Korean Job Discussion Forums

[bradshaw]

I'm planning a trip to East Malaysia (Borneo) this summer. I don't have a lot of holiday time, so I'm torn between focusing on Sabah or Sarawak. Has anyone been? I'd be keen to visit the orangutan conservation park, as well as get a few dives in. I'm also hoping to visit Brunei if time allows. Can anyone first of all share their preference between the two provinces? Also, any past itineraries between Brunei and either of the provinces would be incredibly helpful. I thank you in advance!

[stevieg4ever]

I didn't make it to the islands but I am reliably told that - if done properly - they are seperate holidays unto themselves (from peninsula Malaysia, that is). I think at least 2 weeks in each, maybe 10 days at a stretch.

But we dont always travel to 'ideal' time frames.

Would love to do some hiking and check out the Orangatangs as well...

[bradshaw]

I'll have anywhere from 14 to 21 days, but definitely want to focus on one area ... it's just choosing which one!

[ajgeddes]

I have only been to Sabah, but I will share my thoughts on what I know of both.

Sarawak is still less developed and there are much more opportunities to easily get off the beaten track as there are less tourists, and more 'tribal' villages that you can visit and stay in overnight. I also heard the city of Kuching is quite nice.

Sabah is more developed thanks to direct international flights. There are more cities and the travel industry is much more developed and a million different tours can be had. However, individual travel can also be easily be done as the transportation system is also very developed. Sabah is like one big tourist destination. There are also plenty of domestic flights around Borneo for cheap prices. Also of interest is that Sabah has the highest unemployment of any state in Malaysia and also the highest alcohol consumption rate (which is still not that high in an Islamic country).

[ajgeddes]

I would also like to comment on the Orangutan Conservation Park. It is very, very zooish and touristy. People that went there definitely had complaints like people jamming cameras right into the faces of Orangutans and also giving them food, even though told not to. People also said it was cool, but after seeing Orangutans in the wild said the Convervation Park really wasn't worth it. Take a 2 night trip down the Kinabantangan instead where you will probably see some as well as a plethora of other wildlife. www.uncletan.com run great tours and it is pretty much roughing it, but when I was there they were being forced to move by the government, so I don't know what their status is right now, but if it is the same, it is pretty 'roughing' it. When you leave, you will be dying for a shower. [/u]

[Fofazoju]

I have been to both and it all depends on what you are looking for. I stayed 10 days in Sabah and 5 days in Sarawak and I liked Sabah much better. BOTH have their own unique qualities though!

Sabah I would say has more nature-y things to do while Sarawak was more culture, headhunter-y things. I am never one to stay in cities but Kuching is a decent city as far as cities go. It is close to several places where you can take a 30 min - hour bus somewhere and experience something totally different than city life.

Here is what i did in Sabah:

GOOD TOURIST MAP: http://www.sabahtravelguide.com/images/index_page/SABAH-MAP.jpg

Stayed in KK for 2-3 days or so. I had wanted to head up the coast to Kudat to do a longhouse tour but it never did pan out. KK is a decent city because if you stay in the right spot (I stayed at Bohol Backpackers which was decent enough - like $10 a night or something, I met ppl who stayed at a better place down the street, can't remember name, starts with an A maybe??), but if you stay where MOST ppl stay you are a 15 min walk to the pier and a 7 min boat ride to many little islands (Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park) for swimming. It isn't Phuket or anything but it IS pretty. I went to 2 or 3 of them, I can't exactly remember. I know I went to Sapi and Manukan. Sapi had the better beaches and on one side of it, NO ONE WAS THERE and the beach was small but SOOOOO pretty. Prettier than the other side, but like I said, it was small, but nice enough to enjoy! I believe on both islands you can spend the night. But these islands are what made it easy for me to spend several days in KK. VERY beautiful clear blue water and nice soft sand. PRETTY!

