Kota Kinabalu is the capital of the Sabah state of Malaysia and is located on the north coast of Borneo. The city is named after nearby Mount Kinabalu which has an elevation of 4095 meters making it the highest mountain in Borneo and Malaysia.
I had booked a treat for the last 3 nights of the Borneo section of our trip to stay in the 5* Shangri-La Rasa Ria resort. The resort is a 50 minute drive from Kota Kinabalu airport and has its own nature reserve.
Due to the cancelled flight from Mulu our stay was reduced from 3 to 2 nights which gave us just one afternoon followed by one full day in the resort. We had planned to explore some of Kota Kinabalu perhaps with a snorkelling trip to one of the nearby islands but we didn’t really have time for this.
As we had spent a fair amount of this trip in transit we decided to stay put and occupy ourselves in the resort.
Our short 50 minute flight from Mulu had taken off early which meant we arrived in the Rasa Ria at around 2 pm. We were on a bed and breakfast basis however our first lunch in the Rasa Ria was pretty average and the cocktails were disappointing 😦 After the initial excitement of the lovely room and lovely sea view we discussed yet again that large resorts are really not ‘our thing’.
Feeling restless after just half a day I woke up early and booked myself onto a 2 hour trek through Rasa Ria’s own dedicated 64 acre nature reserve during the morning of the full day.
I met the other 4 guests who had booked onto this trek at 9 am in the Discovery Centre and after a safety briefing we set off into the lush tropical forest.
As we walked along the trail our guide explained some of the conservation projects of the reserve. For example they had a problem with termites so they introduced 6 pangolins into the reserve to deal with them. Pangolins eat up to 20,000 termites a day! The pangolins are completely free to roam around the reserve and are not tracked.
We looked at a bee hive, home to miniature stingless bees. Stingless bees are found in most tropical and sub-tropical places around the world and even these tiny bees make honey.
The Rasa Ria has been involved in an orangutan rehabilitation project which focussed on rescue and rehabilitation as well as an awareness programme. By now we had climbed to the highest point of the reserve which had wonderful 360 degree views.
From the viewing platform we could see the Rasa Ria golf course, nearby beaches and Mount Kinabalu.
Mount Kinabalu is often covered in cloud. The cloud forest of Kinabalu is home to almost half of endemic birds and 65% of Borneo’s endemic animals.
From the viewing platform our guide led us down a different route. This was steep in places however the guide was patient especially with an elderly guest who took his time throughout the descent.
As we neared the end of the trek we saw a mother hawkbill feeding her (fairly large) chick which was a real highlight.
And we saw a squirrel (although not a pigmy squirrel this time).
Chris and I returned later in the day and saw some monkeys close to the reserve. It is not permitted for guests to participate in any of the trails without a guide… probably as there are pythons, vipers and tarantulas present! However we could take our time looking at the information in the Discovery Center and walking around the immediate area.
The private beach at the Rasa Ria is called Pantal Dalit and is huge. This is just a small section of it. The South China Sea is so warm it is like bath water.
For the first evening we had the buffet which was extensive and amazing. Well, amazing if you are a non-vegetarian. There was endless meat dishes both local and international and all of high quality. We both enjoyed some of the wonderful vegetarian dishes although these were a bit more limited.
Lunch on the second day was much better although we had this late meaning we were not too hungry in the evening. We sat in the hotel bar drinking wine and eating nachos!
Summary
We both agreed on the first afternoon at the Rasa Ria that this large resort complex isn’t for us. Once the novelty of the lovely sea view and the lush manicured grounds had worn off we both decided that 3 nights in the low key Marriott was in hindsight preferable to 3 nights in the Rasa Ria.
There was nothing wrong at all with the resort; the staff were lovely, the breakfast was the best of the trip and the room with its sea view was spot on. But we generally prefer to be independent and favour small authentic home stays than mixing with ‘holidaymakers’. I hope this doesn’t come across as arrogant… its just our preference…
The best thing about the Rasa Ria was the conservation work of the nature reserve which was brilliant.
This was our final destination in Borneo. Overall we both loved our time here and will probably come back one day to explore more of the Sabah region and hopefully see some orangutans next time!
Up next
Next we are transferring back to Singapore where we have one more afternoon, a night and a full day before our 14 hour overnight flight back to the UK.
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