Borneo & Philippines

Day 1-2: Kuala Lumpur

KL is a fantastic city – one of those places you could imagine living in. It is this harmonic mixture of the old and the new. In Chinatown and little India, you get the best street food and the chance to buy all sorts of gadgets, accessories and nonsense and around the Petronas Towers you got office buildings and shopping malls with all the large brands.

Kuala Lumpur – Sandakan – Sepilok

Day 4-5: Kinabatangan River & Jungle

One of those natural reserves is Kinabatangan River but the area which is protected is not that big. Therefore, it is quite packed with animals. Those animals can be best seen from the boat and on the walks, you can see and learn a lot about the plants in this little paradise. You’ve got the chance to see snakes and lizards, colorful birds, hawks, caimans, huge crocodiles, toucans and wild pigs. And if you are really lucky you may also see an orangutan – what majestic creatures.
The macaques are easier to spot but not less interesting. You can observe how they behave in a social context. They seem almost human when they interact with each other and sometimes you even recognize a relative of yours in one of them. There is also a group of male proboscis monkeys – the locals call them the bachelors club. They hang around in the trees all day and eat certain leaves that have an effect similar to Viagra. And horny and full of testosterone as they are they do some amazing stunts as soon as they have visitors.

Day 6-10: Mabul & Sipadan Island

While River Junkies is one of the best addresses to explore Kinabatangan, Scuba Junkies is one of the best to experience Mabul & Sipadan Island.
In Mabul you get to see the small stuff and at Sipadan Island the big stuff. If you’re into macro diving, Mabul will fascinate you. You got the chance to see all sorts of colorful nudibranchs and flatworms including the blue dragon and the pikatchu. Further on you can see transparent crabs, cattle fishes, hermit crabs, porcupine fish, blue spottet stingray, spider crab, devil fish, black/red/yellow ghost pipefish, crocodilefish, peacock mantee shrimp, yellow and white frog fish, turtles, scorpion leaf fish, catfish, boxfish and the juvenile blue ribbon eel.
On the other hand Sipadan is perfect for people who love big animals. You got the chance to see white tip reef sharks, day octopus, barracudas, napoleon groupers and an entire tornado of jacks. Sipadan is a carefully protected natural reserve and a military base as it marks the border of Malaysia. There used to be a resort on the island but when pirates from Mindanao kidnapped some tourists they decided that it would be smarter to close it down.

Day 11: Kota Kinabalu

KK is the starting point for climbing Mount Kinabalu but if you’re not that much into hiking that you are willing to spend more than USD 400 for it, then KK itself also is a nice place for a stopover. You can explore the market and if your stomach is strong enough even the fish and meat section. Further on the promenade is perfect for a nice dinner and some drinks.
Unfortunately, the only flight to Manila leaves at 2am and if you continue the same day to Dauin, then you will not sleep much that night. But for some adventures you need to be willing to pay the price.

Day 12-16: Dauin & Apo Island

The Visayas are just perfect for macro diving and the coral garden around apo island is probably the best you’ve ever seen. So, in addition to what you have already seen in Mabul you can spot black/white/yellow/orange and the hairy frogfish. Further on candy crabs, popcorn shrimps, needlefishes, Pegasus fish, sea horses, porcelain crab and the poisonous banded seasnake. But don’t worry she is not interested in killing divers.
Besides all the fantastic marine life the staff of Pura Vida makes that place so outstanding. The food they serve is great, Den Den and the other guys are fantastic dive guides and Gaga always makes you laugh.

Day 17-22: Alona Beach & Bohol

Bohol also offers some amazing dive spots. Probably their best is called black forest because of its black corrals, and it definitely makes you feel like you were in a fairy tale. There are so many turtles down there that you sometimes get the feeling that there must be an important turtle summit. And besides those you see lots and lots of the animals mentioned in the other posts. So many of them that you sometimes feel sorry for them living in such a crowded place.
Besides diving you can also rent a motorbike and explore the island. There are two tarsier sanctuaries you should not miss as those animals are so cute you almost going to die. Further on there are the famous chocolate hills, the manmade forest and some pretty unique beaches to explore.
In case you are not a diver but still want to explore a bit the islands and the underwater world, there are plenty of cheap tours to see dolphins, snorkel Balicasac and explore the partly floated virgin island.