Trip Report - Malaysia
Our Trip & Itinerary
We spent two weeks in Malaysia, the largest amount of time we spent in any Southeast Asian country during our tour of the region. Arriving in Kuala Lumpur from Bangkok, we spent two and a half days exploring Malaysia’s capital city before departing for Kota Bharu en route to the Perhentian Islands. We spent four full days with a half day on either side in the Perhentians – snorkeling, relaxing, and catching up on some sleep before departing for Borneo. We first flew to Sandakan, with our only goal here being to see as much wildlife in the raw jungle as we could, hoping to find all of the Bornean big 5. From there we made a brief pit stop in rainy Kota Kinabalu before flying off to our final Southeast Asian destination: Indonesia.
Kuala Lumpur
Our afternoon flight into Kuala Lumpur from Bangkok was delayed, meaning that by the time we arrived in Chinatown, the restaurants and shops had closed and given way to a small homeless encampment in front of our hotel. This first impression of the city was not improved when we stepped into our hotel room and discovered that the bathroom “vent” was no more than a screen covered hole on the exterior wall of the building. This meant that we could hear everything happening below us on the street, from the disagreements between various homeless individuals to the cacophony of bird chirping in the trees nearby. Even with these disappointing developments, we decided to try and get to sleep as quickly as we could, since our following day was planned to be a big day exploring the city.
We began, as we always do in a new city, by googling for the best pastries within a large radius of our hotel. Our search here took us to VCR, a breakfast spot that reminded us of our days living in Brooklyn. Fueled up with coffee and toasties we started meandering through the streets of Kuala Lumpur towards the iconic Petronas Twin Towers. Their unique look, a fusion of Islamic and western design styles, used to dominate the skyline of Kuala Lumpur when they were first finished in the late 1990’s. These days, there are several taller buildings surrounding them, including Merdeka 118, currently the second tallest building in the world. Yet similarly to the Empire State Building in New York, or the US Bank tower in Los Angeles, just because other buildings have come along that outshine them, they’re still the most interesting place to go in the central business district. We walked around the park at their base, trying to find the best angle to capture the towers, before entering the massive mall that makes up the pedestal the towers rest on. We’re really not the type of people who enjoy spending time in a mall, you’re much likelier to find us in a museum or a park than a mall on any given day at home or abroad. But in this moment there was something about being surrounded by Sephora, Cold Stone Creamery, Zara, and American Eagles Outfitters that made us realize that home is a long way away and maybe we should spend 15 minutes walking through here for a small sensation of home.
From the Petronas towers we took a grab just down the road to the National Art Gallery. We love to go to art museums when we’re in big cities, but hadn’t had the chance to visit one since Seoul, almost two full months ago. The displays here were a fascinating look into Malaysian culture, featuring artists from many of the different cultural groups that make up modern Malaysia. It also had a temporary exhibition about Enrique De Malacca, who the exhibit was arguing was the true first person to circumnavigate the world. Enrique was a slave of Magellan originally from Malaysia who may have been the first person to return to the same place on the globe after circumnavigating it, instead of Magellan as he died shortly before accomplishing this feat. Learning about Enrique was an example of what Jackson and I love about visiting these museums in other countries. Our final destination to explore on this first day was the Batu Caves, a large Hindu temple complex that began in 1891 and has now grown to several structures and a huge statue of Kartikeya. As we took our first steps off the train in front of the caves, the heavens opened, delivering a torrential downpour that lasted for almost an hour. We sheltered on the train platform with several other tourists while the rain and thunder rolled through, and thought about abandoning our visit to the temples. When the clouds finally passed we were so glad we hadn’t, the rain meant that many of the typical tourist groups had left early so we were able to experience the temple away from its typical crowds. Finishing our climb up the 272 stairs to the mouth of the cave, suddenly we were deposited into a limestone cave with small religious areas throughout the cavernous natural hall. Walking further into the caves, and up just a few more stairs, you finally come to the Subramaniar Swamy temple, the main shrine. Light filters down through the long-since collapsed roof of the cave, hitting the shrine with a holy glow as plants grow on the walls all-around. As we were leaving the cave, we were reminded that humans are not the only visitors to these temples. Hundreds of macaques had now returned after the rain, perched on the stairway up to the temple, waiting for their opportunity to swipe a snack or shiny object off an unsuspecting or overly-trusting human visitor.
