Malaysia...Kuala Lumpa...15th November.

It's a real culture shock to arrive in a country so different to what your used too, the smells, sounds, customs and people, it really hits you. Arriving in Kulala Lumpa I could have been back in London walking around the docklands.....a modern bustling metropolis.....a real mix of cultures, religions it's like a melting pot of everything thats Asia. My first introduction was the airport, so modern and organised...all the signs were in English...I jumped on a train from the terminal to central Kuala Lumpa...(.now written as KL to save my poor little fingers..;-)) a 30 minute ride with no hassle or haggling...or stuck in traffic.......Arriving in 'Sentral station'....(not a spelling mistake...for once ..thats how they spell it) it was an endless maze of people getting connections either on the metro, transit or monorail.....along the way as I searched for the monorail platform there was Kentucky fried chicken...McDonalds...Burgerking...Nando's....To celebrate my arrival....and pops will kill me..;-) I had a rice free McDonalds....the menus were all in English, the people spoke English...I still couldn't shake off the thought that I'd some how landed back in London...I found the monorail and worked out...(rather badly) that if I get off at the next stop I'd be at the hotel...I'm staying in Brickfields...also known as little India....look out curry shops...;-)...Anyway the monorail came I got on, bags and all....and scooted over KL about 20 ft from the ground.....great looking out at the city below...We arrived at my stop...I got off down the stairs and was hit by the heat and humidity...up until now I'd been in airconditioned enviroments...sweating like Ive just got out the shower I headed towards the hotel.....summer view it was called. I did find it after a five minute walk, but also noticed the 'sentral terminal' I left first was next to the hotel....silly sod. Oh well a good learning curve....I checked in, got a shower...had another as I was sweating finding the aircon....than went out for an explore. 

Straight away I found a laundry...run by deaf people....I didn't know until later....(never sneak up on them!!...)..I got my washing in anyway. Next I found a pharmacy...I caught abit of a cold, I'm sure it was the aircon buses from Myanmar...my throat was killing.....fearing another 'Blue Tablet' incident like Cambodia I was relieved to find the lady spoke better English than me....(not hard I know...innit...;-)) she gave me a few packets of tablets...and reassured me nothing would get bigger or fall off....Next I went to sentral station, its in a massive shopping mall....8 floors high with every shop you can imagine...the top floor was a parade of resturants...and a starbucks...I got a cuppa and sat down and got chatting to two Americans, a father and son, they were heading to Myanmar so asked all about it, they gave me some tips on things to see local here as well. I'm planning to see the Petronas twin towers...China town...the old colonial square and eat myself silly with non rice food....With that plan I headed back to the hotel....it was a long day and I can have a good ol wander round tomorrow. 

KL walk abouts......

Next morning I was up and out, I got the monorail to Imbi...only cost 50p...bargin. Got off and walked along the skybridge to the twin towers. Now I didn't know what they are, just that they were once the tallest building in the world and an Icon of KL....now they are just the highest TWIN buildings in the world???? but impressive non the less...I walked upto them and around them taking photos.( the place was crawling with police and military. The Paris attack has just happened..poor sods so I assumed it was to counter any threats but its the asia summit here in a few days with Obama and the Chinese Prem etc...) ...eventually I went inside....it was another shopping mall....even bigger than the last one....it was airconditioned so I got a cuppa in starbucks and watched the crowds. There's alot of Chinese here, all shopping...taking selfies...walking as slow as they can infront of you....there's also a big expat community, I saw Europeans, Americans all over. I had another wander about outside, avoiding the hawkers trying to sell you Iphones out of a bag....they were everywhere!!. It was still hot and humid, but now it was absolutley chucking it down.....Monsoon season!! thundering and lightning like it was the apocolyps...I decided it was time to head back. That's when I stumbled upon an Irish bar....an Irish bar in the middle of KL....it was like a mirage....an oasis...so I had a real Guiness to celebrate....washed down with a Guiness and steak pie...the rains were sent for a reason...;-)...It was gorgeous..The owner an Irish bloke came out and chatted, a really nice bloke, they do roast dinners on a Sunday.....i'm coming back!! I got back eventually and collapsed on the bed watching the BBC news....woke up an hour or so later..well I did have half a Guiness earlier...;-) It was still raining outside so I'll go to China town and the colonial square tomorrow. 

China town is like any other really. Tacky shops....smelly shops...food places...fake goods..and people everywhere...it was like being back in Beijing...I didn't last long there, I wanted to scream at the people shuffling infront that 'if you do pigeon steps ...one foot infront of the other you can walk even slower!!!!!'....luckily the old colonial square is around the corner. Malaysia got it's indipendance in 1957 from the UK, and in the old cricket ground...(how colonial could that be??) they erected a massive flag pole, the cricket ground is still there with gardens and English sounding names....a Mosque rang out the call to prayer opposite...i felt like I was no longer in London.......I lived in Qatar a few years ago now....and memories came flooding back...it's a real mash of cultures here. 

