Are you planning to explore the beautiful country of Malaysia? Here’s a Borneo Malaysia travel guide for you, which exactly traces the Borneo Episode of the travel show Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown.
Malaysia is one of the beautiful countries in Southeast Asia that I would recommend to explore outside the capital city Kuala Lumpur. Don’t get me wrong, Kuala Lumpur is a beautiful city, but Malaysia is way more than that. At the Malaysian outskirts, you have a lot of beaches, mountains, tea plantations, theme parks, you name it!
Malaysia is composed to two main land masses: the peninsular Malaysia which is attached to mainland Asia, is where the capital city of Kuala Lumpur is located. At the southernmost tip of this part, you will find Singapore. The other part of Malaysia is located in Borneo Island, where Malaysia shares with Brunei and Indonesia. This part is where you can find the states of Sabah and Sarawak.
Anthony Bourdain had a layover at Kuala Lumpur before going to his main destination, Borneo. This Parts Unknown episode is a sequel of his prior visit to the island around ten years ago for another travel series. The theme of his episode focuses more on his trip down memory lane and a reflection of how much he grew as a person since his last trip to Borneo.
TRAVELING TO MALAYSIA: My Experience
One of my first trips around Southeast Asia started with a short trip to Kuala Lumpur with some friends from college. I can write about my Malaysia trip in a separate blog, but I must say that I enjoyed the multicultural gastronomic scene in Malaysia just as how Anthony Bourdain enjoyed restaurant-hopping in Kuala Lumpur for this particular Parts Unknown episode. Just like Bourdain, we had a night market dinner experience at the iconic Jalan Alor and ate some local food.
I am looking forward to explore more of Borneo in my next trips to Malaysia, if given a chance. In the meantime, I am saving every item of this itinerary for later. And I insist, you should, too!
You might find these articles interesting as well:
After a trip to Kuala Lumpur, I just want to travel solo next time
Museums to Visit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Sunway Lagoon in Petaling Jaya: Review
BORNEO MALAYSIA TRAVEL GUIDE:
AN ANTHONY BOURDAIN PARTS UNKNOWN ITINERARY
***Of course, credits to CNN for all the screencaps I uploaded for this article. (We miss you, Tony!)
PART I: KUALA LUMPUR
1. Have Chinese food for dinner at Restoran Wong Ah Wah (WAW) at Jalan Alor, Kuala Lumpur.
2. Eat at Restoran Seetharam Family Curry House
3. Eat kampung-style food at Aunty Aini’s Garden Cafe
PART II. BORNEO
Klook.com4. Have laksa for breakfast at Choon Hui Cafe
5. Have an Alcohol-Free Karaoke Session at Kuching Waterfront
6. Have a Mini-Cruise at Skrang River
7. Stop for Lunch and Eat Bamboo Chicken by the River
SEE ALSO
8. Celebrate Gawai (Harvest Festival) with the Locals
8.1. Visit a Longhouse at Entalau and get to know the Iban community.
8.2. Shoot a pig for Gawai
8.3. Drink Tuak, Langkau, and more booze until you pass out.
8.4. Party, go to sleep, wake up, and repeat in the next three days.
9. Get inked with a traditional Iban tattoo.
BORNEO MALAYSIA TRAVEL GUIDE:
An Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown Itinerary
There you have it! We all know that Anthony Bourdain’s main preference when traveling is to try the local food and talking to locals about life in the destinations they are in. Of course, you are always welcome to add and weed out some of the items here to have a more customized travel itinerary. In my opinion, though, I believe the things done by Anthony Bourdain during his travels are worthy of trying out. So, I wish you happy travels and wait for your photos on Instagram? Travel safely!