Malaysian Borneo

I skipped ahead in my travel planning to mid-May since that will be the first time my husband will be joining me on my travels. We will meet up in Malaysian Borneo to visit what is toted as two of the world's best diving spots. We've been using "50 Places to Dive Before You Die" as a guide. The first location is the island of Layang Layang and the second is Sipadan. Both are quite remote and, surprisingly, there are still a relatively limited resorts that offer diving to both areas. There is in fact one resort on Layang Layang and no resorts are allowed on the island of Sipadan itself so we are staying on the nearby island of Mabul. Make sure to have a look at the Mabul link. It is a link to where we are staying, Sipadan Water Village. The rooms are bungalows on stilts that hover over the water. I am SO looking forward to sitting out on our bungalow's front porch and listening to the ocean and watching the fish swimming below.

We are going to spend about five nights in each place and, in between, try to fit in as many of the nearby national parks as possible. My husband wants to go check-out the orangutans and other primates (Is that the right term?) at the rehabilitation center in Sepilok. There are so many choices - a treetop walk, a park of 600+ species of orchids, hot springs, an island dedicated to turtle hatching, jungle trekking - and that's just what I have seen in a few minutes of googling. I still need to get my head around Borneo. I know next to nothing about it...so you will all be learning right along with me! Should make for some good stories.

What's next on the planning? A quick trip to the U.S. to visit my family. I leave this Sunday.