Trip Report: Malaysian Borneo

So I spent 10 days in Malaysian Borneo with the goal of seeing birds and animals. I flew into Kuala Lumpur and spent 2 days there before flying to Sandakan. It was about 40 hours of travel through Turkey from Connecticut, definitely a trek.

Borneo was amazing! And also definitely adventurous. I was told before hand that it would be hot but WOW, so hot all of the time. And many places in the jungle didn't have AC. I was also warned about the leeches in the jungle, which are really terrible. They're gross and you bleed a lot when they bite you and it's impossible to avoid them. However, I don't think I got bit by a single mosquito while I was there, so that was a win at least!

I started in Sandakan, and went to see the Orangutan rehab center which is a cool way to see the Orangutans where they're not really afraid of people. Then I went to Deramakot, which is all car safaris through the jungle like Africa, we saw a lot of wildlife and birds there because not many people go there. The Kinabatangan River, where you do river cruises with lots of birds and monkeys. Then Danum valley which is mostly hiking through the jungle, we didn't see a lot of wildlife but it's really cool just being in the jungle. Finally a day of snorkeling in Kota Kinablau where we saw a sea turtle, then back to KL for a few days before returning to the US via Korea.

I thought Malaysia was great, but a little different than some places I've been. The guides didn't volunteer much information about the culture or themselves unless you kinda pried, it was mostly all about animals. People seemed very private. There wasn't much tipping going on and I kinda stopped tipping people after getting some weird looks and confusion, though it was a bit uncomfortable because they would take my bags for me and open car doors for me etc. There was definitely some surprise at me traveling along as a solo woman, but plenty of other people were doing it and it was always perfectly safe.

That was something I liked and disliked about Malaysia, I felt basically invisible. People won't talk to you unless you grab their attention, nobody looks at you, everyone kept very much to themselves which felt very safe but a bit disconcerting. The food was fantastic especially the desserts (lots of fruit and shaved ice) but none of it was especially "out there". It was my first time to south East Asia and I thought the food would be more "challenging" for lack of a better word, but it was mostly noodles and eggs and chicken. Very tasty though!

Overall, the wildlife and birds were amazing, which is what I came for, but I never really felt like I experienced much of the culture. Definitely a wonderful place to visit if you value animals and safety, but potentially not as "exciting" as some other countries.

I'll happily answer any questions if anyone has any!