Do(n´t) travel: Southeast Asia

Amazing beach in the Bako national park in Malaysia

My favourite mattress in the world is the one we have at home. It is always a pleasure to sleep here and is a reason way I do not miss travelling so much when I am at home. But there is another mattress I fell in love with. And that one I found last year at the Pullman Hotel in Kuching/Malaysia.
My wife and I had just 10 days for a quick vacation and decided to flight to Southeast Asia, because we are so in love with it and we had never been to Borneo. So I made my way from Hamburg, my wife came from Hong Kong and we were excited to discover the foreign world of Borneo. When I thought of Borneo before, I thought of jungle, exotic people, jungle, jungle, jungle, orang-utans, jungle and jungle. And then we arrived at the new Kuching airport: Fully air-conditioned, officers at the passport control asking for your passport in perfect English and the cab-driver driving us along the highway to the newly built Pullman Hotel. I was not really disappointed about that, but a little bit disaffected. Even Borneo seems to be not wild and full of secrets anymore. But that was just my first thought. Soon I was really fascinated by Kuching.

Pullman in Kuching

The bed with my second favourite mattress

It started on the taxi ride to the hotel and as we arrived at the Pullman I felt really happy and welcomed by a different Kuching and Borneo than I had expected. But it felt good.

The Pullman in Kuching is really a nice hotel and even if it is of course not one of the most luxurious hotels in the world, it is one of the hotels were I felt most like home. Hotel experts will answer that it is not a real five star hotel and objectively they might be right. I think it is a European 4 star and the rates are often like a European 2 star. But I don’t mind at all: I had one of my best hotel experiences in my life.

It started with a free upgrade to a junior suite at the check in. I like those surprises and as we entered the room even more. The room was really big, with a walk-in cupboard and a really nice bathroom with shower and a bathtub overlooking the whole city and the river from the 12th floor. Really nice! After enjoying the room we started to discover the city. We just went downhill to the river and by chance we just arrived at the promenade shortly before the last rivercruise started. So we bought some water and some fresh fruit and hopped on the boat. The tour took 2 hours and was maybe a little bit too long but it was nice to be on the river and get a first view of the sights. Afterwards we strolled down the promenade and tried some of the local delicacies from the street kitchens. Back in the hotel we fell asleep, because we had to get up early for our tour to the Bako National Park.

Amazing views, ...

... nice beaches, ...

... and more nice beaches! - In the Bako national park!

So we got up early and that was really hard because I fell in love. Not only with my wife but also with this nice bed in the Pullman with a perfect mattress and a amazing view over the city of Kuching, the river and the hills around. Perfect! But finally I made it and so we catched the local bus to Bako Bazaar. Even when we do not have much time we always try to travel with local busses and trains. We think it is the best way to get a real insights to a city or a country. Yes the bus did not have a proper air condition and yes we would have enough money to take a taxi or a private transfer, but that is for me not fun because everyone can do that. After about 90 minutes we arrived at the harbour of Bako Bazaar. Here you have to pay the entry fee to the park (10 RM= 2 €= 2,6$) and you will be grouped with some others because you have to charter a boat from the fishermen to get into the park (50 RM=10€= 13$ return for a boat with up to 6 people). After we arrived in the park we had a drink in the only and really basic restaurant. Here you will also find a ranger station and some simple bungalows for an overnight stay. They are pretty basic but wanted so if you want to spend the night there do make a reservation.

The harbour of Bako Bazaar

After our drink we had to decide for one of the many tracks in the park. It is really important to sign you and your track into the book at the ranger station and of course sign out when you are back. It is always possible that you get lost or injured and so it is possible to send a search party if you will not come back on time. We went for one of the shortest and were pretty happy with it. It is really exhausting to hike first uphill in the jungle, then over a dry and hot high plateau and then in a dry river bed even if it is only one kilometre or two. The description said: 1 hour per km and we first made fun of it. But finally it was true. First we followed the really beautiful wooden way at the coast line before we turned into the jungle and even if you know that you are not far out in the jungle you get a good feeling for it. It is also possible to do the tour with a guide. I am sure you will learn a lot and see things we were just passing by. But we decided this time to do the trip on our own. Sometimes it is good to do things together as a couple without help. In the jungle the clime is suddenly very humid even if you are just a few steps from the coast line and you will need a lot of water. Even more then we expected. We had about 3 litres with us and soon we learned that it will be not enough. The way was much longer and took much more time than we expected. And on our way we had some small crisis because sometimes we thought we got lost and the water became fewer and fewer. But finally we arrived at a really beautiful bay and took a bath in the warm sea. Even if it was not refreshing because the water was too warm we enjoyed it much. But we were not able to solve the water problem we had. 90 minutes back through the hot jungle with just a sip of water? Impossible! Luckily we met fishermen at the beach who took us back to the ranger station. And we were really lucky because so we had the chance to see the park with its jungle, beaches and the rocks that remembered us of Halong bay in Vietnam. So we went again to the little restaurant and had as many drinks as we wanted. Of course we signed out at the ranger station and then we took a boat back to Bako Bazaar and the public bus to Kuching.

