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Trip Report: Java, Bali, Rinca, Borneo, Siem Reap

Trip Report: Java, Bali, Rinca, Borneo, Siem Reap

Old Jul 26th, 2012, 04:43 PM
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Trip Report: Java, Bali, Rinca, Borneo, Siem Reap

With lots of pictures and videos. Enjoy.

http://justinandcrystal.com/SEAsia2012/
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Old Jul 26th, 2012, 05:48 PM
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Nice report and pictures! Seem you had overcast sky at Borobudur but perfect conditions at Bromo.

Thanks for sharing.
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Old Jul 26th, 2012, 05:55 PM
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I've only had time to look a little at your website. Your title for Nusa Dua "Hawaii with a passport" is why I recommend that people not stay there. I've always said it was Bali for people who don't want to go to Indonesia. It is too bad that is all you saw of Bali. Bali is magical.

You covered a lot of territory in a short amount of time. Do you plan to return to some places?
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Old Jul 26th, 2012, 06:31 PM
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Definitely plan to return. And definitely plan to see more of Bali. Those couple days were "rest days," so it wasn't all bad that it was like Hawaii. But if I was spending more time there, it wouldn't be in Nusa Dua, nice as it was.

I'd like to see Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumatra, and a couple other places. We went to Peninsula Malaysia, Singapore, Bintan, Batam, Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket in 2005, so this was already the second trip to the area. Maybe 7 years from now we'll take a third trip.
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Old Jul 26th, 2012, 06:59 PM
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I'm glad to hear that you plan to return. So much to see and do in this part of the world! Some of us are so addicted that we return to SE Asia annually.
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Old Jul 26th, 2012, 07:12 PM
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Haven't looked at it all, but really enjoyed looking at and reading about your visit to the volcano at Bromo. We were there in 2010, but just after eruptions. Hence, we only were able to view the volcanoes from afar. The walk looked fabulous though - and your pictures are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing.
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Old Jul 27th, 2012, 07:27 PM
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Thank you for the kind word. We had about as good as weather as I could have hoped for, given the time of year.
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Old Aug 8th, 2012, 12:58 AM
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What great photos. Thank you for sharing.
Can I ask what sort of camera you use?
Can't wait to go to Cambodia now.
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Old Aug 13th, 2012, 07:16 AM
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I use a Canon T2i (sold as 550d in some countries). Rather than haul a bunch of lenses around, I use the Tamron 18-270 lens, which while not top-notch at any particular length more than makes up for it (as far as I am concerned) with its versatility.
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Old Aug 21st, 2012, 11:16 AM
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Did you plan this trip on your own or use local travel agents? Did you make your own hotel reservations and flights/ I'm interested in visiting Indonesia and Borneo Malaysia in one trip next year. We'd have 2 1/2 weeks to spend altogether. I like doing private tours as a way to travel.
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Old Aug 25th, 2012, 01:27 PM
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I planned on my own, then had a US agent arrange the specifics with ground operators.

Enjoy your trip - it's an excellent part of the world to visit!
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Old Aug 26th, 2012, 06:30 AM
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Crystal: I'd like to get more details on your trip as the first half looks exactly like what I'd like to do and where I'd like to go on mine. I'd like to know which airlines you flew, what hotels you stayed at. Could you email me please?
susiesan at yahoo.com
Susie
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Old Sep 7th, 2012, 06:29 PM
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Email sent.
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Old Jul 25th, 2014, 06:16 PM
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Hi,
I know this was two years ago but we were looking at your trip report for Borneo and Komodo. We loved your detail throughout your entire trip.
We have a few questions and hope you still monitor this post.

