Osman's Homestay — Hotel in Borneo

You could have an impression that this review is not true, due to my ironic style, but believe me - it happened for real and the only reason why I treat that situation so easily is that it happened almost two months ago.

We had this unpleasant chance to meet Osman and try to get along with him... It all started before we even arrived to his homestay. We booked a room for two via phone and notified our hosts that we'll arrive in the afternoon. Around 3pm the day of arrival we got a message from Osman's wife that "she hopes that we'll arrive before 3:30pm. We ask then what does that mysterious hour mean and got an answer that it's time of the afternoon cruise. Well, we were a bit surprised about the whole situation that someones is expecting us at a certain time during the day not consulting it with us before. To be clear, for sure it wasn't the language barrier, but rather lack of communication between Osman and his wife and... his temper, as you'll find out later... We met Osman at the embankment in Sukau. He came to pick us up to his house, as there is no other way to get there. We greeted him with a smile and happy faces, trying to excuse ourselves that we've been hitchhiking all day and didn't have any idea that someone's waiting for us. He had a very grumpy face and looked at my girlfriend with anger and imitated her as she would have high-pitch voice. All right, we just sat politely in the boat and got to the homestay. After arriving to the homestay we met other people that stayed there ready for the cruise. Osman pretended as we would not be there and spoke only to other guests. He saw my astonished face and asked if I had "any problems". Well, I told him that we feel a bit strange entering his house and not being treated us guest, but more like "part of job he needs to do". This started 10 minutes "conversation" or rather strange dispute with him about us coming late (sic!) and making problems. We explained politely that we've been hitchhiking that whole day, but Osman didn't want (literary) believe us. We also told him that we didn't planned to go on a cruise that day, cause we were already tired. He didn't let us finish the sentence and acted like he was insulted, turned around and went to the boat with other people. We stopped him explaining that if there is a opportunity to go with them, we would like to and went to change clothes to our room. After we came back after 1:30 minutes he already departed. I went to his wife quickly and asked her why he did it. He called him to come back and then the whole performance began... He arrived to the jetty, disembarked from the boat full of anger. Started shouting at me that we should "get out from his house" and "write a bad review" - which I'm doing right now. He also threatened me that HE WILL KILL ME if I do something to his family. Well, I haven't planned that, as I'm rather very shy with harming people or "doing something" to them. Eventually all of this was a true tragic performance watched not only by my frightened beloved one, but Osman's five daughters, his wife and two young, European gentlemen and their girlfriends (guests) from the boat and no one from them (expect my girlfriend) felt this isn't right what is happening. They waited politely for Osman to come back to the boat and go for a cruise. It shows how stressful for them it was to stay there, as they even felt frightened by him to get out from the boat and do or even say something. Well, luckily Osman didn't have any ax or machete and I'm alive and could deliver you this story which was very unpleasant to come through.

DON'T STAY HERE OR RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO ANYONE. OSMAN IS MENTAL AND SHOULDN'T RUN A GUESTHOUSE OR TAKE CARE OF PEOPLE DURING...

I had a wonderful 2 night experience at Osman's homestay.

Logistics were arranged by his wife Yanti (who's cooking was delicious), and she helped arrange my transport from Sepilok and onward travel to Semporna.

It's best to aim to arrive before 3pm in time for the 3.30pm afternoon cruise where wildlife is most active. The morning cruise is from 6am and there is also an option for a night cruise.

Osman as a guide was truely incredible. There's a reason the BBC choose him for their filming projects! He has a super sharp eye and his ability to spot and identify wildlife is amazing. He also does an incredible impression of certian animal calls that fooled me for the real thing!! He was patient with me and really helped me have an incredible experience despite the possible temptation of not needing to put the extra effort in as I was the only guest there during my time in the wet season. On my last cruise we were about to call it a day after a quiet morning but Osman persevered and managed to somehow spot a baby orangutan nestled high into an inconspicuous nearby tree. A truely wonderful experience watching bub followed, having also located the mother and a 3rd orangutan nearby.

We shared stories and life experiences and I learnt about the sad impact of corruption, weak government and making an easy buck through palm oil plantation. The destruction of the rainforest and murder of animals is truely heartbreaking. Surprisingly I also learnt how some of the work of the NGOs is counteractive to helping the environment and has a negative impact on local people.

Osman does have some blood pressure problems and admitted to having an anger issue in the past, but this is the reality of trying to make a living for village folk living in the countryside with little access to medical/ psychological help, let alone guidance in the importance of regular excercise and diet/nutritional info.

I for one had a very pleasant experience with Osman and his family, and gave them a tip to help with rebuilding their lives after nearly 3 years of struggle due to no tourism because of the covid pandemic.

As a side note the accommodation is brand new, very simple but comfortable and pleasent, and did I mention the food is delicious 😀

I can only highly recommend this experience after my wonderful time. I would recommend to bring a pair of good binoculars so you can see everything much closer and clearer, a dry bag to keep your electronics safe if it rains whilst on the cruise, and a good rainjacket as it can get very wet/cold quickly from the rain/speed on the boat. Sunglasses are a must if it's bright as I found out when I forgot mine and my eyes couldn't cope with the sunlight bouncing off the water on a clear day . A good camera is something I wish I brought as a phone camera doesn't quite cut it and you'll want to cherish the wildlife memories!!

There is obviously a long break between the cruises so a good book is mandatory! Only access is by boat so bring any snacks/ things required beforehand as there's no nearby shop. The phone signal in the area is very weak so any important emails, calls, work etc will have to wait.

Thank you Osman and Yanti for a wonderful experience

I can't wait to come...

Osman's homestay is a bit away from the village and only accessible by boat. They can arrange for a pickup but most drivers will know where to drop you off and give a heads-up to Osman so he can pick you up.

The tours are great, Osman is very knowledgeable and will spot everything there is to spot.

They tried dumping us at a relatives homestay for the reason one of them had to see a doctor. We proposed to forward the dates one day so it wouldn't cause anyone too much inconveniences and they accepted. Along the way we learnt they were actually overbooked. I call it 'dumping' because no information (not even upon request) was provided regarding the other homestay. Questions are handled in a very condescending way.

So we arrived in Sukau a day early and booked one night in another accomodation and it turned out it was difficult to get from there to Osman's, with which Osman's provided no help because "that's why we asked you to stay at our sister's". Well, that's an interesting way of handling guests... And it didn't end there.

Osman is all jokes at first. I think it's because some other guests were senior to him, that he was behaving alright. Once they left and there were only young couples left, his attitude changed. He was preaching constantly about his seniority (being a grandfather and all), criticizing guests behaviours (specific and in general) and also stating how he had fights on the lawn with disrespectful guests. Luckily we came mentally prepared after reading some reviews and we could shrug it off. And ofcourse, his house his rules so we did our best to not cross one of his (easily crossed) lines and just nod and smile. I'm no psychologist but it seems Osman enjoys the authority he has and gets a kick out of the powerful feeling he gets when he basically corners his guests into walking on their toes. And it seems like he simply can't help himself in behaving the way he does. He says he doesn't mean things in a bad way and, for example: he apologized to me when we left, saying he hoped he didn't hurt my feelings. But the reality is simply that he intimidates people and then you're on his turf and fully dependent on his goodwill once you're there, so that can be stressful.

I'd say if you're a senior couple or a family with kids, Osman is a great place to stay and do quality tours. If you're a younger traveller or couple, there are plenty of other very good accomodations and very...