A letter of appeal (chos!) at CouchSurfing for the great CSers at the Kota Kinabalu group. I hope they’ll respond soon as I am really, really overwhelmed with the information I’m getting. I am dreaming about traveling for many nights now! Anyway, here goes:

Hello guys!

I’m Gera, a (super) newbie CS member (I guess I can’t own up to being a couch surfer yet) from Manila, Philippines.

As said in the message title, I would be backpacking (solo, though I might meet up with other Filipinos, whom I have also never met, traveling through my supposed route) through South East Asia come October 1 (I think) right after my current project ends (on September 30).

I haven’t booked my ticket getting out of the Phil yet but I’m going back via Ho Chi Minh on October 28. I still don’t have a fixed itinerary as I am overwhelmed with the tons of things to do, places to see and food to try in our beloved region/continent.

I am planning to start at Kota Kinabalu and on to Brunei before I head to Singapore. I think this much is definite (even though somebody advised me to drop Sabah/Borneo and fly to Jakarta instead) but what comes next, I can’t be sure yet.

Anyway, I would like to ask your help in making an itinerary at least for the KK-Brunei leg (or even the rest of the way to Ho Chi Minh if you can!) as I believe you are the best sources of information. So, if you can help me out, I would really super appreciate it!

Details:
Accommodation – I don’t mind staying in hostels so long as its separate between boys and girls.
Couch Surf – I am really new to the idea and I am really open to it, whether you would like to share your couch or just meet up for coffee or send me a true and practical
Sabah guide map. 😀

Food – I eat almost anything. And I want to try authentic Malay dishes (didn’t get the chance at KL last year). I might be allergic to some seafood but it can be contained with the right amount of soda or anti-allergy meds. (sometimes I think it’s just psychological as I did not take an actual test) I usually just say, Enjoy now, Suffer later. haha. Oh, I succumb to hot dishes. I’ve never really liked eating spicy foods. I dunno why.

Activities – I would like to experience a real mountain climb but I may not be very physically fit for that just yet. I’ve never dived but people say it’s a great experience so I’m open to trying it. Sight-seeing is a-ok as I would like to get a feel of culture and history too! If possible, I would also like to try other extreme adventure or thrilling activities.

Transport – I’ve read some information but I get confused about it too, especially going to Brunei and maybe back to KK as I might take my Sg flight from there (is AirAsia the cheapest airline KK-Sg?).

People – the more the merrier. I would like to experience the world through other people so getting to meet new ones is definitely one of the things I look forward to!

Number of days – how many days do you think I should allot? I think I should be in Sg by October 8 since the two Filipinos I might be meeting will be there by then too.

Over-all budget – this one I have not much idea yet. But since it’s my first leg, I don’t wanna splurge so much. But I do know and understand that activities like diving might be very expensive so I have not set limitations yet. I would like to survive and experience things in the cheapest way possible though. 😀

I really appreciate you guys taking the time to read the post and hopefully replying. i hope I can experience CS and what it takes to be a CSer in the best way possible like I feel all of you are doing right now.

Again, maraming salamat po!

Gera

PS
For more infor about me beyond the profile, you can check my blog at thealumnidiary.wordpress.com or my “wanna-be-travel-blog” theadwanders.wordpress.com (this one I made just last Sunday!).