A fitting end to the travel odyssey in the capital of Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, which means ‘muddy estuary’ in Malay, began life in 1857 when Raja Abdullah opened an area in the Klang Valley for tin prospectors. It has since grown from a tiny tin mining community into the cosmopolitan capital of Malaysia. And as with most countries East of the UK, the British have played a [...]

Swims with turtles, burns in the sun at Mantabuan Island

Having opted to avoid the long and costly journey to Flores in Indonesia for the Komodo trip, we used some of the freed time to sample the island delights of Semporna. We left Sukau on 31st May with a few nagging doubts about our chances of getting on the bus; other tourists had warned that [...]

The heart of darkness

We checked out of the sanitised wildlife experience in Sepilok and headed south to the Sungai Kinabatangan, an area of dense jungle that Conrad would have written a book about. Kinabatangan is Borneo’s largest river (sungai), stretching for 560km from the jungle to a marshy delta in the Sulu Sea. Whilst primary forest is low [...]

In commune with our simian friends, Sepilok

After the emotional and mental rollercoaster of Mt Kinabalu, a weary band of brothers arrived at the Mile 14 Junction on the road to Sandakan, the drop off point for the sleepy hamlet of Sepilok. A quick phone call summoned the promised lift and Nikki whisked us up the bumpy track to our home for [...]

Mt Kinabalu, can’t keep my eyes off of you

As it turns out, perhaps I should have. I booked the bro and myself on a 3-day adventure trip after a leisurely first day soaking up the sun on a small island off the shore of Kota Kinabalu. The plan was to relax before indulging in some man v nature stuff. The relaxing part worked [...]