Inexperienced travellers review I have no idea who to summarise something that had so many unique experiences and so much variety. It's like being asked to summarise a kaleidoscope. Firstly, if you enjoy trekking then yes. Book it. The street food in KL was great, Chuck - the guide for the day - was enthusiastic to share knowledge of the area and as much food as we could eat. Jeremy our guide for the peninsula was also a big foodie and food is definitely an abiding memory. So to is Jason our guide in the Cameron Highlands, a lovely and interesting guy and the Highlands are picturesque rolling hills and the sports bar there is were team bonding started. The rainforest was tiring hiking and challenging but in a way that left you feeling all the richer for the experience and the fact you step out of your lodge and there's monkeys in your face... was rather fun. In Borneo the urang utan and sun bears sanctuary was incredible. As was the probiscus monkey visit. This is one of Those experiences. One that you'll take away with you. The trek to the mangrove is a pleasant easy stroll before the big one. Kinabalu. Wow, stairs. Relentless, but take a steady pace and you'll survive. And it is worth it. But wow. Stairs. The ending is a wonderful beech hotel and totally worth it. It's a holiday that was epic.
Trekking Borneo and Beyond Although aged 80 I was probably at least 15 years older than anyone else, however this in no way spoiled my experience of this holiday. The group was fantastic, the best I have experienced over the last 20 years of trekking. It was certainly added to by the local 'guides' who were excellent and very friendly to all the group. I and 2 others were not able to get to the summit of Mount Kinabalu as we ran out of time although we had passed the last checkpoint. We should have left the Laban Resthouse earlier. We did not sleep anyway! The whole holiday experience was far better than I expected although I did need to buy a new camera in Kuala Lumpur (a waterproof one). The humidity and going through the 'rapids' on the river was too much for my old camera!
I wasn't sure where I wanted to go away this year, but the itinerary of this trip just jumped out at me and certainly didn't disappoint! You get to experience two distinct parts of Malaysia - the Malayan Peninsula and Borneo - and this allows you to see its diversity firsthand. KL is a city that never sleeps and is a treasure trove of culinary delights; the Cameron Highlands, with its rolling hills and tea plantations is a real highlight, particularly the trek with Jason. Our next stop in the Taman Negara National Park, where we were surrounded by ancient rainforest, allowed us to live with monkeys all around us and to experience some real jungle trekking and river rapids too! Borneo, is simply teeming with wildlife. You will not get tired of watching the orang-utans eating, playing, squabbling and doing ridiculous acrobatics. This goes for the sunbears and striking proboscis monkeys too. The Mount Kinabalu trek to follow is tough but totally worth it, especially when you get up to the clouds...and setting off for the summit to catch the sunrise is a surreal and exciting experience. The hotel right by the South China Sea is the perfect R&R finish to a perfect holiday!
