Malaysia – My Brother Traveler

This post is part of a series called Asia

Show More Posts

Malaysia – Borneo – Sarawak – Kuching – sightseeing – City Mosque_2007_P1230459

Malaysia – Borneo – Sarawak – outside Kuching – Sarawak Cultural Village_2007_P1230530

Malaysia – Borneo_Sarawak_Kuching_City Hall_2007_P1230437

Malaysia – Borneo – Sabah – Kota Kinabalu – sightseeing – Chinese Puh Toh Si Temple_2007_P1230780

Malaysia – Borneo – Sabah – Kota Kinabalu – sightseeing – Municipal Mosque_2007_P1230770

Outline 1980
Outline 2007

IA-80 INSIDE ASIA TRIP
Date of travel: Nov 11 – Dec 14, 1980

ITINERARY:
Flight from Los Angeles via San Francisco, Honolulu, Manila to
SINGAPORE: (3.5 days: sightseeing of Singapore Island both with the tour
and individually with visit to an art gallery, botanical gardens and under heavy machinery vanishing Chinatown, a half a day sailing on a Chinese junk to
a small island off Singapore),
MALAYSIA: (one afternoon visit to Johor Baru from the Singapore Island), flight from Singapore to
SRI LANKA: (2 days: with a day trip from Colombo to Kandy in the heart of the island and another day trip from Colombo along the shore to Bentota Beach Resort), flight to
Read more

MB-07 Malaysia and Brunei trip
Date of travel: Nov 3 – Nov 19, 2007

ITINERARY:
Early evening on Nov 3 I left Vista in a rented car for the Los Angeles airport. Here I meet some of the people I will travel with in Malaysia. Then taking Malaysia Airlines for 13 hours and 20 minutes flight to Taipei on Taiwan. From Taipei a flight to the capital of MALAYSIA, Kuala Lumpur. After passport control I take the last flight to the city of Kuching in Malaysian state of Sarawak on island of Borneo, where in mid afternoon on Nov 5 (due to the Date Line).

On Nov 6 there is a sightseeing of Kuching. Surprisingly it is a modern city with many high rise buildings and it is very clean. I admire a City Hall in shape of a reverse hibiscus flower, Chinese temples and a municipal mosque with 5 golden domes for 5 pillars of Islam. In the afternoon a trip to “Sarawak Cultural Village” 35 km outside Kuching to see how people lived and some are still living in the jungle. Next day a daytrip to “Bako Park” at the South China Sea, where we admire jungle animals and various botanical species. On Nov 8 we travel by bus 275 km to Batang Ai on the Kalimantan border. Kalimantan is the name of Borneo on the Indonesian side. We are here in a new hotel at a lake for two nights. The following day there is a boat ride with stops around the lake with one at a “long house” of a chief of the local people and see a show. The day after we return back to Kuching.
Read more

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.