Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
orchid garden
(adult/child RM10/5; 9am-4pm)
are also part of the Poring complex.
Rafflesia sometimes bloom in the area; look out for signs in the visitors centre and along
the road.
Sleeping
It's worth spending a night around the base of Kinabalu before your ascent, and there are
plenty of accommodation options suiting everyone's budget. All of the following have at-
tached restaurants:
The accommodation at Mesilau and Poring is run by Sutera Sanctuary Lodges with a
notable exception. At forested Mesilau, the
lodging
(dm from RM428 per person)
is in
functional dorms and doubles, but if you want to splurge there are some oddly shaped
chalets (they look like they were designed by Frank Gehry on a bad day) that start at
RM1285 for a three-bed property. Mesilau Nature Resort is 30 minutes beyond the en-
trance to Kinabalu (when driving towards Ranau from KK). The Sutera lodging in Poring
is located within the hot-springs complex and is same-same in terms of the room experi-
ence and prices.
There are privately owned sleeping options looping around Kinabalu's base. Most of
these are located along the road between the park headquarters and Kundasang (east of the
park's entrance).
Two homestays in Kundasang,
Walai Tokou
( 088-888166, 019-860 2270;
koch_homestay@yahoo.com; Ranau; Packages from RM240)
and
Mesilou Atamis
(
017-832 5578, 019-580 2474;
http://www.mesilau-homestay.com/
;
2-day/1-night pack-
ages from RM350; )
are another option.
Lupa Masa $
( 019-802 0549, SMS advised 016-8068194;
www.facebook.com/lupa.masa
;
dm with stretcher hammock RM50)
About a 10-minute drive from Poring you'll find this
incredible ecolodge; the name comes from the Malay for 'forget time', which is pretty
easy to do here. The green friendly spot contributes money to local communities and very
much caters to independent travellers, which is a bit of a rarity in Sabah.
That said, Lupa Masa isn't for everyone. It's rustic here. There are bugs in the camp
and leeches just outside. You get three good meals a day (vegetarian on demand), but
there's no TV, no air-con and you're using squat toilets.
Accommodation is in raised tents and traditional lodging made from local bamboo,
roofed with palm leaves and kitted with stretcher hammocks and mosquito nets. You are
in the jungle, folks. On the other hand:
what a jungle
. There are a few 'pools' on the
ECO-CAMP
