Thinking of going to Borneo later in the year.

Plan would be fly to Singapore for a few days, and then head to Malaysian Borneo (sabah, Sarawak?) for the remainder. A mixture of tropical beach and then maybe some time in the rainforests.

It’d be me and my daughter (11 years old) and her first trip to Asia (hence not Thailand, Vietnam etc)

Been to the indo side for work, not pleasant really but I was visiting a mine.
Make sure you get the jabs Hep, Typhoid and Rabies I recall and it’s probably a Malaria zone so plenty of mosquito avoiding spray and pop the pills.

Yeah I’ve had all the jabs for Asia, and would defo be taking the anti-malarials. Never bothered before.

Hey. We were there in summer. Singapore, Brunei, Kota Kinabalu for 2 weeks.

Bloody amazing. Bloody hot.

Saw orangutans n stuff but mainly chilled and wandered about just seeing thing. The wife was born in Brunei so her folks showed us loads of places they used to go to an and live.

Nicer folks you will struggle to meet.

Yes amazing. Wrote a long post that disappeared. Stayed on the kinabatangan river, in a lodge. Highlight was a night safari where we saw a herd of Pygmy elephants swimming the river right next to us. The noise was prehistoric… Also went to sandakan saw orange tangs

Linked up with kuala lumpa and Hong Kong on the way in / out

Didn’t get munched by leeches like I did in Thailand.

I work there, miri or labuan. I wouldn’t travel to those places on holiday.

I went just over 20 years ago, Singapore, Sarawak, Kota Kinabalu, kuala lumpar. Flew out to see the orangutangs. I know it was ages ago but it was absolutely amazing, would love to take my kids there money permitting.

Spent a lot of time out there. Was born in Brunei, You want to go to Sabah, Kota Kinabalu stay at sea side travellers inn, Climb MT kinabalu, visit poring hot springs, sepilok orangutan rehabilitation centre etc.

Was there last year, via Hong kong on way out and kl return. Stayed in beach hotel in kota Kinabalu. Had a week in Kota which was enough, did the orangutang sanctuary and chilled on the beach. Highlight without doubt was days white water rafting on the Padas river with Riverbug adventures. Great Indian restaurant in Kota on the seafront plaza too.

Excellent trip around kinabatangan river and rainforest – largely usual stuff. Very hot and river lodges v basic for the money you spend.

Lodge in the rainforest (can’t remember name but will and Kate went there) is worth the trip. Great place.

Great but expensive for what it is IMO

I live in Sarawak. Miri, to be precise and I kinda agree with Paladin up there ^ (I’m guessing you work on Toisa Paladin?? – I’m in the SSB subsea team in Miri). I wouldn’t come here on holiday, although I find it a nice place to live and work. It is the main route to fly to Mulu, however, which is worthwhile to go see some huge caves and loads of bats. And bugs which live on bat poo. And lots and lots of bat poo.

Anyway, nowt to see in Brunei. Pretty much avoid. Used to live there too but it’s really culturally bereft and not much going on tourist wise. The empire hotel can be nice as it’s an impressive resort but it’s hardly buzzing. And there’s a no alcohol law so not much in the way of partying.

Stick to Sabah, base yourself in Kota Kinabalu. Go diving offshore KK or head over to the other side of Sabah to Tawau, Sipadan etc. Very nice, even if you aren’t a diver. Even snorkling round there is nice.

Climb Mt Kinabalu. Stunning views and worth the hike.

Go see some small elephants and orangutans if that’s your bag. Also there’s a turtle hatching beach up there too which I sent my mum too but never been yet.

Dont expect it to be a lush jungle wilderness.. It’s pretty much all gone now except the far interior of the island. All replaced with palm oil plantations and the like. Rather sad to say the least. Likewise some of the near shore reefs are in a bad state but Sipadan is very impressive.

HTH

Go. Sabah is still my favourite ever trip.

Cool wildlife (orangutans, proboscis monkeys, sea turtles, pitcher plants, stinky Rafflesia flowers), good beaches, Malay cuisine.

Mt Kinabalu is pretty special… and quite a mellow climb for a 4000m+ peak.

Singapore is great, I’d like to spend a week there someday..

Nice view – we saw nothing from the top of Kinabalu when we climbed. Started raining just after we arrived at the lodge on the way up and didn’t stop until we reached it on the way down.

We were there about 3 weeks , about half spent diving below Sipadan across the border into Kalimantan on Sangalaki. It’s wasn’t really up and running when we went so we were the only guests and it’s changed owners since. Pretty magical place with turtles nesting under the huts.

In Sabah the SUKAU RAINFOREST LODGE was the most expensive thing we did (normally stay in backpacker level places) but was worth it. The river trip to see proboscis monkeys also really memorable.

Philippine Night market in Kota great for food.

On the downside, we didn’t come across any decent beaches (we weren’t looking – doesn’t interest me but if there are usually spend a day). The main resort hotels on the coast around Kota didn’t look nice to me (maybe seen from the air?)

There isn’t the history you get in other parts of Asia – temples and the like – if you want to give your daughter that sort of experience. it did all feel very safe though.

