Wild Borneo with Singapore Add-On – 19 May 2016
Here is a review of the above amazing tour. I am sure other Forum users, who were on the trip, will either add to it or correct any errors. We had an excellent Tour Manager, Erica Hajdu. On day one she handed each of us a list of the names of our travelling companions and each day she would give us detailed information for the next day. She was a real fun to be with. The group consisted of 22 people – 4 male and 18 female. Everyone got on well and as far as I can tell we all had a great time. There were quite a few surprises along the way, but I will not reveal any as it will spoil the fun for those going next!
We had a problem with the coach in Kota Kinabalu. This was not due to it being small (i.e. not a full sized coach), but the seats were very narrow and it was not very comfortable for 2 people sitting next to each other unless both were very slim plus it was very bumpy at the back. The aisle was very wide. Perhaps it was built for little people J! We were on it for the first three days and then spent a lot of time on the water. We had a bigger coach on return to Kota Kinabalu on day 9.
Day One and Two
Met most of the fellow travellers in the lounge and it was nice to put a face to the names of those I had ‘met’ on the Forum. The flight was slightly delayed, but the time was made up by the pilot. Luggage was checked right through to Kota Kinabalu so all we had to do on arrival in Singapore on Day 2 was to make our way to Terminal 2 for the flight to Kota Kinabalu. Everything ran smoothly and we were at the Horizon Hotel between 12:00 – 12:30. We had a drink in the dining room/bar whilst waiting for the rooms. This did not take too long and soon we were handed our keys. Some of the Group went out for a wander. I decided not to join them as it was quite hot outside. As per the itinerary we were meant to go out for dinner and cultural performance of Sabah dance, but it was decided to do this on the last night as our farewell dinner since we would have been too tired to really appreciate it. Instead, we had a lovely banquet dinner at the hotel. The room was set up beautifully and there was plenty of food for both meat eaters and vegetarians.
Day Three
We left the hotel at 08:00 and were back around 19:30, hence quite a long day. The first stop was at Mount Kinabalu and we were very lucky to have a clear view of the mountain. There were quite a few small souvenir stalls selling reasonably priced items and a few of us made purchases. As we left we could see the clouds starting to cover the peak. The next stop was at Kinabalu Park where we enjoyed a guided jungle trek. There were no leeches! Next stop was Poring Hot Springs. Note that this is not a natural Spring, but tubs filled with hot sulphur water. Poring Hot Springs is very popular with the locals. Nobody in the Group took a dip. After a buffet lunch, we all went on the canopy walk. The higher one was closed, but the one we went on was high enough. This was the first time for me and it did feel a bit scary to start with, but I did enjoy the experience. You had a bit of a steep walk to get to the start but we all managed. We were lucky to be able to go and see Rafflesia in bloom- the largest known flower in the world. It rained heavily on the way back, but it soon cleared up.
Day Four
Another long day. We left the hotel at 07:30 and were back around 19:15. First stop was the local market in Kota Belud. It was interesting to wander around. Unfortunately we did not see any Bajau horsemen. The next stop was at a longhouse – this was constructed mainly for tourists. We had a simple buffet lunch and after a pleasant surprise, went to visit the longhouse inhabited by the Rungus people at Bavanggazo village. This was a real one where a lot of families lived side by side. The last stop was to the most northerly wild tip of Borneo. The scenery was lovely. Very disappointed that all ice creams were sold out by the time we got there!! Again, it rained heavily on the way back but we were inside the coach.
Day Five
This was another long day and we did spend a lot of time on the coach. We left the hotel for Sandakan at 08:00 and arrived just before 18:00. Included lunch was at the Sabah tea plantation – a very scenic spot. The plantation stands in the path of the ‘Death March Route’ (World War 2), at which time it was a jungle. After lunch we had a very brief stop to pay our respects at the Ranau WW2 War Memorial. We were following the ‘Death March Route’ all the way from Ranau to Sandakan – obviously this was all a jungle during the war. When we arrived at the lovely Four Points hotel, we were informed that the whole town had lost electricity due to heavy rainfall, but the electricity was restored by the time we got to our rooms. I had lovely views of the sea from my bedroom.
Day Six
Today we left the hotel at 08:00 for an exciting day. First stop was Sepiloc Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre. On the walk to the nursery viewing area, we saw some orang-utans high up on trees – a mother with a baby and a juvenile who was slowly waking up. It was fun watching the young orang-utans feeding and playing in the nursery area. The next stop was the feeding station where only 2 adult orang-utans came and they were joined by a few macaques. We also saw a black squirrel. After that we walked over to see the Bornean sun bears. They were all on the ground and none up a tree. We then travelled by the speed boat to the Abai Jungle Lodge. You do have an option to take your suitcase to the lodge if you did not want to take a smaller bag. We arrived at the lodge around 14:30 to a very warm welcome and a delicious lunch. After lunch we went on a boat ride to the lower Kinabatangan River Sanctuary and through the Mangrove Forest. We had another boat cruise late afternoon and witnessed the fire flies after the nightfall. It was such a pretty picture. We also saw quite a few birds, macaques, mother and baby orang-utans, proboscis monkeys and a small crocodile whilst on these boat cruises.
