S.I.Tours' Guest Book
 

Welcome to S.I.Tours' Guestbook. If you wish to send us comment, please send it to info@sitoursborneo.com or amy@sitoursborneo.com

Sent: March 21, 2009

Subject: Thanks

My son and I recently enjoyed a three day stay on the Kinabatangan river at Sukau and Abai. We then went on to Australia for two weeks.

I just had to write to tell you how much we enjoyed our stay at the lodges. Not only was the accommodation clean and comfortable and the food delicious at both lodges, but the guide Arshad I think (please see photo) and boat drivers were friendly, helpful, enthusiastic and knowledgeable on all aspects of the river wildlife which we had come to see.

To see monkeys, elephants, crocodiles and beautiful birds of all kinds was delightful. Their skill in spotting hidden lizards, snakes and many other species was remarkable.

In particular we enjoyed our time at Abai where the highlight of our whole tour was the night walk with Dennis and several other people from Abai including the chef. Once again their skill in finding beautiful birds roosting such as the garnet pitta and the blue winged, fairy pitta will stay with us forever.

I hope to return in the near future to bring other members of my family to experience this unique opportunity. Thank you so much.

kind Regards

Sue & Phil Hine
U.K.
 

Sent: February 27, 2008
Subject: Thanks

Dear SI Tours,

My wife and I have just returned home from Honeymoon, we spent 1 week in KL and Langkawi, 1 week in Borneo and 1 week in Boracay. Our time away was fantastic but I felt compelled to email SI Tours about our experience in Borneo.

We went on the Sabah 4 Day wildlife tour, and our Guide for the Turtle Island and Kinabatangan River part of the tour was Samuel Aning. On our day and night at Turtle Island Sam was very helpful, polite and great company.

We returned from Turtle Island early in the morning and it was clear to see that Sam was unwell. Sam was suffering from a stomach problem and this was with him for the next 2 days. Despite Sam feeling very unwell his primary concern was for his guests to enjoy their experience and see as much of the Sabah Wildlife as possible.

Sam was a fantastic Guide, I have no idea how he spotted the wildlife from the river but he did...we saw Orang-utans, crocodiles, various birds, snakes and lizards.

We enjoyed Borneo but Sam made the experience unforgettable with his knowledge of the wildlife and the information about Borneo and Malaysia.

Well Done Sam!!!!

Thanks.

Philip Smith
IT Managed Services Manager

Sent: October 2, 2007
Subject: Thanks

My wife and I have just returned from Malaysia where we took part in your Sandakan Wildlife and Mt Kinabalu tours and we'd both like to thank you for a wonderful time. One of the outstanding sights was a large group of elephants which we came across while cruising the Kinabatangan River. As these are rarely seen this experience alone was worth the trip. I was also lucky enough to complete the climb to the summit of Mt Kinabalu on my birthday which made it a very special experience for me. Worth all the pain of coming down again!

Thanks to our guides, Norah in Sandakan and James on Mt Kinabalu, we both enjoyed a very memorable time in your beautiful country.

Michael Hussey

Sent: September 28, 2007
Subject: Comments on Abai Tour

Good work!!

Abai – this was wonderful, the accommodation was far superior to that of Sepilok, it was clean and was a really lovely place, we went off discovering all sorts of creatures and our Guide Arshad was excellent. The team of people running Abai were truly lovely and welcoming.

The tree planting experience was truly special and a worthwhile outing, the fireflies were magnificent in their splendour.

We saw so many monkeys and of course Orang-Utans.

Our local guide recommended at this stage that we change the itinerary slightly and spend the second night at the Kinabangtan River Lodge. We followed their suggestion and we are so pleased that we did.

The KRL is basic, but clean and the food is to die for, the staff all play guitars in the evening, giving a lovely mellow vibe to the place. They also ‘loan’ sarongs to all guests and this is expected to be worn at dinner.

We were so lucky as we saw more Orang –Utans (including a mother with Twins) and then Pygmy Elephants, we were really spoilt.

This part of the trip was truly remarkable and we would recommend to do the two night as above, due to the diversity of what we saw, and when discussing it with others in KL/Danum Valley they did not experience the amount of things we did.

Empringham

Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 11:27 PM
Subject: Comments on Abai Tour

Dear Sir/Madam

My partner and I recently returned from a fabulous trip to Malaysia. As part of this trip we booked on to the 2 day Abai Tour with SI Tours. I would just like to say how fantastic we both found the tour and the staff. The Abai Jungle Lodge is a brilliant place to stay and really gives you  the feeling of being in the jungle. I'd also like to commend SI tours on their eco friendly practices, which set them apart from many other tour operators. A particular highlight was, having viewed the rescued orang utans in the Sepilok Rehabilitation centre earlier in the day, to then see Orang Utans in the wild in the Mangrove trees on the shores of the river.  Please keep up your good work and advertise the Abai trip as it's a wonderful experience.

