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We were not expecting to have to pay for entertainment on a seven-hour flight on Fly Dubai, which offered very limited service in cramped conditions.
My only criticism is that the DAF team should have had better info about Singapore Airlines A380 business class seating, which is seriously awful and frankly a disgrace for the money.
We have been looked after by Kylie for over 25 years. Simple or complicated travel, she has always helped to craft our holidays beautifully
Jade Williams who planned our trip was amazing, friendly and very professional.
Everything worked to plan - lovely hotels and transfers excellent. Weather in Langkawi was disappointing but that’s nothing you could Influence!
Everything worked out perfectly for our twin centre trip to Malaysia, from flights, all transfers to resorts and airports. Holiday overall was great including both hotels. Would definitely go again. Thanks to all at DialAFlight.
Everything went smoothly, very impressed with Arthur's communication. It was our first time using your company but won't be the last.
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Great trip and well done Ashley and Alex for all your help, would recommend and book again through DialAFlight.
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Fantastic people to book with. You speak to an actual person and they don't mind you asking silly questions. Also much cheaper than going to travel agents. Great to deal with and will definitely use again.
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Very impressed with the service and attentiveness from Marco and the team. We had a great trip with the reassurance of support if needed. Well done!
First Class Service as always - thanks Finn
Ross was brilliant in every way. We have already booked again with DialAFlight.
A good deal
Saf Patel - brilliant!
Been using Stuart for over 10 years and I would never change him! Great support, reliable, friendly and always an outstanding 12 out of 10 service!
Fantastic service! Always keeping me updated and fully informed. I felt that Amelia was on holiday with us, making sure that we had the best possible experience at all times! Thank you so much
The visa entry form on arrival at Singapore is lengthy and not easy to complete on a phone. Why not advise clients in advance of the need to complete AND that it has to be completed every time you enter the country?
Everything worked out well and it was nice to receive emails from DialAFlight just to confirm everything was on track
Really great holiday and Jonathan has been very helpful throughout
Great job Vinnie! A fantastic trip brilliantly organised by DialAFlight!
Robert organised everything for a special birthday present for my husband. I gave an idea of which hotels and places we'd like to visit and Robert came back with amazing itinerary and price. Kept up to date on every aspect even when away. Service and support is outstanding and highly recommend using DialAFlight.
Excellent, personalised service.
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As usual Stacey was fantastic. Another unforgettable holiday!
Everything worked like clockwork
You are the best - that’s why we keep coming back for all our holiday needs.
Overall our flights and holiday were excellent. The arrangements for transfers put into place by DialAFlight took place without a hitch and the drivers were professional. The only change I would have made was our hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The Ritz Carlton is very much in the business district of the city and consequently taxis were needed to visit the various places of interest. Whilst taxis are very inexpensive in KL the traffic is congested most of the time! However, an excellent holiday and we will be booking again with DialAFlight
The morning’s topic of conversation has turned to the strangler fig. The parasite in question stands there tall, defiant, wrapping its sinuous energy around the ironwood tree which has found itself the choking focus of its attention.
Five yards away, Irshad Mobarak breathes deeply and prepares to play devil’s advocate. 'In the business world, this would be fully understood,' he muses, arm extended, tracing the long shape of the arboreal aggressor to his left. 'Just think of it as a hostile takeover.'
A powerfully built man, well over 6ft, he says these words with a composure that is impressive for two reasons. The first is that, directly behind him, a five-star resort swimming pool shines in the 10am daylight, the sun-worshippers around its fringes listening as they lie on loungers. The second is that one of Britain’s most fabled botanists is his main partner in this discourse. David Bellamy nods quietly as Mobarak speaks. He knows this stuff, of course – but he's happy to hear it from a fellow expert.
'The strangler fig has a terrible image problem,' Mobarak continues. 'It can take up to half a century to kill its host. Yet it has a positive effect. It only picks on trees which are past their best, which are going to die. The death brings nutrients and renewal which benefit the surrounding ecosystem.'
This might seem an odd topic for just after breakfast on a warm Friday in a luxury hotel. But then, the Datai is no ordinary hideaway. It is slotted into thick foliage on the north-west corner of Pulau Langkawi - the tropical island in the north-west corner of Malaysia.
This is Bellamy's second visit to the Datai, having stayed 13 years ago when he was a speaker on conservation at the 2002 Asia Pacific Ecotourism Conference (Apeco). The two men forged an immediate connection – and Mobarak was meeting his hero.
'I grew up watching David on television,' he grins. 'I was weaned on his shows. When I was nine, my father asked me what I wanted to be. I recall pointing at the TV and saying "I want to be like him". His enthusiasm was infectious.'
Now 82, Bellamy still looks at nature around him with a fascinated eye and the jungle still holds great allure for him.
He is staying at the Datai with Rosemary, his wife of 55 years. Mobarak has been The Datai’s resident nature expert since it opened in 1993. The resort revels in creature comforts – 125 rooms, villas and suites; a small spa near the beach of powdery white sand; four enticing restaurants, including The Dining Room, where miso-glazed black cod is served under the tutelage of executive chef Richard Millar; and the Naga Pelangi, a grand wooden schooner, anchored and ready to take guests on genteel cruises in search of orangeade sunsets.
Mobarak's nature walks are popular and informative. An evening amble with the Bellamys has barely started before Mobarak spots a local character. The colugo is an odd beast – a winged mammal which seems to be a close relation of the bat, but is nearer in genetics to the primate clan.
Camouflaged against a tree trunk, she suddenly - Mobarak can even tell the gender - switches from stillness to motion, racing up the bark before spreading her wings and gliding some 50ft down to the next cluster of branches. 'I’ve only ever seen these animals in books,' Bellamy admits, with a broad smile.
On verdant Langkawi there are options for exploration further afield.
Mobarak joins the Bellamys for a voyage along the Kilim River, chattering with his childhood hero about the cycads – fern-like plants so old that dinosaurs used to eat them – that hang on the rock walls here, and the crab-eating macaques which dart down to the water to grab crustaceans. Above, a pair of white-bellied sea eagles swoop and soar.
The day’s crowning episode is saved for last. Gunung Raya rears up at the heart of Langkawi – a 2,890ft granite bluff, 204 million years old. Its peak is a fine spot from which to watch the sun go down, when some of its bird population are at their most active.
And so it proves, midway up the mountain. Mobarak calls the car to a halt and beckons its passengers on to the roadside verge. A group of great hornbills – brightly exotic birds, with extravagantly curved bills, common and colourful inhabitants of the Malaysian heavens – has gathered in the canopy.
As the light starts to slip, they take off one by one from their perches, floating without any perceptible effort across to a meranti tree with ripe fruit. There they dine amid a whoosh of wings as the entire flock flutters in.
On the ground, the two naturalists stare at the scene in raptures.
First published in the Mail Online - January 2016
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