Comments on: Sabah Malaysia, A Disastrous Trip https://worldtravelfamily.com/sabah-malaysia-a-disastrous-trip/ | The Best World Travel Blog for Families | Sun, 06 Dec 2020 07:06:15 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.7.2 By: Alyson for World Travel Family https://worldtravelfamily.com/sabah-malaysia-a-disastrous-trip/#comment-218703 Sun, 15 Nov 2020 21:45:20 +0000 https://worldtravelfamily.com/?p=44670#comment-218703 In reply to Sharon.

I think maybe that 4 years has made a big difference. So many people told us this, but what we found wasn’t recognisable as the same place.

]]> By: Sharon https://worldtravelfamily.com/sabah-malaysia-a-disastrous-trip/#comment-218702 Sun, 15 Nov 2020 09:55:11 +0000 https://worldtravelfamily.com/?p=44670#comment-218702 Wow, you really didn’t have a good time. I am so disappointed for you as we visited the same area 4 years ago and had such a different experience.
We also went on a 3 day, 2 night tour and were so fortunate to see a wide variety of animals, birds and insects, including a herd of wonderful Pygmy elephants. We had exceptionally informative, interesting guides who seemed to know the best spots on the river for wildlife spotting. Our tour was one of the cheapest on offer, although it still felt expensive to us at £200. Accommodation was very basic but adequate with good food, even for a vegetarian like me.
Our night tour on the river was one of the most magical moments of my life. The sky was amazing with the Milky Way so apparent. Crocs were in abundance and we we got very close to sleeping kingfishers who were totally unaware of our presence. The sounds and sights of the jungle were phenomenal.
We also visited Sepilok and got close to orangutans who were walking around the area. Although the baby area was more zoo like, especially as they were behind glass, we were happy with the informality of the rest of the park. We were able to go back at dusk for a private night tour with 2 of the rangers for just a couple of dollars each. It was fabulous as the orangutans were still roaming the area and we were able to get very close to them. The rangers then pointed out so many interesting birds, mammals and insects on our walk as it got increasingly darker.

We loved our time in Sabah and felt so privileged to have seen so much awesome wildlife. It was definitely one of the highlights of our time travelling and the memories will still with us for ever. It’s so sad that you didn’t get to experience the same things we did but sometimes it’s just the luck of the draw of who you book with and the people and guides you meet on your way.

]]> By: Alyson for World Travel Family https://worldtravelfamily.com/sabah-malaysia-a-disastrous-trip/#comment-218701 Sun, 15 Nov 2020 09:45:59 +0000 https://worldtravelfamily.com/?p=44670#comment-218701 In reply to Talitha Cooreman-Guittin.

As you know Talitha, we’ve been everywhere, and most places we stay months. Sabah was just a horrible experience all round. It was a surprise after enjoying Sarawak so much. The people of Kuching were some of the nicest we ever met and there was so much of cultural interest. I’d go back to Kuching, I’d live in Kuching even.

]]> By: Talitha Cooreman-Guittin https://worldtravelfamily.com/sabah-malaysia-a-disastrous-trip/#comment-218700 Sun, 15 Nov 2020 09:36:58 +0000 https://worldtravelfamily.com/?p=44670#comment-218700 Hello Alyson, I recognize so much of this, especially the filth and the run-down accommodation, and the destruction of the environment(palm-trees…).

We spent six weeks in Sabah with three teenage kids (a few years ago) and were lucky enough to have rented a house in Kinarut (owned by UK-people) which was lovely. The house was near the shore, but the beach was just another waist-dump – like most beaches in Sabah (but not all!). We avoided Sepilok, Sandakan (fenced-in orang utans are not our thing) and didn’t go to see the pygmy-elephants. We walked AROUND Mt Kinabalu, because it’s free and we had lovely weather which was nice! We fled our accommodation at Mt Kinabalu, which was run-down and stinking – instead we drove four hours at night time (which was dangerous) back to our house…
We went to Tip-of-Borneo where the beach was clean and the chalet rather cosy. We stayed three days with the Rungus-people and learned that “it’s rainy season when it rains” … which was when we were there: three days of pouring rain although our Lonely-Planet guide said it was supposed to be dry season. The stay was interesting, though nothing to write home about.

Our kids made friends with local kids and our son even ended up coaching the futsall-team. Our eldest daughter spent most of her time looking after horses on a horse-riding center near our house. They remember it as a great trip!

It was Ramadan when we were there, and we went to several nighttime food-fairs which had really good food.

I wouldn’t recommend Sabah to first-time-travelers, because it is so unsure and apparently it’s not improving garbage-wise. But from what I read in your post even seasoned travelers can be taken aback by Sabah because the local people are unfriendly. That comes as a surprise to me.
Thanks for sharing your experience – take good care!
Talitha

]]> By: Alyson for World Travel Family https://worldtravelfamily.com/sabah-malaysia-a-disastrous-trip/#comment-218699 Sun, 15 Nov 2020 09:10:07 +0000 https://worldtravelfamily.com/?p=44670#comment-218699 In reply to Zanah.

Hi Zanah, we have had some of the best, most wonderful times of our lives in SEAsia. With amazing warm friendly people and good food. This extends to Malaysia too, just not on this trip. We lived in Vietnam, we have visited Thailand 20-30 times, I’ve lost count. We love that part of the world and feel totally at home there. Likewise Nepal, it’s another home to us.

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