Borneo

29 August to 11 September we are spending on Borneo, East Malaysia. Borneo is the third largest island globally and is divided into Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. First 8 days in Kota Kinabalu followed by 5 days in Kuching.

Kota Kinabalu

Kota Kinabalu, also referred to as ‘KK’ is the capital of the state Sabah. We rented a cozy apartment just 1km from the Waterfront with an amazing pool on the roof top. From the pool we had an astonishing view of the tropical islands close to KK and we saw the most colorful sunsets. In case you have a simple explanation for the kids why a sunset has lots of different colors, please let us know 😊.  Best conditions for the kids first school lesson: swimming! Over the 8 days they definitely improved. Melia swam the full 30m length of the pool while Levin started with the 5m width. To keep up the motivation they got a snorkel and mask, which encouraged them to swim even longer.

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While the pool would have been enough for the kids to stay all day, we did manage to sneak in a few activities. First lesson learned is to take it easy. We did something everyday but also left enough slack time for swimming, chilling and doing nothing… the kids were great teachers, who made it very clear when we were too ambitious.

Transport in KK was super easy and cheap and we used Grab Car to get around. Neither of us felt like renting a car and driving given the slighly crazy traffic. We already struggled to get from our appartement to the mall, which was literally just across the road. But when this road has 9 lanes and no traffic light, you might be able to imagine what it meant to cross (and taking a car to get from one side of the street to the other side of the street also does not appeal to the German/Dutch in us).

We visited the state mosque and while the building is most impressive from the outside, we also decided to rent appropriate clothing and visit the inside. Dressing in traditional clothing was definitely a memorable experience. We also spent time at the Gaya Market (Sunday Market) where we enjoyed our juice directly from the fruit. We strolled along the Waterfront, the wet market and some of the Shopping malls. Given the heat during the day, we also enjoyed KK at night.

On two days we decided to book guided tours. The first one took us rafting through the jungle. The river was very calm so it was definitely suitable for small kids. What a fabulous way to explore nature and get a feeling for what live there is like. Levin loved it while Melia is still not sure what to think of such an unstable boat. The second trip included a boat trip trying to see Probiscius Monkey (unsuccesfully), a beautiful sunset and watching fireflies at night.

On our last day we took a boat from Jesselton Ferry Terminal to one of the Tropical Islands just off the coast. We decided to go to Manukan and it was absolutely amazing. We had read quite a bit about overcrowded beaches and plastic floating in the ocean. Luckily we did not have any of that. The Island was quiet and clean and perfect to spend a few relaxed hours.

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