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- Pia
- Jan 24, 2016
Mantanani Island
Now it was time for me to discover one of Borneo's many beautiful islands, Mantanani. Early in the morning my driver, Oswald, picked me up in front of my apartment. Then we picked up some more guests at the Best Western Hotel. After an almost two hours' drive from KK to the Kuala Abai Jetty it was time to switch from van to speedboat.
- Pia
- Jan 24, 2016
Kinabalu Park & Hot Spring Tour
At 06.45 in the morning Ryan our guide picked me and two guests up from the hotel. After some more pick-ups from the hotels, the bus was full. I must say that Amazing Borneo has really comfortable busses, considering that we were supposed to sit in a bus for almost 6 hours.
- Pia
- Jan 24, 2016
Borneo Jungle Trekking - "Survival Camp"
The trekking started from the Kampung Kiau village. It took our group 1.5 hours to get to the camp. If I was to compare this trekking with the fast track on the mountain, this is a piece of cake. But for the others guest who were joining, it was a bit harder because they just had finished the climb to the summit of Mt. Kinabalu the day before. Their legs were very sore. But anyhow, the trek was nice and the view was beautiful. At some parts it was very steep! So I always had to be alert in where to put my feet. Along the way the guides showed us some plants that are edible and which ones that are filled with poison. When we got to the camp we had lunch. Unluckily, it started to rain heavily so we couldn't really do anything for about 2 hours.
- Laura
- Jan 24, 2016
Sabah Fest 2014
Sabah Fest 2014 blazed a trail of opportunity for many to lose themselves for an hour & a half in the razzling dazzling rhythm of Sabah’s harmonious unity in diversity. A plethora of traditional performances ranging from Tenom Murut Gong, Papar Tanggungak, Putatan Bertitik troupe, Kudat Mongigol Sumundai, Kota Belud Dusun Tindal, Penampang Sumazau & Magaggung, Tenom Anggalang & Magunatip from the West Coast of Sabah.
- Laura
- Jan 24, 2016
Better Comfort, Better Safety for Tourists. Amazing Borneo Tours is Proud to be the First to Own Maxus Tourist Passenger Van in East Malaysia
Proud to be part of an expanding business venture and the very first East Malaysian tourism clients, Amazing Borneo Tours welcomes the dawn of the new age of unparalleled safety, convenience and comfort with the innovative WestStar Maxus V80 passenger tour van. The official launch of this van to be used as a tourist vehicle (Bas Persiaran) , together with the handover ceremony of two 11-seater Maxus passenger vans to Amazing Borneo Tours & Event Sdn. Bhd. was held on 28 Feb 2014 at Promenade Hotel Kota Kinabalu, with Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun gracing the event. Datuk was quoted saying that this is a timely investment that will boost quality service for all customers and promote the tourism business sector, especially in celebration of Visit Malaysia Year 2014.
- Hanna & Josephine
- Jan 24, 2016
Padas Rafting Grade 3-4
If you want to try the most adventures rafting that Amazing Borneo can arrange for you Padas River is the place. The rafting is a grade 3-4 but can under some circumstances get up till 6, but then it’s too dangerous to do rafting. The only way to get to the starting point for rafting at Padas river is a 2 hour drive to Beaufort and from there to take a train for almost 90 minutes.
We got picked up at 5:30 just near our apartment and the driver and also our guide Moos told us that we had to speed up to not miss the train. In our car there was a family of 4 from the Philippines, a couple from China and three guys from Hong Kong. A good mixture!
It was nice to drive thru the landscape and see the sunrise over Mount Kinabalu. To see people wake up and start their days. And to know that we are going on an adventure. Luckily for us we made it in time for the train. It was a lot of people on the train and not seats for everyone. The standard on the train is a little bit different than what we are used to in Sweden. To start with, the trains in Sweden go on time, not 20 minutes late. And there will be air-condition or heat on the trains in Sweden. But this is the charm with traveling, that things are not what we are used to. It’s fascinated to go by train in the jungle and see small houses in the middle of nowhere. You started to image how their life looks like and what they do for a living, and how your own life would look like if you were born in that family.
