Feb 2020

After finishing up in Borneo, I flew straight Georgetown, Penang. I opted to skip Kuala Lumpur as I knew I would be seeing other big, metropolitan cities later on my trip (or so I thought… thanks Covid 19 😦 )

CITY: Georgetown, Penang

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I met up with my Australian friend Max, who I met while in Sepilok in Borneo. We stayed at The Frame Guesthouse, which was in a perfect location near Love Lane and many other great restaurants. The free breakfast was fairly basic, but no complaints about anything free. The beds were comfy and the rooms were clean. Also, the AC was great!

WHERE TO EAT:

Max and I stopped by Halab for a delicious milkshake after eating some chicken fried rice from the street food stalls Georgetown is known for.

Max was braver than me on the street food front haha

Junk Cafe served up a great burger and some fun drinks!

I stopped in at Pit Stop Cafe for a solo breakfast my last day here and it was delicious!! Also, as a bonus the wifi was some of the best I came across in Malaysia.

Who knew I would get some crazy, yummy bagels in Malaysia? But Mug Shot serves up bagels a few different ways and I managed to have 3 while in Penang.

WHAT TO DO:

I had been complaining about the lack of ability to just meander my way through a city, but Georgetown is great for this! I loved exploring all the colorful buildings and street art you just naturally come across.

This was something I had never done before, but Max wanted to check out the Tropical Spice Garden. It never would have occurred to me to visit here, but it was a blast. Learned all about different plants that were local as well as from rare areas of the world. My favorite part was learning about all the poisonous plants 🙂

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Georgetown is a colorful, fun, small sized city that’s a joy to explore for a few days. I could have done with one or two more days here to try more restaurants and window shop a bit.

CITY: Cameron Highlands

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

There are not too many hostels around, but Traveller Bunker Hostel was great! The beds were comfy and had a curtain, plug and personal light. There are personal lockers (just bring your own lock!). There’s a couple comfy common areas to meet other travelers, eat some takeout, or play some cards.

WHERE TO EAT:

The Mossy Forest Cafe was a sweet find in this tiny town. I had a yummy burger for dinner and spent some time on my computer over tea the next day.

WHAT TO DO:

I took part of the 1/2 day tour offered through the hostel to see one of the oldest mossy forests in the world, a huge tea plantation and a strawberry farm! It was overall a great tour and an easy way to meet other travelers. There are also a ton of hikes in the area if you have time!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Cameron Highlands was nice spot to get a break from the humid, heat typical of Southeast Asia. Instead, because of the elevation, I needed my Patagonia jacket at night 🙂 It was lovely. I liked the focus on nature for this stop. It was refreshing breathing in the cold air in the forests and trying a fresh strawberry milkshake from the strawberry farm.

CITY: Langkawi

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Langkawi Dormitorio was a great spot to land for 3 nights in Langkawi. The beds were comfy and the rooms were spacious. The hostel was near the beach and in middle of the strip with all the restaurants and shops. I, myself, enjoyed the spa downstairs, opting for a food massage twice!

WHERE TO EAT:

Huggin’ Hippo– A great spot right on the beach for cute, casual brunch.

My French Factory– This was my favorite spot to eat in Langkawi. I went back twice! I had both savory and sweet crepes and both were a treat.

I also ate at some of the local markets. Definitely stroll through and sample all the delicious food available at the many different food stalls.

WHAT TO DO:

I spent some time walking along the beach and the different markets throughout town, which was beautiful.

The highlight for me was checking out the famous Langkawi Skybridge, which is the longest free span and curved bridge in the world. While bridge itself is pretty cool, the most spectacular part is the Skycab, which the gondola that takes you up the mountain. The views are unbelievably beautiful. Also, don’t miss the 7 Wells Waterfalls which is around the corner. Great place to cool off from the intense Langkawi heat.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Langkawi was cool, but not my favorite spot. It was a large island and without the confidence to drive a scooter around, it was difficult to get around. Also, after the Skybridge, I wasn’t sure what I was to do all day. That being said, I am not a huge beach person, which means sitting at the beach all day doesn’t appeal to me, but I know a lot of the travelers at the hostel loved spending their days on the gorgeous Langkawi beaches.

Next up: Thailand!

Bonus content: I’d love to meet the person making the decisions on the interior of Malaysian busses haha

Feb 2020

CITY: Kota Kinabalu

HOW LONG: 6 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

If you can’t stay at Faloe Hostel while in KK, then change your dates 🙂 This is my favorite hostel I have ever stayed at!! Like by far… and I have stayed at plenty of hostels. It’s very small so max there are like 20ish people at one time. This means its super easy to meet people, which is key. There is one big table in the middle of the hostel that everyone congregates at and socializes together. Every time someone checks in, Vanessa and Ivy (the two amazing hosts) introduce them to whoever is around, which contributes to everyone becoming like a family while you are there.

