Did you know, followtheboat is in its 20th year?
Those of you who follow us know that we document two things: sailing and travel.
Of course, we did our Man Overboard series recently,
and at the end of the video, we will be announcing
the winners of those two prizes we were giving away,
but not before the second part of our travels inlands, where we go
and visit the beautifully stunning surrounding areas of Mt. Kinabalu.
For the last couple of days
we've done a fair bit of driving and a bit of trekking,
and we find ourselves here just for one night.
And I have to say, if I were to do this as a second trip,
then I think I would choose to spend maybe two or three days up in this tea
plantation, just completely relaxing and taking in this amazing view.
The next stop is the Sabah Tea Resort.
And the reason why I'm shouting is because of these insects.
Can you believe it?
There is actually a factory here, and that factory is making a lot of noise.
And yet the insects here so loud, I can't even hear the factory.
It's incredible.
Anyway, we're just stopped off for a fresh cup of tea and a bite to eat.
And we're looking out down onto the tea plantation.
So this is really just like being back in India for us.
We spent three years on the boat in India, and one of the highlights was escaping
the heat into the elevated tea plantations in the Western Ghats around Kerala.
So we were delighted to find the Sabah Tea Gardens in the foothills of Mount
Kinabalu on Borneo.
It's only a two hour drive from Kotakinabalu
And yet the atmosphere couldn't be more different.
Sabah Tea is the only
organic farm in Borneo and one of only a few in the world.
But you don't have to like tea to appreciate the stunning surroundings.
Although it's more exposed than Kinabalu Park, it still benefits from the cool
rainforest and offers a number of treks around the plantations.
Accommodation is basic, but clean and comfortable.
It set behind the tea factory up on a hill which offers some spectacular views west
towards Mount Kinabalu.
The gardens around the accommodation are well cared for without being contrived
and incorporate plenty of endemic species.
Nighttime at the Sabah Tearesort
is remarkably peaceful, with no light pollution and no traffic.
We sat outside the whole evening drinking tea, of course,
as Jamie experimented with some night photography.
If you get up early enough, you can catch the mist
rolling down through the valleys.
Well, we did. Third morning
and we finally get to see Mount Kinabalu in all her glory.
Not just that, though, the whole of the valley around the tea
plantations shrouded in mist as it goes over each of the hills.
It's just an incredible view.
Absolutely breathtaking.
Keep watching our channel because Jamie will be
publishing a fantastic drone sequence at the early morning
mist around the plantation and Mount Kinabalu later this week.
It doesn't take long for the mist to clear
so we wandered down to the restaurant.
We are back down at the factory.
And this is where the restaurant is.
We have to come down here because this is where we have breakfast.
Not a bad place to eat breakfast, is it? Really?
This is what it's all about.
You can just see behind me, there's Mount Kinabalu.
Few clouds on top there.
But of course, we got a bird's eye view of it this morning at 6.30 as the sun
was coming up over the hills over there.
Just spectacular view.
It's already quite hot.
We were thinking perhaps we could go for a little walk around the plantation's.
The restaurant specializes in tea, of course,
with a large menu of different flavors.
Their signature breakfast dish is green tea pancakes.
After taking in the view of Mount Kinabalu,
we meander through the plantations before it gets too hot.
One of my favorite teas I like drinking in Malaysia, is Tea Tarrik
Tea tarrik is similar to an Indian
sweet tea that comes served with milk. It's
not as strong as an Indian cardamom tea, but it's along the same sorts of lines.
And I always liken it to like a hot milkshake.
It's very, very tasty.
Sabah Tea was originally government run until it was privatized
in 1997 to allow greater development.
We couldn't visit the factory because of lockdown.
But it's still a popular spot with local tourists.
And the Yee Lee Corporation, which now owns it,
has added a few amusements to keep the visitors entertained.
View any different up here?
Well, we thought since we're here with do the little
tiny rope bridge, it's literally 10 meters across.
Just doing our bit for the local economy.
Really, it's not something we'd choose to do.
But the guy that runs this place has been very friendly.
And we were chatting to him yesterday, and I just felt a bit sorry for him, actually.
He's a really, really nice chap.
