Kota Kinabalu sits on the north-west tip of Borneo, with the South China Sea on one side and the jungle-covered Crocker Range on the other, and on a clear morning the peak of Mount Kinabalu, at 4,095 metres, floats above the clouds to the east. The city, the capital of Sabah, has about four hundred and fifty thousand people, a waterfront lined with seafood restaurants, a lively Filipino market selling dried fish and handicrafts, and a string of islands just offshore that make up the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. The sunsets over the sea are famously good.
The city was almost completely destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt in a modern, practical style, so its charm lies less in the architecture than in its position and its people. Sabah is home to more than thirty ethnic groups, with the Kadazan-Dusun, the Bajau and the Murut among the largest, and the cultures are on display at the state museum and the cultural village. Food is a highlight: grilled fish, sour fish soup, the raw fish salad hinava, and the layered tea that is sold in every cafe.
The road to Kundasang, which this ride follows, is the best in the state. It leaves the city, runs through the town of Tamparuli, with its long suspension bridge, and then climbs into the Crocker Range, with a series of bends through forest, with cool mist and a drop in temperature. At the top, the road runs close to Kinabalu Park, a UNESCO site, and the hills of Kundasang are lined with vegetable farms, tea plantations and a dairy farm that looks like a corner of New Zealand. In the afternoon, rain often falls, so start early and carry waterproofs.
Malaysia drives on the left, and the road is well surfaced but busy with trucks and local traffic, so overtaking needs care. Fuel is plentiful in Kota Kinabalu and in the towns on the way, and there are stations at Ranau, but the stretch over the range has few, so fill at Tamparuli. The best months are March to May, when the skies are clearer. Bring a warm layer for the highlands, where it can be cold at dawn.