Off-Road Borneo: our first 700km through Malaysia

Off-Road Borneo: our first 700km through Malaysia

[Music] We’re entering Malaysia on the 
remote island of Borneo. Our journey leaves the pavement behind. With our 
4×4 carving through jungle tracks, we follow hidden railways and winding roads deep 
into Bono’s wild heart. further off the map until the trail ends at the roof of Southeast Asia. 
Mount Kinabalu, 4,100 m of granite and cloud. Our first week in Malaysia tested the wheels 
of the Land Rover and the legs of the humans. We are Nick and Matild and we’ve left everything 
behind to travel the seven continents with our Land Rover Defender, the Albatross. Europe, 
North America, South America, Antarctica, Australia, Asia, and Africa. A world tour 
for real. We want to see it all. This is day 1,222 and we are in Borneo, Malaysia. 
This is the next Meridian expedition. Out of Vietnamese. Awesome. This is the entry in country 34. I said 
Malaysia. Malaysia. Okay, we’re starting a brand new country. Super excited. First things 
first, we need to uh stamp our passport visa in. So that’s us two. And then next we need to do our 
car passport which is called a carne. And uh this imports the vehicle without paying any fees. Now 
we got to fill out our police border paperwork. No need. Job done. Yo, we are in Malaysia. Corit. 
That was easy. And everyone was so kind. The guy at the end, he was giving us advice where to 
sleep, where to stay. Three, two, one. Malaysia. Bam. This is awesome. Now, in this country, do 
we ride on the Do we drive on the left or on the right? I think it’s left again because the bridge 
were here. A new week begins on our world tour. We’ve just crossed into a new country on the vast 
island of Borneo, Malaysia. Our plan to traverse the entire Malaysian side of Borneo from west to 
east, soaking up every flavor this country has to offer. We’re starting with some rugged off-road 
trails and remote beaches, then gradually heading towards the wild northeast, where we’ll put 
ourselves to the test by climbing the island’s   highest peak. But first, there are a few things to 
take care of after crossing the border. Step one, we need to go to the ATM and get some cash. Step 
two, we need to get fuel. Step three, dinner. Money. So in Indonesia 100,000 rupia was5. So we 
were paying in millions sometimes. It’s less crazy here. 1uro is 5 ringit. Malaysian ringit. Exactly. 
What are you looking for? Um a really good diesel. And the really good diesel Google said it’s 
called dynamic diesel 5 with pro drive. I don’t think it’s called all that. It actually is called 
dynamic diesel Euro5 with pro drive. Thank you. It’s less than 50 cent a liter. Less than 50 cents 
per liter. That’s okay. Yeah. Wow. For euro 5. Next up is food. Um we only eat out when it’s fits 
into our budget. For us it’s like about €6 for two people. So yeah, we’re going to check the price 
in Malaysia. The variety here now that we’re in   Malaysia is huge. This is exciting in terms of 
food. I think it’s going to be a party. Yeah, let’s try. And one ginger. Ginger. Are you making 
your list of everything you want to try? Oh,   100%. I don’t know. It’s interesting. You’re a 
slave to marketing. A lot of good options here, huh? Oh, this looks good with the French. So 24 for our two meals. That is €5. And that fits 
in the budget. It’s our budget. No. Damn. Yeah. So small. So, this is day one, night one in Malaysia. 
Um, we got pretty good at finding camp spots. We found this one in 3 minutes. And there’s a lot 
of space and a lot of tracks going everywhere. So,   it’s pretty easy. So, that’s where we are in 
the middle of the palm oil fields. And tomorrow, I guess we start. Guess we’ll find out. 
Anyway, what you guys look like to us. Here you go. Got to protect the camera 
from the rain. There you go. And this is   you guys. That’s it. And surrounding behind 
you guys, the palm trees. Yeah, that’s true. [Music]   There’s only one way. north on the Malaysian 
side of Borneo and it’s a perfect two-lane highway looking road and it is in perfect 
condition and it’s got all the signs and all the railings. It’s honestly it’s like 
European standards. It’s insane. And also uh since we’re in Malaysia, a lot more vehicles 
on the road and a lot less scooters. I think this will change once we get on to Koala 
Lumpur. the cap the capital of Malaysia. We spend quite a lot of time on this beautiful 
highway. I have to say Malaysian highway. But it’s not really our kind of travel. It was 
just how to find other roads going north on   Bono. And Nick has gone on the map to try to 
find alternatives. Let’s see where it goes. We went from tarmac to bed. Yeah. So,   we’re doing progress. Promising. 
We’re getting onto gravel now. [Music] We can’t deny the pristine highways were 
a pleasant surprise. After months of grinding along Indonesian roads, rarely shifting 
out of third gear just to make progress,   cruising smoothly for a change felt like a 
gift. But that confer came with a cost. We realized we weren’t really seeing the country. 
There was only one solution. Change around. [Music]   Lost in the middle of nowhere trying 
to get to a beach. We thought this was going to be a shortcut and it turned out 
to be a completely abandoned road. So, the two marks here are ours. It looks 
like a tractor came here a long time ago,   but nobody else. So, this is Albo. We’re trying 
to get to the beach somewhere over there. We came from the main road somewhere over there 