Kind Regards
Kate Gould
Bristol
UK
 

Sent: Saturday, January 06, 2007 4:57 AM
Subject: comments

I spent three days with your company in late September 2006 and was very impressed by the service I was given. The organisation was superb, the guides were very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful, and the whole trip was magical. When I was at the Kinabatangan lodge we were shown 2 videos, one about the river and one about Sepilok. We were told that they were by National Geographic but I have been unable to find them to purchase. Can you shed any light on them for me? Once again thank you for providing such a memorable trip. I would certainly recommend you to friends.

Sylvia Johnson, Cheshire, GB
 

Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 11:28 AM
Subject: comments

We have just returned from a week in Sabah including 5 days/4 nights with Dennis Ikon staying at Kinabatangan River Lodge (2 nights) and Abai Jungle Lodge (2 nights). We were mostly interested in seeing birds, which is why we had particularly asked for Dennis as we had been on a similar trip with him 5 years ago. The whole tour was excellent, and Dennis's ability to help us spot birds was once again outstanding. Quite apart from his birding skills, he was also very knowledgeable about other aspects of the wildlife, he organized the transport, meals, accommodation, etc very well, and was very good company. He was flexible, responsive to any special requests we had, very hard-working and very enthusiastic. You should consider promoting special interest tours for other birdwatchers under Dennis's leadership.

Both lodges were good and comfortable, though Abai was better as it was quieter, newer and the raised wooden units were more airy than the smaller concrete ground floor rooms at KRL. The food was good at both places, probably a bit better at Abai where the prawns were exceptional as was the pakis, which was prepared for us by special request. The boat transfer from Sandakan was very enjoyable and much better than the bus transfer that we took one way on our previous visit in 2002. The lunch with the villagers at Abai was an interesting and enjoyable feature that you do not normally find on tours of this nature.

Some specific points:
§ On the birding, the battery-powered boat used from KRL was excellent as it enabled us to move about silently, slowly and with no unpleasant engine fumes. You should get them at AJL as well. § The boardwalk at AJL was very good. The best part of it was the stretch leading to the stream where it currently ends. You should not delay completing the boardwalk as it is a real enhancement to the resort.

§ The night cruise on the Menanggul river at KRL was good for the birds we saw, but because other boats had been there shortly before us, I suspect they will have scared away any mammals that had come down to the river. I'm not sure what you can do about this, but 2 possibilities are (1) to space the cruises out over a longer period (say an hour between each cruise); (2) to split the night cruises between the Menanggul river and other location such as the oxbow lake. None of these will be easy as they all involve cooperation amongst competing lodges, but it might be worth a try.

§ Mosquitoes were a real problem especially at AJL though the netting on the bedroom windows was effective at keeping them out. You must ensure that you keep this netting in good condition. Too often we have stayed at lodges in Malaysia (not yours) where the netting is torn and therefore ineffective. You should also routinely put mosquito coils under the dining tables at AJL.

§ At both lodges you should place soap or a cleansing dispenser at the hand basin

§ At AJL you should make up the beds in the same way as you do at KRL, that is with a lower and an upper cotton sheet as well as a blanket instead of just a lower sheet and a blanket. It is much more comfortable with two sheets.

§ You need more hanging space or extra hooks for clothes in the room at AJL.

§ It would be useful at KRL to have space for clothes to air outside the room (you already have this at AJL with the veranda for each unit.

§ At KRL, the drinking water in the dining room comes hot, natural or cooled. At AJL it is only hot or natural. Why not also cooled?

§ You need to update your website to show that there is sleeping accommodation at AJL.

I hope these comments are helpful. All in all, it was a great trip.

Thank you very much.

Kind regards
Ian and Freda Rickword
 

Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 1:12 PM
Subject: tour comments

I would just want to take the opportunity to thank SI tours for a memorable trip in Sandakan/Sepilok and Sukau.on 7 to 9 March 2007. We booked through Borneo Adventure and was initially a surprise to see SI tours handling our tour. Only to realize later how lucky we were.

We had a wonderful time with professional and knowledgable staff and would recommend Junior and Eric, our guides ( and great guys!), and SI tours to anyone!

Will definetly try to visit again and this time I will book directly with SI tours.

Thanks again!

Lizette Riekert & Luzanne Riekert ( South Africa)