To our valued partners and friends,
We've just reached the halfway mark into the first quarter of 2024! After an excellent close to 2023, our team hit the ground running last January as we received an abundance of bookings and hopped on back-to-back assignments on the road. Last week, we celebrated the turn of the New Lunar Year, which has only kept our teams energized and motivated to achieve and deliver more!
Throughout the years, DTH Travel Malaysia has forged strong relationships with local communities, and it is our goal to share more of these with you this year. We want to create products that open doors for explorers, and invite your guests to gain a personal experience of the rich tapestry of traditions found in the various corners of our country.
We take our first step in this month's newsletter: after months of collaboration with local partners, we are proud to present our latest products on Borneo. Here we feature the Dusun village in Sayap and the Dayak village in the Ulu Bengoh area, both of which are aerial villages which immediately take guests above the clouds, guaranteeing magnificent landscape views. But more than the jaw-dropping vistas and forest bathing treks, these roundtrips are sure to leave guests with newfound friends and heartfelt interactions with some of the warmest and kindest people of Malaysia.
We're very excited to embark on this new year with you! We continue to push our creative juices together with our local partners to craft memorable and magical experiences for you and your clients to discover.
Very truly yours,
Renee
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Product Updates: Spotlight on Borneo |
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3-Day Sayap Village Experience
While most people visit Borneo with their eyes set on climbing Mount Kinabalu, we invite you to take on a different perspective through the back side of the mountain as we embark on a unique nature tour done through the eyes of its locals. Here we head to Kampung Sayap, located just outside of the Kinabalu National Park and nestled at an elevation of 1,000 meters above sea level, where the Dusun village lives. Our homestay program allows guests to participate in their daily routines such as farming, cooking traditional dishes, and basking in the gifts of nature in their leisure time, forming an intimate and symbiotic relationship with the surrounding forest. Nature lovers are sure to enjoy the trek to the Aura Montoria, known as one of the Hidden Wonders of Sayap, which passes through rubber plantations, ancient trees, hidden waterfalls and caves, while a hike up Prayer Hill rewards adventurers with stunning views of the valley below.
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Ngepuh Hide-it-Out!
After taking off from Kuching, guests take a boat ride to reach the Ulu Bengoh area to meet the Bidayuhs, one of Borneo's ethnic groups known as the "inhabitants of land". We find our way through the rainforest and towards the secluded Ngepuh Lodge, where we will stay. This lodge is initiated and run by the Bidayuh community, as a way of creating a stable source of income while continually staying in Ulu Bengoh to protect their ancestral land. Guests will learn the art of community farming as they harvest rice, pepper, pineapple, and the local durian, and bush craft, as they discover the many benefits of medicinal plants, use natural materials to create tools, go bubu fishing, and cook meals without the use of stoves or pots.
This trip is a prime example of sustainability in tourism, where all activities contribute to the preservation of an ethnic community and the protection of their surrounding nature. The word ngepuh has several meanings in the Bidayuh's native language, and one of them is "Anything is possible!" -- which is precisely the spirit the Bidayuhs had in creating this program, and any visitor's key takeaway at the end of their stay.
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Last month, our teams from our offices in Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, and Kuching gathered in Malacca to celebrate our achievements in 2023, and strategize and align on our collective goals for 2024. We had two days of interactive team building activities and a Retro Malaya themed Gala Dinner, which not only reignited our sense of team spirit, but gave us a renewed sense of inspiration as we create even more magical moments for our clients. We can't wait to share more of these with you in the months to come! |
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