MALAYSIA

If you want to see orangutans living in the wild, Malaysia is one of only two countries in the world where you can do so. When planning a trip to Malaysia, you will first need to decide which of its two regions you want to visit. West Malaysia is the Asian peninsula part of the country, where the majority of inhabitants are Malay. East Malaysia encompasses the northern portion of Borneo. The majority of people living there are from various non-Malay indigenous tribes. We decided to spend some time in both places. However, prioritizing the more exotic wildlife, especially the orangutans, we allocated the lion's share of our time to Borneo. On the Peninsula, we chose to stay in the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. Afterward, we visited Sabah, Malaysia's eastern Bornean state.

Pictured above are orangutans at the Sepilok Orangutan Research Center. Orangutan Appeal UK generously provided that photo for this website.

The Kuala Lumpur (KL for short) airport is a hub and gateway to many destinations in Southeast Asia. Thus, the question might arise whether this city is worth a stopover visit. Before our trip to Asia, I had heard mixed reviews but ultimately decided to book a couple of nights here. After our visit, my conclusion is that KL is absolutely worth visiting, though not necessarily a "must-see" city.

On the negative side, KL is not a terribly pleasant place to stroll. Although there is an extensive public transit monorail network, the city design clearly favors cars over pedestrians. Getting across the streets with the constant traffic gets tiring. Additionally, the city is rather grimy. However, having grown up in Manhattan, both my kids have pointed out that New York City is pretty dirty too, and neither was especially bothered walking around KL. Overall though, I did not feel an inspiration to collect many pictures here.

The impression suddenly transforms once you walk into a mall, where everything is modern and clean. The highlight of the city is its large variety of very inexpensive good food. Mall food courts are (along with street vendors) popular. Some menu items might seem very odd to Westerners, e.g.., avocado smoothies and cheese iced tea. However, with the wide choice of food options, even the pickiest eaters will probably have little trouble finding something they like.

Our primary planned activity while in KL was to visit the Batu Caves, discussed in the next section. We also very much enjoyed a visit to the canopy walk at the KL Eco Forest, located right in the city center. A visit to the observation deck in the Petronas Towers was also a consideration. But because our time was limited, and also as a native of Chicago who has been a few times to the top of the Willis Tower (which is the taller building, despite the spires on the Petronas Towers that enabled them to usurp the world's tallest building title from Chicago on a technicality), I decided not to include this on our itinerary. I decided not to include this on our itinerary. Nevertheless, the towers are attractive from the distance and useful landmarks while walking around KL.

We stayed at a hotel just south of the Bukit Bintang district. Due to all the amenities within walking distance, the area is a popular location for tourists. The airport is about 55 km away and almost an hour's drive from the city center in regular traffic. Although there is a convenient express train from the airport to the KL central train station, a taxi is the most practical solution from Bukit Bintang.

Several places in Sabah are good for spotting orangutans in the wild. The Kinabatangan River Wildlife Sanctuary is the best. You are practically guaranteed to see them here. Additionally, the wildlife tours are primarily comfortable boat rides rather than arduous treks through the forest.

The focal point of tours on the Kinabatangan is the village of Sukau. From Sandakan, it is a 2-hour drive, although it is also possible to travel by boat. There are several inexpensive accommodations in Sukau and a few very pricy lodges along the river nearby. There is nothing in the mid-level price range. The Sukau Greenview Bed and Breakfast where we stayed is probably the best choice in the area. Despite the low price, they offer comfortable air-conditioned private cabins that are free of mosquitoes. www.sukaugreenview.net/

The B&B offers river cruises at various times of the day and guided jungle treks. Our first trip was a night cruise. We did not see as much as we did during the daytime cruises. We did spot a few nocturnal creatures, including a civet and a small crocodile. During the day, among the animals we saw were troops of proboscis monkeys, a silver leaf monkey, two species of macaques, hornbills (kind of like Asia's version of a toucan), kingfishers, and two orangutans. The best river cruise is the one that leaves at the crack of dawn. It was on this cruise that we spotted our first orangutan. It was in a tree foraging for food. We had a great close-up view. On a late afternoon cruise, we saw another orangutan high up in a distant tree building a night nest. There are also three herds of pygmy elephants living in the Kinabatangan floodplain, but at the time of our trip, none were near Sukau.