After a shower and a nap in the hotel we went to the Filipino restaurant “Pinoy”. Due to the reason that a tropical rain started it was not that crowded. But I had great spare ribs and some cold Carlsberg. Afterwards we went to the Lime Tree Hotel. At the beautiful rooftop bar we had some great Lime Tree mojitos and a nice Lime cheesecake for dessert and were thinking about our two days in Kuching. We were pretty happy with it and but until now we didn’t see any orang-utans. But that changed the next day as you will read in part two next week.

View over Kuching from the Pullman

Large and luxury bathroom with shower and bathtube


The bathtube was decorated with roses

Coastline between sea and jungle

The wooden parth guides you to the jungle

Beware of the roots!

Jungle from the seaside

The view over the sea as a reward for the hart hiking tour

Rocks like in a small Halong bay

And a nice lonely beach to relax

More Halong bay feeling...

,,, more beaches!

Always amazing! Do visit Bako!

I can´t say that I love shopping centers. Yes, they are nice if its a rainy Saturday in autumn or winter in Europe and you have nothing to do. But normally I avoid them. For some reasons this is changing when I am in Southeast Asia. I would not say I gravitate to them but I like to visit for example the Siam Paragon in Bangkok, the Pavilion in Kuala Lumpur and the ones at the Orchard Road in Singapore. The biggest difference for me between Asian and European shopping centers is usually not the shops - sad to say that nowadays, those are the same all over the world. You have the ususal brands in different price ranges, be it Zara, Esprit, H&M, Adidas or Nike or be it Louis Vuitton, Tiffanys, Prada and Gucci. The biggest difference for me is the people - the people in Asia are really into shopping and there is nothing better to do on the weekends then to meet with some friend and go to a shopping center!
To give these shopping addicted crowds something new and fancy is not so easy. Every few months, a new center opens somewhere and drags the crowd with them. So I was really amazed to see a totally new concept of a shopping center in Bangkok in the brand new Terminal 21.
Ladies and gentleman - fasten your seat belts! And also make sure your seat back and folding trays are in their full upright position. We are ready to take off to your trip around the world!

Find your directions at Terminal 21

The idea of the Terminal 21 is just terrific! The entrance of the shoppingcenter is build like an airport. The security staff and the ones at the information desks are dressed like pilots and stewardesses. (Please don´t tell this to the security staff at London Heathrow. Even if they think they are the most important people in the whole world of travelling they don´t have to look like that *lol*) But back to Bangkok. You will find the directions on a large display panel, like at the airport. Each floor has a the design of a cosmopolitan city in the world and the elevators are your flight from one city to the other.
So let us start our round-the-world shopping trip with a flight to Paris. Just arrived at this floor you really get a Paris feeling. Street lights and floors in french style and little shops with colourful window frames made me just expecting an old guy carrying a baguette home, but I didn´t see one. In little Paris you will find ladies and mens wear, shoes and accesoires in small shops. A really a-typical feeling for Asia, where the only European and American brands you find are usually well known brands in large flagship stores. This does not mean that you won't find these brands in this mall, you simply will find them in a different way.

Little Paris in Bangkoks Terminal 21

Our travel continues. And thank you, dear owners of the Terminal 21 for making us catch a fly for our way from Paris to London instead of the crappy Eurostar trains *lol*. So take off for our short flight from little Paris to little London. Of course the concept here is the same. Small shops with products more or less fitting to the London theme in a Camden Market surrounding. Not surprisingly, you will find a typical red telephone box, a red double decker bus and a bobby. But if you are now wondering if the atmosphere might seem artificial, I have to disappoint you. Yes, it is still a mall in Bangkok and geographically far away from Paris or London. But it is well done and really worth to visit - also because the set up of this center is completely new to the Asians. There a long queues where people wait to take a photo in front of the red double decker bus or other attractions. It is also very interesting to see how the Thais see the eight citys and regions that are shown in Terminal 21 and what they find typical.
Our travel will go on. On our trip around-the world - ehm, around-the-shopping center - we are stopping in Rome, Istanbul and Tokyo. All of them are unique, have a very special atmosphere and different things to explore.
A real highlight is the San Francisco area. Here will you find the Golden Gate Bridge, just hanging under the rooftop of Terminal 21. And when you walk nearly into the cable car, which is part of a restaurant, it is maybe time for a rest - thank god the San Francisco part contains some restaurants! Another possibility to take a break is the Hollywood area - it is not a big surprise that you will find a cinema here.


The caribbean Lighthouse at the Terminal 21

Loaded with new energy let's explore my favorite floor, the LG. This is the Caribbean floor, with palm trees, a beach area, and colourful houses that give you a real holiday feeling. The highlight on this floor is the gourmet market. Here will you find delicious food from all over the world. If you are abroad for a long time you might be to get some food from your home country.
So even if you are normally not a big fan of shopping malls, do visit the Terminal 21 if you are in Bangkok. It is a different shopping experience to be on a trip around the world during shopping, eating and simply having a good time!