Asia - Advice Pls-Sarawak and Sabah (Borneo)

Well, I just jumped on a $783 NW fare PDX-SIN via SFO in mid-February and have always wanted to visit the other Malaysia.

Seeking comments and advice since I tentatively have the following planned almost all by air. Singapore, Kuching, Hilton Long House, Miri, surface to Brunei (a new country) and Kota Kinabalu (KK allows me a new airline as well for not too much money-Royal Air Brunei). At the end a couple of days will be in either Bangkok or Bintan/Batam. Any thoughts particularly as to rental cars, even one with a driver so that I bypass the Hilton Kuching's transportation charges and perhaps do surface all the way to Miri or an intermediate airport. My understanding is that cars are not available one-way, but I hate to retrace 4 hours over a route already traveled.

Hotel recommendations are very welcome. Tentatively, Kuching Hilton, Hilton Longhouse, Miri Hyatt, Brunei ??, Kota Kinabalu. If anyone has a Bintan/Batam suggestion it is appreciated.

Alas, I've only had the chance to scratch at the westernmost tip of Borneo (http://wikitravel.org/en/Kuching), but I did write a little something about it on FT:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=5067212&postcount=16

Kuching Hilton seems like a fine place to stay, especially if you have status, but personally I'd probably still opt for the rather more characterful Merdeka Palace.

Shangri-La Tanjung Ara hotel in KK is very nice. We were there 3 months ago. They have scheduled shuttles into the city and there are many water activities that can be arranged on site. 5 islands within a few minutes boat ride.

Yes, I also like the Shangri-La Tanjung - very nice setting. If you are up for it, the climb up Mt. Kinabalu is definitely worth the effort. No guides required - trail climbing.
Do the Banyan Tree Resort in Bintan.
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I suggest not the Banyan tree in Bintan but the Angsanga Spa wing. The Banyan is up a steep incline and few of the suites must have any kind of sea view. The Angangana is next door so you can use the BT's restaurants and all the suites have seaviews.

Hotel recommendations are very welcome. Tentatively, Kuching Hilton, Hilton Longhouse, Miri Hyatt, Brunei ??, Kota Kinabalu. If anyone has a Bintan/Batam suggestion it is appreciated.

I thought the Hilton Kuching was excellent for the price. About 3 years ago we stayed there at their "Global Value Rates" for about US$33 per night and as Golds got upgraded to the Concierge Floor. In Brunei, we stayed at the
Sheraton, which was fine, but nothing to write home about (the restaurant had a pretty good buffet in the evening). In Kota Kinabalu we stayed at a non-chain hotel (The Beverly) that I would not particularly recommend.

As far as the cities, I found Kuching very pleasant, attractive and interesting. Bandar Seri Begawan was also a lot nicer and the people much friendlier, more outgoing and happier than I was expecting. Kota Kinabalu itself was a disappointment to me (not much of interest, not very attractive and seemed to have a lot of trash on the streets), so I would recommend not allocating much time there.

there is an amazing place just outside of kuching that rehabilitates orangutans. must see! as far as a car, i'd avoid it...you're really much better off with the bus. though there are a few places that you can only reach by air or river. i found brunei to be outright bizarre! i really think the "non-halal section" of the grocery store in the basement of the fancy shopping center was quite a destination in its own right. curtained off, like a porn section at those old video rental stores! but aside from that a trip on the river on a rental boat for sunset is pretty amazing.

Get a voucher from your hotel in Kuching and take the free city sightseeing bus. It's hop on, hop off. You board it just a couple blocks from the Hilton. It's a great way to get around the city and see the sights.

I stopped at the Sarawak Museum and the Cat Museum - only Cat Museum in the world. I also arranged a car with the concierge in the lounge to go see the orangutans. That was great - seeing them swing thru the trees to arrive for their feeding. (The driver was a friend of the concierge, an employee at the hotel. The price was right, and the service was just fine.)

An update. Well the trip is almost all booked.

