Kinabalu Park, Malaysia

Kinabalu Park

This park is a world heritage site and one of the most important biological sites in the world containing over 4,500 species of plants and animals. The park is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Sabah Malaysia mainly because tourists pour in to climb one of the tallest mountains in Southeast Asia, Mount Kinabalu.

Mount Kinabalu

(Taken in Jungle Jacks backyard)

The mountain's peak sits at 4095 meters above sea level. The climb starts at one of the entrances to the park already at about 1,800 meters. Most climbing packages will cost you anywhere from 600-1200 Malaysian Ringgit(1MR=3.21USD). These packages are two days of climbing and include staying at a lodge more than halfway up the mountain and meals. Reading reviews online I heard the lodge is not very nice. You only get a few hours of sleep before you begin to finish your hike to catch the sunrise at the peak. The lodge has a monopoly making it easy for them to overcharge you. I did find an alternative which I found to be the cheapest and in my opinion the most enjoyable option. 

Jungle Jacks!

Jungle Jack offers you the best package out there, the only catch is that you have to climb the mountain and back down in one day. The cost is 380RM and this includes: 2 nights stay, all of your meals including packed lunch for the climb, all of the climbing fees, a mountain guide, and transportation too and from the bus stop and the mountain. 

At Jungle jacks you will feel at home. Jungle jack is an awesome character who will always keep your attention. He is extremely proud of his cooking and his establishment and has reason to be. The food is made with love and served in an all you can eat manner. You can help yourself to coffee, tea, milo, and anything else in the kitchen all day. He brings everyone together to eat at the same table making the environment very sociable and family-like. Its cold up in the mountains so you will find yourself most of the day with a warm mug of something in your hands huddled up around the table sharing stories with the other travelers. Jungle Jack makes his own bread which is amazing! especially in the morning with his home made pineapple Jam. The rooms are backpacker style and very clean with lots of blankets for the cold nights. The shower is nice and hot creating a steam room effect which is to die for. There is a jungle in his backyard for easy access to jungle trekking. Jungle jack takes care of you like you are his family and has an amazing sense of humor. He will drive you anywhere you want, whether its to the hot-springs or just into town.  You will find yourself staying here longer for only 35RM a night including all your meals and everything! If you don't have money you can work for him and live there for free :) He said if you guys ever mess up big in life just come work for me and I will take care of you! I am only writing such a thorough review because this was one of the nicest places I have stayed in Southeast Asia. If you are in the area, check it out, even if you aren't going to climb the mountain. Just call him and let him know you are coming (Cell: 0109477509)

(Jungle jack in the middle just before starting the climb)

(up up up)

(The plants disappear as the air gets thinner)

The last 700 meters are brutal with your body already exhausted, the air thins out, your head starts to throb, and you begin to get dizzy from the slightest exertion of energy.

(The last 100 meters before the peak)

Made it to the top in 4hr30min

Apparently the record is 2hr27min from bottom to top then bottom again. I don't know how this guy did it. He would have had to sprint the entire time. I took almost no stops and it took me 4hr30min. Most people take over 5 hours to get to the top and many 1 day climbers don't even make it to the top. about 100 climbers did the two day and 7 climbers did the 1 day. Only 3 out of 7 of the one-dayers made it to the top. I'm glad I was one of them! I definitely underestimated the way down. It's so painful on the knees!

(everyone making bread rolls at Jungle Jacks filling them with goodies)

(Jungle Jack preparing one of the many courses for dinner)

(Freshly baked bread!)

(Rhino Beetle)

I forgot to mention that Jungle Jack has dogs which keep you company while you drink your coffee and tea. Very cute!

One of the dogs accompanied me on a solo walk through the the jungle in Jack's back yard

I met three Polish girls and a guy from Spain that were awesome company and decided to follow them back to Kota Kinabalu (KK). I am grateful to them for teaching me the value and excitement of hitch hiking!

(making hitch hiking sign to go back to KK)

Now i'm hopping on a night bus from KK to Semporna for some Diving. Stay tuned to hear my next adventures! Share with your friends! And please quit your jobs and come traveling!

Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia

Hello East Malaysia!

There are two parts of East Malaysia, Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. Malaysia is a muslim nation with the second largest religion being Christianity and then I think it is Hinduism. I remember walking from the airport at about 4am into the city and hearing the loud speakers for the a call to prayer which occurs five times a day. The music is wonderful and filled me with excitement as I have never been to a mostly muslim country before. They have close ties to China and India which you can see with the population that fills the streets. Kota Kinabalu is one of the main cities in East Malaysia. Like most big cities, many travelers have told me that I should get in and get out. I am a city boy from NYC and I think that most cities have something unique to offer so here is what I found!

I knew Malaysia was one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world but I did not expect to see these kind of birds in the city.

Or this!

The markets

The markets by the water are worth a look as you will find many raw and cooked foods here. You can just stroll through and maybe try some local fruits that you have never seen before or try a local dish. Make sure you point at things with your thumb as it is impolite to point with your pointer finger.

