Malaysia (March 2008)
I jointed a tour of Saba on the Island of Borneo sponsored by a zoological society. Actual organization of the tour was done by Classic Escapes. This was my third such trip (previously Peru and Tanzania). There were nine of us on the tour, including the zoo director who acted as the escort for the tour. Besides the zoo director there were 2 other fellow travelers who had been on the Peru trip I had taken, and it was great to reconnect with them.
Since the tour included just an overnight stopover at the end of the tour in Kuala Lumpur, I decided to spend two nights in Kuala Lumpur in advance of the tour and join the group at the hotel in Kota Kinabalu on Borneo.
Days 1 and 2:
I boarded a Japan Airlines flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Narita (NRT), arriving at Narita in the evening of the next day (due to crossing the International Date Line.) I used Japan Airlines because I had enough mileage accumulated for a round-trip business class tickets between SFO and KUL via NRT. I spent a night in a hotel near the airport.
Day 3:
I returned to the airport and took a Japan Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur (KUL) in the late morning. After approximately a 7-hour flight I arrived at KUL in the early evening. Although there was a modern train service available from the airport to the city center, I decided to take a taxi because I would have had to connect to another train at the central station to reach my hotel. That would have been a bit much considering the time of the day and the luggage. (I did take the train into the city when I stayed at a hotel at the airport at the end of the tour.)
The highway connecting the airport to the city center was modern and well-maintained with rather sparse traffic, but the traffic in the city was horrific. There were so many light motor cycles that spewed noxious gases and they were noisy, too!
I checked into Shangri-La Hotel, a very nice hotel conveniently located in the city center, where I had a reservation for two nights. I could see the KL Tower from my room.
Day 4:
After enjoying an early breakfast, I set off to tour the city. I took the light rail (LRT) to the Masjid Jamek LRT station to visit Jamek Mosque. There were several "fast food" stands just outside of the station that seemed to be serving local breakfasts for the workers on the go:
The mosque is built of bricks and marble, and it has three domes and two minarets.
Near the mosque was a square featuring a large statue of nepenthes (pitcher plant). I would see many species of nepenthese later on Borneo.
Since the tour included just an overnight stopover at the end of the tour in Kuala Lumpur, I decided to spend two nights in Kuala Lumpur in advance of the tour and join the group at the hotel in Kota Kinabalu on Borneo.
Days 1 and 2:
I boarded a Japan Airlines flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Narita (NRT), arriving at Narita in the evening of the next day (due to crossing the International Date Line.) I used Japan Airlines because I had enough mileage accumulated for a round-trip business class tickets between SFO and KUL via NRT. I spent a night in a hotel near the airport.
Day 3:
I returned to the airport and took a Japan Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur (KUL) in the late morning. After approximately a 7-hour flight I arrived at KUL in the early evening. Although there was a modern train service available from the airport to the city center, I decided to take a taxi because I would have had to connect to another train at the central station to reach my hotel. That would have been a bit much considering the time of the day and the luggage. (I did take the train into the city when I stayed at a hotel at the airport at the end of the tour.)
The highway connecting the airport to the city center was modern and well-maintained with rather sparse traffic, but the traffic in the city was horrific. There were so many light motor cycles that spewed noxious gases and they were noisy, too!
I checked into Shangri-La Hotel, a very nice hotel conveniently located in the city center, where I had a reservation for two nights. I could see the KL Tower from my room.
Day 4:
After enjoying an early breakfast, I set off to tour the city. I took the light rail (LRT) to the Masjid Jamek LRT station to visit Jamek Mosque. There were several "fast food" stands just outside of the station that seemed to be serving local breakfasts for the workers on the go:
The mosque is built of bricks and marble, and it has three domes and two minarets.
Near the mosque was a square featuring a large statue of nepenthes (pitcher plant). I would see many species of nepenthese later on Borneo.
I then visited the KL Orchid Garden. Unfortunately it was not as impressive as I had expected. Still there were a lot of beautiful vandaceous plants.
After viewing orchids, I made a brief visit to the KL Bird Park. Although many of the birds were displayed in natural environment, too many of the more interesting native species were in unattractive small cages that were disappointing. Fortunately I would later have opportunities to see them in the wild on Borneo.
I then returned to the city center to visit the Convention Center and the Petronus Twin Towers. Here's a photo of the famous towers viewed from the Convention Center:
... and another from the main entrance area:
The structure that connects the two towers (at the 41st and 42nd floors) is the SkyBridge. The 41st floor of the SkyBridge is open to the public, but I was not able to visit there because all the tickets for the day had been reserved. Since I had one more day in Kuala Lumpur at the end of the group tour of Borneo, I made a mental note to make sure to obtain a ticket early on that day, and I was able to go up there on that day. Here's a view from the Skybridge toward the Convention Center:
After checking out the ritzy shopping mall adjacent to the Petronus Twin Towers I walked about the KLCC Park, a beautifully maintained park in the city center. Then, I explored the rest of the city center and returned to the hotel to get ready for a very early wake-up call next morning.
Day 5:
I woke up at 4:30 a.m. to take a taxi to the airport to catch Malaysia Airlines' 7:15 a.m. flight to Kota Kinabalu on the Island of Borneo. When I arrived at Kota Kinabalu Airport, a local guide and a driver who would accompany the group were there to greet me and to drive me to the hotel (Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort). That was a pleasant surprise, as I was prepared to take a taxi to the hotel on my own because the rest of the group would not be arriving until mid-afternoon.
Since it wasn't even 11 a.m., my room wasn't ready; the hotel was fully booked. So, I left the luggage at the hotel and went to explore the area near the hotel which was situated on a quiet coast about a 10-minute drive away from downtown Kota Kinabalu. I had delicious seafood lunch at one of the restaurants before heading to downtown Kota Kinabalu.
After viewing orchids, I made a brief visit to the KL Bird Park. Although many of the birds were displayed in natural environment, too many of the more interesting native species were in unattractive small cages that were disappointing. Fortunately I would later have opportunities to see them in the wild on Borneo.
I then returned to the city center to visit the Convention Center and the Petronus Twin Towers. Here's a photo of the famous towers viewed from the Convention Center:
... and another from the main entrance area:
The structure that connects the two towers (at the 41st and 42nd floors) is the SkyBridge. The 41st floor of the SkyBridge is open to the public, but I was not able to visit there because all the tickets for the day had been reserved. Since I had one more day in Kuala Lumpur at the end of the group tour of Borneo, I made a mental note to make sure to obtain a ticket early on that day, and I was able to go up there on that day. Here's a view from the Skybridge toward the Convention Center:
After checking out the ritzy shopping mall adjacent to the Petronus Twin Towers I walked about the KLCC Park, a beautifully maintained park in the city center. Then, I explored the rest of the city center and returned to the hotel to get ready for a very early wake-up call next morning.
Day 5:
I woke up at 4:30 a.m. to take a taxi to the airport to catch Malaysia Airlines' 7:15 a.m. flight to Kota Kinabalu on the Island of Borneo. When I arrived at Kota Kinabalu Airport, a local guide and a driver who would accompany the group were there to greet me and to drive me to the hotel (Shangri-La Tanjung Aru Resort). That was a pleasant surprise, as I was prepared to take a taxi to the hotel on my own because the rest of the group would not be arriving until mid-afternoon.
Since it wasn't even 11 a.m., my room wasn't ready; the hotel was fully booked. So, I left the luggage at the hotel and went to explore the area near the hotel which was situated on a quiet coast about a 10-minute drive away from downtown Kota Kinabalu. I had delicious seafood lunch at one of the restaurants before heading to downtown Kota Kinabalu.
