slothis · English

Solo at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park, Kota Kinabalu

2018-07-15 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

Following up on my last post, this is the travelogue of an Asian guy traveling solo to Lok Kawi Wildlife Park in Kota Kinabalu.

The midday heat in Southeast Asia exhausts not just people, but all the animals too. In a way, I guess it's a peaceful time. None of the animals have an appetite; they just lie in the shade with their mouths open, fast asleep. If there was one animal I felt the most sorry for, it was the miniature horse—or pony, as we'd call it. They painted a mural on the wall and made it look pretty, but the pony was just standing there with its back turned, panting with a truly pitiful expression. They really should wash the poor thing; it looked so completely different from the mural that I felt embarrassed just looking at it.

A pony with mixed brown and white fur
A painting of a white horse on a wall
Isn't this a bit too much false advertising?
A brown cow with huge horns standing on muddy ground
A large-horned brown cow drinking water from a blue plastic tub
A long-horned cow, something you don't see back in Korea. True to being a cow, its eyes look incredibly gentle.

After walking halfway around the zoo, I reached the botanical garden opposite the entrance. I debated whether to go in or not, but decided to enter just to take some pictures of pretty flowers for Mrs. Kim (my mother) back home, who loves plants more than a botanist. However, I soon realized it was a mistake. Usually, a botanical garden is full of shade, making it a perfect place to completely escape the sun, right? I was expecting that kind of very cool feeling you'd get inside a jungle, but for some reason, it was just as hot and even more humid. On top of that, why did they make the path so long? I walked and walked, but there was no end in sight. There were even stairs!! There weren't many flowers either, just a bunch of scary-looking trees, so I really don't recommend walking through here. Couples might enjoy walking and sneaking kisses in there, but walking it alone is pure torture.


A welcome sign at the entrance of Lok Kawi Botanical Garden
An information board with a description of Nepenthes plants
Nepenthes (a.k.a. tropical pitcher plants) with only the description sign visible.
Plants growing under a sign that says ginger
I'm so exhausted, maybe I should dig up a root to take with me...
A white peace lily blooming against a forest background
A red flower blooming among green leaves
A plant with elongated red leaves standing out among green leaves
A walking path in a dense tropical rainforest with sunlight filtering through
I keep getting the feeling that I'm taking these photos half-heartedly.
Wooden stairs installed along a slope in the forest
Did a botanical garden really need these endless stairs? T_T

Long, sharp thorns densely sprouting on the surface of a tree trunk
The dangerous thing about this botanical garden is that if you goof off or lean against a tree because you're tired, you could easily end up in the ER. Some of the trees have these self-defense mechanisms that you'd absolutely never see back in Korea. That's why, no matter how hot you are or how much you feel like losing your mind, you have to keep your wits about you while walking around.

After barely making it through the botanical garden, there was a place selling Coke in the absolute perfect spot. My head was full of cynical thoughts, wondering if they made the botanical garden so exhausting just to make some money at this stall. Still, drinking a cup of Coke really woke me up and made me feel alive again. Who said soda is the worst food for your body!?

I don't know if it was because some time had passed or if the animals in this section just had more stamina, but unlike the animals on the way in, the ones on the way back were full of energy. The species didn't seem vastly different, but seeing them strangely full of life made me think the sun must have gone down a bit.

A brown and white pony eating grass scattered on the dirt ground
Our pretty little pony also regained its energy and started eating. It looks so lonely, though.
An emu looking at the camera over a barbed wire fence
I know someone who looks just like this guy...
Three otters swimming and poking their heads out of greenish water
The most enviable otter family in this zoo. The other animals barely have any shade, let alone water, but just because they're otters, they get to swim and play in this nice watering hole.
A black monkey holding a branch and sitting in a tree
A black monkey sitting in a tree full of lush green leaves
A monkey people-watching. I'm starting to get confused about who is watching whom.
Adults and children looking at a pond and forest from a wooden pavilion
The real owners of this zoo.
A tiger crossing a shallow pond with green water
A tiger walking on a dirt path next to a grassy field
The tiger finally moved!!! And two babies started crying at the exact same time!!! ;;;;;;;;;
Back view of a child in a pink dress holding an adult's hand and walking down a path
Two black bears looking for food on the dirt ground
A black bear standing on its hind legs and looking up
Didn't they say Asiatic black bears were only found in Korea?
A black bear standing leaning against a concrete wall and another bear walking behind it
Visitors on a wooden deck looking down at two black bears in the enclosure below
It literally dances on two feet, probably thinking we're going to give it something to eat. I don't know if it's acting cute because it's fascinated by the baby, but it's genuinely dancing. While the other animals looked at people with eyes that said, "Ugh, I'm so sick of this. Let me clock out already," the bears here were like, "Play with me! Play with me!!! Hey, come down here and let's play!!!!!"
A herd of elephants gathered under a shade structure made of wooden pillars
An elephant family, all with smiling eyes. The weather must have cooled down a bit, because this family also left the shade and started wandering around.
A small elephant standing at the edge of a shallow puddle and sticking its trunk out
Three large and small elephants standing in a grassy field over a low fence
Mother and daughter?
A large elephant standing with its long tusks exposed over a metal fence
The elephant that seems to be the boss of this group. It's the biggest, and everyone hates it when this guy comes over. A total power-tripping manager!!!
Two elephants enjoying a bath, half-submerged in muddy water
A red-feathered parrot sitting on a perch inside a wire mesh cage and holding food with its foot
A small black animal with a bushy tail eating food from a metal dish inside a wire mesh cage
Back view of a black animal climbing up inside a wire mesh cage
That guy is eating all the bird feed. The really dumb ones don't even chase it away; they just stare blankly and let out a single "Squaaaaaawk~~~" cry.
Various animal statues, including monkeys and rhinos, placed in a garden with lush trees and grass

I felt bad about wasting the photos I took of each animal, so I uploaded them all without hesitation, which just made the post unnecessarily long without much substance. I wonder if I'll be able to look back at this in 10 years and reminisce, "Ah~~ it was like this." If I read this post again, rather than feeling inspired, I think I'll just inexplicably feel thirsty.

Expenses (To calculate conservatively, multiply by 300 to get the amount in Korean Won)

Total spent today: RM 876.7

Total trip expenses: 2,875,000 KRW + RM 2522.58