After exploring the city on our first day in Kuala Lumpur, we spent our next day more in line with the rest of our time in Malaysia, on the hunt for interesting animals. Leaving our hotel we walked towards Perdana park, home to many of KL’s flora and fauna-centric activities. After making a quick detour to Flaaah to fuel up on the day’s tasty pastries, our first stop was at the Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park. Inside we were immediately surrounded by dozens of unique butterfly species, many of which neither of us had ever seen before. The park has done a great job building winding paths through its small space, making it feel much larger than it is, giving the butterflies plenty of places to rest and find food. Just around the bend of the road from KL Butterfly Park lies KL Bird Park, featuring the world’s largest open aviary. As soon as we walked in the front doors we were confronted by a pack of Yellow-Billed Storks, badly hunting for fish in a small pond. Hoping to see one catch some lunch we stood still for as long as we could until a wild peacock came out of nowhere, surprising both us and the storks! Abandoning our hope to see one of them snacking on some freshly caught fish we continued through the indoor aviary, moving across the several climate zones that the park has set up. We spotted thousands of birds, some we were familiar with, like emus and peacocks, but many were species we had never encountered before. The park is home to an impressive assortment of native Malaysian species, including every species of hornbill, one of the treasures of Bornean Malaysia. Moving outside of the aviary and into some of the park’s other zones, we started to notice where the park was showing its age. We noticed tell-tale signs of fallen trees that have wreaked havoc on parts of the park, but it appears they fell quite a while ago and the park hasn’t managed to fix the damage in the time since. Even though the park is showing its wear and tear a bit, we still think it’s a great stop in KL, especially if you don’t have enough time to visit Borneo while in Malaysia.
Leaving KL’s bird park we rushed back to our hotel to avoid today’s mid-afternoon torrential thunderstorm. Visiting in the rainy season has its perks, like smaller crowds and cooler evening temperatures, but it does mean staying constantly vigilant for darkening clouds. Watching the storm pass through from inside was a nice change from the day before, all of the excitement and none of the danger! As the rain died down, we ventured back out to Merdeka Square, the site where Malaysia’s flag was raised for the first time when it gained independence from Great Britain. Nowadays it’s home to a mix of older colonial buildings and mid-century government offices built to represent Malaysia’s newfound sovereignty. From the square we made our way back to Chinatown where we parted ways with some of the cash in our wallet in the local knockoff market, the deals were just too good here. We found prices to be about 40% lower than what we had paid for the same items at markets in Hanoi or Phnom Penh! For dinner we kept walking towards KL’s central business district and the famous Jalan Alor food street. We nibbled our way through snacks at a few stalls, but didn’t see anything that really caught our eye for a full meal. Instead we hiked our way back towards Chinatown, I know - great efficiency on our part, and had a great dinner at Old China Cafe. The restaurant has preserved what a “slophouse” looked like in the mid-1800’s, serving a unique fusion of Malay and Chinese dishes, a welcome difference to what we’d tried before.
Perhentian Islands
The Perhentians were recommended to us by friends and fellow travelers who had spent quite a bit of time there just a few months earlier. When searching for hotels, both the small and big island seemed to have limited options with few ratings higher than three and a half stars out of five, so we opted to split our time between the most popular option – the Perhentian Island Resort – and a recommendation from our friends – Senja Bay Resort.