After KK I started to make my way around the island. I headed to Mount Kinabalu which was beautiful. The drive is just as beautiful by the way. SOOO amazingly beautiful. I didn;t climb the mountain but met several people who did. You should give yourself 3 days there really. Arriving the day before, climb in the morning and then rest the next day. The people I met said it wasn't a crazy difficult hike, but they didn't wanna do anything crazy the following days. It is a nice enough area to spend a few days.

Then I wanted to headed to the Lanbuk Bay Probiscus Monkey Sanctuary but I decided to go ahead and do the Orang utan one instead in Sepilok. I had to spend the night in Sandakan which was not the nicest of cities. I am a youngish female and I got SO many stares there. It seemed that the farther I went, the more it seemed that I got more stares. But I had to get a bus to Sepilok in town in Sandakan. Oh, and bus times are VERY loose. You may leave at 1, you may leave at 2. The one I was going to take broke down so I waited a few hours in the market. I wouldnt want to spend more than a day in Sandakan. it was good to head to the bank though and do other city things because this will be the last city for a bit. I also booked a tour here. THIS is the city to book any tour (well I guess you could do it in KK but this gives you more give for time). I booked a tour for 3 nights on the Kinabatagon river. A MUST. In Sandakan I stayed at the place in the LP that has the grumpy old man. Yes, he is very grumpy but the place was decent enough.

Anyway, the Sepilok Sanctuary was nice, but I agree, it is a tad bit zoo-y. And of course, you get the annoying tourists (was I one of them??) being loud, shoving the camera in the face etc there. And it is true, if you see them in the wild, you cannot go back to being impressed seeing them in the zoo anymore. The area where the Sanctuary is is REALLY peaceful. I forget where I stayed but the grounds were amazing. VERY lush, and I think I paid about $20 a night...MAYBE. Spend the night here and have fun wandering around.

Then I had my 3 night stay on the Kinabatangan River. THIS IS A MUST. It was the highlight of my trip by far. AND YOU MUST STAY MORE THAN ONE night. One night you just get the feel of it. I didn't stay at Uncle Tan's. I can't remember the name of it, I got the pamphlet and organized it at the tour place in Sandakan...but I HIGHLY recommend it. The people there were AMAZING and the guides truly loved their job and wildlife. We saw of course probiscus monkeys, WILD orang utans, snakes, rare birds, crocodiles in the water WITH US, all kids of monkeys. It was amazing. A MUST. I heard that Danum Valley is better for this as it is MORE in the jungle, but I think there is only one place to spend the night and it is very expensive, over a $100 a night. For me, I had NO complaints staying here. I forget how much I paid, maybe $100 for all 3 nights?? Which included food, transport and river tours. As well as NIGHT treks which were very interesting.

Oh, I met a few people that also went to Tabin Wildlife Reserve and they said that it was good, maybe better but I can;t stay for sure.

I then went to the Gomantang caves, mostly because a few fellow travelers and I were heading the same way and thought we would do a detour. Ultimately we were all heading to Lahad Datu. I think this is where they stayed to go to Tabin and I was catching a bus to head down to Semporna.

The cave was REALLY cool, and I am not a cave person. The bat guano was over a story high. You can see the 200 ft ladders they use to get the swiftlet nests. Saw a huge snake sitting on the banister. About a million cockroaches live in there and walking on the floor you are bound to here crunches as they scatter all around you. IT REALLY is an experience!

From there I headed to Lahad Datu to catch bus for Semporna. Semporna was my least favorite city as I got a LOT of stares. Well, I shouldn't say my least favorite, just in terms of the gawking. The food was amazing there. I wanted to spend the night on Mabul island but BOOK IN ADVANCE!! It was fully booked up to 3 days after I arrived. If you stay there you can avoid staying in Semporna to go to Mabul and of course, Sipadan.

Sipadan is amazing little island. BUT you cannot stay here. Well I dont know, there maybe ONE spot you can stay. I was under the impression you couldn't but I think there MAY be ONE resort (very expensive) Double check if you are interested. Mabul is a VERY fun PARTY spot (there is one major place to stay, Uncle something) and it is close enough to take a boat to Sipadan. Much better to stay there if you liek to socialize. The army also lives on Sipidan so it makes for an interesting beach time. I don't dive but I imagine it was amazing. The snorkeling was some of the best I have seen, absolutely amazing. Turtles...and other big colorful fish surround you. VERY pretty.

