Kota Kinabalu - any advice?

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  testy8 on 05/08/2012 - 10:02

  There isn't much in Kota Kinabalu, I wouldn't bother going for only one day. If you had a few more days I would recommend climbing Mt Kinabalu which is about 100km away I think - that's an amazing experience. But the city itself .. not so much.

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  DT_Sanchez on 05/08/2012 - 13:57

  I agree with testy8. I wouldnt go to KK just for one day. The city itself has a few good shopping centres and the food is good and cheap. The Philipino Markets over the road from the Le Meridian Hotel come alive at night.

  Best go for 3 days and fly out to Sandakan and see the city and orang-utan rehab centre and if you can stay for longer do the Mt Kinabalu climb.

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  carpecrash on 05/08/2012 - 20:19

  If you hate KL, go straight from KL airport via bus to Malacca, two hours south of KL Airport…absolutely gorgeous city.

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    voteoften on 05/08/2012 - 21:39

    Been there, thanks. The only city in Malaysia I am remotely interested in visiting in Penang, only for the street food. I have heard that I shouldn't be out at night as an unaccompanied woman, so that puts me off going.

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  carpecrash on 05/08/2012 - 20:20

  and the orang-utan rehab centre is absolutely rubbish. DO NOT BOTHER GOING THERE

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    voteoften on 05/08/2012 - 21:40

    Monkeys apes and the like don'y impress me, so I willonly go when it is on the itinerary of some tour I am already going on.

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  voteoften on 05/08/2012 - 21:42

  -1

  Thanks everyone. Not going. I think it'll be Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Viet Nam. The ex has said only two weeks in 3rd world shitholes, not including Bali, so I am going to have to really plan it out.

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  Bystander on 09/08/2012 - 08:04

  Just came back from Chiang Mai and really liked it. I can definitely recommend the full day elephant experience at Patara. Or if you're looking for a bit of an adrenalin thrill the Flight of the Gibbon flying fox tour.

  Malaysia doesn't do much for me either but the food in Penang is good.

  If you're looking for one other destination in the area I would suggest Angkor Wat in Cambodia. If it's just one day a tour to the main temple is pretty impressive.

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    voteoften on 10/08/2012 - 09:50

    Yes. Chiang Mai is great!!
    Did you go up into the mountains and stay with the Hill tribes?

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      Bystander on 11/08/2012 - 21:35

      I did a day trip to the Golden Triangle and stopped off on the way to see a few tribes including the long neck Karen. But no I didn't stay the night with them. I stayed the night with a Pygmy tribe a while back though. That was fun, although it's a different continent of course.

      As for the Golden Triangle trip, it was a long day, about 800 kms by road. And the triangle itself didn't really have much to see. No opium dens or anything interesting.

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  ynot1985 on 14/08/2012 - 20:52

  +1

  you can try brunei… not 3rd world… its a 1st world country and definitely doable in a day…

  it has an absolutely stunning mosque especially during sunset…. but can be a bit boring…

  1st world doesnt mean its good/fun to go to

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    shiba on 18/08/2012 - 12:25

    lol since when did Brunei become a 1st world country?

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      ynot1985 on 18/08/2012 - 13:42

      +1

      1st world is not politically correct anymore .. i should say developed

      its def not a slum/poor country.. the term developing/develop is a misleading term as its just a definition

      its ranked 33 in the world for its human development index

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developed_country

      the country has no public debt
      everyone has free medical/education (they send you overseas for uni)
      no income tax
      everyone has basic sanitiation
      all food items are price controlled by the government
      its GDP per person is 60K (but the sultan controls everything)

      people there dont starve and have a reasonable quality of life

      its hard to compare such a small country on a remote part of borneo (pop: 400000) to a bigger developed country

      for me Brunei is considered developed… but just boring and very conservative

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    shiba on 18/08/2012 - 12:25

    .

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  voteoften on 15/08/2012 - 00:16

  I think I will stick to Thailand and maybe Vietnam for the trip with my daughter. I may have a couple of solo weeks in Asia so may go over to Burma and maybe Laos. Or just spend a week - 10 days hitting the piss in Pai.

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    ynot1985 on 15/08/2012 - 00:49

    Just came back from Burma.. def worth visiting since tourism is starting to pick up there

    besides no credit cards and pretty average food, its a nice place

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      voteoften on 15/08/2012 - 21:13

      Thanks for the report. Did you eat local food? Didyou have to pay in us dolllars and did they have to be imint condition? Did you have to bargain for taxi and other transport? How much was reasonable accommodation :? Did you take the train? Do the locals call it burma? What sorts of scams and shakedowns are there?

