Despite spending one cumulative month in Malaysia. I have failed to write about my time in Melaka. It was somewhere that I spent just two days in, but honestly failed to connect with, especially having been to Malaysian Borneo, the historic Georgetown in Penang, and to the delightful Cameron Highlands. There may be a number of reasons for this including travel...
It wasn’t in ‘the plan’ to visit Georgetown in Malaysia, nor had it been ‘the plan’ to stay in Malaysia longer than a few weeks, but I ended up staying almost one month, as I loved it so much. I’ve soon realised that ‘the plan’ and my original route soon went out the window. The most frequently used phrase in...
There is something about the term ‘the World’s largest’ or the ‘highest/tallest in’ They are terms that scream ‘you need to do/see this’. Although I have been to some of the tallest buildings in cities such as the Seoul Tower, and been disappointed due to high concentration of tourists, and high prices in which to do these...
I love tea. It is a huge part of my culture. Go to anyone’s home in Northern Ireland, and you bet that one of the first things that you’ll be asked is ‘do you want a wee cup of tea?’ You’ll not only be given a ‘wee cup of tea’, but often a whole spread of stuff (cake, biscuits or whatever is going). Tea is something I have been craving a lot recently. At least a good...
Ramadan is an important month in the Islamic Calendar, and it is when faithful Muslims spend one month fasting from sunrise to sunset. It is believed that this ritual will help to develop patience and spirituality, as well as helping them to be grateful for what they’ve got. The elderly, sick and pregnant woman are exempt from this. I really respect this faith...
The Cameron Highlands, situated about 4 hours North of Kuala Lumpur, is a cool hidden gem. It’s not firmly planted on the backpacker trail, despite being in the ‘backpacker bible’ (the lonely planet – South East Asia on a shoestring). It is, in my opinion such an underrated area. Although I had no plans to visit the highlands, I ended up...
Overland Border Crossings are something I am doing more and more of, as I travel through South East Asia. They are a great way to see the country, usually cheaper and reduce your carbon footprint by not flying (though I’m not exactly the biggest eco warrior myself). When in Borneo, I crossed over from Malaysia into Brunei, from Kota Kinabalu, in Sabah and later from...
Borneo is made up of three countries, Indonesia (the biggest portion of Borneo is Indonesian), Malaysia, and tiny Brunei squeezed in the middle of the two Malaysia states on the west coast. For the purposes of this write up, I am referring to Malaysian Borneo, and its two states: Sabah and Sarawak. Before setting off to travel, Borneo was my most anticipated...
One of the reasons why people come to Borneo, is to spot wildlife in their natural habitats. After visiting the Orang-utans at Sepilok, I decided to go in search of some more wildlife, by doing a river cruise on the Kinabatangan River. I met an American traveller on the bus to Sepilok, and so we decided to sign up together, as it would be much cheaper (you often get...
During my travels, I really value days were I can relax and do relatively little, but more often than not, I my sense of adventure craves something to do. My mum always said that I couldn’t sit still as a child. I was always moving around, wondering what the next new, and exciting thing there was to do. So whilst in Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo. I paid a visit to a...