Day 1, 2 PDX-SFO-NRT-SIN on NW Seat 11G, both directions
Night 2 SIN Hilton on a 1 night award stay (25K points)
Night 3 taxi to Johor Bahr Former Puteri Pan Pacific booked on AirAsia website. On December 30 notification received that this hotel would no longer be a Pan Pacific as of January 1. So much for my premier status with them.
Day 4 JHB-Kuching Air Asia for less than $11.00 U.S. thanks to one of the 2,000,000 free seats that they are giving away.
Night 4 Kuching Hilton
Night 5, 6, 7 Batang Ai Longhouse. This will become 2 days at the Batang Ai and another final night at the Hilton because they cannot guarantee my making the 1920 MH flight to Miri.
Day 7 Kuching to MYY. MH. Marriott Miri
Day 8 MYY to Labuan. MH. Sheraton Labuan
Day 9 Ferry Labuan to Brunei
Night 9 Prepaid night at the Jubilee Hotel, Brunei
Day 10 BWN to Kota Kinabalu Royal Air Brunei
Night 10 and 11 Hyatt KK club floor for U.S. $65
Day 12 KK to BKK Air Asia
Night 12, 13, 14 Asia Rooms. com at Novotel Lotus-Sukhamvit Soi 31. Been there before and for less than $60 U.S. perfectly acceptable
Day 15 BKK-SIN Jetstar Asia
Night 15 Le Meridian Changi, prepaid.
Day 16 BKK-NRT-SFO-PDX NW seat 11G

Most of the rooms are in the $60 U.S. range. Miles will be gained from Hilton, Sheraton, Marriott and Hyatt. No airline miles for any of the within Asia flights as domestic MH flights do not count. But for less than $30/flight who can complain. Air Asia and Jetstar, of course do not give FF miles. It turned out to be cheaper to go to Bangkok rather than a return to either JHB or SIN directly from KK.

Really looking forward to seeing Sarawak and Sabah, albeit briefly. Will heed the advice re: orangutan rehab center. Should I cut the long house stay to 1 night and spend more time in Kuching?

I routed thru Labuan because it appears to be a 4 hour ordeal OW to get to Brunei from Miri. Airline schedules work with the Miri overnight and out first thing to Labuan. The only airline error made was to book MYY to KK on MH before discovering the difficulty in getting from Miri to Brunei This segment is now a 70 rm. throwaway. Oh well, $18 out the window.

3 Nights at Hilton Batang Ai :eek:

IMHO Kuching is much more interesting than Batang Ai.

Oh dear, does that really say "prepaid" next to Meridien Changi? As a quick search would have revealed, it's an inconveniently located dump... :(

Actually booked the prepaid at Le Meridien Changi for two reasons. 1. Hotels in Singapore during late February seem to be running very high in cost. 2. I have a late afternoon arrival on JetStar and the 0600 departure the next morning on NW so decided to stay close to airport to reduce the "schlep" factor.

Actually, the reviews that I read even including the between-the-lines information did not deter me from this hotel. After all, it is only one night. Maybe next time, I'll PM you for real-time information.

In JB, depending on how much luggage you're carrying with you, it might be worth just taking the bus to the airport, rather than a taxi - the bus station is only one block from the Pan Pacific, the Causeway Link Airport Shuttle buses are clean and speedy, and they have a nice air-con waiting area. All for just RM3 (though a taxi at about RM35 or so won't exactly break the bank either I'm sure).

For getting around in BSB, keep in mind there's a pretty limited bus system in place, and taxis are also quite scarce (and pretty expensive for the region as well). Buses pretty much cease operating after dark too. There's plenty of wilderness areas reasonably close to the main town, more intact than many areas in Malayasian Borneo now (in fact I almost accidently ran over a Clouded Leopard as I was driving in a more rural area of Brunei, not quite what you expect to see! :eek: )

Jerudong Park is certainly an 'interesting' night time experience while you're in Brunei if you enjoy amusement park rides at all. The night I went I counted about ten other people in the whole park as I wandered around - queue's certainly aren't a problem for any of the rides (which includes a couple of decent rollercoasters and other assorted rides, though it appears about half of the rides have been shut down permanently now due to lack of demand). Still, for BN$15 it's quite a bargain!

For the Hyatt KK, be sure to get yourself a sea-view room, it's definitely worth the minimal price difference over a city-view room. The view from the club lounge is a delight as well, gazing out over the sea and the nearby islands, a pleasant way to start the day. Kota Kinabalu town itself doesn't have that much to offer (though I like it none the less, and the museum is OK), but there's plenty of worthwhile day trips outside of town to do. Heading up to Mount Kinabalu would be the most worthwhile in my books, though heading out to the TAR National Park for a splash around is fun too, along with the tourist train that heads to Papar a couple of times a week.

No doubt you'll have an enjoyable trip all round, wish you all the best in a pleasant part of the world!