1) You flew to KK and then had to fly again to get closer to the rainforest pickup point? Or was that directly from the hotel in KK? If so, what was that city/town? And returning, you again spent a night in KK. How did you get there, driving or flying from what city? AND, in which hotel did you stay in KK?
2) As far as the Borneo rainforest part of the trip. How did you actually get from one lodge to another? It looks as though a "fast" driver took you, but to where? Would the first lodge provide transport for us to go from one to the other?
3) We can understand an agent arranged most of your travel so you may not know all of these details. Are you at liberty to tell us which agency did your booking? We live in Los Angeles and are trying to arrange a trip very similar to your Komodo and Borneo part and then Papua New Guinea to finish. We are trying to do this on our own for Oct/Nov but may need the assistance of an agent.

Thank you so much for your very detailed accound and for any info you can provide to help us.

Jerie and John Morrison
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Old Jul 26th, 2014, 06:26 AM
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Jerie Morrison, I'm not the OP, but since the OP has not posted here in a long time, I will take the liberty of answering some of your questions. In order to get to any of the jungle lodges in Sabah, you have to take a flight from Kota Kinabalu to one of the small towns in the jungle - either Lahad Datu or Sandakan. A driver from one lodge to another can be arranged, either by the lodge or by an agency.

There are a number of nice hotels in KK, just take a quick look on one of the booking sites like www.agoda.com or www.booking.com

Sorry, I can't help you with a travel agent, we made all of our arrangements independently.
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Old Jul 26th, 2014, 06:12 PM
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We flew from KK to Sandakan to get to the Kinabatangan lodge, and after visiting Danum Valley, we flew back to KK from Lahad Datu. When going from the Kinabatangan Lodge to Danum Valley, we drove to Lahad Datu, where we switched cars (and companies). The Danum folks had an office in Lahad Datu where many of the folks left from to head out to the lodge.

We used Asia Transpacific Journeys for this trip, and they were great. I'm sure there was some sort of premium paid for that, but we felt it was worth it, especially when some of our flights got cancelled and someone had to fix our arrangements on the fly.

Hope this helps.
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Old Jul 27th, 2014, 08:08 AM
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mistadobalina, I'm glad to see you back here!
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Old Jul 28th, 2014, 02:39 PM
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Thanks!
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Old Jul 28th, 2014, 04:42 PM
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We were just in Sabah in May, take a look at my TR.
We stayed at Le Meridien in KK - - we liked the location, easy to walk to the waterfront for many restaurant and shopping options. We took an early morning flight to Sandakan and then boat to Turtle Island overnight. When we returned to the jetty the next morning, we were driver to Bilit Rainforest Lodge on the Kinabatangan River for 2 nights. Next, we were driven to the Borneo Rainforest Lodge Office in Lahad Datu (a hour and a half), where you do the check in for the lodge. They drive you to the Lodge, another 2 1/2 hours.
We made all Sabah arrangements through Tropical Gateway Tours, a local Sandakan agency. Jimmy did an excellent job for us, everything went very smoothly and he is very well organized. He has very good connections at both places we booked.

After Borneo Rainforest Lodge, we were driven (by the Borneo RL car) to the airport at Lahad Datu and flew (via KK) to Kuching. But if you wanted to go somewhere in Sabah after Danum Valley, the travel agency will make the arrangements for you.

Have a great trip.
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Old Jan 6th, 2015, 08:11 PM
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Hi ALL,

We want to thank all of you for your contributions to our trip planning. We had a wonderful trip to Borneo (as well as Bali, Komodo, Papua New Guinea, and Sydney). We have been back now about 6 weeks, but with the holidays did not have time to report back.

We found very helpful the logistics you all contributed to. They were spot on: KK to Sandakan to the lodges to Lahad Datu. Two 2+ hour drives to and from the Borneo Rainforest Lodge after doing by boat the Kinabatangan River Lodge. Both were SPECTACULAR for wildlife viewing, pygmy elephants, Orangutans, probiscius monkeys, other monkeys, tons of birds, crocodiles, and a snake.

We did all the arrangements ourselves, very time consuming but worth it.

I welcome any questions or details you want.
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