It was time to go. We spent an unplanned extra day at Kuni’s not just because we enjoyed Kota Kinabalu, but also because we felt ‘at home’ in his house. But as I’ve said, it was time to move on to another destination. Walking along Kota Kinabalu’s waterfront one last time.We took the bus from…
Author: Gay Mitra
Backpacking Borneo: Kinabalu National Park
Shervin and I scheduled Kinabalu National Park on a Sunday, and luckily Kuni our CouchSurfing host was going also with Dinah (another Couchsurfer) the same day. The night before, we initially organized the trip amongst the four of us and agreed to split the petrol expense. Then came Tobi who moved in the house and…
Backpacking Borneo: Pulau Mamutik
After soaking up the sun at Pulau Sapi’s shore, we (Kuba, Maciek, Shervin and I) once again hopped on our hired boat and headed to our second and last island for the day, Pulau Mamutik. Pulau Mamutik beach. Reminds me of Anawangin and Nagsasa Cove.Pulau Mamutik, though the smallest island in Tunku Abdul Rahman National…
Backpacking Borneo: Pulau Sapi
Anita was raving about ‘the islands’ over beer at The Loft, so we blocked off a day for Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park (a group of five islands named after Malaysia’s first Prime Minister). That day started with me exchanging morning pleasantries with Kuba and Maciek, both from Poland, on the way to the bathroom….
Mother’s Day at Manila Zoo
Backpacking Borneo: Sabah Museum and Filipino Night Market
We woke up to an empty house the next day (blog continued from here) at 9-ish. We were staying at Kuni’s, our Couchsurfing host. Kuni already left for work, and Anita (another Couchsurfer staying at his house) already headed to the islands for a day of snorkeling. We didn’t have any sightseeing plans that day,…
Backpacking Borneo: Clark-Kota Kinabalu
Exactly a year ago, 7th of May 2009, Shervin and I set off for our 6-week backpacking trip across six countries (Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar) in South East Asia – with a budget of $1,000 each. And where did our epic adventure begin? Malaysian Borneo. Signal no. 2 typhoon on our departure day….
South East Asia in Six Weeks
Despite storm signal no. 2 and the Swine Flu frenzy (it was not called AH1N1 yet), we set off 7th of May last year for our first Southeast Asia backpacking trip together (Shervin and I). A trip that took us to six countries (in order): Malaysia, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia….
Borawan and Dampalitan Beach
I was supposed to celebrate my Despedida de Soltera in Padre Burgos, Quezon last year. On our itinerary was to explore Borawan and Dampalitan Beach, which was then virtually unknown – recommended by my sister who went there with her colleagues a few months back. Unfortunately, typhoon Ondoy ravaged the country a week before our…
Anawangin Cove and Capones Island
A secret no more. This summer, my Facebook account is flooded with notifications of friends posting ‘Anawangin Getaway’ albums containing 100+ photos each. Even back in 2008 when we first visited the cove, it was already getting crowded during weekends. Now that two years have passed, you may ask, “Is it still worth going to?”….