WILD MEN OF BORNEO

Orang Utan is currently only found in Borneo and Sumatra.  Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre located in Sandakan, Sabah is one of the best sanctuaries in the region that contribute enormous efforts in ensuring Orang Utan is well protected.

HOW TO GET THERE

Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre located 25 km from Sandakan in northeast Sabah. There are multiple flights from Kuala Lumpur flew directly to Sandakan. Apart from taxi, you may travel to the centre by Public Bus No 14 in the Sandakan Town. From 9am-2pm , the bus travels every hour from the bus terminal in front of the NAK HOTEL.

DAILY OPENING HOURS

Main Gate : From 8.00am-5.00pm

Reception & Ticketing Counter : 9.00am-11.00m & 2.00pm -3.30pm

Exhibition hall  (opened daily except Fridays)  : 9.00am-4.30pm

Main rehabilitation centre : 9.00am-12.00pm & 2.00pm-4.00pm

Best time to visit : Feeding time : 10.00am & 3.00pm

         

ENTRANCE FEES

Foreigners : RM30/adult & RM 15/adult

Malaysians : RM5/adult

Any recording equipments including Camera : RM 10

Best tips to travel here: Arrange your own trip to save a lot of money

CONTACT NO :

Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre : +60(0)89531180

IMBAK CANYON,SABAH.. GETTING LOST IN WILD

IMBAK CANYON, GET LOST IN  WILD

Want to have an adrenaline rush in wild? Imbak Canyon Conservation Area is certainly an answer for it.

Located in the heart of Sabah, it takes 4 hours drive from Kota Kinabalu to Telupid (sealed road) and another 2 hours from Telupid to Base Camp (unsealed road). The Base camp is just outside the Conservation Area. Kampung Imbak or Imbak Village is the last town you will pass before arriving the Base Camp. The journey certainly promises you a violent ride that you might ever experience. The journey only accessible by four wheel drive vehicles.  

Imbak Canyon Conservation Area is under the management of Yayasan Sabah Group.

Imbak Canyon Conservation Area is the largest area of pure lowland dipterocarp forest remaining in Sabah. Besides serving as a water catchment area, this forest is known as ‘ Botanical Gene Bank’ for rare and endangered species  which have medicinal values.

Imbak Canyon is an ideal place for jungle trekking, camping and night walks to observe wildlife. If you are fortunate, you may have sights on any of these animals;  Serpent eagles,  Bornean Pygmy Elephant (World Smallest Elephant), Orang Utan (Only found in Borneo), Proboscis Monkey (Only Found in Borneo), Hornbill ad Gibbons.  The Imbak Waterfall is certainly a must visit place here.

There are basic accommodation facilities for the guests including toilets/shower facilities, bed bunks, a communal building consists of kitchen, dining and recreation areas.

The access to Imbak Canyon is strictly controlled ,therefore permission must be obtained frin advance from Yayasan Sabah. The trip is only can be arranged by registered tour agents.

For more information please contact:

Group Manager
CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION
Yayasan Sabah Group
12th Floor, Menara Tun Mustapha
P.O. Box 11622, 88817 Kota Kinabalu
Sabah, MALAYSIA.

Tel: (6 088) 326300 Ext. 6321
Fax: (6 088) 326316/326315
E-mail: cemdinfo@icsb-sabah.com.my

Manager
Imbak Canyon Conservation Area
Conservation and Environmental Management Division
c/o Rakyat Berjaya Sdn. Bhd.
Jalan Sekolah Cheng Min
P.O. Box 1437, 90715 Sandakan
Sabah, MALAYSIA.

Tel: (6 089) 210852 / 225836
Fax: (6 089) 210852

Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera), Air Hitam, Penang Island.

Penang Hill (Bukit Bendera), Air Hitam

Another must visit location in Penang Island. Train journey about 2km to hill of Bukit Bendara will be another memorable journey in Penang Island. Recently was upgraded with new rail system with more comfortable coaches.

