History of Sabah Borneo is made of three different countries; Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. On the Northeastern peninsula, tribal communities occupied the rivers and coastline, frequently battling and giving rise to the island’s famed headhunters. Politically united civilization began in the 15th Century, with the Sultanate of Brunei as the ruling faction. Power was given over to the Sultan of Sulu, centered in the southern Philippines, until the late 18th century when enterprising British sailors arrived on Sabah’s shores and saw the vast opportunities provided by the region’s natural resources.
In 1882, the British North Borneo Company was established and led the peninsula forward into the 20th century. The colony was ruled as a British Protectorate until 1942, when World War II spilled into the forests of Sabah. The Japanese Imperial Army led a series of Death Marches from the eastern port city of Sandakan, over the mountains to the western foothills of Mount Kinabalu ending at the town of Renau. Over the course of Japan’s two-year occupation, 2,345 Allied Australian and British soldiers died, with only 6 survivors living to tell the story of their escape. There are incredible memorials built in both Sandakan and Renau, ask a Trip Planner about adding a day tour from Kota Kinabalu to learn more about Sabah’s WWII history.
Following Japan’s defeat, Britain established North Borneo as a Royal Crown Colony, moving the capital from Sandakan to present-day Kota Kinabalu. British rule was maintained until 1963, when North Borneo joined with Malaya, Sarawak, and Singapore to form the Federation of Malaysia. Two years later, Singapore was expelled from the Federation and the newly united country became, simply, Malaysia. In recent decades, Sabah has been the center of tension between native peoples and mainland Malaysia. The Sabah United Party, a movement of the Kadazan indigenous group, gained footing in 1985 and joined Malaysia’s ruling coalition, Barisan National. Combining forces against the mandates of the federal government, Sabah was poised to take a leading role in the country. Unfortunately, only days before the general election, Barisan National abandoned the alliance and left Sabah United to bear the consequences. Today, only a small fraction of the revenue from Sabah’s timber and other resource industries make it back to the state, the vast majority going to Kuala Lumpur’s mainland endeavors. This has left Sabah the poorest of Malaysia’s 13 states, despite its substantial wealth of resources.
Eco-tourism is by far Sabah’s most profitable industry, creating jobs, providing resources and incentive for higher education, and bringing a steady source of income to locals. While the road ahead will not be easy for the people of Sabah, supporting tourism in this region is an excellent way to promote its continued development.
The holiday of a lifetime. The company is Alaksa-owned and thhat makes a big difference to the experineces you get i.e. meet genuine First Nations tribes people. The amount of wildlife was beyond my expectation, and seeing everything on sucha small, intimate boat made it even more spoecial and unique.
Liz O
2 days ago
Adventure Life covered all the details in planning our trip to Ireland. Any questions we had were answered immediately. Any trip glitches, which always happen when traveling, were resolved immediately. There were no worries, just fun!
Kathleen Weller
2 days ago
It was an outstanding, up-close, educational vacation of nature, culture, history, animals and geology! It was everything they promised! Binoculars were plentiful on the boat, but I'm glad I brought my own. Food was excellent. Rooms had black-out shades. Pack/wear multiple layers of clothing (I carried a small backpack when off the ship). Crew were delightful and very accommodating! Remember to jump FEET FIRST first when taking the optional polar plunge! Spend as much time outdoors as you are able and ENJOY!!!
Janet Dutton
1 week ago
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
1 week ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.