and it turned out to be a broken clay road, but this is exactly what we enjoy doing. 
And on top of it, nobody around. [Applause] [Music] [Music] Nick is buying some drinking water and then we 
will keep going. We’ll go to a beach so that we   can plan a bit our trip through Malaysia. But I 
wanted to play a game. Did you notice something? Yesterday we crossed the border, right? Did all 
the paperwork. We refueled the car. We withdrew local money. There’s one thing we always do when 
we cross the border and we didn’t do yesterday. We didn’t buy a SIM card. Everyone needs internet 
those days. Yet, you didn’t see us running around town under the rain trying to find a shop open 
to buy a SIM card. And you know why? Because before the border, I just opened my Holofly app 
and bought an eim. The entire process took me three minutes total. Two minutes to buy the EIM, 
one minute to activate it. And the second I was over in Malaysia, I had internet. Since we partner 
with Olif, it’s simple. We have had absolutely no roaming fee. They provided EIMS in more than 200 
destinations. So, it’s just pick and choose. And their plans are simple. It’s unlimited internet. 
You don’t have to choose one, two, three, five, 10 GB and then buy again when you run out. You get 
any SIM, you get unlimited data. And they gave us a discount code. With the code next meridian, you 
get 5% on any SIM on their app. So just download the app, choose a country, and you’ll get 5% on 
whatever you choose. In Malaysia, here we come. How is that for a first day in Malaysia? beach 
driving. So, I don’t know if it’s swimmable because down here there’s crocodiles. So, I 
don’t know if this water is actually swimmable. [Music] Heat. Heat. N. [Music] Heat. Heat. [Music] Matild said, “Join me at Shell Bar.” 
Can you explain to us what you mean? Shell bar. These are all the shells 
you picked up from the beach. So,   it’s a pop-up bar and today Shell Bar 
and tomorrow might be leaf bar or sand bar or rock bar. It changes every day. It’s 
very trendy. And there’s no bar around. So, we had to create our own bar. It’s a real bar 
cuz you do get drinks. Cheers. Fresh drink. We did a maintenance in uh Jakarta and uh that 
was 2 weeks ago. So I’m just making sure that everything is sweet. So the six places I’m going 
to check, first one is the power steering. Usually normally we have no leak over there and that’s the 
case. Looks great. We know the power steering has no problem, but it’s a quick check anyway. Boom. 
The level hasn’t moved for the past year. Dot 4. Same location for the brake engine oil because 
we did have a engine seal, the crankshaft seal leak. And then the coolant. And you see that it’s 
really it’s still there. It’s good, but it’s uh this this much below. We’re going to top that up 
and then we’re sweet. That looks sketchy. I work. Just touched it. Nailed it. Elbow is in mint 
condition. Did you check six points right now? 1 2 3 4 5 and you know what’s the little bonus six? 
This one is for the windshield wipers. Six points. How long till we arrive in Brunet, pilots? So, 
we should be in Brunet in 30 minutes. And yeah, it’s three countries on one island. It will 
be country number 35. Brun is a tiny country. Many people don’t know about it. We will do 
a full episode on it. So, stay sitting. We’re continuing in Malaysia. And next episode on the 
channel, we will show you all of Brunai. One, two. Boom. We’re back in Malaysia. We’re in the 
northeast of Borneo Island right now in a region called Sabah. And it’s much more hilly. Uh so 
hilly that we actually got a problem just earlier. No brakes on the downhill. I was like and it 
was breaking just literally like almost like you you were holding a pen very lightly 
and and you pulled it and it just you   know slides slowly. That’s type of braking 
we had. And it’s smoking a little bit. So, it smells bad. Yep. And we need uh we need 
to change our discs. They’re already below   our minimum and that in Jakarta, but 
we couldn’t get new discs there. So, I have new discs coming in. Uh and because like 
said, we’re in a region that is now with a lot more hills. It also means more rapids, faster 
rivers. We’re actually going to go rafting. There’s a train. That’s the train. Do you 
think it’s us? We’re at the train station in the center of the region. We’re going to 
catch a train to be able to go up the river and meet our team for the rafting. 
Here we have a rafting and a train. Uh yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. [Music] We love switching up our travel modes, 
even just for a few hours. Here in the high country of Borneo, a tiny train winds 
its way down the coast. There are no roads, only tracks tracing the edge of a vast rivers. For 
the people living along this route, transportation is simple on foot or aboard this little train 
that rattles through only a few times each day. furs and springs. Baby ferns 
I’m curling every living thing to me a mother both hands on the wheel. All 
right, there’s six of us on the boat. We’re here with three guys from the UK. It’s a 
10 km down the river with a few rapids. It’s going to take about an hour and a 
half. Fingers crossed we all stay on the   boat the whole way. If not all part of the 
adventure you could call it a vision or te [Music] on I can see it put back together. You could call it a vision or tether. [Music] Ready to teach me. [Music] Borneo’s boiling rivers 
thunder down from the island’s mountainous spine in torrents of white water. Yet until now, all 
