Hello Malaysia

By Callum Taylor

When people think of Malaysia I’m sure that, for many, Kuala Lumpur (KL) is the one and only thing that springs to mind. A big city famous for shopping, its blend of cultures, and a pair of twin towers which highlight the city skyline. When people think of Borneo I’m sure thick tropical jungles echoing with the sounds of orangutans are the normal image they come up with. Little do they know that Malaysia and Borneo are partially one and the same.

Borneo is divided into three countries. Indonesia in the south, Malaysia and Brunei in the north. The Malaysian section is divided into two parts, Sabah in the east and Sarawak in the west. Culturally they are quite distinct from peninsular Malaysia where KL is located, with even Malaysia citizens from outside Borneo needing a passport to visit.

Borneo was originally not part of our plans. Choosing to visit Sulawesi though made it a necessity as backtracking to Java was the only other option and this wasn’t possible with our visa expiring. The new route meant we would cross the entirety of Malaysian Borneo from east to west.

Tawau

One and a half hours after departing Nunukan we arrived at the south eastern city of Tawau. Fisherman boats that looked like they had survived a nuclear bomb dotted the port, along with three billion seagulls. The standard Asian scramble to get off the boat began so 4 days later we finally alighted when they discovered that not everybody can get off at the same time.

Standard Tawau fishing boat. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

A long queue had formed for immigration procedures where the Malaysian citizens were allowed through first. Once we finally reached the front we surprisingly had our bags weighed and had to pay an excess baggage fee. This would have made sense if it was for the boat but this was to enter Malaysia, we actually had to pay money for bringing extra weight into the country. Like a fat tax for your suitcase.

After being stamped in we had officially entered country number two of the trip. Walking out of the port it was immediately shocking how much more developed this place was compared to Indonesia. Tawau is by no means a modern first world city, in fact it is probably the least developed of Sabah’s cities, but it was a big step up on the cleanliness and modernity scale.

Streets of Tawau. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

Our hotel was just a short walk away along the waterfront. We only planned to stay for one night as from what we had found online, Tawau wasn’t a tourism hotspot. After checking in though we could’ve easily spent more time there just in our hotel room. Unlimited super fast wifi, English speaking staff, free breakfast and a fully functioning western bathroom. We definitely weren’t in Indonesia anymore.

For the rest of the afternoon we aimed to establish ourselves in Malaysia. This meant buying SIM cards, getting used to the new currency, working out how to say hello and thank you, and making a plan for where we would go and what we would do. Fortunately Malaysian is very similar to Indonesian, so at least we could recognise the names of food on menus. Unfortunately we still made fools of ourselves at the waterfront seafood stalls pointing at food and requiring urgent medical attention at the slightest hint of spice.

Not sure if I’m so red from sunburn or from the spice. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

We decided that the following day we would depart Tawau by bus to Sandakan, the second largest city in Sabah. It didn’t seem as if many tourists came here though, so researching online which of the many bus stations we needed to go to wasn’t so easy. The first attempt at finding the right station to buy tickets didn’t work, all we found were touts yelling at us for other bus routes. Luckily the second attempt was more successful, we would leave at 11am for the 8 hour journey.

The sun was setting and we were both hungry for dinner. While both of us wanted to try the local food, the fact that we were in a city with more than just chicken/fish and rice meant we couldn’t resist the temptation of western food. Marta wanted pizza, I wanted burgers, we eventually found a compromise. A KFC was just a few hundred metres away. How is this a compromise between pizzas and burgers you might be thinking? Well, say hello to the Chizza.

The holy grail of fast food. Photo: Callum Taylor

If you haven’t heard of the Chizza before it’s basically a piece of fried chicken acting as the pizza base covered in cheese, tomato paste and pineapple. Sounds delicious in theory and looks great in pictures. In reality though, like all fast food, it doesn’t deliver on its promise. It was tiny and didn’t really hold together well at all. It wasn’t a total disappointment, but it still hurts to recall how severely our chicken-pizza fusion dreams were crushed.

A wonderful night’s sleep followed before we were woken up early for breakfast. After the KFC we didn’t mind going back to fish and rice. At around 10 we headed off to the bus station and were relieved to see a decent bus instead of the death boxes we were accustomed to in Indonesia. We departed on time for once and after weaving through the congested streets of Tawau we were on our way.

Standard roadside view in Sabah. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

It wasn’t hard to notice a difference in driving between Malaysia and Indonesia. There were no constant car horns ringing in the air and people seemed to have more of a regard for the lanes and give way signs. If I had to drive for some reason while we were here at least I might survive more than 10 seconds on the road.

Sandakan

Eight hours later and we pulled into the Sandakan intercity bus station. Unfortunately our Grab (Car sharing app similar to Uber) account wouldn’t log-in so we had to negotiate a fare to the city centre with a taxi. Lucky they saw we were trying to load Grab and we used that to our advantage. Soon we were on our way and after stopping to pick up other passengers along the way, we arrived at our backpackers accommodation.

We were located right in the city centre near a very modern looking shopping mall. The streets were still lined by slightly run down buildings but for the first time on the trip it didn’t feel like we were in a third-world country. There was even a thriving waterfront boardwalk full of restaurants. Why we ate at McDonalds for dinner then I don’t know, but the first McFlurry in weeks went down very well.

View of Sandakan waterfront from our hotel. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola

We were again only booked in to stay for one night, although we were scheduled to return later on. Our plan was to visit Sukau the next day, a small village a couple of hours away by car which was known for being an excellent wildlife viewing location. Endless monkeys, tropical birds, and crocodiles were found there, exactly what you imagine from Borneo. Until then though we enjoyed the comforts of city facilities and the feeling of fast food regret.

Cleaning fairy is permanently on strike on our trip. Photo: Marta Pascual Juanola