Why are you worried about Thailand or Vietnam with an 11 year old? Choose where you go with a bit of care and nowhere should be a problem

I was there a few years ago. Brunei mainly but we did go to Labuan for a while. From what I saw in Labuan, I’d probably avoid taking my daughter there. We went there to visit the WW2 Cemetery.

Brunei was ok, as Simons-Nicolai says above boat trips stand out the most. I jumped on one in BSB and it was excellent. Proboscis monkeys, Crocs etc. Was about three hours and cost very little. Also took another boat trip out in to the jungle and did a canopy walk and hiked down a river. Few pics below. Particularly proud of capturing the lizard as I’m rubbish with a camera!

Went there for honeymoon (1 week in peninsula malaysia, 2 weeks in borneo)

One of my favourite holidays ever, really really good. Depends on what you want to do/see, we did lots of nature and trips – orangutans, elephants, turtles etc

Fantastic place to go and see. Rained everyday but didn’t stop us doing anything, just a downpour for a short period in the afternoon. We packed pretty light as we moved around a lot (coach, minibus, taxi, boat etc), if we were going back I’d probably pack even lighter. We took some smarter clothes for dinner etc but didn’t really need it so could have taken less (but that was mainly for KL).

No regrets, apart from maybe investing in a better zoom for my SLR before the trip.

Visiting my hometown North Borneo eh …

Just go for suggestion above but Do Not stray too far away from some of the main island as there are some Southern Philippines terrorists three hours boat ride from you. If you are unlucky on the day they strike i.e. attack, then you will front page news.

Certain areas have dengue fever outbreak at the moment in the city/town areas so do be careful with children. Not sure if mosquito spray is good enough but use some.

If trekking in the forest then rub some tobacco liquid to prevent the hungry tiger leeches hooking onto your body, walk quickly and avoid rubbing on branches too often as they tend to hang around waist height.

Wear sun cream to prevent be roasted alive by the hot sun. I can see lobster like people from afar … 😆

Nothing to see in Labuan island but a simple day trip might be fine if you want to see the war memorial, slightly away from Labuan town/city near the old hospital. Nothing to see in Brunei too so a day trip will be more than sufficient. Apart from that they are shite. However, visiting the largest cave in Sarawak would be interesting but be prepared to trek a bit.

If you are in the city of Kota Kinabalu try not to assume all the people are locals coz they are Not. They are illegal immigrants. i.e. alone the sea front in Kota Kinabalu I can assure they are 100% from Southern Philippines. If you want to see the locals/natives you might want to travel inland but then certain areas are also populated by illegal now.

Near Mount Kinabalu you will see some of the different natives but then how much have changed I don’t know.

Oh ya … visit the Sunday market at Gaya street if you can to see some of the locals selling stuff …

I spent my 30th birthday at Kota Kinabalu, back when we used to live in Hong Kong. Very much enjoyed it and would like to go back although at the time we didn’t venture much outside the resort we were in, other than to see some of the wildlife in the jungle.

Travelled through Sabah about 10 years ago, so prices may be somewhat different now! Pros were it was very easy to travel around and felt very safe and had absolutely no hassle when visiting towns / markets / beaches unlike other parts of Asia we have travelled through. We flew between main towns because internal flights were crazy cheap when bought ahead, and then got taxis (sometimes 1-2hours) to the places we wanted to visit. Saw the orangutan sanctuary outside Sandakan (Sepilok), one of the turtle hatcheries, stayed in a nice lodge in Kinabatangan to see Proboscis Monkeys and a bit of the primary rainforest that is left (sounds like these lodges have got a lot more pricey!) and then spent 3 days travelling to and snorkelling Sipadan. For us, the latter was by far the highlight. (Sepilok and the turtle hatchery were a bit touristy for us.) The loss of primary rainforest was staggering and that was 10 years ago, so very sobbering and upsetting. Sipadan was great because it has such a vast range of marine life but also because we stayed in a homestay (for cost reasons) and you witnessed the day to day life of the people there. We spent a few days at the end on a beach in Kota Kinabalu. It was pleasant enough; not the best beaches or snorkelling but fine for resting. Also agree with the comment about very friendly people.

My mum instead visited Sarawak with a tour, where she was flown in and out of the rainforest, visited some local villages and did a few wildlife tours and then had a few days by the beach. She really enjoyed it and if you want everything to be organised for you, then that could be a good option.

Also note, whilst it can be rainy all year round, each area will have a drier period for a few months (better for snorkelling visibility, hiking etc) so maybe work out where would be best to visit given the time of year you can travel.

konagirl – Member
The loss of primary rainforest was staggering and that was 10 years ago, so very sobbering and upsetting.

Bit by bit a small piece of me died every time I went home to see the primary rainforest destroyed …

If visit now you will be in shock as the majority of the land (unless it is designated as national park) is now palm oil plantation as far as you eyes can see.

The govt has taken the natives for a ride yet after so long the natives are still very naive. Very sad to see.

Also if you visit Sipadan and the surrounding islands make sure you have trusted people that take you there.

Worked as a jungle medic out there…

Spent some R&R in KK and New Years eve in a waterfront bar chatting to a Russian mercenary. The guy was a total psychopath recalling stories. Very very frightening…! He was carrying a pistol and insisted I stayed to celebrate with vodka.

Fortunately my nerves kept me sober enough to leave him asleep in a stupour at the bar.

Borneo

Great memories