we’d seen was endless dense rainforest with only first hints of hills on the horizon. Where was all 
that water coming from? We should have recognized it then. These rivers were a warning. Our next 
challenge wouldn’t be easy. Rafting was really cool. Now the rain started falling and we’re 
heading to our next adventure. We’re going to hike a mountain called Mount Kinabalu. It’s the highest 
mountain in Southeast Asia. 4,100 m altitude. And this is actually a pretty big one because you 
hike up 2,00 around 2,400 m. So, it’s going to be the next two days insane. Pretty crazy to think 
that on Borneo they have a mountain that high. In France, the highest mountain is 4,800 meters, 
which is much higher, but it’s still in the 4,000 meters range. So, after seeing all of this 
jungle, I I just don’t really picture that. But, I’m really excited. It’s going to be a difficult 
hike. And it’s already 6:00 p.m. and we still   have 2 hours and a half of road. So, everything 
with the rain, everything is like go, go, go. You need help? Yeah. Yeah. Help. 
I need help. Yes. Okay. I turn   around. I help. No. You must. Yeah. 
Yeah. This way or you? Yeah. I want to this way. I want to go this way. 
That way. I help you. I help you. [Music] as if the day was not so busy. Yeah, 
we were driving at night to make it in time for the Mount Kinavaloo climb that we’re doing 
tomorrow. And we found this car in a ditch, so we’re helping them. And oh, we can’t see really 
well. We’re going to winch them out. [Music] Hopefully that will be enough to get them out. 
The tire is really, really deep down. We saw them when we drive past. They fell in a ditch 
and it’s been an hour. They’re waiting on the   side of the road and no one is stopping. So 
to your service. [Music] Think you succeed. Recovery succeeded. Yeah, if you need help 
around here. Yeah, you just call. Of course. So, waterproof backpack. Got it. Last night we slept on the parking lot of the 
national park of Montinou and this morning it looks a bit chaotic is back preparation. The 
car is rarely that messy. Got to do what you got to do. Oh yeah, it’s going to be I Matild said 
4 Celsius at the top maybe or below. It rained for the past uh 12 hours so it definitely cooled off. 
Might be really muddy. Uh, I really don’t know what to expect in terms of weather. I think no 
one knows. Ready for everything. Oh gosh. Inside. We were about to attempt the climb 
of Southeast Asia’s highest peak,   Mount Kinabalu, rising 4,100 m. That’s 
13,500 ft above sea level. At that point, we had no idea what we were about to face. 
for my team. Yes, we got our mountain pass. What was your name again? Jackie. Jackie. Jackie. 
Yes. Jackie, you don’t mind being on the video, Jackie? It’s okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Dinner from 
the Valata company. Talk. Hi, Dina. That was a bit of a sprint this morning, but we are fully 
registered into the Montavalu National Park. We met our guide as well. He looks a bit shy, but I 
think he will open up as we get to hike. We’re off to a very humid start. And we had not planned for 
the plastic pawn shop. Nick bought the last one at the shop at the beginning of the hike. And 
our guide, our cool guide, gave me this one. That’s kilometer one. We’re 
still full on in the jungle, but the rain calmed down. It’s like no 
joke. It is straight up. Made it to two kilometers up. I think that’s too fast. 
Sorry. Good job, Jackie. [Music] Halfway. So, there are 171 climbers today. 
37 guides, 10 porters, six rescue. [Music] 3,000 m, 5 kilometers. It means that one to 
go. How you feeling? [Music] It’s hard. Yeah, but it’s okay. I think we’re 
doing all right. Ready? Boom. [Music] just steep and stairs. Oh no. We can 
see that the vegetation changed now. It’s much drier. It’s not the rainforest 
anymore. Little trees, orange rock. We made it to base camp. 3,272 m. 
Good job. Boom. Thank you, Jack. And we’re at the hut. Thank you. 
So, 2:30 a.m. here. Yeah. So,   I’ll come up and then I’ll meet you here. Okay. 
You’re the best. Thank you so much. I’m here. Oh, you here. I seen here. Uh, your time in 
over here. The hut is actually really nice. Very cozy, very pretty. and go 
down there. Yeah. Uh maybe or maybe this is yours. Only two of you. Only 
two of us. Yes. So you get Thank you. This when we arrived was just a normal 
uh waterfall. So it’s wild. Oh my god. So, the only shitty thing is that if tomorrow 
it’s raining, then we can’t go to the peak and then it’s all cancelled and we have to go back 
down. Uh, so the rain better stop. And yeah, the via same thing. If it’s raining, they’re going to 
cancel that and then we have to go to the bottom. So, fingers crossed, guys. Cross them for us. 
Freaking wild. Exciting. We wake up at 2:00 in the mornings and then we’ve got a big big hike in the 
night. We’re a bit cold with the weather. Yeah, these are big fat sleeping bags. They look 
really cozy. Are they cozy? They’re Yeah, they’re cozy. They’re nice. Here, tuck me 
in. Tuck me in. Yeah, there we go. Oh, yeah. A little breakfast. Tiny 
breakfast. And then we we take off. Today is semi climb. It is 2:40 a.m. We have 
800 m to climb over 2 km. It’s really really steep and we want to reach before sunrise because 
then we have the highest jabarata in the world to do. So it’s a bit of a problem. It’s going to be 
really steep. It’s quite cold but it’s not raining so we are able to do it. Nick is ready I think. 
Yeah. Not ready to go out of the cold but I’m poop. All right, cool, Jackie. Let’s 
do this. Bam. You too, Mel. In the pitch black night, we begin our ascent. 
Only the sound of boots rock. Only the glow of headlamps snacking up the mountain ahead. The 
path turned to pure rock slabs. Progress was fast. Maybe too fast. The sunrise was still far off 
when we reached the final 500 meters. That’s when it all went wrong. First came rising water. 
Then came howling wind, then sheets of rain, clinging to the rock, we reached the top. 
Mount Kinabalu, wild and magnificent, refused to reveal itself. No sunrise, no 
views, just darkness, wind and victory. We stood on Southeast Asia’s highest point 
for only a few brief, brutal minutes. The light came in. We’re in a zone 
without wind, so it’s pretty nice. But it’s still really, really cold. But it’s 
beautiful with this fog. As we descended, daylight tore through the clouds to reveal 
a moonscape. Almost no climbers around. The guides had halted summits because of the storm. 
Only a handful had made it. I’ve got it. Oh, wow. So William here is a vaferata guide and 
he’s saying sometimes this water comes all the way to the hips. Now now this 
is why the vaferata is canceled because it’s literally streaming down the mountain. Plus 
you don’t want to go in there. You’re going to   you’re going to freeze. It’s going to be cold. You 
cold? No. Now I’m okay. I can’t I think I can’t go any closer to the fire. That day, Kinabalu said 
no. And yet, we stood on its summit. Anyways, for a moment, we were higher than all of 
Southeast Asia. But the best part wasn’t   the view, it was the team. Jackie who led us 
safely to the top and the incredible staff on the mountain huts and Jafarata who took such 
good care of us. Then came the long grind, a single push 2,400 m down to base. We made it. 
Bravo. Thanks Jackie. Nice mountain in Southeast Asia. Thank you Jackie. Thanks to you. We made 
it. Yeah. Awesome. And Jackie was behind me the whole way down. I was super slow and he was like 
Matil from here you have 6 minutes to the next 500 you know like Montabalu conquered but it didn’t 
give up easily what a way to end our time in Bono Indonesia now Malaysia yes and in two days we 
are sending to Kalumpo oh this is why car have to be cleaned for ferry ferry and send Palo and 
then driving Asia and then Africa We’ve arrived in Ka Kavalu. Here they call it KK. It’s a coastal 
town. And this is where we are going to ship our car to mainland Malaysia, mainland Asia. We’ve 
been on island since Australia. And this happens in Kotabalu. Oo, it’s bright here. Sorry. Let me 
adjust that quickly. Too dark. That’s good. That’s okay. So shipping is always a bit of a program. 
We need to clean the car. We need to pack all our stuff properly. Uh there’s some paperwork to do. 
So that’s what’s happening. This no because then you’re going inside engineer. So we got a hotel 
for the one night so that we can pack up elbow for the shipment. So everything needs to come 
out. We need to clean the car. We had laundry   done. But these two bags are full of laundry. 
More the carpet. Not lying. We always look a tiny bit weird when we do this kind of work in the 
city. We’re in a normal parking lot with an awning open. That’s the job. Embrace the weirdness. Yeah. 
There is also the the insurance of the of the car, the cargo. Is this also all of the gear inside 
if something goes missing? I have a packet list I can send you. Okay. Okay. Bye-bye. We’ve never 
had this before where we’re putting the car in a container in an hour and we still don’t have 
an invoice for the price. We still don’t have a document that shows us that elbow is actually 
being shipped to Koala Lumpur. And so I was   trying to Yeah. I’m like, “Dude, this is not this 
is not normal. What if you ship my car to Africa and what if you ask me $100,000?” So he’s like, 
“Look, you have my word. I promise you I promise   you.” So I was like, “Oh man.” So I told him, 
“Just send it to me in the next hour and a half, otherwise I’m not going to be reassured.” Yeah, 
I’m not going to be reassured. So he’s like, “Okay, okay, okay.” So anyway, now we’re at the 
post office. We’ve got 43 postcards for all of our Patreons, handwritten. And because we went to 
see the Orangutans, we got them straight at the Orangutans. Literally all handwritten by Matild 
and I. So, there’s 43 Patreons who are at the 19 uh subscription. They get tons of access 
to tons of information of the whole trip, encounters, GPX tracks, tips and tricks, 
tons of things, and on top of it, postcards. Ah, shipping warehouses. Yeah. Favorite 
place. Hello. Hey, I am here. But, uh, it looks a little bit strange. Is I don’t know 
if I’m in the right place. Okay. I wait for you here then. Okay. Perfect. All right. See 
you. Well, just like every time we ship a car, we need to put dehumidifiers in there 
because otherwise we’re going to find   ourselves with a nasty surprise of mold. 
And so, this is the trick keeping it all safe. Nick is taking videos of the car 
to be sure there’s no damage on arrival. It’s okay. [Laughter] Next up, the Asian mainland and beyond into Africa 
and Europe. The world tour is not complete and the road ahead is promising. All the best. Have a safe 
hour. Yeah. Do it. Four feet, four wheels, and one unforgettable journey. Subscribe and come with 
us to the most incredible corners of this planet. You look like a pilgrim. It’s uh 6 a purple 
pilgrim. Hi, you’re filming. It’s 6:00 p.m. and uh this is the inner liner of our 
sleeping bag. Now you look like a nun. I can’t let you go, baby. I just want to 
tell you that. No, no, no. Oh yeah. [Music]

