Kuching murals are a great reason to walk around the city
Having just returned from Singapore and Sarawak I was given a great opportunity to talk fast and furiously with DJ Wan on Radio Melayu about my experiences.
We also had the Consul General of Malaysia, Mr Ahmad Fikri, come on the show and talk about his experiences of Sarawak and what we had spoken about together at a recent Tourism Malaysia event.
From some destinations in Singapore you might not be aware of to Sarawak, a land of constant activity by day and night, it was a wonderful opportunity to describe my adventures and encourage listeners to book their flights!
The Vagabond Club in Singapore is small in size but enormous in luxury and intrigue
Radio Melayu is such a wonderful community radio station and I love any chance to contribute to their programming.
If the link above works it may not take you straight to my discussion but if you scroll down through the posts then my latest chat was on October 18.
DJ Wan and I talked about KL nightlife and views, the pink mosque at Putrajaya and then we talked about my time off the coast of Semporna on Mabul Island and a bunch of other islands with high peaks, white beaches, sea gypsies and Nemo.
I was travelling on the Tourism Malaysia Mega Fam with a bunch of travel writers, journalists and bloggers from India, Hong Kong, Malaysia and New Zealand. We shared adventures and quickly felt like we were doing more than capturing moments we could write about or describe on radio. We became friends and fellow travellers, soaking up experiences that were genuinely breathtaking.
The land below the wind always takes your breath away, whether from the exertion of a trek or just sitting on a beach watching a Sabah sunset. The resorts are safe and friendly and the adventures feel undiscovered and exotic.
Make the most of your time in Malaysia. Whether its shopping, street food or hidden bars in KL or the tropical paradise of life on the islands off the coast of Sabah, there’s something for all travellers, all the time.
Mabul Island: All your days I will sing in praise of your forests, waters, your shining sands.
Have A Go News newspaper recently published my list of the Top Ten No Tech Travel Accessories that you should have on every trip. They’re also all lightweight and easy to store.
Aquatabs are as close as I get to panic prep packing but because they are easy to tuck in your toiletries bag with other medications they’re worth having if you ever doubt the safety of the water you’re drinking.
Have a Go News is distributed throughout Western Australia to nearly 2000 community centres, recreation centres, supermarkets and more.
So, my Top 10, in no particular order but I must admit the first thing in any of my bags is a pen . . .
I recently spent a brilliant evening on Radio Melayu chatting about my recent adventures and how we all need to find a way to get packing and escape winter by getting overseas or embracing winter and snuggling into a gorgeous resort down south.
The link below features descriptions for a few of my new favourite things, including Bali’s spectacular new resort the Apurva Kempinski Bali, Hong Kong Star Ferries and markets, Hong Kong Disneyland, Pullman Bunker Bay Resort and amazing airlines for travelling with children, including Malindo Air, Batik Air and Cathay Pacific.
In the link above to Have A Go News enjoy reading my feature article on travelling, eating and shopping your way around Kuala Lumpur and making sure you stay somewhere amazing as well. You can also find Have A Go News in over 1800 outlets across Perth and regional Western Australia.
Love Lot 10! From the Hutong Food Court in the basement, amazing shops and activities in between and the cheesecake in Tokyo Restaurant at the top, you’ll be splashing your cash and loving every minute of it.
Travel from KL airport to Kl on the fantastic KLIA Ekspres. The best way to travel into KL and also the easiest and most comfortable.
Stay in the heart of KL’s shopping precinct, Bukit Bintang, at the luxurious and very friendly JW Marriott. If you’re not doing the shopping, this will be the perfect place to wait for your shopping partner to return. Look, they even parked my car under the hotel sign!
The following story, as published by Karryon (www.karryon.com.au), shares with you the exploits of my daughter and I in a remarkable part of South Africa:
As my daughter Matilda and I touch down on a little airstrip in the Madikwe Reserve in South Africa for a safari with Sanctuary Makanyane Luxury Safari Lodge, the next ten minutes are as imprinted on my mind as the birth thirteen years ago of the girl beside me. Every second as vivid, exhilarating and heart thumping as life can throw at you.
Just seconds after departing the airstrip an impala leapt lightly to the side of the track and the gasps of Matilda led our guide, Kaiser, to turn his head to check if we were OK.
Imagine our behaviour less than ten seconds later when a big bull elephant was standing alongside the track. A real elephant in the real wild. Then at our first river crossing we saw zebra, waterbuck, warthog, impala and a monitor lizard. I was looking for Elton John to start singing the Circle of Life.
CHECK-IN & BEYOND
As we approach the Makanyane Safari Lodge I notice a gathering of people at the entrance and think that we must have arrived at a busy time with people checking in and checking out, the usual commotion of a hotel reception area.
