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Kota Kinabalu City Mosque was the highlight of my half-day tour of Kota Kinabalu (KK), capital of the Malaysian State of Sabah on the island of Borneo. The mirror image of the mosque reflected in its surrounding lagoon has earned it the nickname “floating mosque

I’d attended two live feedings in the jungle, where dozens of macaque monkeys and at least six orangutans had emerged from the jungle canopy to avail themselves of the fresh fruit. But the best experience of all occurred after the final feeding ended and everyone else had left the viewing platform. I rested on a wooden bench, listening to the raucous bird calls from every direction, trying to spot birds in the dense canopy. If I hadn’t taken the photo, I’d still be wondering if it really happened.

Not only is Borneo one of the few places in the world to see orangutans in the wild, it’s also fantastic for seeing endangered Sun Bears, proboscis monkeys, pygmy elephants, and monitor lizards, among other wild species. I saw them all and more in the Malaysian State of Sabah, on the island of Borneo, and managed to capture video of them all, despite having to shoot from a rocking boat some of the time. Learn more about the work of the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre Learn more about the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre Learn more about the Proboscis Monkeys that live along the Kinabatangan River

Most visitors come to dive or see the island’s unique wildlife, but the flora has a lot to offer too. During my stay at Sepiilok Nature Resort in the Malaysian State of Sabah, I spent one afternoon exploring the boardwalks that border the lake and marshes around the resort. One of my finds were enormous leaves of this Borneo Giant Elephant Ear that stood taller than me. Read about my visit to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre, and my day trip to the Kinabatangan River to see proboscis monkeys in the wild.