pho9187

Hi everyone,

I am an adventurous lady bound for Eastern Malaysia in September. I have my international AA award tickets in hand, but I am still trying to build an itinerary, and I would appreciate your help. I am mostly interested in advice about the structure of the itinerary--ie am I going in the right order, are the number of allotted days in each city correct, etc. I would also like to know if I am hitting any holidays or festivals that will hinder my sightseeing.

My interests include day hikes, history, museums, culture, and street food. I do snorkel, but I am not a scuba diver. I am very slow and thorough in museums, and shopping is not a priority for me. I would like to see orangutans (Tabin and Borneo Rainforest Lodge are beyond my budget).

I am concerned about the US State Department travel warnings for Eastern Sabah, so I wonder if it is safe to go to Sandakan, and then the Kinabatanagan River area? I am wondering if I should substitute the Batang Ai area (perhaps the Hilton) for the Sandakan-Kinabatanagan "module."

Here it is---thanks in advance for your suggestions:

Saturday, September 5: Arrive Kota Kinabalu 7:40 PM from LAX via Hong Kong

Sunday, September 6: 6:30 AM visit to Sunday market, then day trip to Kota Kinabalu Park

Monday, September 7: 7 AM flight Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan, arrive at 7:40 AM
War Memorial (WW II POW site), Sepilok Orangutan Center, Sun Bear Sanctuary, Probiscis Monkey Sanctuary, Gomantong Cave

Tuesday, September 8: Take boat, or taxi from Sandakan to Sukau, leave early AM, stop enroute to see whatever I missed the day before.
Evening river cruise on Kinabatanagan River

Wednesday, September 9: More trekking, river cruising, fishing in Sukau

Thursday, September 10: More trekking, river cruising, fishing in Sukau

Friday, September 11: Private taxi from Sukau to Sandakan, then 10:55 AM flight Sandakan to Mulu (via Kota Kinabalu), arrive at 3 PM
Unguided short walking tours, guided night tour

Saturday, September 12: Tour Mulu caves

Sunday, September 13: Tour Mulu caves

Monday, September 14: 10:10 AM flight Mulu to Miri, arrive at 10:40 AM
Lambir Hills National Park: short hike, and relax at waterfall

Tuesday, September 15: Day trip from Miri to Brunei

Wednesday, September 16: 8:35 AM flight Miri to Bario, arrive at 9:25 AM (leave most luggage in Miri because of strict weight limits)
Short hike

Thursday, September 17: Bario hike, meet local people, fish

Friday, September 18: Bario hike, meet local people, fish

Saturday, September 19: 9:50 AM flight Bario to Miri, arrive at 10:40 AM (retrieve luggage)
City tour of Miri

Sunday, September 20: 8:40 AM departure for Kuching, arrive at 9:40 AM
Have driver pick me up at airport, go to Bako National Park for three nights, stop en route?

Monday, September 21: Trek in Bako--need guide?

Tuesday, September 22: Trek in Bako--need guide?

Wednesday, September 23: Taxi to Kuching, early AM --- stop somewhere along the way? Semenggoh Nature Reserve--3:30 PM orangutan feeding

Thursday, September 24: Day trip from Kuching to see indigenous people and cave at Indonesian border?

Friday, September 25: City tour of Kuching

Saturday, September 26: 9:40 AM flight Kuching to Kuala Lumpar, arrive at 11:20 AM
22 hour layover in KL to visit old friend (second visit there)

Thank you everyone,

pho9187

kmcbrid2

Just curious what is your day trip to Brunei, there is not much in Brunei unless you go all the way to Bandar for water village/ Probiscis Monkey. Is it just to get passport stamped and add another country to your list?

Also how did you plan on renting a car to get accross the boarder?

pho9187

Hi kmcbrid2,

I have a friend who lives in KL, and when he visited Miri, he drove to Brunei for the day and found it fascinating.I have been to lots of places, so I don't need to fill my almost-full passport, nor do I need the "brag factor."

I am aware that BSB gets mixed reviews as a tourist destination, but I would like to see the palace, and maybe the water village.

I am not sure how I would get there--I did ask my friend in KL to investigate. However, there are several commercial tours that go from Miri to BSB for the day, but I am not a fan of tours. At this point, I am not sure if a Miri taxi driver can cross the border to BSB.