So, yeah, we thought we'd come up and elevate ourselves
and get to a slightly higher view of the clouded Mount
Kinabalu.
Operator. Operator.
Yes. Hello. Sabah Tea here.
Can you bring me an espresso, please? Thank you very much.
Cute! A radio.
So within the confines of this little Sabatier
resort, there's a longhouse, a traditional longhouse.
It's called Rungus longhouse.
Rungus, the same tribe of the longhouse
that we went to see back in Kudat last year.
Now, we've seen earlier pictures of this, and it used to have a traditional roof,
but it looks like they've now replaced it with a tin roof.
But you can still stay in it.
And, of course, you can visit it, which is what we're going to do now
before we move off to our next destination.
This is longhouse number two.
There are, in fact, two of them.
They are exactly the same as the one we saw in up in Kudat.
And we would have stayed in one of these.
That was the original plan until they offered us a cottage.
There's been nobody staying here since we've been here,
but they're so, so beautiful.
But they seem very, very flimsy.
Literally, there's just underneath the little bit of bamboo
going one way and then the other way, holding it all together.
So very cool, though. Very airy.
But I should mention at night, the insects could be a problem.
A hop, skip and a jump.
And we are back at the Poring Hot Springs.
This is another park
that we came to the other day, of course, to see the second Rafflesia
Well, both Rafflesias actually. Today is Rockpool day
or spring day. Poring is famous for its hot springs.
It has sulfuric a... I almost said sulfuric acid!
It has fresh hot water which smells of sulfur.
And so they've set up various different rock pools and open baths
and then some private baths as well, all supplied by the fresh water.
But not before a little trek.
Now, there's two waterfalls up here.
There's a short one, which is where we're going. And the longer
one is 500 meters elevation from here,
somewhere up there.
We're not doing that, not because we don't want to, but apparently it is closed.
That's a real shame, isn't it?
There are two waterfalls in the park at 120 meters.
The larger of the two land, Langanan, is one of the tallest in Sabah.
Unfortunately, it was closed.
So we trekked to the closer and smaller Kipungit waterfall. Despite the morning heat
most of the walk is covered by tall shady trees.
And although it was the weekend, we met no one else along the trail.
This is the Kipungit Falls
It's really loud.
And the insects going crazy in the background.
It was a short, sweet and beautiful walk through the woodland,
through the forest to get here.
And we're the only ones here because it's not busy.
So I think we might just stay here and contemplate for a while,
It's very, very pretty.
Huge trees, high straight trees,
all protected by UNESCO.
Between the waterfall and the hot springs are the underrated, yet
peaceful ethno botanical gardens and the jungle fruit orchard.
It's a beautiful garden and it's quite a big ascent
About 50 meters ascended from where we were, where we started off from.
And there's one guy here who's cutting the grass and that's it.
There is no one else around.
And so we've got this weaving pathway that works its way up the hill here
to the top where there's a little teahouse where we just sat down for five minutes
and half an hour later
we're still here, just enjoying the peace and quiet.
No one else around.
That's just a really lovely, chilled, cool spot.
And if you haven't done enough exercise, there's the famous canopy walk.
Well, we went on a canopy walk when we went to Mulu Park
and we were guided on that one.
Here we can just do it ourselves.
Again, nobody here. So we thought we'd give it a try.
So we're going to go up into the trees and take the canopy walk.
What they don't tell you about the canopy walk
is that you have to walk like that straight up the mountain
to get to the beginning of the canopy walk. Look at me.
We're not even quite there yet.
We went past one opening. But it says to keep going.
So we're keeping going.
But I insisted on a break right here.
This is the beginning.
Bloody hell, that was a long walk up.
At more than 175 meters in length and over 40 meters in height,
the canopy walk isn't for the faint hearted.
We were already exhausted before we'd even begun the walk, but it was worth it.
The views from inside the canopy across the 100 million year
old forest were spectacular.
Well, it was short, but it was very high up, and in fact,
I'm convinced that these were higher up in the trees than the one at Mulu.
I can't even begin to estimate how high up from the ground we were.
Probably could 50 meters or so,
which when you're on a wobbly rope bridge is high.
And the middle one offered some great views looking south across the valley.
So it was worth the hack up there.
