner. The market stalls have their own access road -- the lower one -- and steady traffic passes on the main road. Along the highways, we'd passed many vegetable gardens planted in narrow terraces that circled the hills. Other large gardens were planted in areas that had been clear cut forests. |
Kinabalu market fruit stand  This area of Sabah is one of the main fruit and produce growing areas for the state, and beyond, and this market is also a wholesaler to many area shops and restaurants as well as for Kota Kinabalau, about two hours' drive west from here on the coast. There is a much larger general market (Pekan Nabalu) closer to Kota Kinabalu, where we stopped for an all too short half-hour the next day en route to the airport for our flight south. There, few stalls offered produce, and many vendors sold jewellery and clothing. |
Grilled Chicken at Kinabalu Market  Lest you get your mouth watering, a caveat: Grilled chicken in this picture is the part of the chicken known at one time and colloquially in America (and perhaps the UK) as [a religious leader's] nose. This part being grilled is the tail of the chicken, skewered 5-8 at a time then placed over charcoal. These chubby chicken tails proved quite as fatty, greasy and lacking of actual chicken meat as you would expect. One of our party ordered a skewerful (cost about 25 cents) and gamely struggled with the chewy morsels, but I gave them a miss. BBQ chicken wings were about 25 cents each. |
Kinabalu market honey seller  Several vendors at the market in Kinabalu were selling bottles royal jelly and jars of honey, their varied colors and flavours testament to the rich variety of honey sources on Bormeo. You'd be hard pressed to choose a favourite. Some shops sold tropical house plants, and a few sold teas, though the other market -- Pekan Nabalu, where I bought my teas the next day -- had a much larger supply. Small boxes of Sabah tea make a great and practical souvenir or gift to bring home. A bag of fresh shiitake mushrooms cost 66 cents. With such a unique cuisine, I had to ask why travellers were served such bland meals (they were good, just not the Malaysian Laksa I had my mouth set for). The guide said that laksa and other Malay treats, like the foods at this market, are considered fit for common people, not guests. |
Snake Fruit at the Kinabalu Park Market  I bought 4 snake fruits (the white and dark brown balls in the photo) for 33 cents. Snake fruit was new to me. It's a nut from a palm tree. Local women shopkeepers with minimal English nonetheless were able to show me how to peel and eat them. Snakefruit skin is very thin and brittle, and peels and feels much like a hard boiled egg -- and it's about the same size, too, with a large center pit and firm flesh. Tasted faintly citrus-y. The small sugar bananas were a total of 33 cents. |
Travel time KK airport to Kinabalu Park Mountain Lodge From the Kinabalu Mountain Lodge to Kota Kinabalu airport, it's roughly a two-hour drive to cover the 94 km (58 miles). (Having driven here from Sandakan, on the east coast, we'd no perspective of distance, and were much closer than we had presumed.) Though open every day, Thursdays are the biggest market day at Pekan Nabalu, about 20 minutes by road from the lodge, en route to the airport. I made note of some prices of souvenir items: Tshirts about $4 USD; bracelets cost $2 US each (wooden beads strung in patterns); various packets and sizes of Sabah tea (about 5, tea bags and loose tea) about $5 US total. Having missed this market due to rain the day before, we didn't have much time to shop today since we had a noon flight to catch in KK. No pictures at Pekan Nabalu -- too busy shopping! See Borneo main page for general Borneo Malaysia travel information.
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