27 Oct - 29 Oct 2009 Bilit

Southeast Asia
Federation of Malaysia
Malaysian Borneo
Sabah
Kampung Bilit
Senbil Jungle B&B Lodge +60198420895
Rustic dorm beds in a jungle lodge as part of a 3-days/2-nights full-board package (including 4 river cruises, 3 guided walks and the transfers) for MYR 300.- or US$ 88.- per person.

Click below for an interactive satellite view of the Senbil Jungle B&B Lodge near Kampung Bilit and for directions:
N 05° 29.73' E 118° 12.24'


Click below for today’s special deals:
Amazon.de
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Amazon.ca


Cruising the Sungai Kinabatangan, with 560 km the longest river in Sabah, watching animals such as  (i) an impressive herd of 30 Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) whose ancestors were introduced to Borneo, several hundred years ago by the Sultan of Sulu, (ii) many harems of huge-bellied, long-nosed proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) in trees lining river banks and (iii) silvered langurs (Presbytis cristata) as well as spotting a variety of hornbills who play an extremely important ecological role by travelling great distances and dispersing seeds for rainforest fruits that they eat and who are highly threatened by the ongoing logging practices: oriental pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris), black hornbill (Anthracoceros malayanus) and rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros).



Teaming up with Dutch travellers Niels, Erik and Emiel, hiking the tiger-leech infested swamp forests and riverine forests on the S bank of the Sungai Kinabatangan to the oxbow lake Danau Bilit (erosion and deposition of alluvia were the reason that large meandering bends in the river’s course eventually became cut off from the main river, forming distinctive crescent-shaped oxbow lakes aka danau) and watching oriental darters (Anhinga melanogaster) drying their wings in their signature style.



Taking the Madsahirun express bus from Kampung Kinabatangan for MYR 40.- (US$ 11.80) per person to the town of Semporna on the shore of the Celebes Sea and hiring a speed-boat (for MYR 50.- per person return) for the ride over crystal-clear water to Mabul Island, situated 15 nm SSE off Semporna, and passing en route many water villages (their advantages are: (i) easy waste disposal, (ii) fresh and cool breeze between the houses, (iii) no title deed necessary since the sea belongs to everyone).



Click below for a summary of this year's travels
2009 Map Konni & Matt

Click below and see more Konni & Matt Pictures
Photos 2009-17 Sabah


Recommended books - click below for your order from the United Kingdom

For your order from Germany click here
For your order from the United States click here
For your order from Canada click here
Destination: ,

26 Oct - 27 Oct 2009 Kota Kinabalu

Southeast Asia
Federation of Malaysia
Malaysian Borneo
Sabah
Kota Kinabalu
Lucy’s Homestay +6088261495.
Clean double room with internet, fan, laundry service and breakfast for two for MYR 50.- or US$ 15.10 per night.

Click below for an interactive road map of Lucy's Homestay in Kota Kinabalu, which we would highly recommend, and for directions:
N 05° 59.00' E 116° 04.67'

Click below for today’s special deals:


Recharging our batteries and preparing for our upcoming safari to one of the richest wildlife regions in all of SE Asia, the Lower Kinabatangan floodplain, and for a trip to some of the world’s top dive sites off the coastal town of Semporna (“the town with its feet in the sea”) on Sabah’s E coast.



Taking the Sairah express bus from Kota Kinabalu’s Inanam long-distance bus terminal (9 km N of the city) to Kampung Kinabatangan for MYR 40.- or US$ 11.80 per person for the 300-km long, scenic ride, rendezvousing at Medan Selera with a driver from Senbil Jungle BNB, our tour operator for the next two days, and driving together through palm-oil plantations and dense riverine jungle to the Senbil Jungle B&B Lodge on the N bank of the mighty Sungai Kinabatangan.



Click below for a summary of this year's travels
2009 Map Konni & Matt

Click below and see more Konni & Matt Pictures
Photos 2009-17 Sabah


Recommended books - click below for your order from the United Kingdom

For your order from Germany click here
For your order from the United States click here
For your order from Canada click here
Destination: ,

24 Oct - 26 Oct 2009 Kota Belud

Southeast Asia
Federation of Malaysia
Malaysian Borneo
Sabah
Kota Belud
Bangunan Tai Seng, Lot 1 & 2, Peti Surat 41
KB Lodging House +6088972559
Clean and adequate double room with air-con and wifi for MYR 50.- or US$ 14.80 per night.
Fortified lihing moonshine for MYR 7.- or US$ 2.- per 1.5-ltr bottle.

