The Adventures of Maxie (in Borneo)

01.03.26-01.12.26 - Kuching, Bako National Park, Kota Kinabalu & Kundasang

The Philippines sounded great to me, but I found it too much change, so I stayed in Malaysia and headed to Borneo instead.

January 3-5, 2026: I was in Kuching, the largest city in Sarawak, the western part of Borneo. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't very favorable, but I was still able to explore the beautiful city and take a walk along the river.

January 6-7, 2026: early in the morning, I took a bus to a ferry terminal and from there traveled to Bako National Park, which can only be reached by boat, and spent the night there. It was amazing!!! The national park was truly beautiful, and I had many wonderful experiences:

-a hike to a stunning beach through the jungle

-on the way back, I almost stepped on a snake, which was terrifying because of my phobia but also fascinating, as there happened to be a Malaysian botanist nearby who assured me that the snake was not venomous. Thus, I was less afraid to watch it, and it lingered by the path for a while, hunting frogs.

-in the park, there are proboscis monkeys that look a bit quirky - but not as bizarre as the nasalis monkeys! Evolution really had a silly turn there…

-there were crocodile warning signs everywhere on the beach… yet the Xxxxxx still chilled there.

-in the evening, I went on a night hike with a group and saw a lemur, many insects, and a small snake.

January 7-8, 2026: in the morning, I returned by boat and spent the day in Kuching. I actually wanted to take the bus to Sabah, but due to many floods, as well as landslides and collapsed bridges along the way, I ended up flying to Kota Kinabalu in the evening and spent another day there. There's a fantastic night market and a beautiful 'floating mosque' in Kota Kinabalu.

January 9-11, 2026: finally, I traveled to the small mountain village of Kundasang, located near Mount Kinabalu. I arrived at night in pouring rain and couldn't see the landscape at all - my amazement the next morning at the beautiful mountain backdrop was even greater. I went on a hike to a lookout point for a day. When I wanted to head back on the 11th, my bus that I had booked didn't arrive even after a three-quarters of an hour wait. Two super nice Malaysian women then approached me and kindly drove me the three hours to Kota Kinabalu without asking for anything in return. That was incredibly kind and an extremely fun ride!

On January 12, Aminu flew from Manila to KK :)