My backpacking adventures in Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia for 23 days (3 weeks).

I started my trip in Borneo Island, where I went island hopping in the Sabah state of East Malaysia and explored the tiny country of Brunei. Then, a flight to Indonesia took me to Java Island, where I spent the next two weeks walking along historic streets, temples, and volcanoes. Finally, the last leg of my trip was spent in Kuala Lumpur and Penang Island of Peninsular Malaysia.

It was my first time to travel more “long-term” around South East Asia. Previously, I’ve only gone on shorter trips, spanning less than a week (in Hong Kong-Macau, Singapore-Malaysia, and Thailand-Cambodia).

I was a bit anxious traveling that long around unfamiliar places, especially because I was going solo the entire time. So, I did some online research and made a detailed itinerary before leaving.

This trip was like my “backpacking training / boot camp” to prepare myself for even longer trips I was planning in the coming months.

Itinerary Rundown

DestinationsDetails
Day 1 to 5
  • Borneo Island
  • Clark to Kota Kinabalu Flight
  • In and Around Kota Kinabalu
  • In and Around Brunei
Day 5 to 18
  • Java Island
  • Kota Kinabalu to Jakarta Flight
  • In and Around Jakarta
  • Jakarta to Yogyakarta Flight
  • In and Around Yogyakarta
  • In and Around Mount Bromo
  • In and Around East Java
Day 3
  • Peninsular Malaysia
  • Surabaya to Kuala Lumpur Flight
  • In and Around Georgetown
  • In and Around Kuala Lumpur

Trip Date — March 2012

Route Map