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Posted

Hello

I will be bringing my parents to Thailand and while they

are here i was wondering if i could send them to Borneo

for a few days as my mother would love to go to an

Orangutan sanctuary.

Any info on a hotel that could meet them at the airport

and arrange this would be great.

Thanks in advance

Paul

Posted

Air Asia has a direct flight from Bangkok to Kota Kinabalu...KK is your base for exploring Borneo. If, as someone mentioned, this flight has been discontinued, then use any airline that transfers through either KUL or SIN.

There is a large tourist industry in KK and accomodation to fit any budget. Shangri La has a resort in town and you could arrange everything through them if you want to do it easy. Otherwise, just show-up with a hotel reservation and book the monkey-camp tour at any local travel desk/agent.

Posted
Hello

I will be bringing my parents to Thailand and while they

are here i was wondering if i could send them to Borneo

for a few days as my mother would love to go to an

Orangutan sanctuary.

Any info on a hotel that could meet them at the airport

and arrange this would be great.

Thanks in advance

Paul

the AirAsia nonstop-flight from Bangkok to Kota Kinabalu has been suspended almost 2 years ago already. (what a pity !!! that was a cheapo-connection between the two places in Asia I like most :o ).

Indeed, Kota Kinabalu (or "KK" as everyone calls it) is a great place to base oneself for a few days exploring Borneo.

From there, your parents could go to see the Orang Utan sanctuary at Sepilok (better take a short flight on AirAsia to Sandakan instead of doing the interesting but grueling 7-hours bus-journey through the Kinabalu-mountain-range ).

as for the hotels, I dont know which of the hotels would send someone to the airport, but its a very straight-forward action to book a fixed-rate-prepaid taxi at the counter just when you exit the luggage-belt-area.

Just one thing I would like to add: while there are a few 5-star-resorts in the vicinity of KK, I would NOT recommend these (as long u dont have your own transport) because it will limit your mobility and you will always depend on Taxis or hotel-shuttles (which may run only a few times a day at inconvenient times).

the worst of all is the new hype called "1Borneo". a huge shopping mall 10km out of town in the middle of nowhere (and, particularly the attached condominium-skyscraper, a disgrace for the state of Sabah and a crime against the environment). out there are the new NOVOTEL and MERCURE. avoid them by all means !

while KK is not a particularly beautiful town (it has been almost completely destroyed during WW2), it is very much ALIVE, and the downtown-area is VERY compact, so it's easy to explore it on foot (as long as the heat doesnt bother you).

the best places to stay downtown are the HYATT, PROMENADE (4-star with a decent breakfast buffet, much better than that one at the Hyatt) or, if money is not an issue, the LE MERIDIEN. there are a several new 3-star hotels in the downtown area as well, if that matches your parents' budget better.

In case you need more informations about Borneo, FEEL FREE to PM me, as I have been there at least 15 times and I can say it's almost my second home besides Bangkok. oh, and the local people (Kadazan-Dusun are the majority there) are the most friendly folks you could imagine.....

Selamat datang ke Sabah ! :D

Posted
what would be the cost of a flight to Borneo, be about now, sounds like a nice place to take the family for a week. And how long is the flight?

well, as there is no more direct flight (which made the ticket sometimes as cheap as 1500 THB one-way incl. Taxes - and this is a 3 hours journey !), you need to TRANSFER anywhere in Malaysia.

fortunately, there are flights to KK from ALL 3 Malaysian destinations that can be reached with AirAsia from Bangkok: That is Johor Bahru, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. you would have to go through immigration there and then collect your luggage and check-in again (therefore, leave 3 hours between the connecting flights). most options are, of course, from KL. I think 7 or 8 flights a day between Bangkok and KL, and then another at least 10 flights from KL to Kota Kinabalu. I dont know how convenient the connections via Johor or Penang are (and too lazy to check AirAsia's homepage out now at 2.15 a.m.), but probably going through KL would be the best bet. If you plan well in advance, you can certainly get good fares. just watch out for the Malaysian/Singaporean school holidays (in May and early June for example), this makes flights expensive and accomodations fully booked quickly.

the flight times are: BKK - KUL 2.05 hrs, KUL - BKI 2.30 hrs ( well yeah, nonstop, 2 years earlier, was more convenient for sure ~_~ )

maybe too much hassle to do that with a family and kids

oh and, just to add, Borneo is a NATURE destination but NOT really a "beach" destination (though there are options for that as well, for example a day-trip to the island of "Manukan" off the Sabah coast).

As you, William, obviously have a sympathy for "caves" :o , you could as well make a trip to the world-famous MULU CAVES in the neighboring state of Sarawak. actually a lot to do in Borneo, though if it requires air-transport, it can become pricey....

if need more Info or suggestions, PM me. cause, sorry: it is 2.25 a.m., gotta hit the sack now :D

Posted
oh and, just to add, Borneo is a NATURE destination but NOT really a "beach" destination (though there are options for that as well, for example a day-trip to the island of "Manukan" off the Sabah coast).

There is that little island right off KK that has a nice little beach and is great for day trips...right now the name escapes me. It can be crowded with day-trippers but it has a nice sandy beach, trees for shade, a small resto and bathrooms, and tourist shop. It's maybe a 15-20 ride from the main pier in KK.

Posted
oh and, just to add, Borneo is a NATURE destination but NOT really a "beach" destination (though there are options for that as well, for example a day-trip to the island of "Manukan" off the Sabah coast).

There is that little island right off KK that has a nice little beach and is great for day trips...right now the name escapes me. It can be crowded with day-trippers but it has a nice sandy beach, trees for shade, a small resto and bathrooms, and tourist shop. It's maybe a 15-20 ride from the main pier in KK.

well, that was actually what I was talking about in case you didn't read my post completely, and I even mentioned the name of the island: Pulau MANUKAN

Posted

Leeches are a major nuisance.

Rub tobacco on your and your parents' skin before they go out.

Or stay in Bangkok and go to Safari World. They have hundreds of orang-utans doing silly things like ballet dancing and the like.

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