MALAYSIA
MALAYSIAN BORNEO – SARAWAK •• Limbang Division Book your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotelsowned by a retired Sarawak Forestry em-
ployee, this longhouse-style establishment
offers prim twin-bed rooms and plenty of
comfy common space decked with posters,
world flags and cowboy hats. It’s a great place
for large groups.
Bariew Backpackers Lodge (%014 892 3431, 019
859 0937; [email protected]; r RM20, full-board pack-
ages RM65-70) The quietly affable Raddish runs
this excellent family-run guest house near
the centre of Bario. He knows everyone in
town and has an intimate knowledge of the
trails and longhouses scattered throughout
the highlands – his large collection of hand-
drawn maps are regularly updated to reflect
the region’s changing geography. Rooms are
simple but well kept – no need for fans as it
is pleasantly cool in the evenings.
Jungle Blues Dream (%019 884 9892; jungleblues
[email protected]; r & board per person RM60) Owned by
local artist Stephen Baya and his lovely Danish
wife, this lodge-cum-gallery is a fantastic place
to call home during your Highlands visit.
Rooms are lofted above the gallery and have
subtle touches of Western comfort. Stephen’s
art hangs on all of the walls and guests are
encouraged to leave an artistic message on a
wooden plaque before departing.Getting There & Away
The most practical way to reach the Kelabit
Highlands is by direct flight between Miri and
Bario. MASwings (%1300 883 000; http://www.maswings
.com.my) operates at least one flight per day
(always in the morning) on its Twin Otter
aircraft. Two weekly flights connect Miri to
Ba Kelalan and Long Lellang. All flights take
approximately one hour. Online bookings at
the MASwings website can be temperamen-
tal (the site may incorrectly announce that
a flight is full) so it is best to swing by its
office in Miri. Planes are small and demand
is high, so it’s best to book as far in advance
as possible.
Once in Bario, it’s roughly a 30-minute
walk into the central part of the village (turn
left at the T-junction), although the chances
are high that you’ll be greeted like a celeb
when you get off the plane. Local lodging
operators often swing by to scoop up trekkers
when the planes land.
It is also possible to reach Bario overland.
The trip between Miri and Bario (RM900
per vehicle, four person maximum) takes
more than a day, and passes several remotelonghouses along the snaking network of
logging roads.LIMBANG DIVISION
Limbang
If you’ve only seen Limbang on the map, you
may be in for a surprise when you rock up
expecting a backwoods outpost and find a
prosperous, bustling river town. Tourism is
pretty much an irrelevance in these parts, so
there are few reasons to stay over, but trekkers
coming from the Headhunters’ Trail might
well appreciate an evening here to relax before
hitting the road again.
Much better value than the budget fleapits
in the centre of town, Royal Park Hotel (%212155;
Lot 1089 Jln Buagsiol; r from RM60; a) is worth the
walk. From the town centre, walk north
(downstream) 400m along the river. There
are food stalls on the 1st floor of the water-
front market, at the bus station and along the
river. Basic Malay food, roti and murtabak are
served in halal cafes around the centre.
MASwings (%1300 883 000; http://www.maswings.com.my)
has flights to Miri. The airport is 4km south
of the town centre, a RM10 taxi ride.
The express boat to Pulau Labuan in Sabah
leaves at 8.30am daily (RM25, two hours).
When sufficient passengers turn up (you may
find yourself waiting quite a while) speedboats
go to Lawas in Sarawak (RM25, one hour) and
to Brunei; see p508 for more details. Boats
leave from the jetty outside the immigration
hall on the river, just upstream from the large
pink building housing the market (Bengunan
Tamu Limbang).Lawas
Lawas is a transit point in the sliver of Sarawak
pinched between Sabah and the Temburong
district of Brunei. There is little of interest to
travellers. Hotel Perdana (%085-285888; Lot 365 Jln
Punang; r from 46; a) is the best economy hotel
in town, although it’s a little frayed round the
edges. Malaysia Airlines (%1300 883 000; http://www.malay
siaairlines.com.my) flies to/from Miri several times
a week. The airport is 2km from town. A boat
to Limbang (from RM28, one hour) leaves at
9am every day but Thursday. A boat to Labuan
(from RM33, two hours) leaves at 7.30am
every day except Tuesday and Thursday. Boats
leave from the jetty on the west side of town,
just downstream from the Shell petrol station.
Buses head to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah (RM20)
at 7am and 1pm daily.524