We arrived in Kota Bharu after a quick flight and immediately booked a Grab to get us to Kuala Besut. You’ll find that there are a number of transfer options on arrival, but shockingly, a Grab comes out cheaper and faster. And when I say faster, I mean faster! Our driver literally flew through the countryside, clinging to the turns like an amateur race car driver and narrowly avoiding traffic accidents. Needless to say, we were glued to our seats until the very moment the driver hit the brakes by the pier. Once out of the terror vehicle, we discovered that the next boat transfer was ready to leave, but would wait for us and our luggage. On our way down to the dock, we were required to purchase a number of different tickets, each accounting for yet another environmental tax or tourism fee. Eventually, we were propped in the middle of a small boat, our bags lodged in between the benches at the front. The ride was a whirlwind! We blasted over waves at top speed, occasionally making stops to drop others off at their hotel or drop supplies, like massive packages of 1.5L Coca-Cola bottles on a floating dock. Our boat was both the shuttle and the mailman! Soon, it was our turn to leave the boat and we hopped onto land at the end of the pier at the Perhentian Island Resort. Upon arrival we immediately realized that the resort was somewhat mis-advertised. The property we had just entered was strewn with building materials and the check-in service was fairly slow. We couldn’t check in just yet, so we dropped our bags near reception and dug our toes into the sand for a few hours. One ice cream and a bottle of water later, we were able to get into our room and realized that the bait-and-switch continued there. The room looked nothing like the one we had booked – small, cracked walls, dirty corners, and bedside tables that were falling apart. After a bit of deliberation with reception, we managed to move to the room we had actually booked. During our time at the resort, we found the food and service to be quite lacking, so we wouldn’t recommend it if you’re looking for a place to stay on the big island. That said, the resort is home to a great variety of wildlife – on land and in the sea. On our first night, we spotted a colugo, or “flying lemur”: an adorable, nocturnal animal that glides from tree to tree with its patagium. Silver-leaf monkeys also live on the property and travel between trees in search of different snacks, like jackfruit. Remarkably, these monkey babies are born bright yellow and slowly begin to transition to a darker coat in adolescence. As adults, they are entirely black except for spectacle-shaped rings around their eyes! Once closer to the beach, we watched for roaming monitor lizards, the second largest after their Komodo cousins. After we were able to change that first day, we headed straight down to the beach shack to rent a goggle-snorkel set and discovered a rich ecosystem just off of the shore! We spent most of our two days at the Perhentian Island Resort in the ocean. The area, known as Turtle Point, is a frequently visited spot for stellar snorkeling and of course, a great chance of spotting a Green Sea Turtle. While we never actually saw a turtle, we spent hours watching clownfish, parrot fish, and zebrafish. In the evenings, we wandered through the jungle to reach other restaurants or simply took a water taxi to the village on the small island to eat with the locals. There, we watched the sun go down in vibrant colors, as families made their way to the evening call to prayer at the mosque.
Sad to leave the wildlife behind, but looking forward to a change of scenery, we packed up and took a water taxi to the smaller Perhentian island, carrying our luggage out of the boat through knee-deep water to shore. While much simpler than our last resort, our room at Senja Bay was directly on the beach and had easy access to a number of tasty local cafes. Not only this, but the staff was lovely and super helpful any time we had questions or concerns. As we were looking to further explore the rich ocean life off of the islands, we booked a snorkeling tour at one of the huts on the beach. Since it was low season, we ended up with a private trip with our teenage boat captain. He took us to the lighthouse first, where the currents were strong and the water deep. While the mornings invite a calmer, clearer sea, we found ourselves limited to the lighthouse perimeter to avoid the currents by mid-afternoon. After a quick look at the immense coral and sting rays here, we headed on to Shark Point, where the healthy reef spans for hundreds of meters. We swam right up to a number of small clown fish in the anemones – they bravely swam straight up to us to defend their very tiny babies hiding in the wavy anemones. The name of this stop turned out to be very accurate, as we were virtually surrounded by black-tip reef sharks! While they are shy creatures, they calmly swam below and alongside us, some rather small, others way larger than expected and mildly threatening. For our last spot, we ventured out to Coral Bay, where the coral bloomed in a variety of shapes and colors. The equally vibrant fish weightlessly played among the reef, darting in and out of their nooks. By the end of the snorkel, we were sticky from the sea salt and in dire need of a quick nap before dinner. Based on a recommendation from friends, we decided to go on a bit of a jungle trek along the coast to Crocodile Rock. There, we met a lovely American-Costa Rican couple who were working at the On The Rocks bar that overlooks the secluded bay. Their cocktails were incredible and the perfect pairing for sunset! We also had dinner at the lodge above, but found it wasn’t as good as expected and that the owner’s daughter had a bit of an attitude…
