Kiulu Rafting in Kota Kinabalu: A Bit Too Calm
The highly anticipated last day. You'd think I'd be sad for my vacation to end, but after surviving nine days as a solo male traveler in Kota Kinabalu—a land of couples and honeymooners—reaching the final day felt incredibly refreshing. Some might ask why I didn't just make friends to hang out with, but that only works if you're super outgoing or in a place like Europe with fewer Asian tourists. For someone as shy as me, in a place where half the population seemed to be Korean and Chinese, it wasn't easy.
Still, I couldn't just throw away my last day, so I decided to go rafting one last time before heading home. The tour cost about 50,000 KRW, but I foolishly forgot to write it down in my ledger.
Like most tours, a minibus came to pick me up in front of the hostel at 8 AM. To my pleasant surprise, it ended up being an all-Korean group: a middle-aged couple, a honeymooning couple, and me. The two couples spent the ride being all lovey-dovey, while I just stared at the distant mountains on our way to the river. Ah... at least this all ends today.
When we finally arrived, the Kiulu River was incredibly calm. I'll admit the water was clear, but man... it was so, so calm. Kota Kinabalu has the Kiulu River for beginners, the Kaiduan River for intermediates, and other spots for advanced rafters. I chose Kiulu because it was the closest and I didn't want to mess up my schedule before my flight. I knew it was a beginner's course, but this was just too calm. If you've ever rafted the Donggang River in Korea, I highly recommend going for Kaiduan or a higher level. For reference, there are also full-day courses where you just raft through actual rapids.
After quickly changing clothes and getting our safety briefing, we slowly started floating downstream. Since it's a slow-moving river, there's absolutely no dynamic thrill, but it is nice for slowly taking in the surroundings. Both couples had one person who was afraid of water, so they were thrilled, saying the speed was just perfect. We stopped to swim at various points along the way, and honestly, just watching them be all cute and lovey-dovey was entertaining enough.
After discovering that it's actually possible to doze off while rafting, we arrived at our destination where lunch was waiting. The food was just your average Malaysian lunch, but chatting in Korean for the first time in a while while eating made me so happy. Happiness wasn't far away. It just required a little bit of deprivation...
Once everything was done, I returned to my accommodation, spaced out for a bit, and then headed to the airport as my flight time approached. I think people were especially precious to me on this trip. Maybe that's why I keep thinking more about the people I spent even a brief moment with. Everyone, travel is something you do with people. Solo travel is for the experts.
Expenses (conservatively calculate by multiplying by 300 to get the amount in KRW)
- Coconut chips RM 23.8
- Snacks RM 6.8
- Dinner burger RM 15.1
- Dried coconut for mom RM 79.5
- Perfume RM 277
- Ice wine RM 438
- Wine peanuts 9,000 KRW
- Cosmetics 21,000 KRW
- Bus home 14,000 KRW
Daily expenses : RM 427.79
Total trip expenses : 2,919,000 KRW + RM 3,902.87