Borneo-Sabah 2008

Sabah is very expensive, hard to get around, and the people aren't very friendly. On top of that they're devastating it: they destroy the jungle to plant avalanches of palms to produce oil (for cosmetics and food.... see Nestlé chocolate). The main parks are nationalized and run by "private" operators, so you have to go through agencies that rip you off. If you really want to go to this area, I'll sum up what's worth doing: 1) Kinabalu park (if you're sporty, the climb to 4,000 m isn't too difficult).

2) Sukau and Kinabatangan park (try to get in touch in good time with Uncle Tan's; they have the best prices and are well organised), 3) Crocker Park (better if you get in touch with Sabah Park to arrange a trek with a guide), 4) Diving at Sipadan (if you can, get in touch with Uncle Chang to stay in Mabul and avoid the Scuba Junkies, who are also in the Lonely Planet but are badly organised, ask for your passport as a guarantee and rip you off on the bill, and on top of that S.J.'s accommodation on Mabul is disgusting). Try to avoid going to the orangutan park at Sepilok; it's a tourist rip-off. A good adventure in the jungle, where the animals are truly free and not tamed like in a zoo, is better. To organise the trip, it's best to arrive in Kota Kinabalu and get in touch with Sabah Park. If you want to spend a day in Kinabalu Park, take a taxi and you'll save an avalanche of money.

If you've booked with Uncle Tan's, you'll go to Sepilok (where they have their base), where you'll spend a night before being taken into the Sukau jungle, where it's worth staying 2 nights and experiencing the jungle. From here you can go to Semporna to dive at Sipadan. One important warning: Semporna is awful, Mabul is a sewer (don't trust the advertising photos; three-quarters of the island is inhabited by locals' shacks who throw all the rubbish onto the island and into the sea), so it's worth passing through here only to stay 3 or at most 4 nights with Uncle Chang in Mabul and dive at Sipadan; if you're looking for paradise beaches, change area. If you can, avoid Tawau; at most use it as a passage for its airport — for the rest it has only an avalanche of super mega rats and cockroaches that fill the streets at dusk. If they publicise the Danum Valley to you... watch out...

it's a national park run by private operators and it's very expensive. Another possible adventure is in Crocker Park, which is worth going to after arranging a guide through Sabah Park who'll wait for you to do 3, 4 or 5 days of trekking. Watch out for leeches. Don't trust what they tell you as regards excursions, tours, etc... get everything put in writing. The marine park in front of Kota Kinabalu is awful, the coral is dying and the water is very dirty. In K.K. it's worth going in the evening to the seafront (near the Méridien), to the various little places with terraces, to the Filipino market to buy pearls, to the Chinese Sunday market, for massages and spa, and as a base for the various trips around Sabah.

There are 3 Italian restaurants run by our compatriots: Little Italy, run by a guy from Ivrea (a good restaurant), Bella Italia (I think he's Venetian, but it's more expensive and the quality is rather low), Luna Rossa (it has a wood-fired oven). If you want to eat fish, go near the taxi rank; there's an area full of little restaurants with tanks and fresh, good-value fish, whereas in the 2 or 3 tourist restaurants with shows (one is opposite the Méridien) the prices are notably higher. For diving: at Sipadan, if the weather's bad there's no good visibility, it's a matter of luck, which is why it's better to stay 3 or 4 nights in Mabul and arrange various dives at Sipadan. Mabul isn't worth it, it's very dirty. The problem is there's a greenish film about 3 metres thick that doesn't let the light through and all the coral is dying.

At Sipadan it depends on the swell; if it pushes from the coast, visibility drops a lot. Honestly, I've visited Sabah, but I won't go back again. There are countless places in the world with better sights, better prices and friendlier people.