A trip to Borneo would be slightly different to my previous treks. Though Borneo is home to the popular Mt Kinabalu, there are many other reasons to visit besides trekking up mountains. The main draw for me was the jungle and the many wildlife sanctuaries found in and around the island.
I have to admit, I really had no idea where in the world Malaysia or Borneo were. Turns out, Malaysia is a country which mostly spans across two separate areas: West Malaysia, which sits beneath Thailand and above Singapore, and East Malaysia, which shares the island of Borneo with Brunei and Indonesia. This spread is mostly to do with politics, and it wasn’t that long ago that the country of Singapore was also a state of Malaysia.
The area I’d be visiting would be the state of Sabah, on Borneo.
So what’s the big draw? As previously mentioned, there is the trek to summit Mt Kinabalu (4095m) - one which will take you through the humid jungles to the frozen peaks with all sorts of flora and fauna to see along the way. Then there is the orang-utan sanctuary. Orang-utans no longer exist anywhere but a few places on Earth, one of which being Malaysia (the other Being Sumatra). However, of most interest to me was the turtle conservation - a place to watch turtles come ashore to lay their eggs by moonlight.
A quick mention to visas: no need for a visa to travel from UK to Borneo