Q: I’m planning a trip to KK with my gf and her family (6pax). We will be going on the 11th Dec -14th Dec. We’ll be staying at marina court apartments for the 1st & 3rd night. We planned to stay at kundasang or at mesilau on the 2nd night. Do you have any suggestions or tips to recommend? I’m looking for 1 day trip packages to walk around Mt kinabalu park.

Answer by a4trip Kota Kinabalu Travel Guide writer:

Thank you for your email. There are a lot of accommodations in Kundasang, i.e. Zen Garden, Kinabalu Pine, Kinabalu Rose Cabin and even Perkasa Hotel. You can get their information from around the net as they are all quite established. For Mesilau, you only have Mesialu Nature Resort which is run by Sutera Sanctuary Lodges, and it is further away from Kundasang and the altitude is also higher.

I would suggest that you stay in Kundasang as it is nearby Kinabalu Park HQ, if you plan to spend a day trip there, walking the jungle trail. There are a lot of things to see.

Check out the trail map here

Q: Thank you all for all your advice & tips. We have decided to stay at D’villa Dina Lodge for one night. We are for tour groups that can transfer us (6pax) from Marina Court Apartments to D’villa Dina Lodge and have a day tour around Kundasang town, Kinabalu Park, Poring Hot Springs, Rose Garden, Sabah Tea Plantations. I’m not sure whether this plan is possible to complete in one day.

Answer by a4trip Kota Kinabalu Travel Guide writer:

All those places in one day? It is possible if you spend about 15 minutes on each place, as traveling from one place to the other will take some time. It will also be tiring for you to rush to get to all the places in one day. With feedbacks from around travel forum, Poring Hot Spring can be a disappointment. Kinabalu Park HQ is the best place for nature lovers, Kundasang War memorial is best for history lovers and Sabah Tea Garden & Rose garden if you love the flora.

Have a nice journey.

You strike a lucky draw and win a free flight ticket to Kazan, Russia, next month. Oops… stop Googling… Sit back and start thinking of what questions you will ask to help you plan your trip. Post your question here.

The Sun Bear (Helarctos malayanus) is a bear found primarily in the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia. Its Malay and Indonesian name is Beruang Madu (”Honey Bear”). The BSBCC Bear Necessities Fundraiser Event has raised an estimate of MYR 1.3 million for sun-bear rehabilitation and conservation centre in Sepilok, Sandakan.

One of the researchers of Sun Bears, Wong Siew Te (a.k.a. Sun Bear Man), a Ph.D. candidate under the Wildlife Biology Program, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, is an animal lover. He has decide to devote his life to save the wildlifes from being harmed and to free them from cage. Read more from his blog.

A4trip is featuring sun bear in the Kota Kinabalu guidebook for creating awareness to travelers visiting to Malaysia and for raising some fund for Sun Bear conservation.

a4trip today annouced four new travel guides for travelers! Siem Reap and Phnom Penh now is available in Chinese version. The other 2 guides are Hanoi and Singapore in English version.

Previously we’ve launched Siem Reap guide in English and French version. Now it’s in Chinese! It consists of 18 pages comprehensive traveling analysis, tips, alerts and 3 maps that can guarantee you an affordable and enjoyable holiday.

Phnom Penh also available in Chinese now! Phnom Penh is a major tourist destination and a rising commercial, political and cultural hub in the region. The city is situated at the confluence of three major rivers, the Mekong, Bassac and Tonlé Sap. The river system remains vital to the city’s economy, as they connect Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.

Hanoi guidebook is a travel guidebook with comprehensive travel analysis, scam alerts and ways to cope with it and two detailed maps. All these information can fully assist you in your Hanoi travelling plan.

Singapore guidebook contains comprehensive travel information and tips and 3 maps to ensure a fruitful trip for the traveller, budget or otherwise. All sections covered - hotels, restaurants, places to visit, shopping and transportation are carefully chosen based on price, location, ranking and testimonials from fellow travellers.

Jess, one of our friend from Terry Fox Run, is kind enough to review our Siem Reap guidebook and provides some very useful feedback.

What she loves about the guidebook…

• the way the guide states the local celebrations/ public holiday - this prepares tourists in advance if they should give certain dates a miss or go particularly on certain dates to participate in the celebrations
• the way the guide includes comments from tourists what they experienced - some were important lessons learnt by them when they were travelling
• the way the guide includes wonderful, nice maps
• the way the guide categorised the budgeted range of the accomodation and dining places
• Culture shock and Charity - nice and fresh topic
• all the website URLs clearly specified
• Definitely useful for those who already decided SiamReap as their next destination
• the layout is nice and systematic - I know what to expect and where to find
• guides on what not to be missed on when eating and buying souvenirs, nice!

