Day 5 – 9 March 2025, Sunday

I woke up at 6:30am and saw that the weather forecast projected a cloudy day with temperatures ranging from 25 to 29 degrees C, with rainy conditions expected around 3:00pm. That’s good because we are joining a half-day bicycle tour (click here) this morning. As I got off the bed, my legs still ached, but not as bad as yesterday. As usual, we had breakfast at the lounge, where I fuelled up on eggs, sausages, potatoes, bread and fresh fruits.

At 8:00am, a van from Amazing Borneo arrived to pick us at our hotel. It was just the two of us doing the tour today. I got excited when I saw our bicycles loaded at the back of the van. Our driver Rudy said it would take 45 minutes to drive to the starting point, shorter than the 1 hour 15 minutes stated in the tour itinerary. Maybe because it’s a Sunday so traffic is lighter.

We arrived at Tamparuli at 8:38am. Here, we met our tour guide, a young chap named Owen. He greeted us cheerfully and told us that he grew up in Kiulu, which is situated in the Tamparuli district. He is 28 years old this year and he learned Chinese in primary school so he can speak some Mandarin, which is amazing! He said that we are the first group to do this Intermediate-level 16km tour this year. Most people sign up for the more relaxing, Beginner-level 10km tour.

After setting up the mountain bicycles and a quick toilet break, we started our tour at 9:00am. From the small town centre where a local market was located, we pushed our bikes across the Tamparuli Suspension Bridge, a long pedestrian bridge across the Kiulu River made of wooden planks.

The water in the Kiulu River was greenish-brown and Owen said that the water level was quite low at the moment. When the river is at its peak, the bridge that the motor vehicles are currently using will be fully submerged and cars will not be able to pass through. From the bridge, we could see the peak of Mount Kinabalu in the distance.

After crossing the bridge, we turned left before going off-road and into the thick of the Kiulu countryside. We cycled past some of the locals’ houses where the very “friendly” dogs came to greet us with their booming barks. We continued cycling on the gravel road, which had many potholes filled with water from the rain yesterday. It was very quiet here, with only the occasional villager driving past us. TH had some issues with his bicycle so Rudy tried to fix it but was unable to resolve it, so he replaced the faulty bike with one of the spare bikes from his van.

After going as far as the road would allow, we said goodbye to Rudy for the time being because we were diverting from the road and going down a small path towards the river. We will meet him again later when the roads are big enough for his van to drive through. Before splitting up, Rudy passed us some kuehs and bottles of 100 Plus isotonic drink and bottled water so we won’t be hungry or thirsty for the next leg of the journey.

We pushed our bikes down a steep path made of large rounded rocks before reaching a small shelter called Botung Camp. From there, we cycled through a forest trail before pushing our bikes across a small makeshift bridge made of bamboo poles tied together. Some parts of the trail were muddy because of the heavy rain this week. I don’t usually cycle in this terrain and seldom with mountain bikes (which have suspension), so this was very different from my usual urban cycling experience, and I loved it.

We soon reached another suspension bridge across a narrower section of the Kiulu River. This bridge is quite narrow and the centre portion is made of long wooden planks across the length of the bridge so you can actually cycle across it. Owen taught us how to cycle across the bridge safely – use your right hand to control the bicycle’s steering and rear brakes, and use your left hand to hold on to the bridge’s handrails to steady yourself while cycling. You’ll need to wear gloves to protect your hands, of course. If you’re confident enough, you can even cycle straight across without holding on to the rails. I tried to cycle continuously but the bridge felt a little wobbly so I had to pause and hold on to the rails every now and then to steady myself. It was quite fun.

Once across the bridge, we reached a farmland area where corn was being grown, next to an empty plot yet to be planted. Owen showed us the hill that we are going to climb next – Mama Hill. The length of the uphill section is about 500 metres so it will be tough. From ground level, it certainly looked steep. And it was. Actually, the elevation was ok, but the terrain made it much tougher.

