Borneo – Nexus Resort Karambunai

We were off to the island of Borneo. The province of Malaysia we were visiting is called Sabah. The Nexus Resort Karambunai was to be our home for the next ten days. The plan was to relax from the rushing around we had been doing in the cities we visited. The Nexus turned out to be the perfect place to do this. The resort has a spa and golf course both of which we took advantage of. The resort is on 3300 acres and features a 6km white sand beach.

This is one place I definitely want to return to.

Check out the adventures that you can have in Sabah

Batu Caves – Kuala Lumpur

The Batu Caves and Hindu temple are located outside Kuala Lumpur. We set off for the Caves in a minivan with six others. Along the way our first stop was at the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory. Here we saw how pewter was made and had a try at decorating a piece. Let me say that the highly skilled workers make it look easy.

When we arrived at the site there is a climb of 272 steps to reach the caves that contains the Hindu Temple. Leading to the steps is a 42.7m high statue of Lord Murugan a Hindu Deity to which the temple is dedicated. The sun was blazing in the afternoon with high humidity so I started my climb slowly. We were warned not to carry food with us as the are several rather voracious monkeys on the way up the steps. I had a run in with one on my way down, the creature tried to snatch my water bottle.

The caves are made of limestone and 400 meters long and 100 meter high. The Hindu temples are magnificent and both they are quite a sight and worth the climb.

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Kuala Lumpur: A Visit to the Bird Park

The Bird Park is “The World’s largest Free Flight Aviary”. Located adjacent to the Perdana Lake Gardens, a cab ride from downtown to the park is about 15RM. There are concession stands available but you would be wise to bring water.

This is a wonderful opportunity to see exotic birds in a natural setting. The several staff members work constantly to keep the park clean and well maintained. Peacocks roam the pathways and are a little tricky to get by while displaying their fabulous tail feathers. Some of the birds displayed are Flamingos, Hornbills, Waterhens, Parrots, Cockatoos, Storks, Pheasants, Macaws and Ducks.

Kuala Lumpur: Petronas Twin Towers

When we decided to visit Kula Lumpur or KL as it’s better known all I really knew about the city was it was home to the Petronas Twin Towers which until recently were the tallest buildings in the world.

We were on a city tour when the towers were first spotted and they certainly are a magnificent sight. We drove to the towers and had opportunity to take a few pictures before continuing on with the tour.

After the city tour we took a cab back to the towers for a closer inspection. We found the ticket office for the trip up to the Sky bridge on the 40Th and 41st floors. This is the only part of the towers opened to the public. Our tickets which are free were for 3:15pm so we had a couple of hours and decided on lunch.

There are numerous restaurants in the large upscale mall attached to the towers. We had lunch in an outside restaurant overlooking a park like setting complete with pools very nice indeed. After lunch there was time to do a little shopping and then off to the Sky bridge. There are numerous displays on the towers and there unique construction. Before our ascent we viewed a 3D video presentation about the towers and Petronas the energy company that owns them.

the high speed elevators deposited us on the Sky bridge for our short visit. Time is limited to about 15 minutes so they can get as many people through as possible. There are great views in the two direction not obstructed by the towers.

If we return to KL we will go to the KL tower instead and get higher and have an unrestricted 360 degree view of the city as well as the towers themselves.

Home Sweet Home

We’re baaaaack!

Our return from Ho Chi Minh City included a layover in Vancouver, but after all those 5-star hotels in Malaysia and Vietnam, the prospect of just one snotty check-in clerk at the Airport Comfort Inn was so unappealing that I managed to sweet talk the ticket agent at Incheon (South Korea) into booking us on an earlier flight back to Penticton.

Ed and I therefore arrived at home safe and sound early Saturday evening after travelling for a mere 30 hours — as opposed to the originally scheduled 43 hours.

If not for the ’slumberettes’ in the Singapore Airlines Raffles Lounge in Seoul and those nice big seats in Air Canada’s executive class, I doubt I would have been able to get all my laundry done, check deposits written and (best of all) photos uploaded and titles coded in the 24 hours since our return.

But I/we did and they are now available for viewing on Flickr.

That’s to assuage our guilt for failing to post to the Roamsters blog every day while we were away despite lugging the Sony Vaio around in a wheeless carry-on for what seemed like 8 million miles.

Sorreeee…

We were just too busy being tourists — sightseeing, risking our lives to cross the streets in Saigon, walking the absolutely glorious beach in Malaysian Borneo at Kota Kinabalu’s Nexus Karambunai, eating 3, 4 and 5 delicious Asian squares a day and drinking at least twice that much.

To recuperate from all that activity we also had to go for swims up to 6 times daily, do 3.5 hour massage treatments and study the insides of our eyelids while reclining on sumptuous teak loungers from the comfort of our private cabana.

What can I say but that we had a fabulous time and we’ll try to get a few recap blog posts out in the next few weeks.

Cheers,
Ros