Then I headed down to Sarawak (man, its a good thing I can't sleep, this post is huge!!!)...

I stayed in Kuching my whole 5-6 days minus 1 night I ventured out. Stayed at an amazing hostel Singghasana. The owners are incredible, photographers and very artsy. It was $10 a night for a bed. I didnt do TOO much in Sarawak, I had planned to head up to maybe the headhunter area but it was VERY RAINY!!!!!!! And leaving WONDERFUL SUNNY Sabah and coming to rainy, cloudy Sarawak kinda got my out of travelling for a bit.

I DID head to Bako National Park though which was amazing! I WISH I had spend the night. THIS IS A MUST!!!! By the time you get to the park form Kuching it will be about noon - and have to head back by 3 or 4. Because you have to take a bus then take a boat over. So, by that time, all the animals were like, SEE YA. The Probiscus monkey is here and seeing him in the early morning is HIGHLY probable. Also, it makes sense to go all that way not to just come back. BE WARY of the price quoted for the boat. I naively made the mistake of agreeing to a boatman a price and assumed it was for both ways. MAKE SURE YOU TAKE A BOAT with people or you will have to pay for the whole boat. But, besides the monkeys, this park is beautiful and I only did ONE trail! Can EASILY spend 2-3 days here if had more time.

I went to the Sarawak Cultural VIllage. It was OK but skip it if you don't have a lot of time.

I didn't do a longhouse tour as I head they are very touristy (duh!). I suppose it would be interesting enough, but I think to do this right, you need to head WAAAAY up the river. If you arrange in Kuching, you get the touristy ones. Best to head up that way on your own and be adventurous and see what you can find.

The owners of the hostel in Kuching also have a fancier place on the coast on Damai Beach. I decided to head up there to get out of the city for a night. The resort was brand new, not all the rooms were done and VERY peaceful....AKA bring a book I explored around a bit, and it was VERY interesting especially if you like small village culture stuff. On the beach I actually ran into a cock fight!!! It was VERY cool and the guys were only happy to have me watch and take photos. Even informing me of the next one the following week The beach is nothing liek Sabah's beaches and I would never go swimming but again, very nice area for the village life.

I think that was pretty much it. It's not that I didn't like Sarawak, I just ABSOLUTELY LOVED SABAH. I don't regret going to Sarawak tho, it was a nice change I guess. Sabah has the PERFECT mix of nature, wildlife, great weather and great beaches. Sarawak was more....I don't know the words, rustic?? I would definitely hit both though! Perhaps even head more into the core of Borneo in Sarawak where the real headhunters are. Also, Mulu National Park is supposed to be beautiful.

OH a note about Brunei, I heard it is not worth the effort to go there. it takes about 3 days out of your schedule. It is very strict and really, the only thing to see is the palace. If it is just to get a stamp in the passport than so be it, but I would want to spend much more time exploring Sabah and Sarawak.

Sidenote: It is sad to see the amount of PALM plantations in Sabah. it is because of these plantations that squeeze wildlife into close quarters. Their habitat is clearly being destroyed. I took a 5 hour bus ride and all you could see were palm plantations. I wonder what it would have been like before the this. But, a country has to survive and this is their main export. Sad though all the same. End of political spiel

[ajgeddes]

Great post.

The people I have talked to all really enjoyed Kuching. I would really like to get into the jungle in Sarawak, near Brunei, where the pinnacles are and the other trails. Hopefully, I'll get back there again this summer for my 3rd trip to Malaysia, by far my favourite country in SEA.

[bradshaw]

Thank you SO much for your input everyone. Based on a little research and your recommendations, it looks like we're veering towards focusing on Sabah this visit. Summer vacation can't come soon enough!