I do like KL, but it's not got the same cultural and old world feel like Vietnam and myanmar...it's really modern, familiar, fresh and an excellent place to recharge the batteries, but I've decided to go to the Island of Borneo, it's supposed to be abit more to my liking, old world, and traditional cultures like the 'headhunters'....'Sarawak people'....plus the nature there is second to none. I booked a flight online with AirAsia, cost me £35 one way...to Kuching, i'll spend a week or so there and head upto Brunei then to the Mountains and national parks up there. I did see my first hint of Christmas today. I loose track of the dates...it's Christmas in a month....One of the shopping malls here was decorated floor to ceiling in Christmas trees and fairy lights...must start doing my Christmas cards....

Kuching, Sarawak. Borneo.......20th November

The flight over was only an hour or so, it soon went. We touched down over jungles and rivers....I like this place already. The airport was really small, I got through no problem. I got a hostel in the downtown area, right on the river, it's really quiet, but it is out of season now, the plus side is everything is cheaper....the downside a few things are shut, theres not many travellers, you sweat till your wet.....and if your not wet enough it rains on you... The room i'm in is like a cell, it's clean enough don't get me wrong, but just a bed in a small room...it's a shared bathroom but ive not seen anyone else here yet....and for £7 a night a bargin! I had a walk along the river, it's quite nice, across the river is a big ol wierd building thats the parliment building, behind that is the old fort from our colonial past....there's little stalls selling local crafts by the Sarawak people, buskers, and little restuarants....I arranged to go to an Orangutang sanctury tomorrow at 8am, but will have to make my own arrangements to go to the Bako national park the next day. How hard can it be????? The     Orangutang sanctury was out of town but it was a minibus and a few other westerners were on there so all good. we got to the park, and told to leave our waterbottles and sticks in the van as it will scare them....by this time there was a load more tourists arriving...we all got ushered along to a jungle track and eventually a viewing platform...a bloke was calling the apes to come for dinner while we all waited, it wasn't what i was expecting but in for a penny in for a pound. After about 20 minutes still no shows..the little gits were hiding.....then one of the rangers told us to follow him as they had been spotted up this track. We did see one of the big males in the trees but the others were all hiding...I couldn't get any photos as he was amongst the trees...but it was nice to see them in there own habitat, and i'm sure i'll see more along the way. We headed back to Kuching, it's a big ol city really I didn't realise, where i'm staying it's old and colonial looking, now i see sky rises and estates....there's alot of people who live here. In the evening I took a stroll along the river again and saw a local doing a boat trip up the river, it was about 5pm so I may get a sunset over Kuching. On the boat was around 10 locals, I got chatting to a young couple, he's been to London a couple of times he explained about the culture and sarawak...a nice bloke, it rounded off a lovely day. 

Bako national park.....Sarawak,Borneo.

Travelling in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and the rest of Asia, you get used to tours or excursions being the norm, orgnised trips which you pay to be taken to the sights with a guide or what ever. I'm making my way today on a public bus to the Bako national reserve. it costs 3.80 ringets one way....50p...it takes an hour, I waited at the bus stop with the locals, not really knowing what bus number 1 looked like....but sure enough on the dot it arrived with Bako park 1 on the front....happy days...I got on and had to stand for about 10 minutes before someone eventually got off....there was about 5 other westeners on the bus, I assume they are going to Bako as well. We did make it there, and it was well signposted "welcome to Bako national park"...You payed to go into the park, then to get a boat to take you there...another 20 ringets.....and you know when your in the wilds when a big sign on the jetty tells you "BEWARE OF THE ALLIGATORS"....'no swimming for me!!!'....😲....We raced off into the South China sea....around the headland to the park. it resembled something off a castaway film...absolutley gorgeous it was. We got off and registered at the office, then got a map of the different tracks....As I was walking up the track there was these trees with thorns...and I mean THORNs....all the way up....not the type of tree you'd want to climb....apparently they make the darts for the blowpipes out of these...(I'd just wack them with a tree!!! ;-)) Just as I was looking at this tree.....and doing a video, a family of monkeys appeared in a clump of trees opposite...so great seeing them wild. I took the trail closest to the shore, it was marked out, thick jungle either side of you so you couldn't stray...I hope. It was bloody hot....humid as hell and I was sweating buckets, I kept hearing noises, I was the only one on this track, most unnerving.....my heart skipped a beat everytime I saw what I though was a snake....just tree roots....all the time I was looking up to see if I could see any of these long nose monkeys....think they were having a party somewhere else, I didn't see anything...but it was great being in a jungle, walking along.....eat that Bear Gryls...I didn't see any head hunters....no blowpipe wielding locals....no more wildlife...but really enjoyed it. I headed back to catch the last boat back, reached the town again and waited for the bus number one back to Kuching....what a day. 

Kuching chill out day......