Click below for an interactive road map of the KB Lodging House in Kota Belud and for directions:
N 06° 21.36' E 116° 25.83'


Click below for today’s special deals:


Witnessing the striking cultural diversity of Sabah during the grand tamu besar which is held annually at the quaint town of Kota Belud (“Fort on the Hill”) and is the biggest open-air market where Bajau, Irranun, Obian and Chinese farmers, fishermen and vendors offer their produce, originally a vehicle for seafaring coastal folks and lowland agricultural peoples to trade goods and make a living, and where we enjoyed great folklore performances of dance and music and the crowning of the ratu sarempak, a local beauty contest.



Watching the Bajau horsemen, known as the cowboys of the East, parading on their beautifully adorned horses extravagantly decorated with colourful fabrics and jingling bell collars while displaying their riding skills, a wild Wild-East experience with a Bornean twist, and barracking for the participants of the bare-back water-buffalo race.



Matt: Bargaining with Dusun market women who in a dark corner of the tamu were selling ripe nuts of betel aka areca palm (Areca catechu), sirih leaves, spices, gambir paste and mineral lime that serves as a catalyst and chewing up all of this (together with a wad of locally grown tobacco) thus forming a thick, deep red paste between his gums and cheeks and getting stoned within a few minutes, resulting in a feeling somewhere halfway between smoking a joint and downing a double Scotch, which lasted for about half an hour.



Taking the public bas mini from Kota Belud back to Kota Kinabalu and paying MYR 8.- or US$ 2.40 per person - the same price, the same bus and the same driver as two days ago on our way up north.


Click below for a summary of this year's travels
2009 Map Konni & Matt

Click below and see more Konni & Matt Pictures
Photos 2009-17 Sabah


Recommended books - click below for your order from the United Kingdom

For your order from Germany click here
For your order from the United States click here
For your order from Canada click here
Destination: ,

15 Oct - 24 Oct 2009 Kota Kinabalu

Southeast Asia
Federation of Malaysia
Malaysian Borneo
Sabah
Kota Kinabalu
Lucy’s Homestay +6088261495
Double room with internet, fan and breakfast for MYR 50.- or US$ 15.10 per night; laundry: MYR 15.- per 8-kg load.

Click below for an interactive road map of Lucy's Homestay in Kota Kinabalu, which we would highly recommend, and for directions:
N 05° 59.00' E 116° 04.67'

Click below for today’s special deals:


Taking a detour to the tiny kampung of Surusop, N of Tuaran, which overlooks an estuary, chartering a local boat (MYR 60.- return) and exploring Kg. Penimbawan, a picturesque water village of the Bajau tribe which traces its roots to the Islamic sultanate on the Philippine island of Sulu which once ruled E Sabah and who - according to legend - were once sea nomads who came ashore only to bury their dead.



Enjoying relaxed down-time at Lucy’s cosy homestay in Kota Kinabalu (aka Australia Place, where the Australian soldiers camped when they landed in Jesselton in 1945 CE) and digesting our tour to the “Tip of Borneo”: (i) editing photos and catching up on our travel log, (ii) eating out (our favourite: 1 kg chilli crabs, cooked to perfection, for MYR 13.80 at the Hua Hing Seafood Restaurant +6088231668), (iii) reading books (our favourite: Agnes Newton Keith’s “Land Below the Wind”) and watching movies (our favourite: “Tong Tana” about activist Bruno Manser and the Penan people), (iv) drinking beer on the balcony (3 cans of our favourite ice-cold Carlsberg for MYR 10.-), (v) relaxing at Kota Kinabalu's City Reflexology Centre + 6088221881 (60-min foot massage for MYR 28.- or US$ 8.50), (vi) snorkelling in the mostly dead coral gardens on the SE side of Pulau Mamutik in the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park (speed-boat ride from the Jesselton Point ferry terminal MYR 19.- return per person, admission to the park MYR 10.- per foreigner) and (vii) watching spectacular black-and-orange sunsets over the South China Sea from the seafront esplanade.