And now, as you may be able to hear, the rain has started.
So we got some nice, refreshing rain for our return journey back down.
This afternoon, we're going to chill out
in those hot spring pools. We will spare you the footage of us in our swimsuits.
But after a dip
we return to our cottage to find a little surprise in store for us.
Well, they do say if you don't ask, you don't get so Liz asked.
And we got! We've just spent last night in... well you saw it... a little
very comfortable
little chalet, twin bed.
Fortunately, Liz and I aren't too precious about wanting
to sleep together and a little bathroom.
Turns out they have this lodge, and Liz has managed to upgrade us, at no extra cost.
We have to thank Sutera Sanctuary Lodges for upgrading us to their jungle lodge.
We got to spend a night in complete luxury.
This is the sitting room, which is as big as our boat.
It's massive. There's
also a sort of ancillary bit at the end here we can just dump all of our crap.
The lodge was so big, particularly for those of us who live on boats
at least, that we didn't know what to do with ourselves.
That's why it's called the River Lodge, because we've got the river
just there. I'll open all of these up and then through into the next room.
I especially appreciated the massive bath in the semi open bathroom.
Look at this! Who needs to go
and share the hot springs with everyone else, we've got our own!
Well, I should be making use of this
I'm surprised you're not running it already.
We can't recommend Jungle Lodge enough.
So if you find yourselves visiting Poring and staying
with Sutura Sanctuary Lodges, try to grab it.
On our last night, Jamie went back into the park to do
a bit more night photography.
Well, believe it or not, we're into day
five of our extended trip around the Kinabalu Park,
and the very last place for visiting is the butterfly farm.
Why not? Having just spent the morning in the hot water springs, we didn't record
any of that because you really don't want to see me in swimming costume...
So, yeah, we've been told
to keep a careful eye out for butterflies and they start to appear.
Well, we're in the village of Poring. 'Poring'
means bamboo in the local dialect, and I've just gone for a little wander round.
It's not even a village, really, A little kampong, a few houses.
They're mainly restaurants and they're all closed down, of course.
But I've just come across this one particular house made of bamboo.
And the lady there speaks very good English.
And she said that her house is only one years old.
So it's brand new.
All made from bamboo, taken from the forest where we're staying.
That is also one of the things I love about
the people who live here is that they're so friendly and welcoming
and genuine and accommodating and happy.
Seemingly so from my point of view.
I don't normally ask permission to film people.
It's just something I just don't do because I like to capture people
in their natural environment.
But I had a quick chat with her and I said, 'is it okay if I film your home?'
And she said, yes, yes, of course. You don't get that everywhere, do you?
I imagined that if someone came knocking on my house.
'Excuse me. I'm going to film your house. '
You'd be a bit like 'well who the hell are you?'
'What's it to you?' But
that's one of the differences
that you have here, is that people don't have so much of a sense of ownership.
And if anything, she was quite proud of her house.
And so she should be, it looked very comfortable.
We had an amazing response to our video
on the man going overboard, our friend Nige.
So many comments that we couldn't possibly repeat them all now.
And most of them brilliant.
So choosing two winners out of all those comments was quite difficult.
I think what was interesting as well was how people were split
between Oceans Signal and Spinlock, which kind of demonstrates
that both the life vest and the PLB are as equally as important.
Yeah. So we have two winners will announce them on our blog.
We'll put both both the winning entries up.
But for now, Traveling Wilbury's
You're one of them.
Yeah. And I have to refer to my phone because the other winner
is Jaret Yingling, and that's because he wrote an incredible poem.
If you missed the video episodes, you can literally read his poem
because it covers everything that happens in those two episodes. Well done.
But as Liz says, go to our blog post.
We'll put a link in the description
and you'll see why we chose those two comments.
And if you're a winner, just reply in that blog post and we'll get you that prize.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Thank you very much for watching.
And thank you so much for your interest in our man overboard series.
We really couldn't do with your support, though.
So at the very least, please, like this video and subscribe to our channel.
And if you are interested in supporting us so that we can continue to put out
fun, interesting, informative content, then please consider
becoming an FTB mate, a patron, or just heading over to our Rum
Fund. All the links in the description. Thank you very much.