Travel Guide to Borneo

Location

Borneo is the third largest island in the world, spanning an area of around 745,000 hectares. Geographically it is located East of Singapore and South of Hong Kong. With the South China Sea, the Java Sea and the Sulu and Celebes sea’s surrounding its shorelines.

Borneo can be reached in less than two hours on an internal flight from Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.

Shopping

The main shopping centres in Borneo are located in Kota Kinabalu City. Most shopping centres offer a variety of different retail outlets. You can find almost anything you require, from souvenirs and antiques, books, camping equipment, designer clothes, electronic goods, computers, and fresh foods.

In shopping malls you will also find pharmacies, food courts, one-stop photo labs and money changers, recreational facilities, hair dressers and centres for therapeutic massages as well as foot reflexology.

In other major towns in Sabah (Sandakan, Tawau, Keningau, Kudat) you will find smaller malls that cater mainly to the local population. You might not find the same variety as in Kota Kinabalu however should you suddenly run out of films, batteries, food provisions and mineral water, and even basic medical supplies all you require is there.

Geography

Borneo is mountainous and largely covered in dense rainforest; its highest point is Mount Kinabalu, at 13,455.

History

Borneo has long had two very different populations: lowly populated, highly tribalized groups in the inaccessible interior and relatively dense agricultural populations along the coast and the lower floodplains of major rivers.

The inland people (Dyaks) were primarily hunter-gatherers with some shifting cultivation, spoke a number of tribal languages, and practiced mostly animist religions.

In contrast, coastal populations relied heavily on oceanic trade, rice farming and fishing, spoke regional dialects of Malay, and were predominantly Muslim.

When the Dutch arrived in Borneo they encouraged missionaries to convert the inland Dyaks. The Dutch had considerably less success making inroads with the coastal Muslim. There had long been animosity between the inland and the coastal populations, and the addition of organized religion only added fuel to the fire.