Today I sit here in Starbucks, I've had a lay in, done my washing...got some brunch...then took a wander up here. I'm joined by two girls from Nottingham I met the other day, travelling around Asia like me....nice having a chat and a laugh.... it's my 4th cup of tea....my third trip to the toilet...but I've at least started this blog for Malaysia. This is my 4th day in Borneo, I've got a flight booked for Miri tomorrow, if I went by boat and bus it would be over 20 hrs...sod that!!...a flight is an hour...good ol AirAsia....£30...Miri is another city in Sarawak, it has national parks, caves, and indiginous tribes called the headhunters....and I don't mean they employ people....:-) It's also 3 hours away from Brunei another country which I will hopefully have a little wander around, I've not done much back ground reading on the place, it's small.....rich...and on the way....I've enjoyed Borneo so far, it's wild but tamed, has more jungle and rainforest you can shake a stick at, a world heratige site...wildlife and real adventure.....Reading up on Miri there's not a great deal to see or do there in the town itself, but there is a couple of reserves nearby but I've decided to go to Mulu, which is world renown for the largest caves in the world....that's it folks I'm going to THE Batcave!!! ;-) It is a flight into the rainforest, I though it would be expensive but looking online I can go Malaysian air for 40 quid return.....not sure if the reputation of Malaysian air has influenced the price.....but i'm sure they cant get lost or run into trouble on a thirty minute flight over jungle...:-O...just don't tell mom...;-)...

Miri...Sarawak, Borneo.....

I got a taxi to the airport, checked in and sat in the departures. It's a small airport compared to Alicante or Heathrow....but organised. You self check in for domestic flights....get your boarding card then check your bag in.....for some reason mine fluctuates from 20KGs to 17KGs..every flight i take....I don't really add anything or discard anything, bizarre...I went through the screening....passport check...and waited...It looked like a full flight, I was the only westener...think I've got used to that now. We were a little late but was soon airborne, I got a snack and a drink...and before you knew it was beginning the approach....there was hell of a storm outside...:-O.but landed no problem.....I got through the baggage claim with my bag, always a winner....and was waved through customs...I was going to a hostel called Dillena's..I got a single room, but shared bathroom, I've got my Longjii so all good..I love my longjii....wish I got another one now...completely covered..very discreet and you don't unexpectedly dangle for anyones delight..;-)....Mrs Lee was really welcoming, the place was clean....spotless...and there was free tea all day and all night...PERFIC..:-)..I went upstairs with all my bags and boots under my arms...it's a thing over here that you have to take your shoes off entering peoples houses...don't ask me why? it's a cultural thing...

Taking a wander around it was as expected...very commercial...very Chinese...not that interesting..I did however spot a 7 eleven....bought my chocolate fix for the next two days...( which only lasted the one night again...;-)..) a box of cereal, some milk.and a bar of soap..(last of the big spenders huh)...I found a restaurant that does Malay, chicken and potato curry...so lovely...Now fed watered and chocolate fix...I booked my ticket to Mulu reserve, sorted out a dorm bed in the park for 2 nights...I'll be living amongst the wildlife.....but lets face it after countless seasons of living with reps in Europe It will be a welcome change...;-)...kidding....honest...;-)...Mrs lee said she would store my backpack while I was gone, didn't fancy lugging that around, so I'd only be taking my camera bag, and some bits for the two nights...(Longjii included...;-)) It's difficult to know what to exactly pack....I can't take my big knife as everything will be cabin baggage...won't be doing my Bear Gryls impressions then...I won't be wearing shorts...have you seen the creepy crawlies???? Leaches are supposed to be a big problem there...insects...mozzis...and thats just the little things that will annoy you.....later I would add to my list of things that will KILL you, to;... trees....yes killer trees...local wildlife....drunk headhunters with a blow pipe...and wild animals....maybe I should pack anothr pair of underpants????

Next morning I was up and on my way back to the airport...think I live in airports now. It was only a little plane, turbo prop...and there was about 10 of us ...mostly westerners for once...We took off, and a half hour later was landing again....in one piece....not lost...always a bonus...see mom...all in one piece...;-).. The airport was small....and I mean small!!!...no security...just off the plane ...through the doors and a jungle (or rainforest should I say infront of you)...you really knew you was in the middle of knowhere at that point....maybe I should have packed more undies??. A lady was waiting outside with a sign to say 'taxi to Mulu park....5 Ringitts'....I didn't really know how far it was so jumped in a beat up ol 4x4...think I was in the car 2 minutes...next time I'll walk!..The entrance to the park was across a big rope bridge...and a jungle all around, you heard the noises of birds, monkeys, frogs, lizards...insects...it was amazing....like being in a tarzan film.....it got less amazing at night when the little gits wouldn't shut up and you never really got too much sleep!!!....but for now it was amazing. I registered at the park rangers office got a list of do's and dont's, then got my dorm bed. It was in a 20 bed dorm but only 10 beds were occupied...it was clean, on stilts...a traditional 'Longhouse', big mozzi nets at the windows, I liked it...(mom wouldn't)..you got your own locker....clean bedding...and the showers were hot. Mulu park is a world heratige site, so had abit of money pumped into it....the little village outside was a few houses some as homestays and restaurants and that was it..they all seem to live off the incoming tourists. Two tribes live in the area....the Penang is the main one...they used to war with the other tribes, and collect the heads of the enemies....nice bunch :-|...hence the name.. 'headhunters'....I will be going to a village by boat the next day to meet the Penang and get to have a go with a real blow pipe.....HOWCOOL IS THAT!!!!..just hope I don't shoot anyone by mistake....or I may be loosing my head..I booked a night walk for that evening, (some treks and excursions you have to book a guide which is fair enough) I did a little trail on my own before the sun went down, the trails are well layed out and marked so no chance of getting lost, I didn't see any wildlife, just a few bugs, spiders....weird and wonderful trees...but enjoyed it....there was me walking in the middle of a rainforest in Borneo.....no one would hear me scream..!!!:-O....I got back safe enough...phew... the resturant closes at 8:30pm and I would still be on my night walk so I grabbed some dinner and went to get ready...It was already dark, pitch black except for the lights of the longhouse and other buildings...the noise of the jungle was even louder....

