Paradise Found in a Luxury Hideaway

M ost people who know the place like to call it “Asia’s best kept secret”. But the secret is slowly getting out about Kota Kinabalu, in Sabah province of Malaysian Borneo.

Flying into this exotic spot, which sits just six degrees north of the Equator, gives you a good idea of what’s in store: bright blue sea, islets, reefs, miles of white sand fringed by palm trees, lush green land and rainforest.

A slow developer in comparison with other parts of south-east Asia – there are no developments like the ones you will find in Thailand’s resorts, such as Phuket or Ko Samui, or the other, western part of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur or the much more developed areas like Langkawi.

This spot in the north-east of Borneo is not the place to come if you want glitzy shopping, tree-lined boulevards, bars and night clubs.

You can’t see large-scale tourism ever taking off here.

The airport at Kota Kinabalu is tiny and homely. A second terminal is under construction, but the whole development could still all be hidden in a corner of Heathrow, and there are no plans to lengthen the one, small runway.

So what is it that persuades people come here?

On the fringes of Kota Kinabalu the visitor catches the mix that makes this part of Borneo unique. In the estuary are the bajahs – old villages on stilts where fishermen eke out a living, wading into the waters with their nets. Close by are new flats and small shopping centres, impressive Roman Catholic churches sit just along the road from mosques, one of them a spectacular blue and white, moated structure.

Gardens wind through an impressive and recent university campus. Small farms patchwork the landscape, and behind it all, hidden in the mists, is Mount Kinabalu.

Sabah is slowly emerging as a favoured destination for two distinct types of traveller: the “silver explorer”, the 50-plus people who want somewhere a little more adventurous and different from the Spanish costas, the Canaries or the Mediterranean. At the younger end of the spectrum are honeymooners, thanks to the area’s romantic and exotic location.

What Sabah can boast is its own particular beauty and charm, unique wildlife and a handful of first-class resorts.

Perhaps the best of these is the Rasa Ria. It has the things you might expect from a top line resort: a mouth-watering setting, excellent accommodation, pools, good restaurants and bars, entertainment, immaculate service, a championship golf course, a luxury spa.

But it has something else, something that no other hotel in the world can claim – its own orang-utans.

In one corner of the Rasa Ria’s extensive grounds on Dalit beach is a 64-acre nature reserve, which is home to a number of species, including, at the most recent count, six orphaned orang-utans.

These delightful and intelligent animals are at a halfway house, en route to being rehabilitated at the much larger Sepilok reserve on the east side of Sabah.

They live freely in the lowland rainforest, and make their way down to clearings, where they can be seen by Rasa Ria guests, once a day when they know the rangers (who monitor the humans closely) have some food for them. Orang-utans are so appealing, agile and inventive you can spend hours watching them.

The reserve is a joint venture between Shangri-la, the luxury Asia hotel group that owns and operates it, and the Sabah government. It is a clear indication the state has woken up, late in the day, perhaps, to the value – and visitor appeal – of its environment and heritage.

Eco tourism is big in Borneo. Sabah has now banned completely any logging in extensive areas, which had been big industry but devastated natural habitat. The tourism organisation’s slogan is “Eco treasures from mountain high to ocean deep”.

You certainly needn’t feel you have to stay in the resort, however attractive it might be. Other attractions abound in Sabah, which is blessed with a sumptuous bio-diversity and fascinating sightseeing.

There is the 13,400ft Mount Kinabalu, in a national park. This sacred mountain is accessible on foot and a reasonably fit person can make the climb up to the peak in a day and a half.

The tropical park has a ridiculously rich variety of flora and fauna: including 800 types of orchid, insectivorous plants and the giant Rafflesia.

Sabah offers many places to explore jungle and rainforest. The naturalists’ paradise of the Danum Valley Conservation Area sprawls over 440 sq km and is home to endangered species such as the Sumatran rhino, banteng, Asian elephant, proboscis monkey, clouded leopard – and millions of trees.

With its tropical islands, blue sea, coral reefs and atolls the area has plenty of opportunity for divers to explore the waters. In the five islands of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park they may encounter scorpion fish, blue-spotted rays, mantis shrimps and occasionally hawksbill turtles.

Athletic visitors may like to try white water rafting at Kiulu and there are several very good golf courses, for players who can withstand the high levels of humidity.

Visitor numbers to Sabah are steadily increasing: from 1.7 million in 2005 to 1.9 million in 2006, with the figure for 2007 topping 2.4 million because of Malaysia’s 50th anniversary.

The Malaysians themselves are famous for their warmth and hospitality. Genuine smiles and friendliness – the very opposite of the forced cheesy grins and “have a nice day” sentiments of some resorts – greet you everywhere. So much so, says Regina Sulit, communications manager at the Rasa Ria, that when Shangri-la was staffing a new top hotel in Dubai it recruited heavily from Sabah to show what was expected.

She reveals, suprisingly perhaps, that most visitors to the resort – 34 per cent – are British, closely followed by Australians and Japanese. Typically, they will follow the eco trails around the area, climbing Mount Kinabalu, visiting one of the primate reserves, white-water rafting and river cruising.

The Rasa Ria added a new dimension earlier this year, when its Ocean Wing opened. Ninety luxurious rooms overlooking the sea, each with a spa bath on the balcony, very much targeting the honeymooner and lotus-eater. But there is no hard sell from Shangri-La or Mrs Sulit; she is happy to let the Rasa Ria speak for itself. And anyway, that is not the Sabah way. “When you come here, think about the destination,” she advises. “Our culture is warm hospitality.”

(c) 2008 Western Morning News, The Plymouth (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.