Borneo… anyone been?
Discussion
gadzookz said:
Insane muslim nutters. Avoid.
(After Irans head honcho has declared GB is the ultimate in evil countries, I would avoid all nutter islam states)
holy sh*t....just made final payment yesterday...should have cancelled it and gone to Mabelthorpe. I think not. Brought up in Ulster which is full of religious nuttters and yet I survived.(After Irans head honcho has declared GB is the ultimate in evil countries, I would avoid all nutter islam states)
Edited by gadzookz on Saturday 20th June 23:53
Ignore the bigots above.
We were there (Tanjung Aru) for a week on our honeymoon in 2005.
The hotel is fantastic - proper 5* place, great customer service, good (if expensive for the country) food, typical terrible lounge singers, regular-ish free shuttle into town (Kota Kinabalu 15mins away).
Beach is very small (and there's not really one in town, which is a port) but there's a lot of loungers spread out on the grass (not too close to each other - plenty of space), they have lots of activities - some for kids, some for adults, and there's speed-boat transfers to the Tunku Abdul Rahman Nat'l Park offshore (5 small rainforested islands - better beach there w/half-decent snorkelling or scuba, plus monitor lizards in the forest behind the beach! Very cool, but I didn't dare get too close (10yds was close enough...)
BABY monitor (~18in, vs 6ft+ for the adults!)
If you can arrange it, get flights over to Sandakan on the other side of Sabah (= Malaysian Borneo). Also try and stay the night there if you want to see all of the things below. Attractions include:-
- Sepilok Orang Utan sanctuary - much better than the few kept at the other Shangri La resort further up the west coast from KK
- Deer Caves
- Turtle Island - need to book/get permission in advance, only so many visitors per day.
...all of that is more than 1 day's excursions. We didn't realise all of this, thought we could sort on-arrival at Sandakan (not obvious how to 4 years ago), so we only got to Sepilok, spent a full day there when maybe 1/2-day would have been enough.
Orang at Sepilok
Sunset from Tanjung Aru "Sunset Bar"
Oh...and we also did horse-riding on the beach about 45mins drive south of KK - got picked up early in the morning by a lovely Aussie lady who runs the place (forget her name, sorry). I didn't think I'd like it, but it was actually good fun and my horse was very well-behaved!
We loved it. KK wasn't much of a city to look at, but had some decent restaurants (which DIDN'T include the big seafood place on the riverfront which everyone recommended - awful place!), and had an excellent chain-cafe for breakfast (something like "The Tea Leaf and Coffee Bean Co.") at 1/3 the price of the Tanjung Aru's spread.
Finally, if you're feeling VERY fit or adventurous, there's Mt Kintamani and the National Park at the foot of it (where the Rafflesia flower/plant grows):-
We were there (Tanjung Aru) for a week on our honeymoon in 2005.
The hotel is fantastic - proper 5* place, great customer service, good (if expensive for the country) food, typical terrible lounge singers, regular-ish free shuttle into town (Kota Kinabalu 15mins away).
Beach is very small (and there's not really one in town, which is a port) but there's a lot of loungers spread out on the grass (not too close to each other - plenty of space), they have lots of activities - some for kids, some for adults, and there's speed-boat transfers to the Tunku Abdul Rahman Nat'l Park offshore (5 small rainforested islands - better beach there w/half-decent snorkelling or scuba, plus monitor lizards in the forest behind the beach! Very cool, but I didn't dare get too close (10yds was close enough...)
BABY monitor (~18in, vs 6ft+ for the adults!)
If you can arrange it, get flights over to Sandakan on the other side of Sabah (= Malaysian Borneo). Also try and stay the night there if you want to see all of the things below. Attractions include:-
- Sepilok Orang Utan sanctuary - much better than the few kept at the other Shangri La resort further up the west coast from KK
- Deer Caves
- Turtle Island - need to book/get permission in advance, only so many visitors per day.
...all of that is more than 1 day's excursions. We didn't realise all of this, thought we could sort on-arrival at Sandakan (not obvious how to 4 years ago), so we only got to Sepilok, spent a full day there when maybe 1/2-day would have been enough.
Orang at Sepilok
Sunset from Tanjung Aru "Sunset Bar"
Oh...and we also did horse-riding on the beach about 45mins drive south of KK - got picked up early in the morning by a lovely Aussie lady who runs the place (forget her name, sorry). I didn't think I'd like it, but it was actually good fun and my horse was very well-behaved!
We loved it. KK wasn't much of a city to look at, but had some decent restaurants (which DIDN'T include the big seafood place on the riverfront which everyone recommended - awful place!), and had an excellent chain-cafe for breakfast (something like "The Tea Leaf and Coffee Bean Co.") at 1/3 the price of the Tanjung Aru's spread.
Finally, if you're feeling VERY fit or adventurous, there's Mt Kintamani and the National Park at the foot of it (where the Rafflesia flower/plant grows):-
Hello, we used to live there. When I say we I mean when I was younger - my father worked out there and his company put him up in the Tanjung Aru. My mother and us 2 girls went our during school hols!
