Borneo & More 2023

We will fly from YVR to South-East Asia. We'll start in Singapore, go on to Penang and then get to the main event: Borneo. After that, we'll go to Kuala Lumpur and finally Tokyo before flying back to Canada. Read more

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Trip start
September 18, 2023
Borneo & More 2023
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Day 1 - Home to YVR
September 18, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
This adventure started with a BC Transit bus to Swartz Bay (thank you for those long ago bus tickets, Kathleen), then the ferry to Tsawwassen, followed by the BC Ferries Connector bus to the airport.
Thanks to the magic of points, we were able to spend the night at the Fairmont Hotel, right in the airport, where Paul met us and we spent the afternoon together.Read more
Traveler This was such a fun meet and greet. Enjoy your holiday
9/21/23Reply
Traveler Cute photo - must have been taken by a "highly" qualified photographer :)
9/21/23Reply
Traveler nice one!
9/21/23Reply
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Borneo & More 2023
A loooong travel day
September 19, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C
We got off to a good start in the Maple Leaf Lounge at YVR - our first-ever airport lounge. Nice!
Then, we boarded our first plane for the 11-hour ✈️ to Incheon, South Korea. It was an Air Canada flight and for something else new, Premium Economy, which completely failed to live up to expectations. At least for Air Canada, there is no reason for Premium Economy. There was a little extra legroom and not much else special, certainly not more comfortable seats, which was the objective. However, the flight departed on time and also arrived at ICN on time 🕙.
Next up was our 2nd ✈️ of the day - ICN-SIN. It was on Asiana & lasted about 7 hours. We were in regular Economy class & it was a much more premium experience than the earlier one with that name. Gotta ❤️ Asian hospitality!
We crossed the Date Line & then passed midnight, so the day that started on the 19th ended on the 21st. It felt that long, too.
Got to our Singapore hotel, Jen Tanglin by Shangri-La, and finally were able to get to 😴 at 3:00 am.
It was a very long day, but everything worked as scheduled. Hooray!Read more
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Borneo & More 2023
🇸🇬 Singapore!
Sep 21–25, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ 🌧 31 °C
A jet-lag day. No commitments because we knew we'd be too tired. We checked out the hotel pool - lovely - and Tanglin Mall, attached to the hotel, where we remember grocery shopping about 30 years ago when we spent a couple of months here. That was quite enough for today. 🥱Read more
TravelerBest coffee and service! Can't beat the sandwich either!
10/31/23Reply
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Borneo & More 2023
Last full day in Singapore
September 23, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Gardens By The Bay
Lots to see there, gardens of many styles, ponds, statues, supertrees. We spent a long time there with Floyd & later Farah joined us. The canopy walk was closed, so we couldn't try it. Also, impressive views of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. We walked through it on a lower level but did not go up to the top. Then off to see the Merlion, along with hordes of other people, but we had to do it!Read more
TravelerBeautiful photos - looks like you're having a great time
9/24/23Reply
Loved this place. I spent the better part of a day there Christmas 20118. Enjoy. [Kathleen]
9/25/23Reply
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Borneo & More 2023
Penang
Sep 24–Oct 1, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Flew in to Penang on Sunday on Firefly Airline, a discount subsidiary of Malaysia Air. It was a good ✈️ with reserved seats, a hot lunch and priority checked🧳. Sweet.
We checked into our home for a week- Ascott Gurney Penang. It's lovely 😍 and we have a huge room on the 31st floor.
Thunder and lightning started in the evening & continued off and on throughout the night and on Monday. Very dramatic!Read more
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Borneo & More 2023
Coffee Shops
September 26, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
We found an online list of the 6 best coffee shops ☕️ in Penang. We were on a mission! We got to 2 of them today: Mugshot Cafe and Rainforest Bakery (one place) and Yin's Sourdough Bakery Cafe, which is very conveniently located in the same building as our hotel.Read more
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Borneo & More 2023
Historic Georgetown
September 26, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 28 °C
Today was a wandering day - around the World Heritage area of Georgetown, the main historical and tourist focus of Penang.
TravelerLooks like a great city to explore
9/26/23Reply
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Borneo & More 2023
Drinking Water
September 26, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
We're in South-East Asia, so we expect to be using bottled 💧 to stay safe. Right after checking into our hotel, we bought a 5.5 litre bottle of water - a nice big bottle so we wouldn't run out. Then, back in the room, we discovered an extra faucet in the kitchenette with a sign posted on the wall telling us we had safe drinking 🚰. 👏 Hooray!Read more
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Borneo & More 2023
Hotel Infinity Pool
September 26, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Our hotel has a really gorgeous infinity pool, doesn't it? 😍
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Borneo & More 2023
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Butterflies!
September 28, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
Today we went to Entopia - similar to Butterfly Gardens in Brentwood, but so much larger. We had a lot of fun there.
You should frame this one! [Wendy B]
10/26/23Reply
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Borneo & More 2023
Myanmar in Malaysia
September 28, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
There is a Burma Street, 🇲🇲, a Burma neighborhood, and even a Mawlawmyaing neighborhood in Penang. There is a Burma Square and a pretty impressive-looking Burma temple 🛕.
