westside8

Looking to plan a 8/9 day trip, 4 days each in Bali/Sabah in November

Has anyone done similar trips before? Any recommendations?

I'm starting my planning now and probably will need to book at least the airfare in the next week or two.

Not really looking for a resort type of vacation, but really hoping to plan the trip around seeing the local area and seeing that side of the world.

rizayosia

The enquiry is a bit too general, but I'll try to give some input on Bali. Consider staying in Kuta (crowded tourist area) or Nusa Dua and Seminyak (if you prefer a quieter area).

Join a local tour so you can see places around Bali, such as Bali dances, silver handicraft producers, Tanah Lot, Lake Sentani, Ubud (be careful of your belongings as monkeys will try to steal them, I'm serious), Goa Gajah, Tampak Siring, Pura Besakih, Kintamani, and Trunyan Village (This may be disturbing to some as dead people in this village are not buried. They are exposed but do not generate bad smell caused by decomposition). May not be able to visit all within 4 days so you need to prioritise because Bali is relatively large as compared to Phuket for instance.

Consider hiring a bicycle to travel around too .

westside8

Thanks - this is a great start. I am definitely looking for a more local experience at both places and experience the more nature side of things.

Definitely planning to hire a cab or a driver for a couple of days in Bali. What is the etiquette there in terms of paying for a driver? Is it per hour? Flat rate per day? Based on where we visit? And are we do pay for a driver's meal if we have him for a full day?

Thanks!

rizayosia

It's better if you address this question in another thread, which you have actually done . Normally everything should have been included in the fee. In some cases, you may need to pay for fuel and you have to pay for entrance tickets to sightseeing places. The rate should be per day (10 hours). Tips are, I think, encouraged, especially when you are happy with the services (I'm not sure about this though, but I did give tips to drivers when I was in Indonesia).

westside8

Yep - I didn't see that other thread until after I asked here, hence why I posted there as well.

I'll try to post a few items and get feedback here as it seems like my question so far has been pretty vague.

sering

8 or 9 days is a fairly short amount of time to see two different countries, but since you are focusing on just 2 specific areas I guess its ok. I dont' know anything about Sabah in Malaysia but live in Bali so I do know it quite well.

Bali's unique Hindu religion is a very interesting aspect of travel to Indonesia and Ubud which is about an hour inland is a great place to see it. This week we have a huge temple ceremony going on which is a 1,000 year anniversary and large God figures from villages all over the region are making visits to the temple in long processions. A very wonderful time for seeing Balinese Hinduism in action. However, it has caused a lot of traffic jams so it's a mixed bag for tourism.

If you want a beachy section there are several areas that could suit you, but it depends on your own travel style and likes and dislikes. I personally would spend the whole time in Ubud but that's just me.

And yes, hiring a private driver in Ubud or anywhere in Bali is easy. The biggest complaint usually from people is that there are so many drivers offering tours and they have a hard time choosing as they all seem so nice. You can easily just arrive, walk outside your hotel and pick out a nice driver, look at his car, talk about what you want to see, negotiate the price, and away you go. It can be as simple as a point to point drop off, a per hour rate, or half or full day tours. Easy and very flexible. I personally would not book a driver beforehand because some of the drivers who are "advertised" on the internet become so well known they essentially become booking agents and send someone else to do your trip..How would you ever know if the Wayan who picks you up is the Wayan who actually comes to get you? (Wayan means first born, whether male or female) But all is easy in Bali...really.

maverick17

Don't go to Nusa Dua for the local experience. Or Kuta. Ubud is popular on many trips, but not my cup of tea. I stayed the majority in Tulamben, diving in the mornings and renting a motorbike to explore in the afternoons and evening. I think the smaller areas and countryside are way nicer and the others give good details.

atLAS, aLAS

Westside8, nobody has addressed Sabah. My favorite activity in Sabah was climbing up Mt Kinabalu. Even though it is just a hike, to an elevation of 4100m, not a technical climb, you are forced to hire a guide. But the guide did show us pitcher plants on the way up, and we would never have found them on our own. There is a hut 2/3 of the way up where we overnighted. They have a small restaurant there which is reasonably priced, extremely reasonable considering that everything you eat comes up on somebody's backpack.

wolf72

What would you like to do Sabah?

1.Climb Mt Kinabalu (minimum 2 D 1 N).
2. See the orang utans in Sandakan at the orang utan sanctuary (2 feedings..1 in the morning, 1 after lunch)
3. River rafting on the raging padas river
4. A day spent in downtown Kota Kinabalu at the local markets and bazaars and maybe half a day at Manukan Island if you are into the beach stuff.
5. The cultural show in Inanam in Kota Kinabalu (2 hours max I think) is def well worth going to
6. Miki's jungle camp (if you like jungle trekking and spending a night in a jungle below mt kinabalu and visiting a real local village)

There's lots to see and do in Sabah. It just depends what takes your fancy.

You need to hire a guide for safety reasons. It isn't a case of is it a technical climb or not. Its a simple case of safety.

And you are also generating incomes for the local villagers in the area.

You need to book well in advance if you want to climb mount kinabalu and ensure you have accomodations at laban rata via sutera sanctuary lodges or via ferratta.

I am serious about booking in advance as the mountain generally sells out 3-4 months ahead.

You can't do day climbs anymore as this was stopped in Aug 2014.

RustyC

For Sabah I'm not a great fan of KK (unlike Kuching, not much survived WWII and it can seem pretty drab), but maybe u can squeeze a day out of it. If you fly across to Sandakan and sit on the correct side of the plane you might get a great view of Mt. Kinabalu, and airfares are generally low. In Sandakan the orang-utan orphanage was the low-hanging fruit. Dunno if the English tea house on the hill is still there but it was really great as well. Took a trip to the lower Kinabatangan with Uncle Tan's, which lasted all of 36 hours (for $56 then) but was unforgettable. Beautiful area, full of life (including insect life), and we saw 2 orang-utans and lots of other wildlife (like snakes hanging from trees) on the nighttime boat trip. There are other operators as well that charge more, but it's well worth it. That and the Kinabalu climb are the great Sabah experiences, with dive sites off the east coast another one for people who are into that (though check embassy alerts).