- Hanna & Josephine
- Jan 24, 2016
Rasa Ria Orang Utan Encounter
One of Amazing Borneo Tours trips we wanted to do the most was the Rasa Ria Orang Utan Encounter. We have never seen Orang Utan in real life and really wanted to do that. We don’t have monkeys in Sweden (except for in the zoo) so for us this is very exotic. First they told us that we would not be able to see them because no one had booked the tour for the day that was fitting out schedule. But after a few days they told us that someone booked the trip and if we still wanted to go we could. Of course we still wanted to see the Orang Utan in real life so we did some changes in our schedule for the next day. Something that is good to know is that you have to book the trip at least 2 days before because there is only a limited number of guests that are allowed to visit the center in one day.
Our guide and driver for today was Leo and Lerond, they picked us up outside our apartment and we drove to 1Borneo to pick up an American family. We continue to Rasa Ria Resort, only 50 min drive from Kota Kinabalu city. The resort have a nature club were they rehabilitate Orang Utan to get back to a life in the wilderness. To get to the nature club you walk thru the whole resort. This is not just a small hotel, the have like their own world. On the way in to the hotel you pass a golf court. We stopped outside the reception and walked thru go get outside to the “backyard”. The staff are very welcoming and greet you very politely. The resort have their own beach and a pool area and everything is so well organize, you will feel very tempted to stay at the resort and don’t go back after you have seen it.
- Hanna & Josephine
- Jan 24, 2016
Mount Kinabalu Fast Track
The last kilometer from 3 until 4 km felt like the stairs would never end. Soaking wet and hungry we finally reach Layang Layang after 5 hour of trekking. We ate our lunch in one of the shelters to get away from the rain. The guide once again told us that some of us needed to turn back and walk the same way down instead of walking 6 km to Mesilau. Only the ones who are able to walk in a fast tempo were allowed to proceed to Mesilau. We didn’t want to leave the group we started the walk with so we decided to walk the same trail down against Timpohon Gate.
Our last advise from the guide was “Go straight down, don’t take breaks and if you must then only for a minute. Other vise it will be dark before you will get to the finish line.” And after the vise words we started our trekking down, still in pouring rain.
- Hanna & Josephine
- Jan 24, 2016
Mari Mari Culture Village
Today we went to Mari Mari Culture Village, the bus picked us up around 9:00 o’clock and the journey took 30 min. The local guide welcomed us and walked with us the whole day. Mari Mari is a village with five different authentic houses which represents five tribes from Sabah. You visit the houses and learn about the history and about how they lived.
To get in to the village you have to cross a suspension bridge over a small river, they must love suspension bridges here. They are everywhere. We think it’s fun because we don’t have those back home in Sweden. The sun was shining and the park was beautiful and blossoming. It was a very hot day and thankfully we got to try both drinks and food from the tribes. During our visit they had a role play and to get into one area the leader of the tribe wanted to meet our group leader. So first we had to decide who was going to be the leader so we could be allowed to enter the area. The leader of the tribe called our leader to a meeting and they went through a ceremony and when they accept each other the group was allowed to enter their home. They thought us to use a blowpipe which was both for hunting and killing, back in the days this tribe was very violent and if you would meet them in the forest they would certainly kill you. Luckily for us we were accepted.
- Hanna & Josephine
- Jan 24, 2016
Mantanani Island
The water in Kota Kinabalu have been very sunny and hot the last week so when we heard that we were going to Mantanani Island we were very happy. It is pretty far from the city, you will go by car for 2 hours and then you switched to boat for 1 hour. Today there were no tour guides to join us so our task was to interfere with the guests and talked to them and make sure they had a good time. Luckily for us the group was 5 friends from Singapore and very easy to talk to. We understand them and they understand us. When we talked to them it appeared that one girl had been to Sweden for 6 months and one guy had been to Finland to work for 6 months. Once again we notice how small the world are.
The first journey with the car was a bit bumpy and along the road we passed both cows and goats that was walking or resting on the road. Fun to watch from the car window. When we arrived to the jetty of Mantanani Island we took the speedboat to the island. It went really fast and it felt good to have the wind in our hair and smell the sea. The weather condition was good so the sea was pretty calm. Which made the boat ride less bumpy.