Borneo is the 3rd largest island in the world with a population of 23 million (4x of Norway & 2X of Belgium) surrounded by bustling and emerging southeast Asian countries – Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam. The rain forests are the oldest in the world, 130 million years old (Amazon rainforest are 55 million years old). It is home to Rafflesia arnoldii, the world’s largest (and stinkiest) flower, and the pygmy elephant, the smallest elephant species. Yet it seems remote & relatively uncommon in conversations.
The island is divided into 3 countries- 73% is Kalimantan, Indonesia, 26% is Sabah & Sarawak, Malaysia and the rest is the country of Brunei.
The “edge of the world” they called it!
The Edge of the World is the name of a 2021 movie based on real life of James Brooke, a British soldier from the Bengal Army who became the king of Sarawak in Borneo after an adventure + strange turn of events.
Game Plan
For a glimpse of the island and an adventure fix, I did a wonderful 2-day sneak peek trip to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah state with 2 friends. Found 3 options:
- Kadamaian River
- Kiulu River
- Padas River
The hunch was to select Padas for the grade 3 & 4 rapids. Since I was introducing 2 first-timers to the joys of rafting, choose Kiulu River as the adventure playground for its grade 1 & 2 rapids.
I found 2 operators:
None of them are sponsors of this post or paying this blog
If you are an operator, happy to add to the list. Send a message on X @rajspace
We hired RiverBug Asia, contacted them over Whatsapp and booked through the website (paid in advance, RM 105 per pax i.e. ~SGD 30/INR 1900.
Ready for Action
On the day of the adventure, we departed the hotel in Kota Kinabalu at 8am & arrived at the base camp by 9:15am. We soon discovered it was the end point of the rafting run and were redirected upstream to the launch point. By 9:45am, we were geared up in our rafting attire and ready for action after a short briefing.
The 7km run started at 10:15am, taking us on a calm and relaxing journey with bursts of adrenaline as we navigated seven grade 1 & 2 rapids. We reached the end point by 11:30am.
In the second grade 2 rapid, the raft got stuck on a rock! Our guide handled it like a pro- he smiled with no signs of stress and asked us to stay calm. Next, he tried the high-side peel by asking everyone to carefully move to the side opposite of the rock to shift the weight. It did not help. The next one was the rock rolling technique. For the small guy he was, the strength he had to perform this maneuver was impressive. This worked and we all cheered.
During the first attempt to free the raft, my friend fell off and floated towards the companion raft that was waiting at the end of the rapid to assist. To my delight, he held on the paddle (one of the ABCs of falling off in rafting) and enjoyed the plunge. A few minutes later, we arrived at the takeout point & appreciated the guide.
Beyond the Finish Line
After a silent salute to the river, the rest was routine – change of clothes, tame the appetite & souvenir photos. Rest of the day we visited the rustic Kinabalu park and stopped at a couple of Mt Kinabalu view points. The next day we took a boat from Jesselton Point Ferry Terminal to Palau Sapi, one of the islands in Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, and relaxed by the clear waters. The food experience was another highlight:
- The Korea Kitchen (5/5)
- KK Garden Seafood (4/5)
- Sin Kee Bah Kuh Teh (5/5)
- Seng Hing Coffee Shop (4/5)
- Restaurants on the KK waterfront area are over-priced and underwhelming
If you are reading this, you know how to reach me. If not, X @rajspace