I met up with the guides....two of them...one at the back and one at the front...at least there's no chance of me being the last man....we all know what happens to the last man in the movies..;-)...there was 4 westerners as well..if I stay in the middle of them it's win win....We set of, headlamps on....bum flapping...they said we had a chance to see all kinds of spiders, and bugs....sleeping birds...snakes....and possibly a mammal or two...it will be around a 1.5k trek...the noise was like a rave....anything that could make a noise was making a noise...and i'm sure if they couldn't make a noise they were banging something!!...confident that there was lights infront and behind still I started to relax, we would stop every so often as a bug was spotted...the biggest beatles you ever did see...a scorpion...spiders...millipeads over 6 inches....we see our first sleeping bird...how anything could sleep with all this racket i'll never know and would soon find out! there it was on the end of a branch sound asleep...bless him...Resisting the urge to put my head to his and scream " THERES A SNAKE!!!"....now that just wouldn't be right....;-)...don't ask me what bird it was....probebly something like the 'yellow bellied deaf, narcolepsy Borneo tit'......We moved on, seeing more sleeping birds....then a long tailed porqupine in the undergrowth, slugs...snails ...I really enjoyed it...thankfully no snakes. As we neared the end of the trek, the heavens opened so we headed back to the camp, luckily I had my poncho...I know why they call it a rain forest! I went back to the dorm and met my fellow bunkies....a couple of girls from Germany a Malaysian guy and two Polish...I had a shower and turned in...

Next morning I was up bright and early...I had a guided trek with a local to the Penang village by boat, then to the wind cave and clearwater caves....so excited. We got a free breakfast, and it wasn't rice based. I had a cuppa...or two ......and Muesli.....yes muesli...I love this place!!!! The rest of the group turned up, a few local Malay families so lovely, a Danish guy, two Kiwis and a family from Singapore I met in the hostel in Miri....we got in the boats, more of a motorised canoe and took off down the river...we reached the village after about 10 minutes...all the houses were on stilts, and everyone going about there daily business, one old boy was sitting there a traditional Penang elder....his ears were just big holes...beads around his kneck and a loin cloth...hence i got some photos...I did ask him...(through fear of getting a blow pipe welcome really) he was happy enough and smiled as I showed him the photos...I got to actually shoot a blow pipe...it was a target....nothing living....( wouldn't want to show them up...;-)) it was great fun, I did take a video ....lucky people you....I hit the target...just...didn't cause any damage around me or accidently shoot the chiefs wife with a dart....so escaped with my head....don't think they'll be taking me on any hunting expeditions though....After an hour or so we were back on the boat heading up river to wind cave...and then clear water cave.....they were impressive...Wind cave so named because its a breezy cave caused by the stalligtights....and clearwater cave as the waters running through it are ....well clear...They were big....long passages...and impressive.

Next we went to Deer cave.....now deer cave is the biggest cave in the world....and it is BIG.....you could fit a jumbo jet down it....it went for miles...was pitch black...stank of amonia and bat poop.....and above us was an estimated 3 million bats....THE.... BAT... CAVE.....no Bruce Wayne and Robin in here!!! (the smell would put them of anyway!! reminded me of the Chinese train toilets again!!!)...We went a good 2 klm inside...there was a raised gangway because it does flood abit, and partially lit but even with our head tourches it was still dark...it blew your mind the scale of this place, I did try to take photos but it really was too dark....we came out and was met by the mouth of this cave outside was like the garden of Eden lush green forrest blue skys...and inside black as night and stinking like a toilet on a Chinese train....FYI it's called the deer cave as the Penang used to hunt deer in the caves....now days so many visitors come the deer are elsewhere. What a great day though. It was a long ol day, I was soaked from just sweating, so so humid here....we all sat outside the deer cave waiting for the bat feeding frenzy....when 3 million of them swarm out the cave in search of insects...it started to get dark, the heavens opened....to be fair it was the first time today it rained, and still no sign of these bats....It was still a 45 minute walk back to the camp, so I decided to head off before the other groups walked as well...... making noise and stinking of insect repelant....honestly, and they moan they don't see any wild life...it was getting dark I had me poncho and headtourch, the path was easy to spot so I set off....I must admit I wasn't bothered at all, the noise around me of all the animals and that...it got dark quite quickly, the rain had stopped and I started to see the bugs, birds....even saw a snake!!! owz that...not a big one...not trouser wetting stuff..... I soon reached the camp and was buzzing...I went straight to the restuarant and got my chicken and potato curry....chatted to Mel and her parents then headed off to bed......the dorm was almost empty...only me and three girls in there tonight....defo sleeping in me Longjii tonight ...;-) 