There are many Filipino immigrants, legal and illegal in  East Malaysia. They call the markets along the water front The Filipino Markets. 

Walk along the waterfront

Food

Malaysia has many Indian and Chinese immigrants and most of the restaurants are indian restaurants and Chinese restaurants. Ofcourse Malaysia also has some of their own dishes unfortunately I was too busy eating them to take pictures.

(Typical free breakfast at the hostels)

(Buying ice cream in style)

(Egg Roti)

Kompleks Sukan Likas

This is my favorite part of KK. Take Bus 1A and get off next to the stadium. This is where all the activities are: They have the giant stadium with different events, a gymnastics gym across from the stadium, a rock climbing gym, a skate park, and much more.

(kids playing football in the hallway of the stadium)

Parkour Training

Hafiz the guy on the left rents out the gymnastics gym every Friday from 7-10pm and Sunday from 2-5pm. The price is only 5MR! I think its so cool that Hafiz rents out this amazing space and lets everyone come to practice anything they want whether its Parkour, break dancing, or just goofing around. If this was on trip advisor it would be the #1 activity in KK. 

Check it out: kkparkour.com

The Rock Climbing Gym

The climbing gym is actually pretty good and for only 22RM the first time or 17RM ever time after that you can climb all day with a equipment and a personal belayer. I believe this place is ranked #1 on trip advisor for activities in KK.

Skate Park

This is right across from the climbing gym and is completely free. In the afternoons when kids get out of school and work this place becomes alive with bikers and skaters.

Take a day trip to Beaufort

While I won't say this was an amazing thing to do, it is great when your bored of KK and need to do something. The train ride is cheap and has air conditioning with views of the countryside.

Honestly there is not much to do in Beaufort but its a very local town and you can just get food and coffee and walk around.

Hitch Hiking!

Since the train wasn't running on the way back we practiced our hitch hiking skills and met some really cool people.

Malapascua, Philippines

Malapascua Island

This island is located just above the northern most tip of Cebu Island. I heard rumors that the island was once a paradise and Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan came a year ago and destroyed everything. It seems like the island was still rebuilding but you could still see the scars from the typhoon all over the island. There is not much to do on this small island but the main attraction here is diving. Specifically, the Thresher shark is the main celebrity on  or should I say around the island. 

Thresher Cove Resort

This place seemed like it was on its way to be a five star resort with its own private beach and pool. I stayed in the air conditioned dorm room for about 5USD if I remember correctly. In fact you can stay for free in a tent if you are diving with the resort. This place is really nice but because of the lack of rain the pool was full of warm salt water and even the showers had salty water. The beach is more coral than anything but even with all of this it was probably one of the nicer parts of the island and had the cheapest diving on the island. 

(The damages from the Typhoon)

The Sky

(The nightly lightning)

Diving and Snorkeling

The real treasure of this island is not what is on the land but what is under water. I strongly recommend getting a pair of snorkels and snorkel all the way around the northern top of the island. You will see massive schools of little shimmering minnows and many other surprises. After swimming a long day of snorkeling while walking back a local offered me to try some dry salted minnows and it was actually pretty good. Then he offered me a drink and I quickly realized it was Tanduay, local rum. I politely declined since I was starving and dehydrated from snorkeling all day.

Thresher Sharks

This is the only place in the world that you are almost guaranteed to see Thresher Sharks every single day at about 6am. They swim up to 30 meters instead of their normal 100 meters in order to visit the fish cleaning stations where little fish eat the bacteria off of their skin.

These sharks have giant teddy bear like eyes and small alien like mouths. Their tales are really long. Sitting on a landing and watching them swim by was breathtaking. 

Moalboal, Phippines

Moalboal

This is a small town on the south end of the west coast of Cebu Island. I arrived just after high season came to an end so there wasn't much hustle and bustle. The main attractions here are some dive sites, specifically Pescador Island and the Sardine Run. Moalboal is famous for its giant schools of Sardines that swarm the water just off of the shoreline.

Sardine Run

Grab yourself a snorkel for 100 pesos (about 2USD). Pick just about any spot along the shoreline and swim. start swimming away from shore. Within 15 meters you will see a giant wall of coral and a visibly bottomless drop off. By this time you will have been stunned by the view of a massive river of sardines that swim along the wall. Dive down and the sardines will create beautiful patterns of weaving tunnels around you. This is likely the most amazing snorkeling experience I have ever had. I spent hours here practicing to free-dive and swimming with the sardines as well as other fish. I paid the price with a nice sun burn on my back. Make sure you use sunscreen.

(These pictures do not do justice to the experience. This is a must do if your on the Island of Cebu)

Most of the shoreline is made up of rock and coral

However, you can walk or take a motorbike to White Beach where there is a decent beach with white sand.

Most of the restaurants around here will cost you about 150-250php (about 4-6USD) but if you ask around I hope you will find this Carinderia because the food here is really good and you will be able to have meat, veggies, and rice for 45PHP (about 1USD). I wish I could remember the ladies name that ran this eatery.

Otherwise there are also really cheap local BBQ places that start grilling around dinner time