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Vacational Trip Reports
BORNEO (SABAH, MALAYSIA) - September 2009
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<blockquote data-quote="Crodol" data-source="post: 1581246" data-attributes="member: 78005"><p>BORNEO (SABAH, MALAYSIA), 28/Aug-06/Sep 2009</p><p></p><p>PREFACE</p><p>With very short notice we decided to go for a week into the “jungle” or at least spend a few days in the wilderness. As the lead-time was about a week we decided to go to Borneo as we were there once already and it is also close to Singapore, where we are based. Birding was part of the trip but note that I am quite an amateur birder with only 58 lifers so far... as I am also not a great writer I will hold the report very brief (I leave the jokes to the English fellas in the forums).</p><p></p><p>ITINERARY</p><p>flight Singapore-Kota Kinabalu (KK)</p><p>1 night in KK</p><p>flight KK-Sandakan</p><p>2 nights in The Last Frontier Resort</p><p>drive from Sandakan to Lahad Datu</p><p>2 nights in the Tabin Wildlife Resort</p><p>drive to Sandakan</p><p>flight to KK</p><p>4 nights in the Shangri-La Rasa Ria</p><p>flight back to Singapore</p><p></p><p>MALAYSIA / BORNEO</p><p>Fantastic location, the safest country in Asia (after Japan and Singapore), easy to get around etc. highly recommended not only for wildlife but also beach, mountain (Mt Kinabalu) etc.</p><p></p><p>FLIGHTS</p><p>AirAsia for the flights to and from KK – budget airline with narrow seats but much better than Ryan Air</p><p>MASwings and Malaysia Airlines for the internal flights: good airlines, safe (much better than Garuda and similar). Overall, very happy with all three airlines and it was pretty cheap even with booking only a few days in advance.</p><p></p><p>ACCOMODATION</p><p>The Last Frontier Resort, located near the Kinabatangan river (near Sandakan), small (4 rooms), simple (no aircon) but clean place run by a Belgian and Malaysian guy in a “family way”. Good food and great views in a place with fantastic wildlife (trekking, boat trip etc.). Only caveat is the lack of good guides.</p><p>Tabin Wildlife Resort, one of the premier spots for wildlife in Borneo. Very good place, with nice rooms (aircon). Only problem here was that all the good guides were on holidays...</p><p>Shangri-La Rasa Ria, great hotel with a nice garden and “it’s own hill attached”, good for spotting wildlife and also for swimming in the sea and lying in the sun.</p><p></p><p>BIRDING</p><p>As I said, I am an inexperienced birder and so we saw a fraction of what the cracks out there would have seen on a similar trip... Anyways, here we go:</p><p>We saw a total of 42 bird species (plus a further 7 that we have likely seen but have not been properly confirmed). Out of those 21 species were new to me and I could increase my lifers from 58 to 79.</p><p>Here is the list with the ones new for me with a [*]:</p><p> -Eurasian Tree Sparrow</p><p> -Pacific Swallow</p><p> -Asian Glossy Starling</p><p> -Yellow vented Bulbul</p><p> -Black-headed Munia</p><p> -Olive backed Sunbird</p><p> -Zebra Dove</p><p> -Oriental Magpie Robin</p><p> -Rufous-tailed Tailorbird [*]</p><p> -Great Egret</p><p> -Black-and-yellow Broadbill [*]</p><p> -Oriental Darter [*]</p><p> -Storm's Stork [*]</p><p> -Crested Serpent-eagle [*]</p><p> -Purple Heron [*]</p><p> -Stork-billed Kingfisher [*]</p><p> -Oriental Pied-hornbill</p><p> -White-crowned Hornbill [*]</p><p> -Rhinoceros Hornbill [*]</p><p> -Brown Wood-owl [*]</p><p> -Whiskered Treeswift [*]</p><p> -Large Green Pigeon [*]</p><p> -Scarlet Minivet [*]</p><p> -Green Imperial Pigeon [*]</p><p> -Striped Tit-babbler</p><p> -Pied Fantail [*]</p><p> -White-vented Shama [*]</p><p> -Hook-billed Bulbul [*]</p><p> -Crimson Sunbird [*]</p><p> -Spotted Dove</p><p> -White-bellied Sea-eagle</p><p> -Pied Fantail [*]</p><p> -White-breasted Waterhen</p><p> -Little Egret</p><p> -Common Sandpiper</p><p> -White-breasted Woodswallow [*]</p><p> -Scaly-breasted Munia</p><p> -Brahminy Kite</p><p> -Pink-necked Green-pigeon</p><p> -Collared Kingfisher</p><p> -Dusky Munia [*]</p><p> -Olive-winged Bulbul</p><p></p><p>OTHER WILDLIFE</p><p>About 12 species of mammals including</p><p> -Orangutan</p><p> -Proboscis Monkey</p><p> -Long-tailed Macaque</p><p> -Müller's Bornean Gibbon</p><p> -Common Palm Civet</p><p> -Leopard Cat</p><p> -Large Flying Fox</p><p> -Mouse Deer</p><p> -Bearded Pig</p><p> -Red Giant Flying Squirrel</p><p> -2 yet unidentified monkeys</p><p> -2 yet unidentified squirrels</p><p></p><p>Also saw a snake and many interesting insects.</p><p></p><p>NOTE</p><p>I figured out that you have to have one of the three things... either a good guide, a lot of time and patience or be happy with “little”. In my case it was the last one... despite the bad luck with the guides and the limited time I was still very happy with what I have seen.