You’ve booked flights to Sandakan. Now what? Most travelers I meet make the same mistake. They show up without a plan and waste half a day figuring out how to get from the Sepilok Orangutan Sanctuary to the Kinabatangan River. They pay triple for taxis. They miss the last boat to Turtle Islands Park because they didn’t know it leaves at 3 PM sharp. I spent two weeks in Sandakan last year, and I made most of those mistakes myself. This itinerary fixes them. It’s built for someone with 4 full days — the sweet spot for seeing the big…

“If you feel shaking in the middle of the night, don’t worry, it’ll just be a pygmy elephant rubbing up against your hut.” So were the immortal words of my guide as I checked into the jungle lodge that was to be my home for the next two nights. Welcome to the Kinabatangan River! Situated in northern Borneo’s Sabah state, this enormous river – the second longest in Malaysia – is a haven for wildlife. Orangutans, monkeys, pygmy elephants, hornbills, crocodiles, clouded leopards, kingfishers and more all call the area home. Sadly I didn’t see any pygmy elephants during my…

Deep in the Bornean jungle lie the wondrous Gomantong Caves, a vast network of limestone caves set amid the remote Gomantong Forest Reserve. The caves are the biggest in northern Borneo’s Sabah state and they’re renowned for the valuable swiftlet nests that line their walls. These highly sought after nests (above) are used to make the Chinese delicacy, bird’s nest soup. Only local people with a licence can collect the nests and this collection is restricted to twice a year – from February to April, and July to September. To safeguard the swiftlets and their nests, there are huts inside…

I’ve been lucky enough to visit some incredible places around the world, but whenever anyone asks me where I’d like to go back to, I always say Borneo. Boasting incredible wildlife (including my favourite animal, the orangutan), friendly, welcoming people and some of the best food I’ve ever eaten, it’s an unforgettable part of the world. I visited the north-east of the island back in 2019 on a two-week tour of Malaysia and planned to write up my adventures in 2020. But Covid hit and it seemed weird to write glowing reviews about a part of the world you could…

From awe-inspiring scenery to ancient ruined complexes, traditional temples and stark reminders of the Vietnam War, there’s lots to experience in Vietnam. Add to the mix, an incredibly friendly people, rich culture and tasty food, and it’s no wonder the country has become such a popular destination with travellers in recent years. Everyone I know who’s visited Vietnam seems to have done the traditional north to south route through the country – starting in Hanoi and finishing in Ho Chi Minh City. It’s the same route I took when I visited the country. So if you’re thinking of visiting Vietnam…

Just before lunch we headed to the Reunification Palace in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City. Home to the president of South Vietnam in 1975 when the North’s tanks came rolling in, it’s stood in a virtual time warp ever since. To get to the palace, we walked through the large pale grey gates surrounding it and past an immaculate round lawn where we headed up a flight of steps to the main entrance. Inside, the palace is home to ceremonial spaces, a banqueting hall, meeting rooms, seating areas, a dining room, screening room and even an indoor rockery.…

Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam‘s financial capital. It’s also the country’s most global, most metropolitan city. Otherwise known as Saigon, the city is home to almost 8.5 million people. There’s a noticeable Western influence in the city centre, more so than in other parts of Vietnam, with coffee shops on street corners and a large shopping centre full of well-known high street brands. Our first stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral, an elegant 19th century French-style cathedral covered with red tiles. The cathedral was closed when we arrived, and while it was a shame we couldn’t go inside, it…

You’ve booked three nights in Ho Chi Minh City. Everyone says Cu Chi Tunnels is a must-do. So you sign up for a $12 group tour, spend 90 minutes on a bus, squeeze through a tunnel display for two minutes, sit through a grainy 1967 film, and spend the ride back wondering what the fuss was about. That’s the experience most visitors have. It doesn’t have to be yours. The Cu Chi network is genuinely extraordinary — 250 kilometers of underground passages dug by hand, stretching from the outskirts of Saigon to the Cambodian border. What makes it worth your…

The Misconception That Ruins the Experience Most visitors arrive at My Son expecting Vietnam’s version of Angkor Wat. They leave disappointed — not because My Son failed them, but because that benchmark was always the wrong one. My Son is not a sprawling temple city. It’s a compact valley complex of Hindu brick towers built by the Cham civilization between the 4th and 14th centuries. At its peak, over 70 structures stood here. Then came August 1969 — a single round of B-52 bombing raids during the Vietnam War destroyed most of what 1,400 years of weathering had left intact.…

Are you wondering whether Hoi An lives up to the hype — or about to spend a week somewhere that peaked on Instagram three years ago? Fair question. The answer is complicated, so here’s the unsponsored version. This is not a sponsored post. No hotels, tour operators, or tourism boards paid for any of the opinions below. What Hoi An Actually Delivers Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Vietnam’s central coast, about 30 kilometers south of Da Nang. The Ancient Town is genuinely preserved 15th–19th century merchant architecture — not a reconstruction, not a theme park. That’s…