Koh Samui and Borneo Honeymoon 14 days, Doable?
 

I am planning a honeymoon for late September of 2006. We wanted to do Bali but are now concerned because of recent events.
We are thinking of doing 7 nights at Bandara in Koh Samui and 5 nights in Sabah to see orangutans and turtles. We also want to do some time in Bangkok, perhaps at the beginning and the end of the trip. We are coming from LA.
Do you think this is a doable trip or should we stay in Thailand the whole tim?
Thanks!

I'm headed to Borneo in November, so can give you a bit of feedback about the plane connections. It takes most of a day to fly between Bangkok and Kota Kinabalu, as you have to connect through Kuala Lampur. For instance, we leave Bangkok at 9:00 am and get to Kota Kinabalu at 4:50 pm. So you'll lose basically a whole day each way. You might be better off to stay closer to Thailand, either spending all of your time in Thailand (perhaps a trip to the Golden Triangle or another area in the north) or adding in a trip to the Temples of Angkor if that interests you or to Luang Prabang, Laos.

Thanks, I would appreciate the report. I found direct (so I think) flights from BKK to KK with Air Asia and they seem to be pretty cheap which is why I considered that leg.

If you found a non-stop flight, it certainly wouldn't take as long. My understanding was that all the flights stopped in KL, so take a close look.

If you are heading off to see Orang Utangs in Sabah I imagine you are planning to go to Sandakan where the Orang sanctuary is - but no longer open to visitors, instead you wait at an area near a feeding station and hope that an Orang comes along in addition to all the monkeys some of which may try to snatch your bag/back pack. (we saw one big male) Bear in mind that Sandakan is a further flight required from KK- you can do it in a day trip- as there is nothing much to see there otherwise, choose that option. Shangri La Rasa Ria is about 45 minutes drive from Kk has a couple of domesticated ones. Rasa Ria has very nice location albeit not overly convenient. KK as a town is nothing special and islands off KK for snorkelling are nice but a lot of the reef is destroyed so have to swim further out to see fish. For me, thailand has a lot to see and as long as you do not mind gritty cities, Bangkok has a lot to offer and has great value luxury hotels (eg Nai Lert Park and Grand Athenee Meridien as well as more expensive Peninsula, Shangri la , Four Seasons etc), so would be tempted to skip KK.