Snapshot Saturday: The Giant

by Gay Mitra - October 30, 2010August 13, 20143

A tree hugger’s dream come true.Rainforest Discovery Center’s (RDC) Giant Sepilok in Eastern Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Towering over the rainforest. TweetShare This page was viewed times.

Hat Yai-Surat Thani

by Gay Mitra - August 5, 2010August 13, 20140

Hat Yai (Haad Yai/Had Yai) is a city in Southern Thailand near the border of Malaysia. From Kuala Lumpur it is an eight-hour bus ride (50 RM) to its city center. We arrived at around 5:00 PM and bought tickets for an overnight bus straight away. It costs 500 THB including ferry and transfer from…

Kuala Lumpur

by Gay Mitra - August 2, 2010August 13, 20142

After spending 2 hours in Singapore, we took a bus (S$25) to Kuala Lumpur. It was the cheapest available since it wasn’t ‘VIP’. We were concerned that the ride won’t be comfortable and seats might not have much leg room for passengers. Lo and behold, we found out we were the only passengers on the…

Kuching-Jakarta

by Gay Mitra - June 21, 2010August 13, 20142

On our last night in Kuching, we drank (potent) local rice wine, and was able to have a good sleep despite incessant pain from our bed bug bites. Kuching’s Sarawak Museum. Uhm, photography inside not allowed. Cheap, but very strong wine. And that’s our trusted small portable stove. Before we checked out Kuching Hotel (RM35…

Backpacking Borneo: Bako National Park

by Gay Mitra - June 17, 2010September 25, 20148

Bako National Park can make you feel like you’re on the set of ‘Lost’, with its a la choose-your-own-adventure trails. It is Sarawak’s oldest national park, gazetted as a protected area in 1957. It covers an area of 2,727 hectares (with an incredible variety of plant species) at the tip of the Muara Tebas peninsula.

Backpacking Borneo: Kuching, Sarawak

by Gay Mitra - June 11, 2010August 13, 20140

After spending two nights in Miri, we moved west of Sarawak. A butt numbing sixteen-hour bus ride (for RM70) took us to the colorful city of Kuching. Our Borneo trip thus far. View Miri-Kuching in a larger mapWe arrived at Kuching’s regional express bus terminal a little past 4:00 AM and went straight to the…

Backpacking Borneo: Niah Caves

by Gay Mitra - June 7, 2010August 13, 20140

We arranged a tour with Highlands, our accommodation-cum-travel agent for a hefty RM60 each. We were picked up by our guide, a Miri local who speaks fluent English with an Aussie accent at exactly 9:00 AM. There were five of us: Shervin, me, Keran (Scottish), Toby (British) and his French girlfriend. Niah National Park is…

Backpacking Borneo: Bandar Seri Begawan-Kuala Belait-Miri

by Gay Mitra - June 4, 2010August 13, 20142

Overland from Bandar Seri Begawan to Miri (Sarawak, Malaysia) involves changing bus three times. The trip can take more than half a day, eight hours at the most. Although in our case, way longer than that. Our Indian driver negotiating with officials about our expired permit.The BSB bus station is along Jalan Cator, on the…

Backpacking Borneo: Kota Kinabalu-Pulau Labuan

by Gay Mitra - May 25, 2010August 13, 20144

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…

Backpacking Borneo: Kinabalu National Park

by Gay Mitra - May 21, 2010August 13, 20142

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…