Other comments:-

• Most e-books or websites does not update the information frequently, so the visitors to the the website might try to find alternatives when they found certain information out of date - there will be a lot of hardwork and consistency here needed
• It will be great if there is a 1-2 page version/summary of what is the attraction of SiamReap - for some who dont like too much words?
• I think most people (maybe people like me) have so much interest in Angkor Wat of all things to do in Siam Reap, would be nice if there is one topic on it’s own covering on Angkor Wat travelling guide.

Transportation, accommodation, visiting, dining and shopping can be costly if you don’t plan wisely. In total, we have spent USD 330 per person for our 6 days Cambodia trip and this is excluding the airline tickets. In average, we spent USD 50 per day and following are our itemized expenses to be shared:

The price of our guesthouses:
Room rate of Mandalay Inn in Siem Reap:
$20 USD per night for family room (3 persons),
$18 USD per night (2 persons)

Room rate of Golden Mekong hotel in Phnom Penh:
$15 per room per night for all room types

Day 1 – Siem Reap:
Transportation from airport to hotel:
- It’s Free! Mandalay Inn provided us free pick-up from airport to its guesthouse.
Walk from hotel to Old Market, Central Market, Royal Garden and National Museum
- It’s Free! But it took us more than 40 minutes.
Entrance Fee to Angkor Museum
- USD 12, trust me it is worthy! A place you must visit before trekking the Angkor Archeological Park.
Tuk-tuk fee back to hotel
- Usually USD 1 per destination, however we had paid usd 3 on that day.

Total: Around USD 40 spent on day 1 including guesthouse, meals and mineral water purchase.

Day 2 - Siem Reap:
Transportation for Angkor Archeological Park day tour:
- We hired 5 tuk tuk to Angkor Wat from the manager at Mandalay Inn during our trip. Usually each Tuk Tuk will cost $14 USD per day (normal hours starts from 9am), but since we departed on 5am for sunrise, they charged us $17 USD per tuk tuk. Note that 1 tuk tuk can fit 4 persons. Tuk Tuk for 3 persons will cost $14 USD per day.
Entrance Fee to Angkor Archeological Park day tour:
- USD 20

Total: Around USD 60 spent on day2 including guesthouse, meals and mineral water purchase.

Day 3 - Siem Reap:
Tour to Floating Village
- USD8 per person, not really recommended taking this tour.
Visit to Artisan d’angkor
- Free and introduced by a friendly tour guide.
Shopping and meals
USD 30

Total: Around USD 50 spent on day3 including guesthouse, meals and mineral water purchase.

Day 4 – Phnom Penh:
Bus Fare from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh
We ordered from the manager at Mandalay Inn.
Mekong Express Limousine from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh will cost $11.75 USD per person. This includes shuttle service from Mandalay Inn to bus station. However, this only applies to big group for our case.
If you buy directly from the Mekong Express Limousine Sales Office at the Central Market in Siem Reap, it is $8 per person for the locals (or if you ask a local to buy it for you) but usually they will charge tourist $10 per person. However, shuttle service from guesthouse to bus station is not included.

Price of tuk-tuk to Killing Field and S21:
We managed to bargain from $25 USD to $15 USD per tuk-tuk. One tuk tuk is good for 4 persons.

Entrance fee to Killing Field
Normal price USD 3, there was a discount as we went there late evening.
Entrance fee to S21:
Normal price USD 2, there was a discount as we went there late evening.

Total: Around USD 60 spent on day4 including guesthouse, meals and mineral water purchase.

Day 5 – Phnom Penh:
Walking tour around Phnom Penh includes, Wat Phnom, Central Market, Sorya Shopping Center, Royal Garden.
- Wat Phnom will charge USD 1 for foreign visit.
Motodup to night market
- USD 1 per person
Tuk tuk from night market back to hotel
- USD 2 per 4 person, after several attempts of haggling.
Entrance fee to National Museum
- USD 3
Shopping:
- USD 1 for sewing Cambodia name to shirt
- USD 3 for face sketching in night market

Total: Around USD 50 spent on day 5 including guesthouse, meals and mineral water purchase.

Day 6 – Phnom Penh:
Entrance fee to Royal Palace:and Silver Pagoda
USD 6.50 per person
From Hotel to Russian market, Cambodia Daily Office and Airport:
We manage to get a help from Mr. Neou Ty from Cambodia Daily to hire a van at USD 50, which is good for 10 persons each.
Shoping in Russian Market:
USD 20 for picture, karma and miscellaneous
Airport Tax:
USD 25
Total: Around USD 70 spent on day 6 including meals.