I had to add an exclamation point, Borneo is a big destination really but it's also maybe tied with Sri Lanka as my favorite islands to visit. If you're like me and you really like wildlife, it doesn't get much more wild.
To be honest, Malaysia is quite an exquisite place to visit. The first time anyone mentioned it to me was one of the guys from my section in Basic Training. A heavily accented Scottish guy who just lit up when I asked him about the number of times he had visited - long before I had gone myself.
He was enthralled and it wouldn't be until years later that I had opportunity to see why and become so myself.
Borneo wasn't my first trip to Malaysia and it wasn't my last, but it has been a while. We're looking back on July of 2014 now.
My adventure took me from Kota Kinabalu, up the great Mount Kinabalu and down again, onward to look for orangutans in Sandakan, river safaris seeking elephants on the Kinabatangan, across Lahad Datu and onward to Semporna before gaining another dive qualification on the lovely island of Mabul.
It's all too much to cram into a post, but I suppose that's the point of the forum, isn't it? To introduce a topic and (hopefully) discuss more!
Mabul had the threat of pirates at the time, no night dives or even going out on the water after dark. The diving was amazing, maybe the water is more clear further west in the SE Asia region as currents and rainfall do drop silts into the waters around the island - but I saw some of the smallest crabs & creatures alongside some of the biggest groupers and humongous eels - and of course the resident turtles and sea horses.
I wasn't lucky enough to spot any wild orangutans without a bit of enticement, several did come down to steal a bit of fruit from the sanctuary's boardwalk areas in Sandakan.
Mount Kinabalu was more of a challenge than expected in some respects, the weather was very much not on my side. That meant although I was quicker to ascend than expected, it was far too harsh to hang about and wait for the sunrise. In the end, a guide at the requisite lodge told me that only maybe 8 people reached the summit that day due to the heavy wind and cold.
And just arriving into Borneo is a lovely experience when transiting Kuala Lumpur or KL as everyone there calls it. Should I talk about the food again? haha