      Please tell all.

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  ynot1985 on 15/08/2012 - 23:50

  +1

  -if you are going to myanmar… go get a visit before you get there.. they dont do visas on arrival

  • yes, I tried everything from street food to good-more expensive places.. overall, its very oily (everything is covered in oil) or were very salty.. we suspect that because people where poor so this is what they eat but most of us (travelled on a tour) got an upset stomach at least once cause our bodies were not used to handle that much oil in our diet. Shan noodles was probably the only food I thought was ok but even then its nothing special. The best food place I ate in myanmar was a pizza restaurant in Inle Lake.. our whole tour group felt that way…
    However, fruit is quite good in Myanmar

  One other thing… food takes FOREVER to arrive when you eat in restaurants.. 1 hr for any dish and 40% of the time, they give something different to what you ordered…

  • they dont really take USD but some stores do. You need to exchange USD for their local money (Kyat.. 1USD is about 875 Kyat). you need MINT (absolute MINT) 100 dollar notes or else they won't take it or will give you a terrible rate. smaller notes will also get a lower exchange rate. The irony is the money they give you is absolute rubbish and the fact that foreign Credit cards are not accept/can not be used means having mint money is crazy important. heard heaps of stories where people had to sell their stuff just to have enough money to leave the country (10USd tax)

  • Taxis are negiatated beforehand and its a few dollars (1000-3000 kyats) to get to places in Yangoon but in other places like Mandalay, Bagan.. there are not so much taxis but dudes on side of streets with motorbikes asking you if you need a ride. Locals catch buses or pickup trucks (didnt try these) but they were absolutely packed all the time

  We took a train from Yangoon - Bagan (20hr train).. the first class seats had a bed and was quite clean and comfortable..

  Myanmar is the preferred name as its the name used by the people/govt etc.. Burma is more of a name used during colonial times and it reflects the Burmese ethic group… and not the 200 other ethnic groups in Myanmar

  I joined a tour so I cant say how much accom is but I know for certain that there is a lack of infracture/hotels/accomodation in myanmar and operators are picking up on the fact that tourist want to come to myanmar so they are rising the prices .. we stayed at a shitty 2 star hotel that jacked their prices from 40-50usd a night to 120 usd a night (advertised at the conceige counter), i think we paid the cheaper rate cause we booked before the change in price. but in more rural areas, i say 30 usd would def get you a room. dont trust the prices on lonely planet…budget for a bit. SMH did a review recently and myanmar (yangoon) is one of the most expensive city to travel in the world

  I wouldn't say scams but what people would do is pester you to buy stuff when they know you are a tourist, especially at temples….. Myanmar has SO MANY TEMPLES). Tourism must be in its infancy cause souvenir places has no idea what to charge us and just thinks tourist are rich… they would quote ridiculous prices for stuff (probably only worth a few dollars but would quote us 50 USD) and they refuse to haggle down to a cheaper price (weird, alot of places don't haggle)… but in the same light, in cities they might haggle a little.

  also, if you are buying more expensive stuff, if you don't have enough kyat and try to give USD, they would complain or ask for more if the USD is not gem mint. I had a friend who bargained for a statue at 70USD.. they pack the statue then tells her its now 85.. they think that if its packed, you would take it regardless of price.. so we wasted another 15 minutes arguing cause 70 was already agreed on and then they complain afterwards that the money we gave wasn't mint.. that def left bad impression of business people in myanmar

  The only real scam, etc i would say is people would follow you in temples/tourist places, act friendly and tell you stuff and be chummy with you, only to ask you for a fee when you leave or would ask you to help them exchange other foreign currency (eg. euros) they scavenge from other tourist that they cant use in myanmar..

  and also, dont change money with black market people off the street… they would offer you 900 kyat per dollar and they would let you count the notes and then offer to wrap the money/ bandage it for you, they would take a few notes out when you least suspect it… had a few friends get conned that way

  another thing is they make tourist pay to visit tourist places (temples/ruins, etc). the most famous temple in myanmar is in yangoon and they charge you 5usd per visit for tourist, which i think is a rip (I went twice to take photos.. once during day and night). other places might charge you to take photos

  hope that helps.. if you need any other info, let me know