Borneo, Malaysia with kids

Borneo was a place that always fascinated me and getting the chance to take our kids to Borneo was right up there on my travel wish list.  We landed with high expectations and were definitely not disappointed.  Borneo is a truly amazing place and one I must go back too!

We spent a couple of weeks in Borneo visiting both Sabah and Sarawak.  The highlights of our trip were taking a tour to the Kinabantangan Jungle where we got within 1 metre of 10 wild elephants and saw hundreds of monkeys including the Proboscis in the wild plus stunning birds, goannas and other creatures.  We stayed in huts alongside the river and headed up river by long boat to enjoy the amazing wildlife.  We visited the Gomantong Cave the largest bird nest cave in the region where men climb the walls to collect the edible swiftlet nests as they are extremely valuable.

We also visited Sepilok Orangutan sanctuary outside the town of Sandakan and spent hours watching the amazing Orangutans that are wild with the sanctuary.  We headed back to Kota Kinabalu and took a boat trip to the outer islands to do some snorkelling and swimming before making our way to Kuching.

We had heard of the Iban people that lived in longhouses along the rivers of Sarawak.  These self sufficient people are the original head hunter tribes and are becoming less and less as their children move into the cities for education and work.  We wanted to introduce our kids to their amazing culture before it is too late.  So we found a driver heading that way and jumped aboard.  5 hours by car and 2 more hours by long boat then we arrived at the primitive village of Lalang.  We spent the next few days with these amazing people watching them fish, weave, sew, farm whilst swimming in the crystal clear creeks.  They took us into the jungles and showed us how the farm rubber and rice and taught us to cook using nothing but bamboo for utensils, cookware and a weaved BBQ grill.  It was an amazing feast.

Sadly our time in Borneo had come to an end.  Its a fantastic country the Malaysian people are very hospitable and welcoming. The cuisine is a mix of Thai, Malay and Indian and they do food so well in all of Malaysia, a foodies heaven.  A big meal at a Malay cafe for a family of 4 will set you back around AUD$10-15 however alcohol is a bit expense for Asia (about the same as in Australia).  There are lots of fish and vegetable markets that are very entertaining to visit and just outside Kota Kinabalu you can visit the fishing villages where the houses are built out over the water.

If you'd like to take the family to Borneo Malaysia speak to the BYOkids team now 1300 296 543



 

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