On our last day, we woke up to a tropical downpour, the coast had disappeared behind the heavy rain and thunder pounded directly above us. So, we took our time to enjoy the roti canai (flakey bread with a curry dipping sauce) breakfast, watching the storm roll over the island. Not long after, the weather calmed down, so we spent some time working on the hotel terrace. Eventually, the sun broke through the clouds, illuminating the sea into a bright turquoise, and the resident kitten came out of hiding and nudged us for some early afternoon scritches. We spent the day snorkeling along the coast by the hotel, swimming 1.5 kilometers until we reached Rainforest Beach. Just as we emerged out of the water, a boat was dropping someone off, so we hitched a ride with him back to Senja Bay. That evening, we wandered across the island to Long Beach and happily realized we had inadvertently been avoiding the touristy area. The beach was full of little restaurants, their fairy lights and plastic chairs spilling onto the sand. We opted for one of the busiest places where the food was tasty, but only arrived after a half an hour wait. On the way back to the quiet side of the island, we stopped at a bracelet stand and got to talking to the Swiss women selling them. By day, she is a diving instructor and by night she sells her handmade jewelry. I chose a bracelet with an aqua stone – she informed me that turquoise attracts good vibes and experiences, something I hope we continue to feel on our trip!
Borneo
The next day, we made the very long journey to Borneo, starting with our boat ride to Besut. Following a bumpy and very speedy ride, we hopped into a Grab and drove to Kota Bharu. From there, we took a series of flights to Kota Kinabalu, where we spent a very short night at a hotel near the airport. Feeling rather crunchy in the morning, we shuffled into yet another Grab back to Kota Kinabalu airport to take our flight to Sandakan before the sun came up. While we arrived with most of the day to spare, our river lodge was only able to schedule a pick up for later that afternoon, something we only found out after we booked our flight. So, Starbucks became our hub for the next few hours and airport staff began to wonder why we were still roaming the airport aimlessly. Finally, we were swooped up by a rickety van and piled into the uncomfortable seats with ten other strangers. We bounced over rough roads that were mostly potholes for the next three hours, passing endless palm plantations, and arrived in the jungle with sore backs and cricks in our necks. The Sukau Greenview Lodge was perched on the banks of the Kinabatangan River, featuring a cozy open space for meals and comfortable huts in the back of the property. Over the next few days, we spent our time cruising up and down the river in search of wildlife with our amazing guides, Azizi and Jack. Both of them brought an immense wealth of knowledge to each trip, answering every question about animal behaviors and conservation efforts. On our first day on the water, we started out strong with multiple hornbill sightings. We not only watched a pair of monogamous rhinoceros hornbills nuzzle each other in the trees, but gazed at the Asian black and wrinkled hornbills as they flew overhead. Later, we won the wildlife jackpot when we suddenly encountered a lone Asian elephant grazing in the high grasses along the river – apparently he had picked a fight with the herd matriarch and was booted from the group to live in solidarity. Feeling chuffed from the success of our very first river safari, we took a moment to freshen up for dinner (which included loads of bug spray) and met the others in the communal area. The buffet was great – we had a different selection each night and I was given a separate veggie with every meal! Full and ready for more exploring, we hopped back into our trusty boat for the night ride. While on the water, we had to peel our eyes for critters of the dark, following Azizis flashlight like it was Batman’s spotlight. We managed to spot a few crocodiles close to shore, an owl on the hunt, and some very loud waterfowl. The highlight was drifting over to the limestone rocks along the water and witnessing white-nest swiftlets nesting in a massive group in a crevice. The bird tweeted loudly, shuffling restlessly as they built their much-desired nests. Fun fact: swiftlets build their nests out of their saliva and they are frequently harvested by humans, as their flavorless structures are thought to provide health benefits and are used in bird’s nest soup in China. Today, a mere kilogram of nests goes for a whopping $2,600 USD! Thankfully, these birdies were safe to build their nests given their location in the Kinabatangan Sanctuary.