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Borneo & More 2023
Bukit Merah Orangutan Island
September 29, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
This is an orangutan rehabilitation centre, saving lives, educating the public about the animals and the risks to their survival and providing a safe haven for orangutans who can never be released into the wild.
A unique feature is that the orangutans have the freedom of the island, while visitors are the ones caged in corridors where we can observe the animals.Read more
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Borneo & More 2023
Borneo - at last!
Oct 1–9, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ 🌧 29 °C
Today, we flew from Penang to Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysian state of Sabah on Borneo. We are thrilled to be here again. This is our 4th time here & all the staff at the hotel kept welcoming us back - the word is out. They even gave us the same room we had last time (5 years ago). We had asked for something similar because we loved the view. Pretty cool that they did that for us!Read more
So amazing and "aweful"! Kathleen [Kathleen Moriarty]
10/1/23Reply
TravelerLooks beautiful!
10/6/23Reply
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Borneo & More 2023
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Sunset
October 2, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
People go to the beach to watch the sunset over the horizon. It was gorgeous.😍
Love this one! [Wendy B]
10/26/23Reply
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Borneo & More 2023
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SUP Yoga!
October 3, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
I tried something new - Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga. I'd never even been on a paddleboard, and there I was doing yoga on one. 🧘‍♀️ It was a little tippy. Being on the board certainly brought a few new challenges with it, but it was fun, and I didn't fall off the board.Read more
What a challenge! [Wendy B]
10/26/23Reply
Jo and JO Brooks-CaragataYes, it was, but a fun one!
10/26/23Reply
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Borneo & More 2023
The amazing beach
October 4, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
One of the main reasons we keep coming back here is the 3 km long beach. 🌊 We love going for long walks on the beach - in & out of the water. We see lots and lots of holes made by small 🦀. They pop out round balls of sand to make the space they need, and the balls of sand make some interesting patterns on the sand.Read more
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Borneo & More 2023
Rainforest & Jungle
October 4, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
Part of the resort is a Nature Reserve - rainforest & jungle. Naturalists are on hand to take people on the trails and make sure we see the flora & fauna we might miss on our own. Plus, they keep us safe. There used to be an orangutan sanctuary here, a satellite operation of the Sepilok Otangutan Sanctuary, also here in Sabah, on Borneo, but that ended in 2016 when the 20-year project ended, and the orangutans were moved to Sepilok. That area here is now the Nature Reserve.Read more
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Borneo & More 2023
Cultural Performance
October 4, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
There is entertainment of some sort here every evening. This was Cultural Performance Day - music, singing and dancing. There may have been a blowpipe in there, too. 😨 There are many ethnic groups in Borneo, all with their own cultures and languages. Yes, at least some of these groups used to be headhunters. Of course they don't so that anymore, but small human skull ornaments are still part of their performance.Read more
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Borneo & More 2023
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The beach again
October 5, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
Another lovely 😍 walk on the beach - before breakfast, so it isn't too hot.
Traveler Nice photo!
10/6/23Reply
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Borneo & More 2023
Where in the world are we?
October 5, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
We are in the State of Sabah, one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo, the other being Sarawak. Yup, been there, too, just not on this trip.
We are staying where we always stay in Sabah: Shangri-la Rasa Ria Resort. It's about a 45-minute drive from Kota Kinabalu, the city we flew to from Penang. Rasa Ria has lots of information available in various places, YouTube, etc. If you'd like to see high-quality videos, check out their links in the attached photos.Read more
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Borneo & More 2023
At the pool - humans & animals
October 5, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
There are two lovely 😍 swimming pools here. We definitely get pool time in every day. There's more than just swimming and lounging around. There is also watching the birds 🐦 and animals also in and around the pool. 😃Read more
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Borneo & More 2023
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High Tea
October 5, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Who knew that High Tea would be a thing in far-flung Borneo? Must be a throw-back to the time when Malaya was firmly under Queen Victoria's thumb. Whatever the reason, we enjoyed a very pretty and delicious High Tea today.Read more
Traveler Lovely photo - hope you enjoyed your tea
10/6/23Reply
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Borneo & More 2023
Palms and Bamboo
October 7, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
There are lots of interesting trees here, many of them palm trees and various types of bamboo trees. This is what we've learned from one of the Naturalists in the Nature Reserve:
- the red ones - These are palms even though they have very bamboo-like trunks. Their common names are red beetlenut palm or lipstick palm.
- the skinny ones - Chinese bamboo.
- the strange-looking bulbous ones - Buddhist bamboo.
- the yellow ones - Yellow Japanese bamboo.
- the big ones - Common bamboo.Read more
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Borneo & More 2023
Crabs on the beach
October 7, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
We keep going for walks on the beach. It's always interesting. The little crabs are Asian Shore Crabs. They are mostly transparent, which often makes them look sand-colored on the sand and hard to see when they aren't moving. Some of them have white dots, and others have black stripes. The ones inside shells are Hermit Crabs.Read more
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Borneo & More 2023
Amazing Infinity Jacuzzi
October 7, 2023 in Malaysia ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C
You've seen infinity pools, and you've seen Jacuzzis, but have you ever seen a swimming pool size infinity jacuzzi? We have now. It is awesome. It overlooks the expansive, white sand beach, the deep blue South China Sea, and the brilliant blue sky. Perfect! 🥰Read more
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