Do you have any ideas? Thanks!

kmcbrid2

You would need to rent a car as crossing the border with a taxi will probably be about 100 BND just to get across the boarder. I have no idea how much they would charge you to get all the way to Bandar sit there for the day while you go to the water village etc.

I have rented a car and crossed the boarder but can't recall if the rental company told me that I shouldn't. Anyways no issues when I did it.

You may want to consider just flying. Driving to Bandar will be at least 1.5 hours or longer one-way depending on the border crossing. Additionally, the border is only open from 6am till 10pm or 11pm.

For me not sure if Bandar is all that fascinating to trouble at least three hours on the road and just for a day trip. Maybe 2 days and 1 night but I still think you can find better places in broneo to spend that time on a tight time budget.

Mr. Roboto

Note that you will most likely only be able to view the exterior of the palace (Istana Nurul Iman). The interior of the Istana is only open for viewing 3 days during the year, which I believe in 2015 falls on the 3rd weekend of July.

pho9187

Thank you kmchbrid2 and Mr. Roboto for you comments.

This BSB visit is sounding somewhat grim. However, I really like people watching, and to me, just walking around and looking at the faces of people in a different country is fascinating. So, I am going to press on and try to figure out how to get there for the day, which I think is enough time there.

I don't want to rent a car. I made the mistake of doing that in Japan recently, and being alone, I didn't have a navigator, and I was very nervous. There is a bus that leaves Miri at 8:15 AM, but it takes four hours, since it stops at a shopping center. That would be acceptable, but there is no late afternoon or early evening return bus. I wonder how I could get back?

I googled around for day tours from Miri, and they all require a two person minimum. I could also contact my hotels, but I have not found hotels yet, since my itinerary is not yet cemented.

So--my question to all of you out there---is there a good way to get to BSB? Or alternatively, should I change my itinerary around? I could go to the Niah caves instead, but I'm already going to the Mulu caves.

Lastly, kmcbrid2, you mentioned that there are better places in Borneo than BSB, what places do you suggest that I have omitted?

Thank you again!

kmcbrid2

I know there is bus service from Miri to Bandar but no idea on the timings or where to find the schedule.

I would take the day and add it KK and travel to the islands off KK.

Driving to Bandar is easy as there is only 1 road connecting Miri to Bandar. Bandar is not a big city and you should be fine with google maps.

pho9187

Thanks again kmcbrid2,

That's an excellent suggestion to drop BSB and add a day in KK. I have been convincing myself that BSB will be fascinating, but since I don't have an easy way of getting there, it might be good to look elsewhere.

I had actually thought of going to the islands near KK, but I am unsure which one to visit in order to avoid touristy places. What do you suggest for a nice day trip, and how would I get there?

Thank you!

vespa7

we recently went on this 3 night/ 4day tour, leaving out of Sandakan, in Feb 2015. it was amazing. we saw from the river boat the pygmy elephants, the orangutan, proboscis monkeys, etc, all in the wild. to our surprise, the lodge was featured in national geographic. It was wonderful, and so were the staff.
http://www.sukau.com/tours/bb7k-orang-utan-search.php
- -
In Sandakan, we stayed one night (prior to the tour) at the four points sheraton. it was ok, pool was green though, and the food not so great, but it is a modern and clean hotel with a nice location in the small town. we stayed there again on the night after our tour/ before we flew on to Kuala Lampur. We found Sandakan to feel safe, but really, I didn't read about the warnings to westerners prior to arranging the trip. Anyhow, we would likely go back despite the warnings, as the nature in Borneo is fantastic, and all the people we met in Malaysia were very kind and considerate. It felt safer likely than most US cities.

pho9187

Hi vespa7,

Thank you for reporting about the beauty and safety of Sukau and Sandakan. I am going to keep them on my itinerary, as it's the best chance to see orangutans in the wild.

Did you go to any of the other places on my proposed itinerary, and if so, any comments?

I also wanted to ask anyone reading this thread: Since I posted this itinerary, I have tried to pre-arrrange drivers for each city where I am taking day trips, without much success. Do you think I should approach random drivers at the airport, or in the city, and ask them to take me out for the day? I'm not much of a negotiator. Will the drivers be honest? Any other ideas?

susiesan

In Kuching there are many local travel agencies that you can book day trips with drivers at. As you walk along the main shopping street you will see them. Just look at the tours posted outside their doors and go into one that has a good price and book it for the next day.