The following day, we got up before sunrise to catch the last of nocturnal wildlife and watch the rest of the jungle come alive with the sunrise. We’ll call this day “Monkey Day” because we saw a different troop at every corner. First, we spotted proboscis monkeys sitting high up in the trees, dangling their legs off of branches like they were simply lounging amongst the leaves. The older males were larger, their protruding noses standing out amongst the females, who naturally avoid this unflattering feature thanks to sexual dimorphism. We encountered dozens of silvered leaf monkeys and eastern grey gibbons, howling in the treetops and curiously gazing at our boat as we floated by. We also took smaller, windy streams off of the Kinabatangan, where we gazed at the orangutan ropes above us and had a stand-off with a rather large baboon on the water’s edge. Upon returning to our lodge, we all settled in for a quiet breakfast and watched the speedboats grumble by. Later, we split off into small groups for a rainforest walk downstream where we learned about the shocking abundance of poisonous plants and the equally amazing size of elephant droppings. Trudging through the elephant poop and mud, we were accompanied by swarms of mosquitoes – they truly found every bit of exposed skin unless swatted, inspiring us to pull the drawstrings tight on our rain jacket hoods, sleeves, and waists. At one moment, Azizi exclaimed and froze – an equatorial spitting cobra had crossed the path! These terrifying reptiles can spit their venom up to three meters or simply bite their prey to kill them. For humans, this means imminent death if left untreated, especially as there is no species-specific anti-venom available. Thankfully, the cobra slithered into the undergrowth and we quickly hurried on to get back to the boat. After our rather strenuous walk, we had some time to recuperate, so Jackson and I took a much-needed nap. Awakened after about an hour, we revived ourselves with the weakest bean water known to man from the 24-hour free coffee station. Feeling our excitement rise, we headed out on another river safari to encounter even more monkeys, stunningly vibrant kingfishers, and chunkier crocodiles compared to the night before. After another hearty dinner we set out for our night trek through the jungle. Given the struggle with the mosquitos earlier, we weren’t very optimistic. Despite profusely sweating under our protective layers, we managed to see quite a few unique bugs, a very cute tree frog, and even a sleeping pitta bird!
On our third day, we were scheduled to depart after breakfast. We felt we needed another shot at seeing orangutans along the river, as well as the elusive elephant herd that had been spotted crossing the river overnight. While we didn’t see any of these shy animals, we were excited to watch the trees come alive with monkey hollering and bird chatter. After a quick breakfast at the lodge, we packed up our gear and loaded onto another minivan to begin the bouncy drive back to Sandakan. There, we posted up in a very simple, yet cute jungle hut. Even though the mozzies were alive in our outdoor shower and the ants wandered in through the many cracks in the walls, we had sprawling views of the jungle from our little balcony. Not only this, but the spaces on the property were perfect for making new friends. Jackson and I met a lovely older couple from South Africa (living in New Zealand), a sweet British girl solo traveling, and a lone German traveler too. We found that despite our various walks of life, we were somehow aligned to cross paths again on our travels – what are the odds?! Alongside our new human friends, we spent the afternoon fawning over a sweet family of dogs, which included mom, father, and latest pup. Naturally, we gave all of them names before the sun was down.
