Join the Santubong Nature Festival

DO you wish to know more about the beauty, heritage and uniqueness of Santubong? Do you care about Santubong? Do you want to have a part in ensuring that Santubong is well-taken care of? Do you wish to have a fun-filled weekend?

If you answer “Yes” to one of these questions, then make a beeline to the coming Santubong Nature Festival.

The two-day festival will take place at Permai Rainforest Resort and Damai Central next Saturday and Sunday (Nov 9-10).

There is something for everyone at the festival. From nature talks to eco-fashion, easy hikes at archaeological sites and adrenaline pumping treasure hunt around Santubong, the festival promises to be a fun-filled and informative weekend for all.

The Malaysian Nature Society Kuching Branch (MNSKB) is co-organising the festival with Permai Rainforest Resort, with support from Friends of Sarawak Museum, Sarawak Heritage Society, Sarawak Museum Department, Damai Central, Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), Trienekens (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd and Angkatan Zaman Mansang (Azam).

The objectives of this event are:

• To raise public awareness of the priceless natural and historical – local and global – heritage value of the Santubong Peninsula.
• To advocate for a holistic and integrated approach to development and management of the area safeguarding its unique landscape, biodiversity and historical assets.
• To showcase the tourism and recreational potential of the natural and cultural values of the Santubong Peninsula.
• To stimulate reflection on responsible and sustainable further management of the peninsula and its surroundings.
• To create environmental awareness and value among our public especially our young ones.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Join the Santubong Nature Festival

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Life lessons from my Borneo boondoggle

Twenty-five days ago I left Taiwan in search of adventure in Malaysian Borneo.  There would be endless possibilities for excitement – Kota Kinabalu (the highest mountain in South East Asia), Sipadan (considered the best diving in the world), Survivor Island/Pulau Tiga (where the first season of Survivor was filmed), Orangutang Sanctuaries, Jungle Treks, Caves, and a stop into Brunei to add another country to this trip.

As a child, my father and I would make bird houses in the spring.  (We once even made a ‘bird hotel.’)  I remember that I enjoyed creating these things and always being excited to start our project …and at that exact moment he would ruin all of the fun by saying that we had to draw out what the bird house would look like on grid paper so that we knew what we were building.  What an idiot – we’re building a bird house, it should look like a bird house, and certainly by now you should know how to make one.  Supplies?  There are nails and wood in the basement – how could you have not known that?  So what does this have to do with Borneo?  Everything.

Borneo was a shitty bird house.  (Perhaps even the second one I’ve made in the last eight months.)  After arriving in Kota Kinabalu and getting situated at my first hostel, it quickly became clear that I didn’t have the right tools for this project.  Instead of hiking boots and reliable rain gear I had sandals and a four-year-old bathing suit.  (Better than a four-year-old’s bathing suit I suppose.)  Instead of cold weather mountain climbing clothes I had sleeveless shirts, a set of cheaply made Thai t-shirts that were $3 a piece, and shorts that quickly fall down to my knees if anything heavier than a pair of keys are in the pockets.

Even worse than everything tangible that I didn’t have was the fact that I didn’t have the desire to spend the remainder of my money to go on the myriad of tours associated with all of the interesting things in Borneo that I had wanted to see.  As it turns out – the most essential supply that I was running low on in Borneo was money.  I left on March 15th for a 2 to 3 month trip to Asia, never imagining that on November 1st I’d still be on this side of the world.

As this trip has stretched from three months to five months and now into November, the concepts of Resource Management and Opportunity Cost have become more and more important as I decide what is and isn’t worth doing for the respective costs of each activity.  In Sipadan I could spend $500 for 10 dives across 3 days and 2 nights, but for half of that money I could rent an apartment for an entire month on Koh Tao.

In Sandakan I could go on a jungle trek for 3 days and 2 nights for $110, but if I got caught in a downpour my laptop and camera would be ruined.  Two nights in Brunei would run me $100 in the cheapest of accommodation, while in Taipei I could live and eat well for more than a week on that same sum of money.  Making matters seem even worse is the fact that for “adventures of a lifetime” none of those things really costs all that much, yet after months and months of three-day adventures…well that money starts to finally add up.

Continue reading at: Life lessons from my Borneo boondoggle

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Malaysia world’s top 10 travel destinations for 2014

Malaysia has been ranked among the top 10 tourism destinations in the world for 2014 by Lonely Planet, the popular travel guide.

Tourism Malaysia Deputy Director-General (Promotions) Chong Yoke Har said the ranking comes at an auspicious time for Malaysia, as the country gears up for Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2014.

“We are elated with this ranking by one of the travel industry’s most authoritative publications.

“The VMY 2014 campaign will be the country’s fourth Visit Malaysia Year, and is estimated to attract 28 million tourists to the country, reaping RM76 billion in tourist receipts,” she added, in a statement yesterday.

Lonely Planet described Malaysia as “rolling out an array of new attractions”, such as Legoland Malaysia and the Hello Kitty family theme parks in Johor, as well as the Gaya Island Resort on Pulau Gaya in Sabah.

Continue reading at: Malaysia world’s top 10 travel destinations for 2014

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Into the Heart of Borneo

To finish up the summer I headed out to Borneo for 8 weeks as part of Kayak Borneo. Before landing in Kota Kinabalu I had no idea what to expect, but what followed was two months of great food, minor mishaps and adventure.

We met indigenous tribes who have occupied the highlands for ten thousand years, paddled numerous first descents and ran countless class three rapids...upstream! Check out the Kayak Borneo blog for stories. Here is a collection of my favourite photos and memories.

The Telekosang

An awesome river found by the first team. We headed there early in the trip to warm up and get a feel for the white water of Borneo.

The Tuto

After warming up the team decided to leave Sabah (northern Malaysian Borneo) and head south west to Sarawak. After talking to helicopter pilots, consulting our seriously out of date topological maps and driving through the small country of Brunei we set of on an unconventional route to Mulu national park.

Two ferries, a long boat and a scary four wheel drive ride later and we were at the top of the Tuto. With persistent heavy rain we had to move camp three times on the first night whilst dodging the jungle wildlife.

The river was mostly big, big volume grade 3/4 but one rapid was so serious that it had us trapped for four hours waiting for the levels to drop. Every time we thought it was getting ok to run a tree would emerge like the sword from the lake below the drop.

Along the way we managed to get immersed in the tribal culture of Borneo; staying with Penan and Kayan tribes in traditional longhouses. We were even given a demonstration of the silent and deadly blowpipe.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Into the Heart of Borneo

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Guidebook on Mount Kinabalu's eastern trail launched

KOTA KINABALU: Plans to promote the less explored eastern part of Mount Kinabalu to adventure seekers are being worked out.

Sabah Parks chairman Datuk Seri Tengku Zainal Adlin Tengku Mahamood said while it was too early to reveal anything, he expected to come out with something concrete in the next few months.

Launching a guidebook, East Kinabalu: A Guide to the Eastern Part of Mount Kinabalu on Monday, he said part of the reason for a lack of climbers at that part of the mountain was the dearth of information compared with the well-trodden tourist trail to the highest peak, the Low's Peak.

The 160-page guidebook, written by three local climbing enthusiasts, would help address the matter and hopefully generate interest for others to venture into the less explored part of the mountain, said Zainal Adlin.

"People normally take the normal routes as east of Mt Kinabalu is for the more adventurous; it is more challenging yet safe.

"But more is needed to be done so that people will be able to experience the rocky wilderness there. We are planning something, but we cannot say anything yet until the government endorses it."

Asked about the difference in the number of climbers between the East Kinabalu route and the popular tourist trail, he said: "Last year, about 50,000 people climbed the western trail up Mt Kinabalu, but only nine people climbed the mountain's eastern trail.

"In the past, it was mostly Kinabalu Parks staff who climbed the eastern part of Mt Kinabalu, so we need to attract more local and international trekkers to this part."

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Guidebook on Mount Kinabalu's eastern trail launched

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