| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 26/06/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 42 |
| Copyright: Other |
agents on the spot: malaysia
In October last year, Kuoni and Malaysia Airlines joined forces to take nine agents on a week’s educational to Malaysia and Borneo. The group spent three days in Kuala Lumpur before flying on to Kuching and Kota Kinabula for sightseeing, hotel inspections and a jungle trek in Borneo. We asked three agents for their impressions before and after the trip.
Before After
Before AfterDAVID THompsonsenior travel consultantthompson travelport erinisle of manage: 27
emma pyesenior travel consultantthorpe travelnorwichnorfolkage: 24
maria hallammanageresslunn polyhonitondevonage: 28
I had never been to Malaysia before or anywhere in that region other than China which is slightly different. I thought I had a fairly good idea of what Kuala Lumpur would be like – very busy and crowded and quite chaotic. I didn’t really sell many holidays to the area – just the occasional stopover and found clients were really quite green on the area. If you mentioned Borneo people tended to think of it as a Third-World country, that it was quite unsafe and undeveloped. A lot of our clients liked escorted tours but they tended to stick to Canada or America which they felt were a safer option.
Kuala Lumpur is a lot greener, cleaner and more friendly than you might imagine. The airport is probably the best I have ever been to – very well laid out, spacious and well organised so although it is very busy, it doesn’t seem it. The service and standard of the hotels is excellent and although there isn’t that much to do in Kuching, I really like the northern part of Borneo where everything seems very well set up for tourists who are interested in soft adventure. You don’t see many animals on the jungle trek but the scenery is very different and the journey by long-tail boat and accommodation in traditional long house does give you a taste of the local culture and lifestyle.
Although Ihave never visited Malaysia, I had talked to a lot of people who had been and I knew it was a great place for bargain shopping and good hotels. I think Borneo is really only known for its orang-utans – as shown on wildlife documentaries – and I was very excited at the prospect of seeing them, although I didn’t expect you would be able to get very close. I hadn’t sold any holidays to Borneo but those clients who had expressed some interest in the place wanted to see its rainforests and wildlife. I thought personal experience of the place would make it a great deal easier to sell.
Kuala Lumpur is a lot bigger and more cosmopolitan than I expected and has plenty of sightseeing and shopping attractions to keep you busy. Borneo is a real culture shock but wonderful. The orang-utan sanctuary is amazing and at the Shangri La Hotel in Kota Kinabalu you can actually play and cuddle two baby orphan orang utans which is an incredibly moving experience. The rainforest is beautiful – really untouched and unspoilt and we saw some amazing monkeys, butterflies and dragonflies. I am definitely going back and have already recommended Borneo to friends and clients. An escorted tour is a good way to see all the best bits quickly and easily but you could also spend a good week or so exploring on your own quite safely.
I didn’t really know what to expect in Malaysia or Borneo as I had never been to either. I knew about the orang-utans and the jungle scenery but Borneo was not a place we were asked for very often. Borneo was the kind of place clients stood back from because they imagined the facilities to be very basic. They thought that because it was quite new as a tourist destination it would be very uncommercialised but also not very well organised for visitors. I was interested in the native culture – the head hunters and all that – and imagined it might be quite a culture shock.
Borneo is fantastic and a real experience. The local people are lovely – very proud to show you the scalps they have collected, their traditional tattoos and dances – and very welcoming when you stay overnight in a traditional long house. It’s an amazing experience, you really feel immersed in the local culture but I personally wouldn’t want to do it again because I lay awake all night worrying about the wild animals and creepy crawlies all around. However, the hotels are excellent, set on beautiful beaches, and offering modern facilities and superb freshly cooked food. I am already planning to go back and now really recommend it.