The Island Explorer

Day 2 in KK, and we rented a minivan (an FX) for me to drive all the way to Mount Kinabalu. The drive took 2 hours, as the vehicle I was driving wasn't fast enough (if you're travelling with a group of 4 or more, consider driving when exploring, it turns out to be cheaper, and more flexible). We stopped over a restaurant called Strawberry Lodge, and had curry for lunch. We then zoomed off to our accommodations in the highlands, the Kinabalu Pine Resort. It turned out that the lodge wasn't far behind our lunch venue. It was situated in the town of Kudasang, just 10 mins. drive after the Kinabalu Park. It had spectacular views of Mount Kinabalu, and the surroundings. Better take a room that's got one. The best thing about this place is its rate. We got three rooms for one night for RM180 each, all with breakfast and dinner. That's around P1,500 per person for the entire time. Great deal. After checking in at the lodge, we headed off straight to Poring Hot Springs, whi...

It was a good thing we didn't push through visiting the Thousand Islands. I wouldn't have decided to finally make the trip to one of the destinations I had to go to before I die. Welcome to the Bromo National Park in East Java, Indonesia. The national park is an hour away from Probolinggo, a town 3 hours away from Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia. Surabaya is an hour's flight from Jakarta. From Surabaya, I took a bus to Probolinggo where I checked in. The better option is to go up to Cemoro Lewang which sits on the edge of the Tengger Caldera. You can take a mini bus from the Probolinggo Bus Station to Cemoro Lewang. From Cemoro Lewang, the jump off point, you could actually view three distinct volcanoes. One is Bromo, the other and more picturesque one is Mount Batok, while the most towering is Mount Semeru. What makes Bromo stand out is the fact that it is constantly erupting and belches white sulfur smoke. The mouth of Tengger Caldera is aptly called the Se...