Last day Mulu ......28th November..

I didn't sleep very well .....it was like something from the 'jungle book' where every animal must have been out partying!!!!....noisey gets..im used to noisy dorm rooms and hostels, but this lot were really going for it...reckon they were telling each other to shut up! ;-) i'll sleep better once I get back to Miri, but for now I got a shower, had my museli again for breakfast and packed...They let you put your luggage in store here, my flights not until 2:30 so had time for another trek along the botanical trail....only 1.5 klm....I could do that at a leasurly pace get back and walk to the airport and still have plenty of time. The plane came on time...we took off in a rain storm but before you knew it was landing again in Miri...I went back to the same hostel, unpacked...got a bag of washing ready and crashed out...I slept all the way through (no local wildlife or hippies were going to wake me up..) Today I'm having a lazy day, Ive caught up on all the news....my washing is done, had a nice lunch...wrote this blog...and now to sort through my photos....Ive been talking to a few people and decided to head over to Sabah, there's a river called Kinabatangan...it's recommended to see all sorts of wildlife, and you can stay in the park as well....so looking into that now. I'm not sure about Brunei, there's not alot there apparently and each time i ask someone you can see them strain for a positive...there is an option I can get to there from Kota Kinabalu...or KK for short, by boat. Then fly to Singapore maybe from there...we shall see part of the fun of the travel is what happens next...:-)  

Kota Kinabalu. 1st Dec.

Another plane ride and another place, I'm now in Kota Kinabalu, capital of Sabah. Still in Borneo but in the north west. I'm using this place as a stepping stone to get to Sandakan which is near Sepilok Oranugtan sanctuary and the river I was talking about. I couldn't get anything direct from Miri to fly....Air Asia has come up trumps again...th Ryanair of asiabut there's plenty of places to see in and around this city. The airport was alot bigger than I imagined it would be, the city was alot bigger and more modern than I imagined......there's highrises and shopping malls everywhere! gigantic shopping arcades selling anything and everything, big names like H&M etc. Hard to imagine this place was jungle a few years before...bet the ancient spirits of the headhunters are turning in there graves. Gone are the ancient cultures and rituals of tracking and hunting with blowpipe....replaced by mobile phone, selfie taking, Kentucky fried chicken and McDonalds fastfood eating, modern Malaysians.  I got a backpacker hostel called PODs which came highly recommended, it was the centre of town, cheap as chips and had the 24hr tea making facilities which is always a winner..;-) Once I checked in, I went for some dinner, would you believe I actually found an Irish bar again and had steak and kindey pie and mash tatty....bloody lovely! I booked a tour to go and see the Mari Mari cultural village, which was advertised as going back in time to the ancient headhunters. I'll have a piece of that! 

The village itself was very staged, the costumes and locals parading around for the tourists, showing what they eat...(not Kentucky here!) .....and drank in past times...now this was rice wine!!!...I mean rice wine!!! if it isn't bad enough you eat the stuff 24/7 now you drink it! I imagine alot of people lost there heads after a night on the village after drinking that back in the day..probebly cut there own heads off after a hangover from hell!! , also saw how the long houses looked inside....looked better than some of the places i've stayed in to be honest! There was alot of interesting facts about the rituals and way of life. They collected heads from there enemies as a sign of strength and bravery...you had to have heads to get married otherwise the women wouldn't marry you...(sound familiar..;-)) and only the heads of male warriors....you couldn't lope off an whopp the head off the future mother inlaw while her back was turned or nothing like that...there was a bunch of heads hanging over a rice store to ward off the spirits....now if I was the ghost of a warrior who had just lost his head, and it's now hanging above his grain???? I don't know about you but I would pee in the rice...just saying..;-). Then they did a little show for us. It was ok, but nothing to write home about. I did get to have another go with a blowpipe....your all going to think I've got a wierd facination with weapons....bow and arrow in Mongolia, blowpipe in Borneo....M16 Vietnam...'nearly' a rocket launcher in Cambodia.;-) one can never be too careful and preparedness is survival...;'). I was pleased with my effort at the blowpipe anyway...the coconut I hit will walk funny from now on.. still don't think I'll be invited on any war bands.....i'm sure they wouldn't trust me behind them with a blow pipe to be honest. We came back to KK, and I got dropped off. I had a little wander around the market see if I could get any nice photos, it's always a good place in any country...there was a ripe ol smell of rotting fish and veg, at least I hope thats what it was!...your eyes watering...trying to take a photo..the locals seemed oblivious to it, maybe it's just me...I took a few of the market traders selling all their produce....dried salted fish that looked like something out of a zombie film...fruits, veg, etc, before going back to the hostel.

