Melaka or Malacca? Signage around the city all spells it with the ‘k’, bus schedules with the ‘cc’. Regardless of that we are thirty-four months late arriving here, Covid forcing us to abandon Malaysia and dash home earlier than intended in March 2020. Melaka has a chequered past, at one time it was the biggest trading port in the world, the Malay sultanates were way … Continue reading Melaka – a brief history
We have glimpsed them in the distance over the last couple of days, they look equally splendid and shiny against both a sky blue backdrop and angry black clouds which we are getting to see at some point each day. If you haven’t guessed we are talking about the Petronas Towers, the iconic image associated with the city. Completed in 1998 as the headquarters of … Continue reading Kuala Lumpur Icons
A couple of coffees each and we were up and about, a short metro ride away the promise of an Indian style breakfast in the Kuala Lumpur suburb of Brickfields. Brickfields takes its name from the kilns and brick making facilities that once occupied much of this area. A little over a century ago Indians and Sri Lankans came over to Malaysia to make a … Continue reading Brickfields, Little India
We visited here in the ill-fated year of 2020, Covid forced us to return home early but we thought it would be a shame not to complete our Malaysian journey. Having just endured a bitterly cold week in the UK about three weeks ago, it was a shock to the system stepping out in 25 degrees of heat – we know which we prefer! With … Continue reading Kuala Lumpur… Take Two
a nice dilemma to have after the last few years, but after such a travel drought we need to get it right! Continue reading Where to next?
We had already rearranged our flight out of Borneo, Singapore was the original plan but it had just introduced a two week quarantine period. Now we were heading back to Kuala Lumpur (KL). A night or two there and then on to Melaka for a few days before our return flight back to the UK. We were obviously aware of the developing situation with Covid-19, … Continue reading The dash to get home…
I think we knew in our first ten minutes that we were going to like it here. Whereas Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu lacked character the state capital of Sarawak has it in abundance. Our hostel is perfectly located, slap bang on the riverside right opposite the iconic State Assembly Building. As we face that, to the left is the Darul Hana bridge snaking its way … Continue reading Kuching
One of the ‘must do’ activities whilst in Kuching is a trip to the nearby Bako National Park. As we’re always up for a bit of walking amongst nature we decide to give it a go. There are lots of agencies selling day trips and offering overnight stays with numerous trekking options (not sure we want to be that regimented) and all look very expensive. … Continue reading Bako National Park
First dilemma – how do you pronounce it? Seems as in Baloo from the Jungle Book. From now on in though, simply KK will do! It’s fair to say that it’s not quite what we expected, whereas Sandakan was quite bleak with crumbling concrete flats KK is sleek with new apartments and shopping malls. How many malls can one city need, at least four high-end … Continue reading Kota Kinabalu
The city of Kota Kinabalu is surrounded by national park, mountains in one direction and sea to the other. It’s diversity is what drew us here for a few days. We wanted to see what Mount Kinabalu National Park had to offer. You can actually climb the mountain itself but we’re not that brave, so opt for an organised trip offered by one of the … Continue reading From the mountain to the sea in Kota Kinabalu
It’s an odd town. Tourists are here for the natural beauty and wildlife of the Bornean rainforests. Sandakan is just the nearest town and by default benefits from the trade as visitors use it as a hub for Sepilok, Turtle Island, Labuk Bay and the Kinabatangan river. If you look deeper it does have its own Heritage trail, ok, a couple are dubious entries – … Continue reading Sandakan
Whale watching in Sri Lanka a couple of years ago was hugely anticipated, but quickly forgotten – so we were all to aware of how excursions can disappoint. This one exceeded all our expectations…. To experience the rain forest we head 2 hours out of Sandakan and go for a 2 night / 3 day stay in a lodge on the Kinabatangan River. As we … Continue reading Wild Orangutans on Kinabatangan River!
Oldest On the Bus 