We used this company for the Kinabatangan River lodge experience:
http://sitoursborneo.com/borneo/
We did the one called Abai and Sukau. I highly recommend this company.

My favorite part of our 12 day Borneo vacation was Mulu Caves-good that you are going there.

manneca

I've visited Malaysian Borneo twice, once including BSB. We flew from KK to BSB and then on to Kuching. I found BSB interesting. We stayed one night. I have been to Sandakan only on the way to a Kinabatangan River tour, but I would guess that you have too much for one day there. We drove from Kuching and it was no problem. We did rent a GPS. It was not nearly as confusing as driving in Japan which I don't think I'll go again. We also rented a car this last time in KK to go up to the mountain. Again, it was no problem driving. Malaysia has decent infrastructure and the drivers are not terribly crazy.

manneca

Unless you appear to be Chinese, there shouldn't be a problem in eastern Sabah. The Sultanate of Sulu was kidnapping ethnic Chinese for ransom. The last kidnapping I am aware of was a year ago (actually, IIRC a bit less than a year ago). There was a killing of military officers on Mabul (an island off Semporna) about 6 months ago, again IIRC. I was in Lahad Datu and saw lots of military (in June 2014), but my son and I walked around the town with no problems. In Semporna, we also walked around a lot but saw no military presence there. We did have military at night at our dive resort.

I would go there again with no worries.

vespa7

We had a very different itinerary from yours, as we started with a week in Northern Thailand and then did 9 days in Malaysia. We flew to Penang Malaysia, which there was a lot to do there. we spent 3 days there, going fishing and to beaches and Penang hill etc., and then on to KK for one night, then on to Sandakan . Not much happening in KK, you can hire a boat though to go over to some of the islands.
After the 4 day safari on the Kinabatangan River, we came back to Sandakan and did the POW museum and a nature park. there is also a self- walking tour you can do on your own in Sandakan (we did that the day we arrived to Sandakan from KK). We also tried the restaurant sim sim 88 that is mentioned on one of the flyertalk forums. we arranged with our driver to pick us up in an hour's time, as there's nothing much out there. the food was good, a little pricey and tide was low, so there was a ton of garbage sitting under the piers. but this is life there . anyhow, we flew to Kuala Lampur for the night, and flew back to the states late the next day. In Kuala Lampur we did some big bird aviary park in the city. it was very nice. We had a lot of flights on our itinerary, as I added 8 days to our vacation about a week b/f we left and was set on seeing the Orangutans in the wild. so it was put together pretty fast. we had a fantastic time though, mainly due to the safari on the Kinabatangan river experience. we were lucky with spotting so much of the wildlife, as there is no guarantee.
you'll enjoy your time there. it is worth the planning.

pho9187

Thank you one and all for your great information!

susiesan -- I'm so glad you liked the Mulu Caves. I almost took them off my itinerary, since the park is privatized, and one must take guided tours of the caves. What were your must see's in Kuching, both in the city and as day trips?

manneca -- Thank you for your reassurance about the safety in Eastern Sabah. What were your must see's in Kuching, KK, Sandakan, and BSB?

vespa7 - Thanks for all the info on Sandakan. Was the walking tour an all day affair? Did you go to the any of the sites outside the city, such as Sepilok Orangutan Center, the new Sun Bear center, the Probiscus Monkey Center, or the Gamantang Cave?

Does anyone else out there have feedback on any of these sites?

Has anyone been to Bako National Park, and if so, how did you find your guide?

Also, has anyone taken a day trip from Kuching to a non-touristy village of indigenous people, such as the Dayak people?

Lastly, I still am unclear how to find drivers for this trip. In some cases I want a driver to pick me up at the airport, and take me directly to some sites for the day, so susiesan's excellent suggestion about going to a local tourist office may not work, as I need to plan in advance. Anyone have a suggestion? I usually try to avoid travel agencies because of the extra costs, but I may have no choice this time. Either that or I can just wing it at the airport. What do you all think?

Thank you all again!