It rained heavily tonight and I had a misfortune of hundreds of flying moths (to me they looked like giant flying ants) entering my bedroom from under the door. Initially there were only a couple in the bathroom, but around 04:00 I was woken up by a buzzing sound and when I switched on the lights, I was confronted by a horror scene. The walls, floor, table, curtains, bed – in fact every surface – was covered and some were landing on me. I could not go back to bed. Apparently it had been very dry and the first heavy rainfall brought them out and since the light was left on the porch the flying creatures were attracted to the light and entered the bedroom. The two bedrooms on either side had a few, but mine was a different matter! When I opened the door, I was greeted by a ‘carpet’ of these creatures on the porch! We were given old towels to cover the bottom of the door on day seven and we made sure the porch light was turned off to make sure we did not have a repeat. I was still finding lots of wings even after the room had a thorough clean-up. In fact I found some dead creatures and lots of wings in one of the shoe bags when I emptied it at home today! What an experience!
Day Seven
Today left the lodge at 06:30 before breakfast. There was a supply of tea and coffee for those who wanted to have a drink before we left. We saw quite a few birds and a troop of proboscis monkeys waking up. We came back at 09:00 to have outdoor breakfast where we were joined by a few macaques going about their business in the trees and the grounds and Brenda and Jasmine, the wild pigs. You did have to watch your food as the macaques would take it if your back was turned. In fact they did just that on Day 8 when we again had our breakfast outdoors! I had a short walk along one of the treks after breakfast and saw some birds and proboscis monkeys swinging on the trees. We left for Abai Village, just across the lodge, at 11:00. First we all planted a tree each (luckily we did not have to dig the holes as they were already dug beforehand) and then went to the village where we had a look around followed by a simple lunch cooked by the villagers with the ingredients provided by the Abai Jungle lodge. We had another boat cruise at 15:30. We did not stop to look for any other wildlife as we were racing to see the pygmy elephants. We got there in time to see some crossing the river, others grazing and this was followed by a mother and baby crossing over. It was raining and trying to put the poncho on was not an easy task! After dinner we had a short nature trek to see the ‘jungle at night’. This was a board walk so there was no need for leech socks. In fact you did not even need shoes. We did not see a lot since the earlier rainfall had ‘disturbed’ the wildlife. We did see a kingfisher and a couple of hornbills sleeping perched on the branches. We also saw elephant footprints in the mud, which proved that they did come near the lodge.
Day Eight
A nice relaxing day. Outdoor breakfast was at 08:30 so there was plenty of time to take a walk along the board treks.
There was wildlife at Abai Lodge and it was just pot luck as to what you spotted. One morning we saw a small monitor lizard and later that day in the afternoon I spotted a huge one - as big as a small crocodile. Both Dave and Mike had seen a lovely Owl. Dave managed to get a beautiful photo. We all loved this lodge.
We left for Sukau at 10:00. We took it nice and easy to see if we could spot any wildlife. We were lucky to see a wild male orang-utan, some birds and grazing elephants. We arrived at the lodge just before 13:00 and were greeted by live music, cold drink and cold towels. After lunch we had some free time before taking to the water again to look out for more wildlife and we did see plenty.
We all had to wear a sarong for dinner and most of us did.
Day Nine
We had an early departure at 07:00 for our return to Sandakan. We made a brief comfort stop at the Abai Lodge before continuing. First stop, after boarding the coach, was the World War 2 memorial park . We then went to Four Points hotel for lunch and reuniting people with their suitcases (those who had left them behind before travelling to the Abai Jungle lodge). We caught a flight from Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu arriving at the hotel around 16:00. It took a little longer due to traffic. This time we had a big coach with normal seats.
Day Ten
Today we had a leisurely start at 09:15. We went on the North Borneo Railway aboard a vintage British Vulcan steam locomotive. We boarded the train at 10:00 and breakfast was served soon after the departure. Due to technical problems we had a 30 minute delay before the first stop at a Chinese temple. When we returned after viewing the temple we were informed that instead of continuing to the last stop, Papar, we will have to turn back as there were technical problems with the train. Lunch was served and we soon arrived back where we had started. Despite not missing a lot, we were refunded half the price of the ticket, which meant we all had more money for shopping! This evening we went for the farewell dinner and the cultural show. The amount and variety of food served was phenomenal. It was all delicious and the show too was good.
Day Eleven
Today was the day to say farewell to the fellow travellers who were going home. Fourteen of us were doing the Singapore add-on. Four of us left Kota Kinabalu on 12:10 flight to Singapore and the rest followed on a later flight. Erica accompanied us to the Airport.
In summary, this was a wonderful holiday. I thoroughly recommend this trip. We saw plenty of wildlife - 6 wild orang-utans (2 mothers with babies and 2 males), troops of macaques and proboscis monkeys, lots of birds, and we saw the pygmy elephants three times.
I am sure small tweaks will be made to the itinerary for the next group travelling to Borneo. For the first 3 days you do spend a lot of time on the coach as you have to travel long distances. Personally, I think you have to do this if you want to try and see as much of Borneo as possible.
I have not written about the Singapore add-on, but do please feel free to ask any questions about the add-on.
Regards
Jaya