 Next day I headed into a reserve which is home to proboscis monkeys (think that's how you spell it) and local wildlife exclusive to this area. This was a much better day, I saw families of these rare apes which was a real highlight ( before you are warned they are elusive and you may not see any at all). I still didn't get to see my crocs or hornbill but still have another few trips to explore further. We were quite lucky as well as the river wasn't packed with tourists so that helps. The guide with us was telling us they were close by as we headed up the river, each time he said it there was a strong smell of amonia...(funny that huh??)...no wonder they are endangered the dirty gets stink of pee....!! We headed back to the jetty and was given a dinner of Malayan cuisine.....yes rice! chicken curry, and beef....things??, and some veggies. I had a little bit just to show willing, I was planning on another steak and kindey pie when we got back...( well when in Malaysia..;-)) Once we'd eaten, and the mozis's had eaten me! We got back on the boat just as the sun was setting to see the fire flies. Now ive heard of fire flies, but never actually seen them, until now. At first you see a few buzzing about glowing which was pretty great to see, then as the sun set and it was just darker and darker and eventually just pitch black!!....( now to remind you i'm on a croc infested river with more snakes and trees that can kill you in the middle of a rainforest in the middle of now where in the pitch black!!!!...on a piddly little boat with a Bear Gyles wanna be......now, you know why I like to practice with weapons!) Anyway the boat stopped at a clump of trees which was lit up like a Christmas tree....so amazing to see. Each species has a different light show, we moved onto another part of the river and sure enough millions more were bliking away but more faster...the guide Sam, think that was his name...? He was saying how they live over several weeks for this moment to attract a mate and then die...( have they not heard of online dating???) they can produce light out of their arse but cant come up with WiFi???? 

It was lovely to see, (between quick glances at the water for killer crocs, and hanging branches for killer snakes...my heads never moved so much! it was like I was watching 10 different games of tennis at once!) I couldn't take pictures unfortunatly which was gutting it would have made fantastic photos....like something out of the film Avatar....We headed back to the jetty, it will be a long drive back to Kota Kinabalu, over 2 hrs....at least I can rest easy though...It was late getting back and I didn't feel like eating steak pie and mash tattynow, so headed to bed I was bloody knackered. I had a rough ol night I won't lie...not sure if i've finally grown allergic to rice??( is that even possible?) but I was the roommates with the toilet all night...not knowing which end it was coming from next!! not a pretty sight! I felt blluurrr....praying a headhunter would appear to cut me bloody head off and I wouldn't have to taste anything again!!!! or eat bloody rice again! Next day I still felt rough but nothing was left inside....my kidneys and organs went two bathroom trips previous!! I had water so was sipping that all day with some oral hydration salts I carry... eventually im back to normal. After 6 months of travel it was bound to happen....surprised it didn't happen in China but hey.....it's the first time I had anything like that so not to worry....I treated my self to a roast dinner as my first meal after 48 hours of water...( out and in!!) How can I find a sunday roast in the middle of a tropical rainforest you ask????? bet Bear Gyles couldn't do that!...hunters intstinct......hunters instinct....;-) ....TBC......

Kota Kinabalu..on the mend...

After my toilet hugging experience and a couple of days recovering, which meant not venturing too far from any toilet!! I gradually increased this zone from 200 meters to 400, until I was upto going further afield worry free. I got all my clothes washed, cost me 6 Ringets....70 pence, mainly due to the fact I haven't brought alot of clothes, but it is cheap as chips to wash and dry a kilo of laundry. With newly smelling clothes, a new tooth brush, you can imagine the last one was far from germ free after that experience! I was ready to plan the next trip. I'm heading to Sepilok, which is an Orangutan sanctury about 7 hrs from KK. They take care of baby and orphaned Orangutans and reintroduce them to the wild. these poor little things are the victims of the booming Palm oil industry, it breaks your heart when you see them. Anyway, not wanting to chance a bus trip I booked another flight, just to be on the safeside, (wouldn't want me bottom exploding on any 7hr bus trip now would we!?) it's a 45 minute flight, i'm guaranteed to be within 200 meters of a toilet at all times and happy days. I left the city of KK and after a thankfully uneventful flight was soon  in Sandakan. I got a taxi to the sepilok area, pulled up to the place I booked online and was blown away by the scenery, it reminded me of one of those places you see, the British colonials hanging around in films, big terraces, verandas, and jungle all around, best of all it was only a 10 minute walk to the Orangutan sanctuary. I'm staying in a dorm, confident now my body wont produce any more weoponised gases. I liked the layout, it was only a two bed dorm I was in, and it wasn't until next day I was joined by a girl from England ( yep longji stay on time) It was clean but I'm sure mom wouldn't be rushing there even if it did look like "Downtown abbey does Malaysia". I went to the restuarant, it was about 4pm and would be getting dark soon. I sat there and listened to the calls of the jungle, some of the local wildlife would come up close, but it was mainly bugs and mozzis. I ordered dinner, i thought id be adventurous and go for a chicken and potato curry with rice, the curries here are not spicy so it would be like a stew....very healthy. What I got was a chicken curry, no potatos, I told the waiter but he really didn't seem to understand, just kept saying "chicken curry...chicken curry" oh well. Just then the heavens opened with a vengence, hope it clears up by tomorrow. It was a restless night, the storm outside was not letting up but eventually I drifted off. 

