Your First Geography Lesson!

The Malaysian Flag

In October, we are heading to Borneo. You need to remember that Borneo is the name of the island - it is not a country. Borneo is made up of one country in its own right - that's Brunei - and parts of 2 other countries - Malaysia and Indonesia. The largest part of Borneo, the west, south and east is called Kalimantan which is part of the group of islands called Indonesia - Jakarta, on the island of Java, is the capital city. The northwest of Borneo which is called Sarawak and the north (where we are going) which is called Sabah are part of Malaysia.

Sabah is one of the poorest parts of Malaysia with a population of over 3 million. The region's population has grown very rapidly over the past 40 years when it stood at only 650,000. The main city of Sabah is Kota Kinabalu or KK as everyone calls it. KK is a relatively modern city to look at as it was more or less totally rebuilt after the ravages of the 2nd World War.

We fly into KK and then on to our locations either in the jungle for the "forest experience" or the east coast for the "diving and marine experience". Remember that our group will split in two and swap over locations half way through before meeting up again for the journey home.

More information to follow on the diving and forest locations.