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From jungle tracks to the roof of Southeast Asia — this is Borneo like you’ve never seen it. Our journey into Malaysia begins with the Land Rover Defender tackling remote trails and forgotten railways deep in the rainforest. But the ultimate challenge? Climbing Mount Kinabalu, a 4,100-meter granite giant shrouded in clouds, wind, and torrential rain.

In just one week, we pushed both machine and muscle to their limits — off-roading through wild terrain and summiting Southeast Asia’s highest peak in the middle of a storm.

Join us as we:
Go completely off-road through Borneo’s remote jungle
Ride along abandoned railways and riverside trails
Attempt the climb of Mount Kinabalu in brutal weather
Discover the untamed beauty of northern Malaysia

If you love epic adventures, 4×4 overlanding, and insane mountain climbs, this episode is for you. Subscribe and be part of the journey as we drive across continents and conquer the wildest landscapes on Earth.

#Overlanding #Malaysia #MountKinabalu #BorneoAdventure #TravelSeries #Sabah

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Episode 154 | Filmed 13th August, 2025 | Borneo, Malaysia

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WHO ARE WE?

Join us as we travel the world on an expedition throughout the 7 continents, crossing about 88 countries, making new friends, meeting the locals, exploring cultures, traditions, foods and every corners of the continents. Join us!
We are traveling in our Land Rover Defender, our tiny home on wheels for the next 5 years.

5 Years | 88 Countries | 7 Continents | 300 000km
Nick; 31 y/o, French/Italian. 🙋‍♂️🇫🇷🇮🇹
Mathilde; 31 y/o, French.🙋‍♀️🇫🇷
Albatross; 12 y/o, UK. 🚙🇬🇧

We are incredibly grateful to be able to continue doing something we love every day. 😊🎥🌎 Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our journey!

@NextMeridian.Expedition

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