Back to Kinabalu Park (18th March 2010)

Last night I stayed at a different backpackers, Borneo Global Backpackers, and apart from the 3inch cockroach in the bathroom it was a million times cleaner and nicer than two nights previously, they even gave me a ride to the bus station in time for my 7.30am bus.

I decided to go by bus back to the park in the end, although longer in time it did mean I would be dropped off right outside the park rather than get a flight back to KK and then have to get from KK airport into town and then try and get from town back to the park late in the afternoon when there isn’t many mini vans going, so the long distance bus it was. At the station they had told me it would take around 6 hours! Now that can’t possibly be so, it took barely just under that to get from Sandakan to Semporna and its another 5 hours plus from there. In the end the bus took 8 and half hours and for those 8 and half hours I had someone behind me that I literally thought was dying! I have never heard coughing, sputtering and spitting and clearing of the throat quite like it and this was from a little old lady, I hoped she was going to make it to the end of her journey.

The accommodation at the park HQ has increased in price almost 4 fold since the LP was published (the power of tourism) so everyone seems to stay outside of the park. There is one in particular that people seem to go to, D’Villa Lodge, but it doesn’t have very good reviews, it is however just 500m from the park gate so seems like a good location to me. Walking from the park I came across another place first and knocked at the door but no reply which, in the end, was a good thing as D’Villa was really nice, I don’t know why the reviews weren’t great. The staff are very friendly and helpful, ok the dorms are small but so are a lot of dorms in other places, the food was nice and for breakfast you get toast, beans, jam, sausage and egg, now you really can’t go wrong with that.

Staying in my dorm as well is Lauren who is in Borneo just for one week and just to climb Mt Kinabalu. She’s on her own as well so we decided over dinner to team up and hire a mandatory guide between us and then walk together, the only problem is she’s 16 years younger than me and therefore, by my reckoning, 16 years fitter than me, damn!!