River Cruising at Weston Jaafar River Lodge, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

After enjoying the pork noodle at Kedai Kopi Jia Siang, we went to Weston Jaafar River Lodge at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.  Weston Jaafar River Lodge is a river wetlands in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.  You can find proboscis monkeys, fireflies, flying foxes, exotic plant such as wild pitcher plants and other wildlife here. The ride took another two hours to reach the jetty.  The time to travel from one place of attraction to another place in Kota Kinabalu is quite far,  so remember to bring some in-car entertainment or some junk foods or you can also just sleep during the journey.

Before I proceed, here is a video on a male monkey we encountered during the river cruising.


And here is a short clip of the river cruise.


Our ride to the Weston Jaafar River Lodge, which will be our resting place in between activities. The weather is sunny and hot but the strong breeze cool us down.  Here is a photo of our boat which is controlled by the driver at the back.


Along the riverside, you will see many houses built on the river.


Laupoh and me on our boat.  Remember to wear your safety jacket.


Saw this house under construction.


Most of the houses here are wooden.  But this one is not.  It is big and built with bricks and cement.  Maybe some rich family staying here.


Reached the Weston Jaafar River Lodge after around 10 minutes of boat ride.

Weston is also a Proboscis monkey's Sanctuary.  Later we will take the boat ride for monkey watching.  Before that, let's have tea time first. 

The tea time is simple and nice.  There are local coffee and tea and also this leave-wrapped dessert which I'm not sure what is the name.


Unwrapped inside and it is actually made from sticky rice.  Also had some karipap (curry puff).


Here is the interior view of the Weston Jaafar River Lodge.  It is very big and can host many tourists.


Spotted this little crocodile near the dining area.  Must be caught from the river here.  Wonder if he will be sent to the Tuaran's crocodile farm?


Some drawing of the Proboscis monkey on the wall.


The first activity began with river cruise and wildlife watching.  Our main objective is to spot a Proboscis monkey.



There are many nipah palm along the river.


During the cruise, we saw this boat which were catching prawns.  See how big is the prawn?  I believe it is for sale but we are more interested in the Proboscis monkey.


What are they looking at?


This is what are they looking at.  The Proboscis monkey.  The monkey is so shy of human and won't come near to us.  You might want to bring a binocular or a zoom lens to take photo of this Proboscis monkey.


Even though we didn't get to see close view of a Proboscis monkey,  we get to see this brave monkey instead.  He is trying to be fierce and standing up as we move closer to his territory. Or maybe he is protecting the young one at the back.


More wooden houses by the riverside.


This wooden building on the river looks traditional.


Spotted this two local girls walking by the riverside.


If you love nature, you will enjoy this place.


Boats parked in front of a wooden house.


Group of local Sabah people by the riverside.


This building looks interesting.  Most of the houses and lodges here have their own unique design.


Spotted another two local girls sitting on the bridge enjoying the breeze and the sunset, I think.


The beautiful sunset on the river just before our first activity ended.


The boat brought us back to the lodge and we had our dinner.  Simple dish with rice and soup but very nice and fulfilling.  After dinner, we continue with our final activity which is fireflies watching.  It is so dark so we didn't bother to snap photos.  There are many of them here, lighting up the riverside's trees just like a Christmas tree.  A wonderful experience of nature indeed with the fireflies.

Weston Jaafar River Lodge, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
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