Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Why Go to Malaysian Borneo?

My month spent crossing Malaysian Borneo from south to north in 2010 was one of the best travel experiences in memory. This magical place, still slightly off the mass tourism radar, won't last as a "secret" for very much longer; get yourself there!

Camping on island beaches, trekking to waterfalls, seeing wild orangutans and proboscis monkeys, sleeping in national parks, and enjoying the great culture of the former-headhunting Dayak people -- Borneo was everything that I hoped for in a travel adventure.

Malaysian Borneo is the type of place where you can be shopping in a modern mall in the morning, then attempting to open a fallen coconut you picked up on a private beach later that evening.

While the hubs of Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Miri, and Sandakan are nice places to act civilized for a few days, Borneo's real attractions lay in the rainforests which cover most of the island. There is a reason you regularly meet biologists and botanists there: the diversity of life is astounding.

I was lucky enough to see a rare Rafflesia -- the world's heaviest flower, pictured above -- in bloom while trekking in Sarawak's Gunung Gading National Park. One of only a few visitors sleeping in the wooden, longhouse accommodation at the park, I virtually had the trails to myself!

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Why Go to Malaysian Borneo?
.
.

No comments: