Uncle Tans Borneo

Black kingfisher ( I think)

One of those scary bat things!

After Brunei we headed back into Borneo for Kota Kinbalu on the coast.  A fairly large resort it was a nice place to spend some time in a great hostel and catch up on some internet surfing.  A bit of a street fair added to the laid back atmosphere although some of the singing made me sound good and I don't!  A night out along the waterfront led to Kirsten and Roberta trying to break the world record in marching back to the hostel.  This was twarted however by their clear lack of training and preparation and both hit the wall after 800 meters muttering something about too much gin!  Most amusing to watch.

An early flight saw us arrive in Sepilok.  This is the home of another Orang Utan sanctuary which whilst not as good as the first one we visited was still very worthwhile.  We also stayed at a great jungle resort with a swimming pool which most of us made use of.  The main reason for visiting Sepilok for us was to visit Uncle Tans wildlife adventure park.  This does exactly what it says on the tin.  A initial boat ride along  the river Kinabatangen to the park gave us sighting of numerous macaque monkeys, hornbills,egrets and probiscus monkeys.  With very basic accomodation the park is devoted primarily to the objective of spotting as much wildlife as possible.  This is achieved with a program of boat rides and trekking both day and night and delivers perfectly.  It's quite hard to recall everything we saw as there was so much, but for me the highlight was the large crocodile just slipping into the water as we passed it.  The gibbons playing amongst the trees were also great to see.  I missed out on seeing the orang utan in the wild due to an appointment with my pillow but was assured by the others that it was fantastic.  The whole park is staffed by young boys/men who put every effort into making sure you have a great time.  The only thing unfortunately they cannot control are the mossies which are everywhere.  Still a brilliant time was had by all even Ben who was extremely worried beforehand that he would die from sweating!  Turns out he didn't.

So we're currently back in KK for our last night together before returning to KL and each going our separate ways.  Well nearly separate, myself, Roberta, Heather and Ben are heading for Indonesia. Kirsten and Simon have got Africa to look forward to and Barry and Pauline are heading home to NZ. Borneo has been brilliant, I feel very lucky to have been here and seen all the things I have.  One thing that will always stick is my mind is Kirstens uncanny knack of negotiating a discount amongst male taxi drivers.  This involved a lot of smiling, dare I say flirting and a bit of chat "Oh yes, this is my job".  This worked briliantly and Kirsten has now apparently become a pin up girl amongst Borneos finest!

It's been a fantastic 6+ months for me with the Odyssey Overland group. I've had the time of my life and cannot speak highly enough of Pete and Kirsten for all the effort they put into the trip.  Every problem and I'm sure there have been a lot that we travellers were not aware of was dealt in a extremely professional way and made our lives easy. Even problems like Simon announcing to all and sundry that he had had his bag stolen in KK only to remember hours later after waking the poor nightwatchman that he had left it in KL.  I don't want to lavish the praise too highly in case anyone reads this and they get so booked up I cannot get on future trips!  Suffice to say I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the company to everyone I know. A fantastic group of fellow travellers also made life very enjoyable.  It's very hard to pick out highlights as there have been so many so I'll just say I feel privileged to have seen and done the things I have in the last 6 months and the memories will last forever.  We've had some great laughs.

So our time with Odyssey is nearly over and  after a few drinks together tonight it's time to look forward to our future travels.  I've took over the role of tour leader for one night only and booked us into a hostel in Jakarta, someone elses turn next.

This time I've sussed it.  They'll never see me in this small clear carrier bag!!

See Ben we're invisible!

Although our time together is nearly up Simon managed to get a couple of sneaky games of cupboard hiding in.  He still hasn't got the hang off it though.  Keep practising Simon!

Still Borneo plus Brunei

Strictly lime juice!

Diesel station

I'm not doing this again!

Mosque rising above the river dwellings

After a brief overnight stop in Miri, we travelled across the border to the capital city of Brunei Darussalam, Bander Seri Bergawan (BSB).  We stayed at a great hotel in the centre of the city with it's own gym and pool.  I had both to myself which can't be bad which meant that I could run indoors instead of offending the local population by venturing outdoors in shorts.  Brunei is a small sultanate split into two parts by Malaysian Borneo.  A strictly Islamic country, alcohol is prohibited and any nightclubs and bars closed down in the 1990s.  This pleased Simon and Ben, those well known party animals, no end.  Not!!  The city itself is a fascinating if somewhat strange place.  The city centre consists primarily of government buildings, with limited housing and as such the streets are devoid of people.  At times we were the only people walking on the street.  The city is one of great contrasts.  Most of the population live on the river in stilted houses which look a world apart from the grand government buildings and the magnificent mosque.  There are schools, police stations, fire and rescue stations and even diesel pumps all on stilts on the river.  It all works well and has a great community feel.  Apparently the Sultan offered the river dwellers new more modern properties but the residents declined. The city has a nice chilled atmosphere maybe due to the lack of alcohol which makes the city a very calm place.  Perhaps we could learn from this. Don't think it'll work in the UK though!

As I needed a bit of culture I joined in the visit to the mosque, a huge modern building which dominates the city.  Visitors are strictly controlled and the women have to wear black robes and headscarves so as not to offend.  Myself, Pauline and Roberta got robed up while the fellas laughed.  We ended up looking like Jedi warriors.  The guide had a great sense of humour and found all this most amusing.  The inside of the mosque bizarrely had an escalator installed which seemed strange but maybe a sign of the times.  That's enough culture for me for now though.!  Unfortunately I didn't get to meet the Sultan so no cash for me!  Never mind.

To compensate for the lack of beer Simon had another attempt at a slightly different version of his cupboard game.  But as per the photos it appears he didn't really think it through.  Apparently it's a very popular game in the wilds of Suffolk but has yet to catch on in the rest of the UK.  Personally I think he's been travelling too long!
 

They can't see me!!

Oh maybe they can!!

Borneo

A long journey saw us arrive at Bintulu a stop off point for a day visit to Similajua national park. We had a great day at the park, the highlight being a long jungle walk ably led by Kirsten to a deserted beach. At times Kirsten walked so fast I could hardly keep up, never before have I a witnessed such a level of fitness and she never appeared fatigued in any way. I need to ask her for her fitness program! The beach was beautiful and the run back ( that was just me) even better. The only thing that marred the day was the mysterious police incident tape in the jungle which made me imagine buried bodies and I’m sure I heard them calling to me, probably only the monkeys though!

Think that's Barry at the end!!



Don't know how I cope with the stress!!



All I can say is YES!!!

WOW!!

The next national park on our list was Niah.  A very well maintained park we had a great cabin for the seven of us, which made us feel at home.  This park is all about the prehistoric caves which house thousands of swiftlets and bats.  The nests which are made from the saliva of the swiftlets fetch a high price in the Chinese community and so are very sought after.  Young men risk their lives to reach the nests and harvest them, perched precariously on thin wooden poles.  Fatalities are apparently common.  We all had a visit to the caves and found them fascinating.  Not too much for me though due to not liking bats, birds or the dark!! Or wooden poles!! Or fatalities!!
  




 

This is how they wear it in Borneo

Where's wally? I mean Simon!

The next day a fairly relaxed day was had chilling around the cabin.  Obviously apart from Barry and Pauline, the kiwi wonders, who had their usual 40k stroll before breakfast.  Me, I went for what I thought would be an easy run/walk.  I realised I should have read the imformation  leaflet a bit closer when I lost my shoes twice in the jungle swamp, came across bridges that consisted of a single plank of wood suspended 20 meters high and climbed a steep slippery moss covered mountain in my thin soled running shoes.  Didn’t have to climb all the way down though not when you can slide on your backside!  To add insult to injury the jungle is reached by a ferry boat across the river and once the ferry man saw the state of my muddy legs he seemed reluctant to let me on.  A bit of a smile on my part and a flash of my blue eyes worked and I didn’t have to swim with the crocodiles.  Getting back to the cabin the others had had a good day in particular SImon who had invented a bizarre hide and seek game in a cupboard.  After two hours and no-one finding him or indeed even looking for him, he came out.  Takes all sorts!

Malaysia and Borneo

Probiscus monkey

Naughty macaques

Posing for the tourists

Mum and baby

Do not mess with Ritchie!

    After spending one night in Melaka, a town which has past influences from Portugal, Netherlands and England, several of us have carried on for the Borneo part of the trip.  An emotional farewell was said to our fellow travellers and myself, Roberta, Simon, Ben, Barry and Pauline, all led by Kirsten made our way to the airport to fly into Kuching on the island of Borneo.  Kuching is a pleasant city which has for some reason has a strange obsession with cats.  There are numerous cat statues and even a cat museum which luckily we didn’t have time to visit.  The city has a very modern and lively waterfront which is the main focal point for the locals.  The next day we travelled via speed boat on a very turbulent South China Sea to the nature reserve of Bako. We spotted wildlife in abundance during our two days here.  Macaque monkeys roamed freely mainly around the restaurant where they terrorised most of us.  They are only small but very fast and aggressive and will steal any food or drink available.  Whilst walking back to the cabin a group of them surrounded me,  looked menacing and made me panic dropping my fruit which they ran off with. Kirsten also had problems and had to fend off an ultra aggressive male with a chair, male monkey that is not Simon!  Ben made a monkey stick to protect us which worked to some extent.  The probiscus monkeys, a very rare breed that only exist in this part of the world were much nicer.  They are strange looking creatures with an overly long nose and pot bellies and it’s fascinating to watch them moving gracefully through the trees.  We all went on a night walk on which we encountered snakes, big spiders, kingfishers and lots of other wildlife.  One of the best experiences for me was going for a run in the jungle.  Out of all the places I have ran on the trip this has got to be the best.  Absolutely amazing.

  

We returned to Kuching in order to visit the orang utan sanctuary. At the entrance a mother and baby were happily posing for the public, swinging through the trees, eating bananas, the usual ape things! Feeding time was an amazing sight. The trainers called the orang utans and these magnificent creatures made their way to the table through the tree tops. The most fantastic sight was Ritchie, the king of the jungle. Apparently he doesn’t always appear but on this occasion graced us with his presence. 120+ kilo of orang utan crashing through the trees makes you sit up and pay attention. Absolutely amazing, something which I shall never forget.  Happy days.

Malaysia

rather large monitor lizard

Petronas towers

canopy walkway

How we looked in amazement when simon opened his wallet.

Thailand and beyond

My little Milly

Petronas towers

After a great week with my family in a luxury boutique hotel at Bophut Village, Koh Samui, it was time to leave them all behind again, very reluctantly, and it's certainly no easier leaving them than it was the first time.  Especially my little bambino Milly who has become a bit of livewire in my absence.  With a combination of the Parry and Standley families she's never going to be dull!!  I caught up with Maggs on the ferry and we used a variety of transport to eventually meet up with the rest of the group at Khao Sok national park.  Just a quick night stop at the park for us but I managed a quick run in the jungle, always exciting when you're watching out for snakes, and a glimpse of the monkeys playing on our roof.  Khao Sok lays claim be the oldest to pre historic rainforest in the world, which sounds impressive if only we were not going to the  Taman Negra park in Malaysia that also claims the same. I struggled to tell the difference.


The easiest border crossing of the trip between Thailand and Malaysia came next, although if we had listened to advice from the foreign office we would maybe have been more wary. What do they know!  The scariest thing was the aggresive lady selling pineapple.  Immediately as at most of the borders the scenery and atmosphere changed.  Malaysia has a very British feel to it, disregarding the tropical weather!  It still seems recent that Malysia gained it's independance from Britain although it was more than 50 years ago.  The style of architecture retains the colonnial look and everyone speaks English.  The people are also again very friendly and welcoming.  Our first stop in Malaysia was Georgetown on the island of Penang.  Penang is reached via one of the longest bridges in the world, very impressive.  Georgetown was a mixture of old and new with large indian and chinese communities.  As I hadn't cycled for at least two days I felt the urge to hire a bike and explore the streets.  This I managed most successfully visiting each street at least 8 times after getting hopelessly lost!  I did take a handy map with me which would have been useful if only the torrential rain had held off.  Not my easiest day cycling. 
I finally got back to the hotelin the early evening only to find Maggs and Roberta in the lobby supping beer like it was going out of fashion!  Not a care in the world.  I reminded them of the error of the ways which cheered me up a bit! 
 
A long trip the next day bought us to Kuala Basut, on the west coast of Malaysia. Just really a stop off point for the next days speedboat ride to the Phehentian Islands.  We mooched out and got a quick bite to eat, no alcohol to be found though.  Malaysia is predominately a muslim country and as such unless you're in a city alcohol is either not available or extremely expensive.  Simon is overjoyed by this!  An early boat ride saw us arrive at the Islands before breakfast and everyone was impressed by the views in front of them.  With clear blue water and great scenery it was definately a fantastic place to spend a few days.  Snorkelling, swimming,sunbathing, it’s a very hard life!  James led a group of us on a jungle trek which some enjoyed more than others.  I was more amazed that James actually knew the way which is a first for him in the last 6 months.  Lots of wildlife was spotted including Kay who was pretty wild at James for making her go trekking!  The islands are very beautiful, relatively unspoilt and quiet.  Lets hope they stay that way.


Unfortunately we had to leave and travelled down to Taman Negara national park. A long winded and complicated journey ensured our time at the park was limited but we all managed the canopy walk in the rainforest. Suspended 50 meters in the air on a swing bridge was a great way to spend the morning. Simon squealed, Maggs nearly had a heart attack and Neil has only just stopped shaking. But for those of us not scared of heights, good fun. I didn’t help Maggs by bouncing on the walk behind her, but if she doesn’t read this she’ll never know!


We’re currently in Kuala Lumpur (KL) and much to my suprise I’m loving it. Not being much of a city person I haven’t enjoyed them all but this one is great. The Petronas towers are beautiful, if a building can be, and the whole city is alive and has a good feel to it. The only downside is that we are reaching the end of our trip with Odyssey and as such people are disappearing off on their next adventures. A rowdy leaving do was held in one of the local bars and everyone had a great night. My room mate forgot where her bed was, misjudged it and fell straight onto the floor where she got stuck between the bed and the window.  Apparently it was my fault!  Can’t work that one out but anyway it’s been a great 6 months and myself and my roomie have had some great laughs along the way.  It’s a shame it has to end.  The next day myself, Roberta and Heather viisted the sky tower, the 4^th highest in the world.  Maggs declined from some reason stating that her bed needed her.  We had a great view from the observation deck as base jumpers parachuted from the top of the tower.  All a bit surreal when you look out the window and a body hurtles past.  KL is also a shopping paradise for electronic items if that’s your thing, but it left me a bit bewildered.  There are also T shirts galore which pleased Dennis immensly as he could add to his vast collection.  Tonight saw a group of us visit the towers at night which was an amazing sight.  All lit up they really are magnificent buildings.  As an added bonus there is a running track around the perimeter so that’s my plan for the morning!!  Or maybe not.