Visiting the famous and crowded Sunday Gaya Street Fair at Kota Kinabalu where traders sell almost anything, from uncooked dogs via unsealed miracle cures to unused underwear.



Borrowing a pair of long trousers for Matt and applying for 60-day visitor visas (Visa in Advance) for Bali (requirements: one copy of the return air ticket, two photos each and MYR 170.- or US$ 50.- per person) from the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia (sign at the entrance of the compound: “No entry in short pants.”) at Kota Kinabalu which issued the visas within 36 hours - friendly, fast and painless.

Taking the public bas mini from Kota Kinabalu to Kota Belud and paying MYR 8.- or US$ 2.40 per person for the 75-km long ride along the coast.


Click below for a summary of this year's travels
2009 Map Konni & Matt

Click below and see more Konni & Matt Pictures
Photos 2009-17 Sabah


Recommended books - click below for your order from the United States

For your order from Germany click here
For your order from Canada click here
For your order from the United Kingdom click here
Destination: ,

14 Oct - 15 Oct 2009 Tuaran

Southeast Asia
Federation of Malaysia
Malaysian Borneo
Sabah
Tuaran
Orchid Hotel
Double room with air-con and wifi for MYR 50.- or US$ 15.10 per night.

Click below for an interactive road map of the Orchid Hotel in Tuaran and for directions:
N 06° 10.65' E 116° 14.00'


Click below for today’s special deals:


Exploring Kudat, the first capital of Sabah and nowadays a quiet port town in the very N of Sabah with a noticeable Filipino influence, with its lively market of handicrafts, clothes, fresh produce and traditional herbs and spices, her pristine Bak Bak beaches and visiting a coconut plantation (where agile climbers, sometimes human and using footholds carved into the growing tree, or sometimes trained monkeys harvest the coconuts) en-route to the “Tip of Borneo” (Tanjung Simpang Mengayau), Sabah’s northernmost headland, thus experiencing the thrill of standing at land’s end.



Click below for a summary of this year's travels
2009 Map Konni & Matt

Click below and see more Konni & Matt Pictures
Photos 2009-17 Sabah


Recommended books - click below for your order from Germany

For your order from the United States click here
For your order from Canada click here
For your order from the United Kingdom click here
Destination: ,

13 Oct -14 Oct 2009 Kudat

Southeast Asia
Federation of Malaysia
Malaysian Borneo
Sabah
Kudat
Hotel Yun Nyen
Double room with air-con and wifi for MYR 40.- or US$ 12.10 per night.

Click below for an interactive road map of the Hotel Yun Nyen in Kudat and for directions:
N 06° 52.77' E 116° 51.11'


Support this blog, click below and shop at:


Crossing the lushly forested Tempasuk plain, watered by rivers rushing down from the granite flanks of Mt. Kinabalu, and meeting a friendly Rungus couple at their three-year old longhouse (constructed entirely of traditional materials including rough hewn wood, split bamboo and beaten bark, which is (long-)housing one extended family in twin-bedrooms off a breezy communal veranda), being invited to a great impromptu lunch (steamed rice, boiled papaya and pumpkins, many fruits), all of it continually washed down with local bahar (palm wine), with home-made, “smoky” tapai (rice wine) and with very potent arak putih, and remembering one of the travel tips of the Sabah Tourism Board: “Do not walk under a longhouse.”



Titillating our eardrums at Kg. Sumangkap near Matunggong, probably the noisiest village of Sabah and famous for its cottage industry of gong making, where we listened and watched how the local craftsmen made and tuned their gongs which, either set horizontally in a frame or hung vertically, are the backbone of traditional Rungus music and are played on all festive occasions.



Chatting near the village of Sikuati with a Bajau parang maker (a parang is a machete-like knife suited for brush-clearing as well as combat) about his trade, watching him heating a fire with a bellows and beating out steel to create a blade in his cottage forge and thereafter successfully testing the razor-like blade on our whiskers.



Click below for a summary of this year's travels

Click below and see more Konni & Matt Pictures
Photos 2009-17 Sabah


Recommended gear - click below for your order from the United States

For your order from Germany click here
For your order from Canada click here
For your order from the United Kingdom click here
Destination: ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)