Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cazador83]

Thinking about Malaysia (Peninsular or Borneo side) or Indonesia (Sumatra or Borneo).

Gonna have about 4 weeks. I was thinking Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, but was also wanting to check out Sipadan on the Borneo side. What is realistically possible?

Also, what are some must see place? Oh and Singapore Air vs. Malaysian Air?

[AustSaint]

I have only been to Borneo, well only parts of Borneo and that was great. It was quite a nice difference to Korea and other parts of Asia

[Kurtz]

I travelled the peninsula about 10 years ago. From memory the scenery was quite damaged from the large scale clearing of jungle, and putting in oil palm plantations. The mosques aren't anything special, nor are the beaches but Tioman and Perhentian Island(spelling) were a kind of tropical oasis back then. The Cameron Highlands were nice too.

The food is fantastic if you like Indian especially and the people are quite friendly. Females might get some attention as due to it being an Islamic nation, the men are quite frustrated. I heard of stories about local men getting a room in a backpackers place and getting off at the sounds happening next door.

It's a good value nation, but nothing like other parts of SE Asia.

I'd recommend it for a first timer to Asia, but for those wanting something more exotic, I'd look elsewhere.

[Skyblue]

Sumatra is boring. And a dump. Spent 12 weeks there on two separate occasions. The first time back in 2001 was good, especially Aceh before the tsunami, but the second time, the changes all around were depressing. The whole place had just gone downhill, especially Danau Toba, where a few heroin addicted dudes sat around trying to flog me overpriced gear all the time, and every five steps had yet another old woman trying to sell me a wooden carving and then acting disappointed when I said no. What did they expect?

Peninsular Malaysia, I've been there many, many times. KL is good fun in the typical big city way. Otherwise, I really do like Penang, especially the aforementioned Indian food, but there's nothing to do there after a few days. The rest of the place is pretty mundane to be honest. I've never been to the islands though.

To be honest, I wouldn't go back to either one again.

[cazador83]

[Skyblue]

The LP is pretty hit and miss in my experience. Everyone you meet has a different take on things. And remember that the LP updates every 5 years or so, and that does not necessarily entail a full-scale trip around the place by one of their writers.

I was there in 2001 and again in 2007-8. So the second time was a good long time after the tsunami, and that didn't even affect lots of the places, mainly Aceh. Other places have had their own problems. Danau Toba is just depressing, partly because no one goes there anymore. There are so many identical guesthouses selling pizzas and wooden carvings, and a few tourists who get the feeling that there's no life there at all.

Berastagi is at the site of the volcano that's kicking off now. Nothing to see there to be honest. Bukit Lawang had that devastating flash flood. I didn't rate it when I was there the first time, long ago, but it's OK for a couple days if you want to trek into the jungle with a guide. Otherwise, it's like a zoo with one animal - orangutans. Bukittinggi and Danau Maninjau suffering from Danau Toba syndrome - no one there, depressing vibe, place mouldering away, with the added benefit of Muslims who are more ardent since Iraq and Afghanistan. They're all wearing their headscarves now.

Go check it out if you want, and do come back and tell me that you had a great time if that was the case, but for me the whole island, while ruggedly prehistorical looking, lacked any sense of welcome or energy.

[zhanknight]

If you go to the Malaysian half of Borneo, there are two big things to do!
First: Climb Mt. Kinabalu. Second: Go to Miri and take the small prop plane to Ganung Mulu National Park. Both of these places were on the series 'Planet Earth' if you ever saw it. Amazing stuff.

Then maybe continue down to Kuching - it's a nice town and you can catch a glimpse of some orang-utans.

If you're into it, you can stop in tiny Brunei as well, there are some absolutely breathtaking mosques here and some great museums.

I was all over this area earlier this year, really enjoyed it. You can hit my flickr or youtube page if you want some photos or videos.

http://www.youtube.com/evannrachel
http://www.flickr.com/evannrachel

[lalartu]

[ajgeddes]

[zhanknight]