The following day, we hopped on the shuttle arranged by the hotel to get to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Center. Most of the arrivals to the center are former pets that have been abused and neglected, or orphaned infants who need help learning how to fend for themselves. In fact, the staff at the center actively guide the infants through the stages of rehabilitation, teaching them how to grasp branches, swing from vine to vine, and forage for food. With this in mind, the center also provides two daily feeding sessions where visitors can watch orangutans in action. It's important to note that the protected area is not enclosed, so the orangutans are free to come and go as they please, especially once they have been confidently rehabilitated. At the center, we first watched the juvenile orangutans play and eat bananas on a jungle gym set for an ape. It was hilarious to watch as the keeper left the area and the macaques suddenly rushed out of the trees to claim the banana bounty. At first the orangutans were rather perplexed by the calculated ambush, but soon fought back by bonking the macaques on the head with fruit or simply their hairy fists. Following this comedic encounter, we went to the main feeding platform that is open air and allows orangutans to swing in from surrounding trees. Some, especially the new mothers, seem to know when feeding time kicks off, as they patiently wait for the basket of fruit to appear out of the bushes. Oddly enough, only one of the mothers, Wulan, and her baby Cerah are known to have gone through the rehab program with the help of the staff. The others have come from far and wide, forming an odd community among the treetops. Wulan and Cerah were endearing to watch. Cerah playfully climbed up her mothers belly, touching her face gently and pulling at her long, auburn hair. According to staff, Wulan is very aware of her recent achievement of becoming a mother and frequently hoists Cerah up on the ropes, proudly showing her off to the people below. At one point, when the initial crowd had dissipated, Wulan climbed onto the viewing platform sternly, but quietly surveyed her onlookers. We were so close, we could see the little hairs on Carahs head in the sunlight and the near-human emotion behind Wulan’s eyes. Simply incredible! Once the session was over, we popped over to the Sun Bear Sanctuary across the road, which houses just over forty bears in rehabilitation. These bears are the smallest in the world and their chests are adorned with a golden patch that is said to resemble the rising sun. Though these bears were fun to watch, climbing the tree stumps in front of us, we had to go back to the orangutans for the 2 PM feeding. This time, Wulan and Cerah were joined by another mother and child, as well as two juveniles from the rehabilitation program. It was interesting to watch the juveniles respectfully hang back, so the new mothers could eat, feed their babies, and retreat before they dug into the goodies on the platform. Once again, the orangutans wanted to inspect us and the juveniles made their way onto the viewing area, curiously eyeing us from above. It was so special to watch these great apes interact with each other, realizing how closely related we truly are.
By Saturday we were sad to leave the depths of the jungle for Kota Kinabalu. We were greeted with torrential rain, limiting our activities for the rest of the day. So, we spent most of our time in the hotel room getting admin tasks checked off, but found a pocket of lighter drizzle in the evening to explore the night market below. The market sets up once a week on Saturday and is the perfect spot to try some Malaysian street food! We gathered a few goodies from different stalls and comfortably ate them in our room as the rain became heavier once more.
On Sunday morning, the rain was still persistent but now much more manageable. We grabbed our rain jackets and went to October Cafe for a cheeky coffee and breakfast. Fueled by caffeine and sugar, we took a Grab to the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque. The mosque feels quite grand from the outside, perched next to a man-made lagoon and adorned with an elaborate mosaic-covered dome. Despite this, it’s rather simple on the inside and focuses its beauty on being a space for family and friends to connect. Before entering the grounds, Jackson was dressed in a thawb and I was given a matching hijab to my abaya to cover up respectfully. Even though we were covered from head to toe, the locals spotted us immediately and swarmed around us to ask for a photo with us – we felt like celebrities! Aside from our moment of fame, the local guides took the time to explain the importance of the mosque and answer any questions. Later that afternoon, we decided to check out Tanjung Aru beach to watch the sunset. Apparently, this area is quite the hoot in the evenings! Local food stalls were set up and some people sat chatting with their friends, while others wandered on the beach. While the clouds blocked what would certainly have been a spectacular sunset, we watched slivers of gold and apricot dance on the horizon and reflect on the stretch of uncovered low-tide sand.
Recommendations
Where We Stayed:
Some of Our Other Favorite Restaurants: