Malaysia and Borneo 15 day tour

Planet

Our local office in Malaysia only uses certified guides for all cultural and nature tours. On this Malaysia trip we have a guide in the Cameron Highlands who educates our customers on the local environment and shows them how to pick tea.

During this itinerary we use various low-carbon modes of transport, including local bus, trains and cycling where possible.

As well as this we also try to only use small-scale and locally owned accommodation which not only gives customers an authentic experience but makes sure that the revenue from this tourism goes to local families and communities who are the ones who need it the most.

Our responsible travel journey starts in our office in Brighton where we provide our staff with a healthy lunch every day, we also collect our food waste for compost so that it doesn’t end up in the land fill. We also try recycle as much as we possibly can and are nearly a paperless company. The paper that we do use in our office comes from the same company we recycled it with resulting in a closed loop system.

We use local partners in Borneo who share the same values as us when it comes to wildlife. The guides they use around the Kinabatangan River know the area very well, and show respect and care when taking clients around on the trips. They take part in Orangutan research and nest surveys in Sarawak with the Sarawak Forestry Cooperation and Wildlife Conservation Society Malaysia.

Our local partners in Borneo have won a number of sustainability tourism awards.

Our local partners also support local community projects in Sarawak and have a 27 year sustainable tourism and community partnership with 4 Iban communities.

In our Know Before You Go which is sent to clients before traveling, we encourage them to take care with water usage as usable water is a rare commodity in Borneo.

People

By doing this itinerary you are supporting many local families and businesses that need it the most. The guides are all local, and in Penang you get the chance to help out many local and small businesses. In the morning you visit the Clan Jetties in Penang, which are small local houses/shops where you can buy souvenirs. You then have breakfast at a small local cafe, and lunch is at a local Hawker cafe.

Our local office ensures that all employees are well treated and that they exceed all the minimum requirements for salary, work hours and rest days. This also extends to local guides and makes sure that everyone directly working with our local office gets all of these benefits and is paid and treated fairly.
We advise all our customers on local customs and cultures in their travel documentation. This includes information about how to dress appropriately, respecting the local culture and also the local religion in Malaysia so that our customers can travel in a responsible way.

Our guide in Ipoh was born there and is extremely passionate about the area. We like to support him as the money goes directly to himself and the local community, as he takes our clients to all the locally owned hawker stalls and cafes rather than chains.

We believe in putting people first, and provide lots of benefits to our staff members in the UK to enhance their work and personal life, such as participating in the ride to work scheme, and providing discounts for local fitness centers and holistic therapies, and best of all a healthy free lunch – every working day!

As both of our main specialists have travelled to Borneo and Malaysia and know the best local places to eat out and visit. We like to support local businesses and restaurants hence only arranging breakfast in hotels where the client has opportunities to eat at local restaurants nearby.

We support a local charity called Reef Guardian which supports the marine park off the coast of Sandakan. Clients have an opportunity to donate £5 to the charity when booking, and they can then adopt a turtle when staying on Lankayan Island.

Our local partners comply with all relevant laws that protect the rights of their employees. All staff have employees contracts and understand the terms and conditions of their employment.

During the client visit to the National Park in Kota Kinabalu, the clients have an opportunity to buy local handicrafts created by the local community at market stalls on the side of the road.

All guides are trained to assist clients in traveling with respect and we also inform client before they travel about appropriate etiquette in Borneo.