Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

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buksida
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Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

Post by buksida »

A two week road trip taking in Johor Bahru/Legoland, Kota Kinabalu/Sabah and Kuala Lumpur.

On the road again ...
Our kids are growing up fast so we decided to take them to Legoland in Malaysia before they enter the dreaded teens phase and no longer want to do such things. Tickets for the park were booked online a couple of months in advance, not cheap at 8,800 baht for the four of us but it was a two day combo, the second being at the water park next door. We flew Air Asia to KL then onto Johor where the park is (cheaper than going via Singapore though a pain with two flights). Decided to stay at a hotel near the park instead of in the city but this later proved ineffective as they fleeced us on taxis anyway!

"Everything is awesome ..."
Legoland itself was pretty impressive, even for adults ... the kids were in heaven. The attention to detail was amazing and there were plenty of activities and rides to go on - it was amusing seeing Lego reconstructions of places in Asia we've actually visited.
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To follow: more Legoland
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

Post by migrant »

Nice! There is a Legoland near me but my kids were too old when it opened. Looking at this maybe I'll go!

BTW prices here in So Cal are $87 per adult, $83 per child
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

Post by pharvey »

Great photo's once again buks :thumb: - just a pity it's difficult to judge the scale of the "models"... especially the cruise ship and the Petronas Towers.

Looking forward to the next installment!!

:cheers: :cheers:
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

Post by buksida »

"Your powers are weak old man ..."
No visit to Legoland would be complete without a dad's section and for me this was the Star Wars display which bought out the kid in me again!
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To follow: Legoland Waterpark
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

Post by Khundon1975 »

We bought a large Lego set for our son when he was 3, most of which is now missing. :(

I think the little bu@@er put it on ebay and it is now featured in your pics. :cuss:
Great pics buksida :thumb:
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

Post by Bamboo Grove »

Programming is coming to schools in Finland and I've started already with our 6th graders. We purchased 8 sets of these and did a five week course on basic programming. They really enjoyed it.

http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/?d ... s.lego.com
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

Post by buksida »

Next day was at the water park which was a blast, I turned 40 this day and what a great way to spend it ... being 12 again!
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The place was very well managed with lifeguards everywhere. Haven't tried the Vana Nava one yet but if it is anything like this I'll look forward to it.

Had a great two days at the parks and advise it for anyone that has kids before they get too old!

The road beckoned though and I wanted to do some travelling so it was time to get on another plane ...

To follow: Kota Kinabalu, Sabah
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

Post by migrant »

Looks like a great time
Happy Birthday!!
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

Post by buksida »

The flight from Johor to KK was uneventful though the scenery as we descended on the northeastern coast of Borneo was quite spectacular. We'd booked a two bedroom apartment out of town via Booking.com for around 1,500 per night, what we'd saved on not staying in town would be used to rent a car since the taxis here were very expensive.

A lot of research online was done before the trip and we'd decided not to book any tours as they too were vastly over-priced; 11,500 baht we were quoted for a 6 hour fishing trip to local islands, visiting orangutans at Sepilok? Prepare to pay upwards of 16,000 for a family of four, they had an 'Old Borneo' steam train journey which looked interesting ... but not at 3,500 per head. And the killer was the Mount Kinabalu climb, a two day expedition for the four of us would have stung around 35,000 THB.

So the car it was then and the open road to find our own adventures ...

Down town Kota Kinabalu - pretty much like any other Malaysian city, plenty of fast food and shopping malls ... oh, and a big marlin.
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Getting out into the wild ... some epic roads here.
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It is a 2-3 hour drive from KK to the Mount Kinabalu National Park through some of the most stunning scenery I have ever seen.
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We stumped up our foreigner inflated park fees and went trekking at the base of the 4,000 meter Mt Kinabalu.
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We were around 1,850 meters above sea level and it was pleasantly cool up here. Made it to the base camp where the climbers set off for the 8km trek to the summit - it is very regulated and foreigners cannot go without an expensive guide. There is also accommodation half way up the mountain but you'll be paying a premium to stay in a crusty old dorm. If it was a solo trip I would have done the climb but with four of us it was just not practical, we still had a lot to fit in.

To follow: More from around Sabah
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

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As we ventured deeper into Borneo things got more feral, rustic little villages clinging precariously to the site of the mountains, kids herding goats across the roads, fruit markets selling strawberries, sweet potatoes, and all manner of colder climate produce were setup along the roadside, and a more churches started to appear - it reminded me very much of North Sumatra.

Running low on gas now we stopped at a village called Kundasang which was a bizarre looking place with houses that seemed to have been simply dropped from the sky and scattered across the hillside. No gas station in sight and we only found it hidden away after asking a few locals - funnily enough though there was a KFC here in a shed in the village square, with pork off the menu they do like their fried chicken!
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Back in Kota Kinabalu we went to the night market which is a little like Hua Hin's tourist market downtown. The seafood looked amazing so we had to try some, expecting Asian market prices I didn't bother to check them before we ordered which was a bad idea ... we were stung 270 MR (about 2500 baht) for a couple of fish and a plate of veg. At these rates all of Sabah's fishermen should be driving Benzes.
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To follow: Sabah wildlife
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

Post by pharvey »

Thanks for the report and great photos as always....... oh for the seafood!! :thumb:

The tours/sea fishing trips etc. sound extortionate - pity, as the fishing trip would be something I'd certainly be interested in doing when we visit again....... just not at that price!!

Oh, and a belated happy 40th!

:cheers: :cheers:
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

Post by Big Boy »

pharvey wrote:the fishing trip would be something I'd certainly be interested in doing when we visit again....... just not at that price!!
With or without pyrotechnics? :run:
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

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Big Boy wrote:
pharvey wrote:the fishing trip would be something I'd certainly be interested in doing when we visit again....... just not at that price!!
With or without pyrotechnics? :run:
:lach: It's the only way to fish isn't it? :naughty:
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

Post by buksida »

Today we were heading south, towards Sarawak, to a wildlife park. As mentioned earlier seeing some of these creatures in the wild would have cost thousands of dollars, without even a guarantee of an appearance. Many of the animals pictured below are indigenous only to Borneo.
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To follow: Borneo beaches
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Re: Photo trip report: Malaysia, Sabah, Borneo

Post by pharvey »

Really great photo's - what is pictured in DSC_0393 though?
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