What Borneo Gets Right That Most Rainforest Destinations Don't: A Conversation with James, Wildlife Guide Since 2011
James Lim has been a wildlife guide in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, since 2011. Originally from Kota Kinabalu, he studied zoology at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, interned at Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre, and now runs custom wildlife tours through the Kinabatangan River region and Danum Valley.
We talked at a riverside lodge on the Kinabatangan, watching proboscis monkeys settle into the trees for the evening.
On Orangutans
Q: What do tourists get wrong about orangutan encounters?
The biggest misconception is that Sepilok is a zoo. It's not. It's a rehabilitation center. The orangutans you see at the feeding platforms (10AM and 3PM feedings) are semi-wild — they've been rescued from captivity or orphaned by deforestation, rehabbed to survive independently, and released into the surrounding forest. They come to the platforms because it's free food. When they stop coming, it means they're fully wild again. That's the goal.
Some tourists get frustrated when only two or three orangutans show up at feeding time. That's actually good news — it means the others are out in the forest foraging on their own.
Sepilok entry: 30 MYR ($6.50). The nursery (where baby orangutans learn climbing skills on outdoor jungle gyms) is an additional 30 MYR. The nursery is the more emotional experience — infant orangutans learning to swing, falling, and being caught by handlers. It's genuinely moving.
Q: Where can I see truly wild orangutans?
The Kinabatangan River. Take a morning or afternoon river cruise (arranged through any lodge on the river, typically included in accommodation packages) and your chances of seeing wild orangutans in the riverbank trees are about 60-70% on a multi-day stay.
The key word is patience. I've had guests who see orangutans within 30 minutes of their first cruise. I've had guests who don't see one for two days. Nature doesn't follow a schedule.
Danum Valley Conservation Area is even better — 130 million years of unbroken primary rainforest, with the highest density of orangutans in Borneo. But access is expensive (the Borneo Rainforest Lodge starts at 1,800 MYR / $390 per night) and limited. If your budget allows it, Danum Valley is the single best orangutan experience on Earth.
Q: Is it ethical to visit orangutan centers?
Sepilok and Rasa Ria (the Shangri-La's conservation program) are genuine rehabilitation operations. Your entrance fee funds the operation. The alternative — not funding rehabilitation — is worse.
What I don't recommend: any facility that offers orangutan "photo opportunities" where you hold or touch the animal. That's exploitative. The semi-wild orangutans at Sepilok's feeding platforms are observed from 10-20 meters away. No touching. No feeding by visitors. That's the ethical standard.
On the Kinabatangan
Q: What wildlife will I see on the Kinabatangan River?
In three days of morning and afternoon cruises, a typical sighting list includes:
Proboscis monkeys (endemic to Borneo — pot-bellied, big-nosed, surprisingly fast swimmers)
Long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques
Orangutans (in the riverbank trees, 60-70% chance over 3 days)
Borneo pygmy elephants (30-40% chance — herds come to the river to drink)
Hornbills (8 species in Borneo, rhinoceros hornbill is the showstopper)
Crocodiles (saltwater crocs, very common)
Kingfishers, eagles, and stork-billed kingfishers
Night cruises add: flat-headed cats (extremely rare), civets, slow lorises (huge eyes, tiny body, very cute), and firefly displays in the mangroves.
Q: How long should I spend on the Kinabatangan?
Three nights minimum. Two nights is common but you'll only get 4 cruises. Three nights gives you 6 cruises, which dramatically increases your chances of seeing the "big three" — orangutans, pygmy elephants, and proboscis monkeys.
Lodge packages on the Kinabatangan: 400-800 MYR ($87-173) per night including accommodation, meals, and guided cruises. Budget lodges: 200-400 MYR ($43-87).
On Palm Oil
Q: How bad is the palm oil situation?
I'll give you the honest answer that the tourism industry doesn't like to say: it's devastating.
Borneo has lost approximately 50% of its forest cover since 1973. Most of that loss is palm oil plantations. You'll see it from the air flying into Sandakan — endless rows of identical palm trees where rainforest used to be. The Kinabatangan's wildlife corridor exists because the forest on both sides of the river was logged and converted. The river corridor is a narrow strip of habitat surrounded by plantations.
The animals you see on the Kinabatangan are concentrated because they have nowhere else to go. The proboscis monkeys, orangutans, and elephants are squeezed into a thin ribbon of remaining forest.
What tourists can do:
Choose products with RSPO-certified palm oil (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil)
Support lodges that invest in reforestation (Kinabatangan Jungle Camp and Bilit Rainforest Lodge both do)
Visit — tourism revenue is the primary economic argument for keeping forest standing instead of converting it
On Mount Kinabalu
Q: Should I climb Mount Kinabalu?
If you're reasonably fit, absolutely. It's the highest peak in Southeast Asia at 4,095m — the summit at sunrise is one of the most rewarding mountain experiences you can have without mountaineering skills.
The two-day climb (mandatory overnight at Laban Rata hut at 3,272m) costs about 700-1,000 MYR ($152-217) for the permit, guide, and hut booking. The summit push starts at 2AM for a 5:30AM sunrise.
The climb is steep but not technical — just stairs and granite slabs. The challenge is altitude and the 2AM start. About 80% of hikers reach the summit.
Book 2-3 months ahead — permits are limited to 135 climbers per day and sell out.
On Diving
Q: Is Sipadan really the best diving in the world?
Top five, guaranteed. Sipadan is a volcanic island where the reef wall drops vertically from the surface to 600 meters. You drop below the surface and you're immediately in deep blue water with the wall beside you — barracuda tornadoes, green and hawksbill turtles by the dozen, white-tip reef sharks, and occasionally hammerheads.
The catch: Sipadan allows only 120 dive permits per day (environmental protection). You can't stay on Sipadan — you stay on nearby Mabul or Kapalai and take a boat over. Permits are allocated through dive operators.
Book your Sipadan permit at least 2-3 months ahead during peak season (April-October). Two-dive Sipadan packages from Mabul: 600-1,000 MYR ($130-217). Non-Sipadan diving around Mabul is excellent too — the macro life (nudibranches, frogfish, seahorses) on Mabul's house reef is world-class.
Q: What's one thing you'd tell every visitor?
Slow down. Borneo's wildlife operates on its own schedule. The best sightings happen when you're quiet, patient, and not checking your phone. I've seen tourists miss an orangutan 10 meters above their head because they were looking at their camera settings.
Put the phone down for the first five minutes of every river cruise. Just look. Listen. The jungle will show you things if you give it time.
