Venture Into Borneo:Venture Into Borneo 6/1/12 15:38 Page 2 The Original Tour Expert since 1841 Escorted Tours Worldwide Journeys, Experienced Tour Managers and Chauffeur Car Service Venture into Borneo Venture Into Borneo:Venture Into Borneo 6/1/12 15:38 Page 3 welcome to the world of Thomas Cook Tours we look forward to sharing some wonderful experiences with you Venture Into Borneo:Venture Into Borneo 6/1/12 15:38 Page 4 venture into borneo This booklet contains your itinerary and a range of other important information. Please read it through carefully and bring it with you on your holiday. Contents Page 1. Essential information 2 2. Venture into Borneo itinerary 5 3. Destination highlights 12 5. Useful information 14 6. Hotel details 20 7. Contacts 21 1 Venture Into Borneo:Venture Into Borneo 6/1/12 15:38 Page 5 1. Essential information Passport and visa requirements Travellers visiting Borneo for less than two months don’t need a visa. You must hold a full 10-year passport and the validity must extend six months beyond the date you intend to leave Borneo. Health requirements Precautions/vaccinations are recommended against hepatitis A, typhoid, polio, tetanus and diphtheria. Anti-malaria tablets are also recommended, and a certificate of vaccination against yellow fever is required if arriving from an infected or classified high risk area. Please contact your doctor for the latest information. Insurance There is no reciprocal medical cover for British subjects in Borneo, so we strongly recommend you take out comprehensive travel insurance for the whole of your stay. To be on the safe side, your insurance policy should include at least £1 million medical cover and you should check that it’s valid for all activities you’ll be involved in. 2 Venture Into Borneo:Venture Into Borneo 6/1/12 15:38 Page 6 Luggage Your tour includes porterage for only one suitcase, so we recommend you stick to that. You can bring a maximum of two if you prefer, but please note that a charge of around £15 will be added for any additional bags, subject to availability of space. The dimensions for each bag must not exceed 62 inches or 158 centimetres (when you add up width, length & height). There’s also a weight limit of 44 pounds or 20 kilograms for your checked luggage and Malaysia Airlines will levy an excess luggage charge if it exceeds this. Please make sure you pack any electrical equipment and sharp objects like scissors, nail clippers, razor blades, knitting needles, nail files and penknives in your main luggage. In addition, Malaysia Airlines allows two pieces of cabin luggage per person, so please arrange your packing accordingly. Your cabin luggage can include one personal item like a purse, shoulder bag, laptop or briefcase, and one carry-on bag. Your carry-on bag must be able to fit under your seat or in the overhead compartment and can’t be more than a total of 45 inches or 115 centimetres (when you add up width, length and height) or more than 11 pounds or 5 kilograms in weight. If you have any queries about these luggage guidelines, please call Malaysia Airlines on 0871 423 9090. Please use the enclosed luggage labels. For security reasons we recommend you don’t display your home address before your return flight back to the UK. Flight details Full flight details can be found in your voucher booklet. You don’t have to reconfirm your Malaysia Airlines flights, but if there is a change in schedule, we recommend you reconfirm all subsequent flights by telephoning the following number: Malaysia Airlines in Kuala Lumpur, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu: 1-300-88 3000 (24 hours) 3 Venture Into Borneo:Venture Into Borneo 6/1/12 15:38 Page 7 Optional tours and sightseeing It’s impossible to pack everything into a single tour, so for additional variety and excitement you may have some additional excursions to choose from. If you want to take any of these optional excursions, please let your tour manager know as soon as possible. Although the excursions aren’t organised by Thomas Cook Tours, your tour manager will take care of bookings and payment. You can pay for these excursions with local currency or sterling cash. Please note that we can’t accept credit cards, personal cheques, sterling traveller’s cheques or the Thomas Cook Cash Passport. Your tour manager will only carry a limited amount of change, so please tender as close to the exact money as possible. Sometimes unexpected local conditions mean we have to substitute alternative sightseeing trips for advertised excursions, especially early or late in the season. You should also know that some excursions are dependent on local availability; similarly, some will only take place if enough people choose to take them. Important Please be aware of the following important information, which has been taken from the booking conditions detailed in the Thomas Cook Tours 2011-2013 brochure: Excursion Conditions Excursions include, but are not restricted to, any sightseeing trips, gigs, events or other tours attended in resort for which additional payment is required. Excursions can either be booked and/or paid for in resort ("Resort Booked Excursions") or pre-booked and paid for when you book your Holiday ("Pre-booked Excursions"). All excursions are supplied by third party suppliers and are subject to our supplier conditions. Subject to our Booking Conditions we accept responsibility for Pre-booked Excursions. However, Resort Booked Excursions do not form part of your Package and are not governed by the Package Travel, Package Holiday and Package Tours Regulations 1992. We do not have any responsibility or liability whatsoever for anything which may go wrong on a Resort Booked Excursion. We, our servants, employees or agents are acting, depending on the actual Resort Booked Excursion, either as agents for the relevant Resort Booked Excursion or as agent for you. In any event the contract for any Resort Booked Excursion is between you and the Resort Booked Excursion provider. It is your responsibility to note carefully any conditions of contract contained in any Resort Booked Excursion, literature, ticket or receipt you are given. For Resort Booked Excursions you may also be subject to the laws of the country in which you take your excursions and may be required to bring any disputes or claims before the Courts of that country also. You’ll also find a full copy of the booking conditions at the back of the Thomas Cook Tours brochure. 4 Venture Into Borneo:Venture Into Borneo 6/1/12 15:38 Page 8 2. Venture into Borneo itinerary Visit some of the world’s last rainforest and encounter the vast range of birds, tropical trees and flowers that inhabit this island’s steamy interior along with colourful orang-utans and macaques. Offering a rare chance to explore some of the world’s most dramatic, unspoilt wilderness, this is a tour to inspire. Day 1 – London / Kuala Lumpur / Kuching You’ll find details of your flight to Kuching, via Kuala Lumpur, in your voucher booklet. Your tour manager will meet you at the Malaysia Airlines check-in desk at London Heathrow Airport, Terminal 4. If you’ve got a connecting flight from a domestic airport, your tour manager will meet you at the Malaysia Airlines check-in desk at Heathrow Airport or on the plane. Overnight in the air. Day 2 – Kuching After landing at Kuching Airport, you’ll be transferred to your hotel for a two-night stay. This afternoon we begin to explore Kuching and its beautiful waterfront, with buildings dating back to the days of the first White Rajah of Sarawak. We pass ornate Chinese temples, colourful markets and street vendors selling their wares before stopping at the fascinating Sarawak Museum. The excellent collection of Bornean ethnological and archaeological artefacts housed here is reputed to be the best in south-east Asia. Your tour manager will let you know your wake-up time each day as well as the times of all tours and departures. Overnight in Kuching. 5 Venture Into Borneo:Venture Into Borneo 6/1/12 15:38 Page 9 Day 3 – Kuching Breakfast (included) Today is free for you to discover the delights of Kuching for yourself. Perhaps browse the bustling market stalls, selling everything from handmade arts and crafts to Chinese herbal remedies and colourful spices, or admire the city’s beautiful temples and mosques. Your accommodation in Batang Ai can only be reached by boat, so make sure you pack an overnight bag with everything you’ll need for two nights, since there’s limited space on board. Your main luggage will be kept at Kuching and transferred to the airport for your flight to Kota Kinabalu on Day 6. Overnight in Kuching. Day 4 – Kuching / Batang Ai Breakfast and lunch (included) We leave the city streets behind today as we head inland, through beautiful countryside, to Serian. Sit back and take in the sight of rural Sarawak as we drive past cocoa plantations and pepper gardens, and on arrival in Serian, head for the market-place where you’ll gain a real insight into local life. After meeting the locals we continue our journey by coach to Batang Ai. On arrival we climb aboard our boat at the jetty and continue to the Batang Ai Longhouse Resort for a two-night stay. Overnight in Batang Ai. Day 5 – Batang Ai National Park Breakfast and lunch (included) We start our adventure by longboat today, sailing along the Ai River to Batang Ai National Park to the Delok Longhouse.