It is blissful, you will love it. I am biased as I grew up in Malaysia but I am sure you will have a wonderful time. You are lucky to be going, have a wonderful time. S
It is blissful, you will love it. I am biased as I grew up in Malaysia but I am sure you will have a wonderful time. You are lucky to be going, have a wonderful time. S
Borneo is class, was there, Sabah & Sarawak regions, in June for a a few days. Climbed Mount Kinabalu - was very tough couple of days and I was crippled with muscle cramp coming back down but awesome at the top for sunrise. You need to book well in advance though. The road from KK to the park entrance at Mt. Kinabalu has to be one of the best driving roads ever but was pretty hairy in a dodgy Proton taxi with duff shocks and a driver who was out to impress. Also visited Sepilok Orangutan Rehab place (flew from KK to Sandakan) but to be honest that trip wasn't really the effort in my opinion. Kota Kinabalu is a fine town, has a big Filipino market and the sights and smells in it are great. Fancy some dried crocodile stomach lining or dessicated seahorse to get your mojo working? You'll be in luck there. You can also go on scuba and snorekelling trips from KK which are pretty nice. There's a night club called 'Bed' in town and the house band are friggin' awesome; three hot Filipino birds & band doing amazing covers of all the latest and greatest dance tracks. I think the Shangri-La Rasa Ria hotel is a top class joint although there may well be two Shangi Las in KK, one is a proper one and part of the chain and the other is not. I stayed in the Le Meridien which is in the town centre, opposite the market and bars along the shore. Didn't make it to Brunei although I head it was pretty boring and not worth the bother. Hope you have a good trip.
Edited to add: just read the various comments about Islam and the Muslims and have to say that you see some fabulous Mosques but there was nothing overtly religious about Malaysian Borneo. I can't comment about the Indonesian part but in Sabah & Sarwak everyone was lovely and there is a very good mix of Muslim & Christian and no hassles whatsoever.
Edited to add: just read the various comments about Islam and the Muslims and have to say that you see some fabulous Mosques but there was nothing overtly religious about Malaysian Borneo. I can't comment about the Indonesian part but in Sabah & Sarwak everyone was lovely and there is a very good mix of Muslim & Christian and no hassles whatsoever.
Edited by JuniorD on Monday 10th August 11:42
Junior - Sepilok was the highlight of our trip, so depends what you want, I guess.
Rasa Ria is the sister hotel to the one we stayed at. It's a little way outside of KK, so not sure how easy it'll be to get into and out of e.g. for shopping or for dinner.
RR does have the advantage in that they've a small Orang Utan 'sanctuary' there. Not sure how legit and how much of a 'zoo' it is though...we didn't go there.
Rasa Ria is the sister hotel to the one we stayed at. It's a little way outside of KK, so not sure how easy it'll be to get into and out of e.g. for shopping or for dinner.
RR does have the advantage in that they've a small Orang Utan 'sanctuary' there. Not sure how legit and how much of a 'zoo' it is though...we didn't go there.
In fairness most of our group enjoyed Sepilok, particularly the girls, who all seemed to simultaneously ovulate at the sight of an Orangutan at the rehab centre. The reason why I didn't quite enjoy as much as the others is that my expectation was of wall to wall Orangutans but we saw two. Apparently we were lucky as none had been out for days and it's a very long way to go (flights, overnight stay etc.) not to see them. My other criticism, which is seems to be the case with similar places which I have visited around the world, is that they seem to staffed by non-local, usually British, people who are ultra-precious about their animals yet cannot answer questions or tell you a single basic fact about them other than name and disposition Eg."How long is their gestation?" "Err...this is Mary, she likes trees and eats bananas".
To kill time we did do a night walk through the rainforest around Sepilok which was brilliant, crossing paths with snakes, spiders, scorpions, flying squirrels etc. and of course getting covered in leeches.
To kill time we did do a night walk through the rainforest around Sepilok which was brilliant, crossing paths with snakes, spiders, scorpions, flying squirrels etc. and of course getting covered in leeches.
AstonZagato said:
Holy thread resurrection...
The wife has expressed a desire to go to Borneo to see orangutans.
I'm not a fan of hot/humid or unfriendly locals.
Wife would be happy with orangutans and 5 star resorts.
Wife did a small group Borneo guided trip with the National Geographic. She absolutely loved it, all of it apart from the bugs. But she's not a bug person at all.The wife has expressed a desire to go to Borneo to see orangutans.
I'm not a fan of hot/humid or unfriendly locals.
Wife would be happy with orangutans and 5 star resorts.
She said she'd definitely go back, and that's some praise coming from her.
AstonZagato said:
Holy thread resurrection...
The wife has expressed a desire to go to Borneo to see orangutans.
I'm not a fan of hot/humid or unfriendly locals.
Wife would be happy with orangutans and 5 star resorts.
Do it for a few days by flying into Sandakan and then bugger off to Langkawi for more 5* luxury would be my suggestion. I went for a few days many moons ago, my wife spent a month in Borneo diving but that trip involved very little luxury so I can’t suggest any specific hotels/resorts.The wife has expressed a desire to go to Borneo to see orangutans.
I'm not a fan of hot/humid or unfriendly locals.
Wife would be happy with orangutans and 5 star resorts.
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff