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Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion in Penang has been faithfully restored to its former glory. It has a responsible attitude towards the environment and has limited facilities as a result. You are encouraged to sample the fabulous local food at nearby restaurants as the mansion is only equipped to provide guests with breakfast.
Penang National Park has a strong environmental awareness and is among Malaysia's least visited national parks. It provides research and learning opportunities for scientists, conservation students, local people and visitors to the region. The mangrove tour introduces you to a thriving ecosystem where local communities are encouraged to take a responsible and sustainable attitude towards their environment. Your visit provides employment for local people as well as introducing you local conservation concerns and practices.
Bako National Park is a small, coastal, mangrove forest well known for its conservation and education work and is one of the best places in the state to see proboscis and other rare monkeys as well as an array of colourful birdlife.
The longhouse that you will stay at near Batang Ai used to house over sixty families, unfortunately a fire altered their lives forever. The community had to split into three groups as a result they receive very little support from the authorities. The community relies on tourism as a way of maintaining their age-old customs and traditions. Visitors to the longhouse provide employment opportunities for a significant number of the community and the chance to share their cultural history and delicious food. Just visiting one of Sarawak's Iban communities positively contributes to their economy and enables these diverse and vibrant people to continue their traditional way of life. Each family will line up to show you the handicrafts that they had made, and the purchase a few items allows these expressions of tribal identity to survive indefinitely.
Semenggok Orang-utan Rehabilitation Centre is run by the Forestry Commission and provides a safe-haven for orphaned orang-utans as well as those illegally kept in captivity. The primary focus of the centre is to educate visitors and local people about the plight of wild orang-utans.
You will spend a night at the Batang Ai Hilton, despite being just one hotel in an international chain, it has a refreshing approach to the environment and local culture. The resort provides employment for a large number of local people who may otherwise have left their communities as soon as they completed their education and moved to the city.
The Elephant Sanctuary at Kuala Gandah is home to the Elephant Relocation Team responsible for relocating wild elephants from areas where their habitat has been encroached by human activity to other suitable habitats. The centre houses a small number of former working elephants, who are retrained to assist in the relocation programme. A visit to the centre is not only educational but your entrance fee is used to continually improve the facilities for research and development.
Our guides are all employed locally and have a passion for their homeland and a desire to share their cultural heritage with visitors. Using local guides provides employment opportunities.
The directors of this company went to university together and met up again when they were travelling. They started doing tours to Vietnam in 1996 and were so successful that they expanded to many other destinations. Their company now employs 170 well-travelled staff who can advise customers on how to put together the perfect itinerary. They share the same no-nonsense, honest approach and ensure anyone who travels makes the best use of their time and budget. The amount of research that goes into these trips means you get to see the slightly quirkier places and can travel at your own pace.
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