Next morning I was up and showered. Included in the price we got a breakfast, boiled eggs, toast on a BBQ...tea, great stuff. I set off towards the Sepilok reserve, armed with me cameras, poncho incase, and a bottle of water. It was quite busy already with cars coming in and this was at 8am, I got my ticket and was told you had to leave your bags and water in a locker, you weren't allowed to take them into the trail or you may be "relieved of them", so off I strolled into the wild. It was abit dissapointing to be on a walkway, but seeing the rainforest floor below it's easy to see why, and there's no way to get lost on here. I walked past a feeding station which was already getting crowded, the feeding time is at 10 so I had abit of time to kill and just kept walking, it was then that I got my first real glimps of an Orangutan not more than 2 meters away from me, so so lovely, it was a young one, really inquisitive as if she was visiting us, a warden came up which turned out to be an English lady, shes been there for a few months and was telling me the Orangutans name was Rosa, she was 2 yrs old, and has a real mischivous character. They all have different personalities, they share 98% of our DNA, and to look at her you could see it was a person. I took some great photos of her before she got bored and swang her way through the trees. What a great start to the day, I went further and saw more, families of monkies, a male orangutan, birds....a spider in a web bigger than my hand. I spent all day there, what a great place. I headed back at closing time eventually, even on the way back to the hotel I saw wildlife. 

Still buzzing from my day I got a shower, and was met by a half naked girl on the next bed, good job I had me Longji on huh?...I went to get some dinner, I'd missed lunch so was starving. I looked at the menu but the selection wasnt that great, so I went for the least greasy fried thing I could. I'll have the chicken and potato curry, again. I saw the 'chef'..( I use the term loosley) through the open door of the kitchen, he had his face in his phone....and didn't take it out for the whole time he was "cooking"...(again I use the term loosley)..my dinner. The rice came out cold, I sent it back. The chicken and potato curry was potato free, when I asked the waiter he said they didn't have any potatos....the rice came back half hot half cold....I just ordered a plate of fruit and had that instead! The place had got busier, a nice atmosphere, especially with the noise of the rainforset around you. I went through my photos of the day, I took over 100, some were no good so deleted them, picked out the ones I liked and put them up on Facebook and the website...you lucky people. I'm getting picked up by mini bus at 13.30 the next day so decided to spend next morning in Sepilok again....I went back to the dorm and again a half naked girl on the bed next to me....it was like the siberian express all over again....I did sleep this time with no thunder and lightning like it was the apocolyps over head tonight, and was up and out early back to sepilok for more of the same, (Kate your going to love it!! My old friend from school...yes I went to school...is going there in January for 8 weeks bless her, no wine and cake here Kate ;-) x) 

Kinabatangan River......

Right on the dot of 1.30pm the mini bus came, it was a two hour trip to Bilit, which is the town on the river Kinabatangan. I'm spending 3 days 2 nights up river in the forest...This is the best place in Borneo to see wild Orangutans, proboscis monkey, and other monkeys, pygmy elephants, crocs....you name it all wild in their natural surroundings. How cool is that!!! We went up river by boat, to the lodge which is home for 2 nights. There is only one other bloke here, Scott American guy, but we will be joined later by some more people from Kuala Lumpa touring the area. It was a great group. Once I settled into my dorm (again I was the only one in there.....starting to get paranoid now..;-)) We headed out by boat up river. I was surprised about the amount of debris in the water, all old trees and branches, each time I thought it was a croc, and I don't mean the shoes! The guide had incredible eyesight, we would be chugging along and all of a sudden he would veer off to the bank and point at the trees....now there was ALOT of trees, I had trouble seeing things and sure enough a family of Proboscis monkeys were up in the canopy. A little further on we saw long tailed monkeys....a little further on a whole colony of Rhesus monkeys....these were amazing, tiny little things with the ego and attitude of a giant!! No lie, we were just off the bank under the tree where they were all screaming and shreiking....next thing branches were coming down...the little gets were throwing things at us!! ( "i'm on your side you little gits!!!!!!")....next thing a branch came down! there must have been a few of them to drag this thing!! vicious little sods! We moved on and saw birds of every description and colour. I was in my element and this was only day 1. We headed back as it was getting dark, the jungle either side of you alive.

