Malaysia and Borneo

I flew from Manchester with Turkish airlines in economy via Istanbul to Kuala Lumpur for a two night stay. Turkish airlines exceeded my expectations as the seats were comfortable and had excellent in-flight entertainment, you could see it was a very modern airline. The food seemed better than other airlines I have flown with in economy. Istanbul is one of the best airports I have visited, so many shops etc to make a few hours go fast! I would certainly fly via Istanbul with Turkish airlines in future. I stayed in the 4* Traders hotel for one night, then the Shangri La for one night and visited the Majestic Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

The Traders hotel is in a great location in the heart of KL and the biggest attraction was the rooftop pool bar which had awesome views and a lovely atmosphere. My room had a very impressive view of the petronas towers. I would recommend this hotel for a short stay in the city as the value for money and standard is superb. Good restaurant facilities if you don’t want to go out for food.

The next night I stayed in the 5* Shangri-La hotel. When you walk into the lobby it has the famous Shangri-La smell. It’s in a busy populated area with excellent facilities and is what you would expect from a 5* hotel. Restaurant standards in this hotel are amazing and we sampled the evening buffet which was delicious - a common theme throughout my time in Malaysia.

We visited the Majestic hotel for food, it’s a stunning hotel and was my favourite out of the hotels I saw due to the colonial feel; it was built in 1932 and is full of character. Service and food was outstanding. The pool was by a busier road so you can hear some city noise from the pool as would be expected.

While in the city we did a half day walking tour which gave us the opportunity to see the locals during daily life and sample local street food. You could see many cultural differences in the city and we visited the little China/India area and had a stop at the Masjid Jamek Sultan Abdul Samad mosque which you will see in my photo. I was provided the robes during the mosque visit.

Next stop - Borneo flying with Air Asia into Kota Kinabalu, comfortable flight on time. Our first stay was in the Shangri-La Rasa Ria which is a 5* hotel situated on a very large wide stretch of sandy beach. I stayed in the Ocean Wing, my room was a generous size and had every amenity you could possibly require and was spotless. I was very surprised to find the double Jacuzzi bath on the balcony, just what you need after a hike in the rainforest. Rasa Ria was a superb atmosphere and guests in the ocean wing have lots of added extras which I can talk to you about.

We got to sample the Mari Mari cultural village and see how local tribes live in a traditional environment. We even got to see demonstrations of local dishes being cooked in front of us and to sample them. At the end of the visit we got to sit down and see dancing and musical instruments being played to give a real cultural experience and one I felt privileged to see.

I was very impressed with Mount Kinabalu National Park and walked round the botanical gardens, took a hike through the jungle and later walked the bridge canopy walk.

We took a speedboat to the Gaya island resort for a daytrip and got to see the eco resort which is 5 stars. Due to the weather being unpredictable I could not truly appreciate why the resort was so special. A couple of nights here would be enough to offer something different to your holiday for the right person looking for a room in the rainforest.

I also stayed om the Shangri La Tanjung Aru Resort which is a city hotel the good thing about the hotel is lots of days out to the four islands by speedboat from the hotel to Zip line hike see the monkeys and you can also walk to the restaurants outside the hotel for a city/beach stay. The kids facilities are superb with an onsite waterpark and kids activities it has some newly designed family rooms which are great for younger children.

I loved Malaysia and the people and food made it a trip to remember. I must return one day to see the orangutans and wildlife who I did not get to meet due to the itinerary not permitting this.