The ground comprised of uneven gravel, with many pockets of soft earth. Certain parts were so muddy that it simply wasn’t possible to cycle through so we had to dismount and push our bikes. We stopped several times to rest because we were panting so hard and completely out of breath. Adding to the challenge was the fact that we were still aching from the Mount Kinabalu climb and suffering from the stomach bug. We were all winded and soaked with sweat by the time we reached the top of the hill.

There was a rubber tree plantation at the top of the hill and Owen told us about rubber tapping. I have read about rubber tapping and seen pictures of it before, but it was my first time seeing rubber trees up close with the cups to collect fresh latex.

Owen said that the farmers cut the bark early in the morning, at around 4:00am. I’m surprised at the amount of latex collected in just over six hours, because some of the cups were almost full. Owen also shared that the trees here can produce about 10kg of latex each day, and each kilo of latex fetches almost RM5 in the market, so the farmers can make around RM50 a day from selling the latex. It was fascinating to see the rubber tapping process with my own eyes.

Our reward for conquering Mama Hill was a scenic viewpoint of the valley below, but to be honest, it wasn’t that wow. Nevertheless, it was an achievement to conquer a big hill and a relief to know that the way forward would be downslope and not as strenuous. We took some photos here before going down the steep hill and back towards the river.

We cycled past yet more plantations and a small village where there was a local community with a primary school, a mosque and a church. It was Sunday morning so many of the local villagers were attending mass. We saw their houses and fruit trees in the gardens, with lemon, guava and jackfruit being being grown. Some houses were simpler and made of wood with zinc roofs while others were made of concrete and had bigger compounds. Life seemed very peaceful here.

The next suspension bridge was much longer and it had steel sheets instead of wooden planks across its length. It was wider as well so it was a bit easier to cycle across. From the bridge, we had a nice view of Kiulu River below and Mount Kinabalu in the distance. The water looked quite enticing, especially since it was close to 11:00am and we were feeling quite hot from the ride.

Across the river was an adventure centre where the facilities for Zip Borneo and Riverbug were located. Owen said that Riverbug is the leading provider of white water rafting and adventure tours in Sabah, and we told him that we would be joining a rafting expedition to the Padas River tomorrow. He then said that the water level at Padas is currently very high due to heavy rain this week, and they had to release some water from the dam. So, he told us to keep our fingers crossed that our tour will still proceed tomorrow.

After cycling past Riverbug’s adventure camp site, we regrouped with Rudy again. We ate some of the kuehs that he bought for us and replenished our fluids with 100 Plus isotonic drink. After that, we left the riverside trail and it was back to the main road. The rural countryside scenery reminded me of my previous rides in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, with padi fields, village houses and overhead electricity cables.

At 11:40am, we ended our ride at Kiulu Water Rafting Centre, which was right beside the Kiulu River. Here, a buffet lunch awaited us. It comprised of steamed white rice with curry chicken, sausages, stir-fried cabbage and some fried noodles. I also bought a can of Coke to quench my thirst. I always crave for ice-cold Coke after a hike or bike ride. It was a simple but delicious meal because I was so hungry.

After finishing our lunch, we hopped on Rudy’s van and left the rafting centre at 12:28pm, dropping Owen off at his village along the way. We gave him a little tip and thanked him for the tour. Little did we know that this wouldn’t be the last time we see him.

As we were heading back to KK city, I received a WhatsApp message from Amazing Borneo informing that tomorrow’s Padas River rafting expedition has been cancelled because of landslides affecting the roads leading to the launch site. Padas River is situated in the interior of the southwestern part of Kota Kinabalu that is only accessible by train. From the city, we would have to drive about three hours to Tenom before transferring to an old-school train (used since the late 19^th century in Borneo) for a scenic 1½-hour train ride to Rayoh, where we will start rafting.

Apparently, the heavy rain this past week had caused landslides, which led to some of the roads leading to Tenom being closed and inaccessible. As an alternative, the Amazing Borneo team proposed switching to rafting at Kiulu River instead, and refunding us the price difference of RM135 per person. If not, they can provide a full refund if we choose to cancel the entire tour.