There is a washer/dryer at the hostel and it’s free!!!!!! There’s also tiny kitchen, which is a rare treat amongst the many kitchen-less hostels in Southeast Asia. There are loads of board games ( 🙂 ), plugs, curtain, and personal night in each bed, and decent wifi.

I could go on and on, but just stay here! No need to do more research.

WHERE TO EAT:

I spent my time here cooking mostly, as it was such a treat, but a group of us from the hostel went to Lucy’s Kitchen KGC for drinks and dinner for sunset and it was lovely!

WHAT TO DO:

Kota Kinabalu isn’t known for having a ton to do; it’s mostly a gateway for what the rest of Malaysian Borneo has to offer.

One of the main things to do here is to a bit of island hopping and snorkeling. I spent most of my time in KK playing board games because I don’t get to play that often while traveling, but my friends who went snorkeling said they enjoyed it!

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

While KK itself isn’t anything to write home about, I spent 3 days here before heading off to other parts of Borneo, but literally flew back to KK just to spend more time at my favorite hostel ever, Faloe!!

CITY: Sepilok

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Louisa and I dragged two new friends from Faloe hostel along with us to Sepilok and the 2 day river adventure to see the wild orangutans! While in Sepilok we stayed at the Sepilok Nature Lodge. It’s more of a lodge, but there are a few dorm rooms, which is what we booked. Wifi is only available at the reception and the room are basic, but do the job. We stayed here the night before and the night after the Mr. Aji River Adventure.

WHERE TO EAT:

There’s not many options as it’s not really a town, but don’t eat lunch/dinner at the restaurant on site. Instead eat at the cheaper, better restaurant across the street!

WHAT TO DO:

For such a small area, there’s quite a bit to do! The main reason to come to Sepilok is it’s a jumping off point for the many river adventures to see the wild orangutans that Borneo is famous for, but beyond that I went to two sanctuaries: The Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre. Both were fabulous and are doing great work to provide safe places for these animals to live and rehabilitate. We ran out of time, but there is also the Rainforest Discovery Centre which I heard was worth checking out.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I really enjoyed hanging in Sepilok. There were a surprising number of other cool travelers so we ended up playing cards and having beers at the restaurant across the street late into the night. You wouldn’t go here other than for the river adventure, but it’s a lovely stopover.

CITY: Mr. Aji’s Jungle Experience

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I am so glad we booked with Mr Aji. There are a few tour options, but we thought the 3 day/2 night option was perfect. Louisa, Ross (from Scotland), Will (from Idaho) and I headed off into the jungle for 3 days of non-stop wildlife. We saw wild crocodiles, elephants, proboscis monkeys, white tailed monkeys and the best of all, the orangutans! Also, during the night river cruise and night walk, we saw civet cats, bats, and all types of birds and spiders. It was awesome. We stayed in basic hotel rooms, but note that there is no wifi available. Food is included as well as transportation to and from the Kinabatangan River from Sepilok. While this tour is more expensive than others available in the area, there is no question you should book with Mr. Aji (just email him at mr.ajisdk@gmail.com) as his knowledge and expertise are unparalleled. Also, we met some folks who went with a different company and said they barely saw any animals and wish they had come with us instead.

CITY: Mabul

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

Will and I headed to Mabul island to do some scuba diving so we said goodbye to Louisa and Ross (but don’t worry, we reunited a few days later in KK on our way out of Borneo). We took a bus from Sepilok to Senporna. Once in Senporna we took a speed boat to the island through the company we booked our scuba diving. Scuba Junkie offers some packages so we had our transportation to and from the island, accommodation, food and two days scuba diving. The dorm rooms were fairly basic, but on an island this small, you can’t expect much. The wifi barely worked for me, but Will had service so that works if you have a sim card.

WHERE TO EAT:

Because our package included food, we ate 3 meals and 2 snacks all at the resort 🙂 The food was pretty good for a basic island!! You definitely don’t go hungry.

WHAT TO DO:

The only reason to be on Mabul is go scuba diving. In fact, one of top 5 dive sites in the world can be accessed from Mabul. Sipadan is undoubtedly a must see. It’s home to black, white and grey tipped Sharks, Trevallies, and Chevron and Yellow fin Barracudas. We also saw Bumphead Parrotfish, Potato head Groupers and tons of turtles.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Sipadan is an actual dream. I feel so, so lucky to be able to have dove here. I personally think the diving at Mabul itself wasn’t anything to write home about, but I can see why Sipadan sometimes is even listed as the number one dive spot in the world. Mabul is a tiny island but it was pretty cool to feel like you are in the middle of the world with a few thousand people.