</p><p></p><p>CONLCUSION</p><p>Very exciting and successful trip. Will definitely go to Borneo again soon with the plan to visit the Danum Valley and to climb Mount Kinabalu or at least visit the Mount Kinabalu National Park. We will probably try to book a good guide beforehand this time.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Crodol, post: 1581246, member: 78005"] BORNEO (SABAH, MALAYSIA), 28/Aug-06/Sep 2009 PREFACE With very short notice we decided to go for a week into the “jungle” or at least spend a few days in the wilderness. As the lead-time was about a week we decided to go to Borneo as we were there once already and it is also close to Singapore, where we are based. Birding was part of the trip but note that I am quite an amateur birder with only 58 lifers so far... as I am also not a great writer I will hold the report very brief (I leave the jokes to the English fellas in the forums). ITINERARY flight Singapore-Kota Kinabalu (KK) 1 night in KK flight KK-Sandakan 2 nights in The Last Frontier Resort drive from Sandakan to Lahad Datu 2 nights in the Tabin Wildlife Resort drive to Sandakan flight to KK 4 nights in the Shangri-La Rasa Ria flight back to Singapore MALAYSIA / BORNEO Fantastic location, the safest country in Asia (after Japan and Singapore), easy to get around etc. highly recommended not only for wildlife but also beach, mountain (Mt Kinabalu) etc. FLIGHTS AirAsia for the flights to and from KK – budget airline with narrow seats but much better than Ryan Air MASwings and Malaysia Airlines for the internal flights: good airlines, safe (much better than Garuda and similar). Overall, very happy with all three airlines and it was pretty cheap even with booking only a few days in advance. ACCOMODATION The Last Frontier Resort, located near the Kinabatangan river (near Sandakan), small (4 rooms), simple (no aircon) but clean place run by a Belgian and Malaysian guy in a “family way”. Good food and great views in a place with fantastic wildlife (trekking, boat trip etc.). Only caveat is the lack of good guides. Tabin Wildlife Resort, one of the premier spots for wildlife in Borneo. Very good place, with nice rooms (aircon). Only problem here was that all the good guides were on holidays... Shangri-La Rasa Ria, great hotel with a nice garden and “it’s own hill attached”, good for spotting wildlife and also for swimming in the sea and lying in the sun. BIRDING As I said, I am an inexperienced birder and so we saw a fraction of what the cracks out there would have seen on a similar trip... Anyways, here we go: We saw a total of 42 bird species (plus a further 7 that we have likely seen but have not been properly confirmed). Out of those 21 species were new to me and I could increase my lifers from 58 to 79. Here is the list with the ones new for me with a [*]: -Eurasian Tree Sparrow -Pacific Swallow -Asian Glossy Starling -Yellow vented Bulbul -Black-headed Munia -Olive backed Sunbird -Zebra Dove -Oriental Magpie Robin -Rufous-tailed Tailorbird [*] -Great Egret -Black-and-yellow Broadbill [*] -Oriental Darter [*] -Storm's Stork [*] -Crested Serpent-eagle [*] -Purple Heron [*] -Stork-billed Kingfisher [*] -Oriental Pied-hornbill -White-crowned Hornbill [*] -Rhinoceros Hornbill [*] -Brown Wood-owl [*] -Whiskered Treeswift [*] -Large Green Pigeon [*] -Scarlet Minivet [*] -Green Imperial Pigeon [*] -Striped Tit-babbler -Pied Fantail [*] -White-vented Shama [*] -Hook-billed Bulbul [*] -Crimson Sunbird [*] -Spotted Dove -White-bellied Sea-eagle -Pied Fantail [*] -White-breasted Waterhen -Little Egret -Common Sandpiper -White-breasted Woodswallow [*] -Scaly-breasted Munia -Brahminy Kite -Pink-necked Green-pigeon -Collared Kingfisher -Dusky Munia [*] -Olive-winged Bulbul OTHER WILDLIFE About 12 species of mammals including -Orangutan -Proboscis Monkey -Long-tailed Macaque -Müller's Bornean Gibbon -Common Palm Civet -Leopard Cat -Large Flying Fox -Mouse Deer -Bearded Pig -Red Giant Flying Squirrel -2 yet unidentified monkeys -2 yet unidentified squirrels Also saw a snake and many interesting insects. NOTE I figured out that you have to have one of the three things... either a good guide, a lot of time and patience or be happy with “little”. In my case it was the last one... despite the bad luck with the guides and the limited time I was still very happy with what I have seen. CONLCUSION Very exciting and successful trip. Will definitely go to Borneo again soon with the plan to visit the Danum Valley and to climb Mount Kinabalu or at least visit the Mount Kinabalu National Park. We will probably try to book a good guide beforehand this time. [/QUOTE]
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BORNEO (SABAH, MALAYSIA) - September 2009
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