Actually, it wasn’t a total surprise since Owen had already pre-empted us earlier about the situation at Padas River. But it was still a bummer because I was really looking forward to rafting at Padas, which is Grade 3 and 4. This means it is more thrilling than Kiulu, which is only Grade 1 and 2. From what I read, Kiulu is very mild because it is suitable for children as young as 5 years old. River rafting is the most fun when you have the thrills and the spills. Furthermore, a ride on the oldest train in Borneo sounded interesting and we would have the opportunity to explore a different part of Sabah, compared to Kiulu, which we had just seen.

However, the original Padas expedition requires a full day out, starting with a hotel pick-up at 4:10am and drop-off at 6:00pm. It will be quite demanding considering our current physical state – aching legs and troublesome tummies. Today’s cycling was also quite tough for TH especially because his tummy had been churning much worse than mine, so the long journey to Padas would not have been ideal. Hence, we decided to switch to Kiulu for a more relaxed tour. It won’t be as thrilling, but at least we’ll get to experience river rafting in Sabah and do something fun tomorrow.

Rudy dropped us off at our hotel at 1:26pm, bringing our Kiulu countryside cycling tour to an official end. It was an enjoyable tour despite how tough it was. We gave Rudy a little tip before saying goodbye to him. After a good shower, I headed to the rooftop pool for a quick swim while TH rested in the room. The pool was crowded with many guests and children running around, so it wasn’t great for relaxing.

At around 3:45pm, we headed out and walked through Pasar Tani Asia City, the open-air food street in front of Asia City, right next to our Hilton hotel. This was the street food market that my Grab driver told me about yesterday. The place was buzzing with all the locals out on this Sunday afternoon, all eager to sample the delicious street food. There must easily have been more than 60 stalls in total lining the narrow walking street, creating a wonderful atmosphere.

There were stalls selling satay, nasi lemak with fried chicken and assorted side dishes, colourful kueh kuehs, chunks of marinated lamb being cooked on a huge round pan, crabs, desserts, fried roti and so much more. Everything looked good but our delicate tummies meant that we couldn’t be too adventurous so I only bought a dough fritter (youtiao) with kaya and margarine spread (RM2/S$0.60) while TH bought the red bean buns from his favourite stall, which he discovered yesterday when he came here on his own.

We then walked to Warisan Square to look for a massage parlour. TH found a place called Aroma Mughni and we went for the two-hour package (RM95/S$29), comprising a 1½-hour body massage and half-hour foot massage. The massage wasn’t great but the foot massage was done in a room which had large windows overlooking the KK waterfront, so we had a nice view as the sun began to set towards the end of our session.

After our massage ended at 6:15pm, we walked across to the waterfront to get a better view of the sunset. The waterfront area was filled with restaurants and bars offering premium seaside views, but we managed to find an open space where we could stand and watch the sunset. Before coming to KK, my friend had sent me photos he took of the spectacular sunset at Tanjung Aru Beach, with dramatic pink skies amid other hues. It was a cloudy day so we didn’t have high hopes, but it turned out to be as stunning as I imagined it.

As the sun descended towards the horizon, the colour of the sky changed from yellow to orange to light pink to an intense pink, until it became all of the above colours at once. The rippling waves in the foreground reflected the colours of the sky, creating a perfect scene. We even had a rainbow as a bonus. It rained in the evening on all our previous days in the city, so this was the only time we had a non-rainy evening that allowed us to witness this marvel. It would have been even more spectacular to see this scene at the beach, but this was good enough, so blessed.

After the sun finally set around 6:40pm, we continued walking along the waterfront to soak up the vibes. We visited the places I walked by yesterday, but it was totally different at night. The farmer’s market was in full swing, with all the stalls open and selling fruits (lots of mangoes) and vegetables. As we walked further along, we saw stalls selling cooked food like grilled seafood, fish, satay, BBQ chicken and syrup drinks of every colour. The Muslims had just broken their fast so the area was very lively.

For our dinner, we settled on something safe and comfortable – Burger King at the new Citadines/The Shore apartment complex. After that, we went back to the hotel at 8:00pm to rest because we were tired and feeling weak from our tummy issues. We have a nice suite so we don’t mind spending more time chilling in the room. And that brings us to the end of Day 5!