Brunei

On Nov 11 flight from Kuching in Sarawak to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, which is the second state of Malaysia on Borneo. Kota Kinabalu is also a modern city though we see houses on stilts in the bay where so called Sea Gypsies live. In the evening another flight from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan to visit “Orang Utang Sanctuary” in the jungle and make a boat ride on the river through the unspoiled greenery of Borneo. On Nov 13 we are back in Kota Kinabalu. We visit the “Monsopiad Cultural Center,” where we meet a descendant of a Borneo headhunter and see his ancestor’s collection of skulls.

After finding that it is possible to make a daytrip to the Sultanate of Brunei, five people from our group including me fly in the morning on Nov 14 with 4 other people from Kota Kinabalu on Royal Brunei Airlines to the capital of BRUNEI, Bandar Seri Begawan. Sightseeing the city we see a beautiful mosque Jame’ Asr Hassanal Bolkiah and then another one Omar Ali Saifuddien. It is followed by a museum in the Royal Regalia Building. There is a stop near the Royal Palace. After lunch in the Orchid Garden Hotel there is a boat ride to Grand Prince Mosque built in the Brunei River as well as the Kampok Ayer (a village on stilts on water) with 30 thousand people living there. Visiting some of the houses we are surprised how comfortable and modern they are inside. In late afternoon by plane back to Kota Kinabalu.

On Nov 15 a morning flight from Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo to the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, on Malay Peninsula. No surprise that Kuala Lumpur is another modern city full of high rise buildings. During the sightseeing tour we stop at the gate of the King’s Palace to see the changing of the guards, another stop at the National Monument which commemorates the victory over the Communists in 1950’s, then colonial buildings on the Merdeka Square with the St. Mary’s Cathedral and the building of the Royal Selangor Club where the British used to meet and the present upper crust of Malaysian society meets now. That is followed by a Chinatown. Next morning a visit to “Petronas Twin Towers,” which were not so long ago the highest buildings in the world. From here to “Royal Selangor Pewter.” Pewter is an alloy of tin, antimony and copper. We see the manufacturing process and the final products. Then we visit a batik company. In the afternoon a trip to “Batu Caves” outside Kuala Lumpur. There is a Hindu temple inside.

Early evening on Nov 16 a short flight to the Penang Island for 3 night and 2 days stay. The following morning sightseeing tour around the island to visit a fishing village, a butterfly farm, a Snake Temple with snakes, but probably the most attractive is the island flora. Besides the tropical trees and bushes the ground is covered by all kinds of spices. Wherever one puts his foot he tramples some spices. The second day on the island few of us visit Georgetown with a Botanical Gardens, where 2 species of wild monkeys run around, then 2 Buddhist Temples, Eastern & Oriental Hotel, which is older than the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. On the coast we see Fort Cornwallis and a Chinese village on stilts. In the city itself we visit a Chinese clan house of family Khoo. Again part of the city is very modern with the highest building having 65 floors.

Very early on Nov 19 a flight from Penang to Kuala Lumpur followed by another one to Taipei and Los Angeles where before noon the same day thanks to the Date Line. From Los Angeles in a rented car home to Vista.

Travel office: smarTours a US travel company

Who took part: There were 41 US travelers in Borneo and Kuala Lumpur, 9 took a trip to Brunei and 18 went to Penang Island. For Borneo and Kuala Lumpur we had a Malaysian guide and also local guides. There was a special guide for Brunei and another one for Penang.