Once we got back I had a quick shower, as I was soaked. It's so hot and humid you just are wet through. Dinner was served...which consisted of chicken curry and potato..de ja vu???...this time there was actual potato in there. :-) At 8 I was heading into the rainforest to do a night walk. I thought there would be others but it was only me and the guide...'i'll be at the back!'.(and we all know what happens to people at the back :-0) ..doh. It was still hot and humid even that time of night...and it had just rained so they gave me a pair of wellies..."are these snake/alligator proof"???? he looked at me with a blank look. Oh well, I wore a long sleeve shirt as there was more mozzis than you could shake a stick at...plus what other bugs were out there. It was pitch black! you couldn't see your hand infront of your face. I had a torch, and Sam I think his name was, had a torch as well. I stayed as close as possible to him, my head looking left right up down, moving the torch as I went ....it must have looked like a rave! Sam dissapeared at one point he was only infront of me a moment ago! just then his torch shone at me....phew! he'd spotted two sleeping birds on a branch, I was too busy looking down at the roots, branches (and now I'd got it into my head the man traps left over from the war)!! How sam found his way around i'll never know, it was thick vegetation, no path...real trouser filling stuff! I did crap my self when a moth as big as a bird fluttered around me attracted by my torch, slapping me in the face and kept circling my head again slapping me...fending off this killer moth, arms waving, like a demented katate man, resisting the urge to swear and shout.....;-) Sam came over obviously curious about my mini light show going on...he turned off my torch and the killer giant moth just dissapeared....'hope you fly into a tree you b'rd!!!!" Still shaken, we moved off. I never see any snakes, I did say to Sam if you see any don't tell me or lead me away....I did see bugs, spiders, some nocturnal mamal...(the name eludes me), killer face slapping moths...but alas no pygmy elephants or crocs....maybe next time. We got back safe and sound, I still had all my limbs so win win...I grabbed another shower as I was wet through, I washed my stuff in the sink it was caked in mud and to my amazment leeches!!! I've never seen leeches before, I thought they were like slugs but these were long things and moved by sommersaulting ...wierd things...anyway I picked them off and flushed them down the sink, I rinced me stuff uner the shower to see them appear out the plug hole! I got a tissue and flushed them down the loo.....I kid you not I went in there a couple of hours later to see a couple sommersaulting out the toilet...little gets!..I scooped them again in even more tissue and flushed them in next doors toilet, never sat on the throne there after that I can tell you!!! 

Next morning I was up for the sunrise....there's nothing more gorgeous than being on the river shrouded in mist watching the sun rise and the forest come to life. We see more wildlife, and I took endless photos....can you imagine. By 8am we were back at the lodge and breakfast, then set off on another rainforest walk up river but this time in daylight to Oxbow lake. We must have trekked for about an hour through thick jungle...even saw wild Orangutangs, and eventually came to the lake, the track was muddy, a couple of time I nearly lost me welly, but would you believe once we got to there I bumped into the girl I shared the room with in sepilok.fully clothed this time....mad. It was a lovely place the lake and the river in general, I loved the whole experience. We went up river a few more times during my stay, eventually the last morning and one last sunrise on the river it was time to head back to Bilit and catch the bus to Sandakan. 

I stayed a couple of days in Sandakan, just really to organise my next journey. I've decided to spend christmas in Bali, well why not? So checked online about visas, booked a nice hotel in Sanur on the South coast for 10 nights....owz that..:-) Next was the flights, I really want to see Singapore but to fly out is three times the expense than to fly direct from Sabah, Borneo. So after going through the various routes and weighing up the costs decided on a flight from KK direct to Bali on the 17th Dec. I'll need to do one last bus journey here to KK, which is 7 hrs but I'm feeling 100% again so for 43 ringits (£6.50) it's cheaper than flying, and the scenery is supposed to be amazing. Next day I was on the bus. It wasn't a bad journey, the bus was ok, the scenery was gorgeous, they played a couple of films....one about a Malay muslim girl in beijing falling in love with a Chinese bloke who turns muslim.....at least thats what I think it was about....it was in Malay...the next film was Transporter 10, lets face it after your watching mass pile ups and car crashes you tend to want to look out the window! I made it to KK in one piece....Had a lazy day today, got a haircut, done all my washing ( well got someone to do my washing for me) My flights at 18.30 tomorrow, so plenty of time to get myself ready. I'm looking forward to Bali now, I've loved Malaysia, the people I've met. I reckon I'm back here after Ive been to New Zealand, it will be a good stop off to fly back, and that way I'll see Singapore. Plus it beats the 34 hr travel from New Zealand if you do it in one go....a stop over in China for so many hours....Nah....but thats another chapter.