The train services available for everyday include public holidays. Here is the tickets fare for your reference:

Malaysians, Return Trip

Adults (aged 13-54): RM8

Children (aged 3-12): RM4

Seniors (55 and above): RM4

Malaysian Students: RM4

Families (2 adults, 2 children): RM18

Single Journey Fare (all ages): RM5

Monthly Pass: RM24

Non-Malaysians

Adults (aged 13 and above): RM30

Children (aged 3-12): RM15

Families (2 adults, 2 children): RM70

Train Schedule

The train operating hours  is as follows:

Weekdays: 6:30 am to 8:00 pm

Weekends, Public Holidays & School Holidays: 6:30 am to 9:00 pm

Rafflesia - The Largest Flower in the World

Rafflesia is noted as largest individual flower on  earth.  The flowers of Rafflesia grow up to 1 metre in diameter and can weighs up to 11 kg.  It has no roots and leaves and usually blooms once in 16-18 months, and the flowers last up to 7-10 days after bloom. It has a very strong odor, resembling the odor of decaying flesh.  There are about 55 species of Rafflesia and 9 species are found in Borneo. 

Tambunan Rafflesia Reserve, Sabah is  best  the place to see Rafflesia in wild.  Poring Hotspring (private plots) is another place in Sabah that provides sights of Rafflesia but the sights are unpredictable.The entry charges varies ( RM30-40/person) 
The reserve located in the midway of Kota Kinabalu- Tambunan Highway. It takes  one and a half hour to reach the destination from Kota Kinabalu.  The reserve is next to the main road. 

The guests are required to trek in the jungle to see the rafflesia. Therefore, guests are recommended to wear a proper trekking attire.  The trek can be challenging during rainy season. Be cautious with leeches during rainy season. 


Things you should know about the Rafflesia Reserve 
Rafflesia is a parasite plant where by its stick to host plant (home plant). Rafflesia is named as official state flower for Sabah, Malaysia. Be in mind that this flower looks attractive and beautiful but smells bad.





 Entry Fee : RM5/ adult 
Camera     : RM5
Tour Guide : RM 100/ group

• Call before you go to check whether there are any blooms.(087-774691) 
• The duration of trekking varies as it depends on the flower plot visited (20minutes- 1.5 hours) 
• Guests are not allowed to entry after 3.00. Guests that are within the area must come out by 3.00-4.00pm
• Guests highly recommended having tour guide as the flower plot normally within the jungle and guests may not experienced local forest trekking.
• Best time to visit : 9am-11am
• Choose to rent car and drive at your own.You will options to visit Kipandi Butterfly Park & Mahua Waterfall which located in that region. 

How to save money while travel in Malaysia.

I strongly believe that good planning will save us more money while travel aboard. Therefore, as a traveler, I  always will do my homework before planning my holiday. Here are some tips and tricks for you about how to save more money while travelling  in Malaysia.

 To save more money, we should find two things:

A.    Cheap stuff

1.     Economical Food

i. Malaysia is known as food paradise, offering you a variety of dishes. Most of the tourist spending more than 50% of their travel expenses on foods. Therefore, it’s good to know where you can find cheap foods.

ii. When you are in Malaysia, you may find two different kinds of restaurants, which are branded restaurants offering expensive foods and normal restaurants or food stall offering the same type of menu for cheaper price.

iii. If you prefer for quiet and classy environment, then you may look for branded restaurants. However, whoever looking for cheap food, search where local people eat. That is the most important tips, where we can find good food at reasonable price.

iv. For an example, ‘roti canai’ (Malaysian favorite breakfast menu) will be cost you RM1 in a normal restaurant that normal local people eat, but it may cost you RM5 in any branded hotel restaurants.

2.     Budget hotels

i. Again, this is very subjective and depends on peoples preferences. Some people prefer for high class hotels with extra facilities like swimming pools, gym and restaurants. Some backpackers will prefer to find cheap and affordable accommodation.

ii. My advice is better done cross checking about hotel price before making your booking. For those who looking for hotels in Malaysia, I will strongly recommend you to check your hotel price here with this link. www.hotel-bestdeal.com

3.     Low cost shopping/ Bargain Shopping

i. Malaysia is another world class hub for shopping since 1400s. That’s what we have been taught in schools since childhood.

ii. As a tourist in foreign countries, we used to end up buy things for a higher price than what it is valued for. Again, the local people may guide you where is the best place to get cheaper stuff.

iii.  One more thing you should keep in mind, always negotiate for a better price. Malaysian has a culture to negotiate for the best price, unless the products tagged with “Fixed Price”.

 

B.    Free stuff in Malaysia

1.     Free Wifi

i. Most of the restaurant here in Malaysia offer free wifi for their customers. So it’s good to have your meal at a restaurant that provide free wifi service.

2.     Free Newspaper

i. “The Sun” is one of local daily newspaper that you may get it for free. They used to distribute it at train stations, Mc Donalds, 7/11 store and some other public visiting areas.

Malaysian Scenic Railway Experience

Travelling on Malaysian Rail indeed a wonderful experience and you able to see the real scenic views of Malaysia. It certainly a less tiring journey compares travel in express buses. Only Peninsular Malaysia has the modern, comfortable and economical railway services. There are two lines; one runs from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, then to Butterworth and into Thailand. The another line cuts through the interior of Malaysia connecting Gemas,Negeri Sembilan and Tumpat, Kelantan.

 There are three types of rail services including express, limited express and local trains. Express trains are more comfortable than the rest as these trains are airconditioned and have choices of berths or seats.  Limited express trains generally have 2nd and 3rd class only.  Local trains are usually 3rd class only. 

Keretapi  Tanah Melayu, the privatized national railway company offers a tourist  Rail Pass which definitely saves you a lot of money.

The ticket prices as follows :

Days	Adults	Child
5 days	35.00	18.00
10 days	55.00	28.00
15 days	70.00	35.00

* prices in U.S. Dollars

 Terms & Conditions :

• Valid for use by foreign tourists ( excepts Singaporeans) holds International Passport. Passport must be presented upon purchases. 
• Unlimited travel on any of  Intercity Train services across the network KTM Berhad to Singapore
• Thailand Railways network system excluded 
• Valid starting from the date of the first trip 
• Additional charges may occurs for travel on bed on the night 
• Non Transferable & Non Refundable
• No Charges imposed for seat reservations 
• Rail Passes can be purchased through Ticket Agents Railway station or at the following : 
•   Padang Besar
•   Ticket Counter Penang.
•    Butterworth station .
•   Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station .
•    Port Klang station .
•  Johor Bahru Sentral Station
•   Woodlands station .
•   Stops Bharu station .

·                     

Reference : Keretapi Tanah Melayu 

Travel in Malaysia –Things you need to know

      1)          Language

a.    Malaysia is  among fast developing nations and gives priority to its education system. Most of Malaysian able to understand and speak basic English (at least Manglish –mix of English with local Malay Language). Therefore, a visitor who able to speak and understand English won’t find them difficult while travelling in Malaysia.b.    Seems Malaysia is a multiracial country, travelers from China and India will find themselves easier to communicate with local Chinese and India community. Most of them are able to communicate in their mother tongue.

2)          Currency

a.    All trades in Malaysia use Malaysian Ringgit  / Ringgit Malaysia (common symbol as MYR or RM). Travelers will find it’s easy to do transactions using Debit Cards/ Cash Card or Credit Card here at Malaysia. Most shops, hotels, restaurants, petrol stations accept VISA and MASTERCARD, and very few accept American Express. As a traveler, I will advise you to use this cash card/debit card or credit card facility while traveling in Malaysia. It’s much safer, and you may keep your cash to be used while travel to native area and islands in Malaysia.

b.    The traveler will find most of the ATM machine here accepts PLUS, MEPS, MASTER CARD, VISA, CIRRUS / MAESTRO. Please activate your card to be used in Malaysia from your home country to make sure your cards are accepted here.

3)          Traffic rules

a.    Malaysia is former British colonies and its uses most common traffic rules with other commonwealth countries. Here we drive in left and overtake on the right.b.    All vehicles must have valid road tax and it’s should be displayed visibly in front windscreen.c.    Drivers and passengers must wear seat belts all the time or you will be summoned RM300.00 per cased.    The driver must have a valid driving license before he/she can drive in Malaysia. Travelers should have international driving license or  its English translation to allow them to drive in Malaysia. Anyway, for those who like travel here I will strongly recommend to use available public transport (depending the state you are visiting), as it seems you will need to go trough long procedure before able to obtain your driving license here.e.    Bear in mind that the speed limit in normal road will be 90 km/h and 110 km/h on highways, unless stated otherwise.f.    I will advise travelers  strictly follow speed limits even though you will find out some of ‘reckless local drivers’ drive faster than the speed limits on the road to avoid a summons.

4)          Food

a.    This is  the most fascinating things to write about Malaysia. Malaysian like to eat and we eat a lot, I mean A LOT. There are varieties of options when we talk about foods in Malaysia as the foods here are assimilated with multi-racial cultures. Almost most of main cities here have restaurants operating for 24 hours / 7day a week. Even it’s easy to find foreign food franchises like KFC, Mc Donalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Dominos and etc. and most of them operate for  24 hours.b.    As a Malaysian, I can recommend you a long list of must try food in Malaysia. Anyway, here I list it top 10 of favorite Malaysian delights that you should not miss while traveling in Malaysia.      
 i.    Roti Canai (ideal combination with ‘tea tarik’)

   

     ii.    Nasi Lemak

         iii.    Nasi Kandar

          iv.    Mee Curry         
v.    Char kuey teow

      vi.    Rojak / Pasembur
     vii.    Mee goreng mamak / Mamak fried mee


    viii.    Satey

   ix.    Lemang with rendang                                        
x.    Ais Kacang / Cendol


c.    Traveler will  find out that Malaysian foods are sweeter, especially if you traveling in Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang. Therefore, if you don’t like to eat sweet things, better mention it when you make your order.

5)          Phone Calls

a.    It’s something unavoidable from make calls back to your home countries while travelling. In Malaysia competition among telcos provider is very high and that’s good news as a consumer because, we are  able to get better and cheaper call rates.  Travelers may buy SIM cards with passport verification and able to use their new numbers in the first few hours after activation.

b.    There are varieties of options when you want to choose a telcos provider. I will recommend you to choose among Celcom, Maxis or Digi seems these are the top three companies here in Malaysia and their phone call rates are reasonable. Wide coverage and good customer care are some other reasons to choose among these companies.c.    Due to high competition, their international rates frequently been revived and therefore I don’t want to elaborate about that here. For more information about their product, you may visit their home page 
i.    www.celcom.com.my                                   
ii.    www.maxis.com.my                               
iii.    www.digi.com.my

d.  It’s a must to know whom you can call while in emergency when traveling aboard. Here are some Emergency contacts that you should register in mind while travelling in Malaysia. Since 2010, Malaysia has been using the integrated emergency call service (something like 911 in America). You only need to dial 999 from any land line or cell phone (hand phone) to get help from Police, Fire Emergency Services or for an  Ambulance.

6. Weather 

 The whole of Malaysia has an equatorial climate with moderately high temperatures and wet months throughout the year.  Temperatures at sea level range from 20°C to 34°C. Highlands area, however cooler with temperatures range from 10°C to 25°C.The weather in Malaysia can be divided into two monsoons, namely the Southwest  Monsoon from  May to September and Northeast Monsoon from November to March.  The Northeast monsoon  brings heavy rainfall, especially to the east coast of  Peninsular and Western Sabah & Sarawak. During this season, most of beach resorts and islands on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia are closed. The states like, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang can be flooded during this monsoon. Therefore, these areas are best avoided during the monsoon. Southwest monsoon relatively dry weather.  The annual mean rainfall on the cape of Malaysia ranges at 2000-2500mm. 

Malaysia is one of the country that receives rain throughout the year. Maxwell Hill, Perak is known as the rainiest area in Malaysia  that receives 5000mm per year.The humidity in Malaysia is relatively very high, with an average of 80-84%  throughout the country. However, Malaysia can be visited throughout the year and the best way to decide when to come to Malaysia is to consider the timing of various events to be held. Check on this page for latest info about Malaysia weather http://www.met.gov.my/

                                      

 to be continued.... 

Sleeping Buddha (Wat Chayamangkalaram Thai Buddhist Temple) , Penang

Sleeping Buddha (Wat Chayamangkalaram Thai Buddhist Temple) , Penang

This is one of must visit place in Penang, Malaysia. A 30 minutes visit is good enough to cover this whole place. Located at Jalan Burma (Burma Road), Pulau Tikus Penang. This place not very far from George Town, less than 15 minutes drive from Komtar, Penang.

A 33 Meter of sleeping Buddha statue is main attraction here. Besides that, a lot of wall mural painting describe Buddha's story is another attraction point here. Till today Buddhist monks conduct prayers here as well as visitor and devotees.

No admission fee to enter this place, but you may donate whatever amount if you like. Visitor to required to remove their shoes before enter this temple.

Opening hours: 6.00am - 5:30pm Everyday

Local delights in Perak

1. TELUK INTAN

a) Mastan Ghani Mee Rebus

No one will disagree with me if I classified this as Perak best Mee Rebus and Rojak.
They have 6 branches in Teluk Intan,  providing mee rebus and rojak as their signature menu.  But don't be supprise if you reach there and find out their signature menu was sold out.  Therefore go to this restaurant late afternoon is not a good idea.
One more good thing about this restaurant is they prepare you meal really fast.  Seems it is standard menu here,  they able to prepare it much faster.

b) Gulam Rasul Restaurant

Among famous 24hours restaurant in Teluk Intan. Able to gather more than 200 person at a time. With huge space for eating are, it's should be reliable place when you like to dine with huge number of group.

c) Krishna Nasi Kandar (Ayam Goreng Krishna)

Their operating hour is from 10am to 4pm only and they serve heavy chicken mean for lunch. Their trademark and signature meal is fried chicken. I believe no one will object me if I classified it as best fried chicken in the town here. Don't be surprised if you see customer waiting next to stove to grab their favourite chicken piece. Price here are quite reasonable and that is another reason for high number of crowd came here for lunch break.

2) Sitiawan / Manjung

Sitiawan is a fast developing city in Perak. Majority population here are from Chinese community, followed by Malay and Indians. There are few key singnature restaurants here that you may consider when visiting this city.

a) Nasi Ayam Klasik

Ideal choice for simple and fast solution for you lunch. It's a Malay halal restaurant, serve varieties of Chicken Rice (Nasi Ayam). I will strongly recommend to you to try their signature menu, Nasi Ayam Tomato and watermelon fruit juice will be ideal combination. 

b) Mr.Cendol

Cendol one of Malaysian way of enjoying iced cold drinks, and Mr.Cendol is one of registered brand that serving best cendol in this town. Cendol made of coconut milk mix with pandan flavor and red beans. The basic cendol here will cost you RM 4 and getting expensive depend on the add ons that you order.

More to come about:
Ipoh, Perak

a)  Gerai Rahamath, Ipoh

Located in center of Ipoh old town, and just behind the state mosque. In a first glance, you will see this as a normal Indian Muslim restaurant. But when looking at the numbers of people who line up more than 20 minutes just to get their lunch here, I'm sure you will amazed.

Providing lunch at reasonable price is another reason for high numbers of fixed customers for this restaurant.

For visitors, I will strongly recommend come a bit early just before lunch hour. This is the best time to dine in here and able to avoid crowd. Basic lunch here start from RM4.50.

b) Funny Mountain Tau Fu Fah

It's another unique food stall in Ipoh, Serve Tau Fu Fah with drive thru concept. You will just need to go park your car near to the stall. Servant from the stall will approach you to get your oder and I'm pretty sure they will serve you very fast and quick. Seems Tau Fu Fah only have very little options and choices you may have, they able to get your oder very quick. However, my honest comment is, this Tau Fu Fah getting expensive. A small bowl will cost you RM2.

Business Hours: From 10 am – till sold out (Usually by 3pm)

Location: Jalan Theater, Ipoh (Jalan Mustapha Al Bakri)

b)Nasi Ayam Taukey
c) Ayam Garam
d) Nasi Vanggey

Taiping
a) Char Koew Tiow Bus Stand
b) Siang Malam Food Court