Remarkably, the gathering was the management team of Makanyane Safari Lodge, out to welcome us. I had thought a free iced tea on arrival at some of the South East Asian resorts I’ve visited was pretty flash but this was taking things to another level.
Furthermore, it wasn’t because I was travelling with the most gorgeous girl in the world, it is just what they do for all of their arriving guests, for which there are no more than sixteen at any time. For the next few days we experience not just a luxurious way of life but a level of service that was more akin to friendship than customer service.
THE ROOM
Accommodation is spread across just eight luxurious suites that are more like small houses. Each suite is well spaced from the others and built from thatch and stone. The air-conditioned bedroom and bathroom have floor to ceiling windows overlooking a river but I highly recommend the outdoor shower to instantly get you back to nature.
While they are mostly intended to be occupied by couples, the suites pass the rigorous privacy test of a father and daughter. There is plenty of space to do what needs to be done without cries of, “Gross!”
In between game drives and meals, we sit and watch the environment that is just outside our suite. We spot snakes in the trees, monitor lizards, birds and monkeys while other travellers we meet have watched zebra, elephant and kudu make their way along the riverbank in front of their window.
FOOD
(Pic provided shows our lunchtime feast of chakalaka, ostrich skewers, bocconcini and bush tomato salad, potato and egg salad and lamb samosas with mint chutney)
For meals at the lodge there is always plenty of choice and Matilda and I are quick converts to South African cuisine. We loved the gamey flavour of ostrich skewers and tang and spice of chakalaka and love saying it almost as much as bobotie. Chakalaka is a vegetable relish that can used alongside anything while bobotie is a spicy mince dish that is baked with an egg topping.
Matilda and I are warmly included in forming a larger group at mealtimes despite her being the only child at the lodge and all of the other guests being honeymooners. She probably hears a few stories that aren’t quite age appropriate but having heard some of her exclamations upon getting close to roaring lions and charging elephants perhaps I need to reassess her ability to understand the world around her.
THE VERDICT
We depart Makanyane Safari Lodge in much the same way as we arrived, in the company of the staff who embrace us. Around our vehicle are the friends we have made and as we take a final look at the faces who have pampered us, fed us, protected us and taught us, I hope they truly understand the impact they have had on our life. Experiences that I hope my daughter will describe to her children one day and inspire them to add this remarkable land to their travel bucket list.
The Sanctuary Makanyane Luxury Safari Lodge is located within the lost world of the Madikwe Reserve and is one of the few Malaria free safari locations in South Africa.
Madikwe Reserve is in South Africa’s North West Province, close to the border of Botswana and just a short flight by light aircraft from Johannesburg. It is surrounded by a ridge of hills and well protected by antipoaching patrols.
South African Airways is the flag carrier airline for South Africa and flies regularly to Johannesburg’s O.R Tambo International Airport. From the airport, it’s a one hour flight with Federal Airlines to the Madikwe Reserve or a three hour drive, renting a car from the airport.
Prices at Sanctuary Makanyane Safari Lodge start from ZAR 7,500 per person per night, twin share, for 1 – 3 nights, including all meals and drinks (excluding premium brands) and transfers to and from the airstrip to the Lodge plus a choice of daily shared game viewing activities.
But for even better savings, take advantage of Sanctuary Retreats’ extended stay offer 2018, when you stay at one or more of our properties including Sanctuary Makanyane Safari Loge depending on your season of travel.
Stay 4 – 6 nights and save up to 30%.
Stay 7+ nights and save up to 40%.
Terms and conditions apply.
For more information about Sanctuary Retreats visit:
South Africa has very strict anti-child slavery rules. It is important to ensure that if you’re travelling as a single parent with a child to South Africa that prior to your travel you complete the immigration form and have it correctly signed by a valid certifying agent and, if possible, correspondence from the other parent of the child that certifies permission to travel to South Africa.
Be conscious of the timing and detail provided in social media posting of your safari experience as poaching is a serious issue throughout Africa and any notification of where an animal is located may be of use to poachers.
On Saturday evening, 18 September, I spoke on 95.3fm about my regular Malaysian travels, Malaysian food and Malaysian tourism strategies.
We also spoke about Rajah Brooke butterflies, the JDT Tigers, the benefits and consequences of spicy food and how much I enjoy using the rail network (particularly the monorail) in Kuala Lumpur to travel the city.
Mabul Island: All your days I will sing in praise of your forests, waters, your shining sands.
Stay in the heart of KL’s shopping precinct, Bukit Bintang, at the luxurious and very friendly JW Marriott. If you’re not doing the shopping, this will be the perfect place to wait for your shopping partner to return. Look, they even parked my car under the hotel sign!
Chris Parry Writes For Us 