A Long Way For A Short Weekend (21 - 24 April 2011)

Time now for a different type of adventure, exploring the Malls and sights of Kuala Lumpur. Ant and I take yet another Air Asia flight direct from Sandakan to the capital on peninsular Malaysia. The flight at almost three hours made us realise what a huge area this country covers. We land in the Low Cost Terminal and brave, even at midnight, the long, long queue for taxis. The airport is a really long way from the city, almost 60 kms and even at this late hour with motorways most of the way, it takes just over an hour.
But how nice to be greeted by David who has come in much further than us from London for the Easter weekend, he of course, had arrived in a little more splendour than us via various VIP lounges and the proper, rather than low cost terminal..... We had gone to the airport direct from a whole day in the humid jungle, so were looking, if that were possible, even more backpackery than usual! David was as polite as he could be but we did strain his sincerity! He came bearing gifts, chocolate and mags (how nice to be catching up with Hello! and OK!), so it was a little like Christmas...
We were back to flashpacking at the Mandarin Oriental, chosen of course for location, and no, not because it is next door to the magnificent Petronas Towers, but because it is within thirty seconds of the largest, poshest shopping mall, the Suria KLCC Mall in Kuala Lumpur.... very impressive as we trawled every designer label known to man.
We felt that before giving ourselves up to shopping, we really should see some the city so set off cameras in hand for the usual KL landmarks, and braving the surprisingly easy metro system we see the old mosque, Merdeka Square and big flag, the National Mosque and the Museum of Islamic Art - well we speeded through the exhibits but did spend time in the cafe and the gift shop... The city is a real mix of very old and very new, big skyscraper buildings, some very 80's in design, some newer and some still being built, the Petronas Towers of course, huge modern malls all side by side with old Chinatown and bustling Little India, and Central Market.



David is as adventurous as Ant when it comes to food so our day two breakfast was taken at the Imbi Market where, perched on small red chairs they munch away at mainly unidentified local delicacies.... Gill of course, giving the local delicacies a miss sipped at the worst coffee ever and looked forward to a latte and a doughnut at the rather more hygienic Coffee Bean later... Then without Gill, who was being wimpy (again.....) they go up the KL Tower. Having done our worthy sightseeing, we then felt we deserved to enjoy the serious part of the day - shopping. All I will say is that it is a good job David brought out extra bags..... But they did get some respite with half an hour in the fish foot spa, so important when there is all that mall walking to do!


And of course food is important so in the evening we eat on the streets in Jalan Alor which is heaving with people and stalls and fragrant (?) with the smell of bbq, durian fruit and fish head curry. The food was really good and amazingly cheap. Major downside, for Gill at least is the absence of wine, this is a beer only street. But we make up for this by stopping at the trendy Sky Bar at Trader's hotel on the way back. Up on the high top floor of the hotel, it's a smart, noisy bar with a long swimming pool running straight through it..... David looked the part, but Ant and I didn't feel completely on trend in the best our backpacker wardrobes could come up with.... The night time view of the Petronas Towers on our walk back with the Mandarin Oriental just in front is pretty impressive.


Easter Sunday and last day here for and Ant and David, so, again without wimpy Gill, they go up to the top of the Petronas Towers at 88 floors and just over 450 metres, to see the panorama of KL below them. For mere mortals, this means getting in a queue at 8.30 am in the morning to get tickets, then waiting in another queue to get up there.



But of course in the Mandarin Oriental, there is nothing the conch can't achieve. For the princely sum of fifty quid, you can pay someone to do the queueing for you, so it will come as no surprise that "outsource Ant" did exactly that!


Finally an afternoon at the pool with champagne and club sandwiches, and a monumental storm with probably the heaviest rain we have seen so far in Malaysia, must have been the sky crying big tears as Ant and David had to go home. We had a great long weekend here in KL, it's an ideal city for a bit of a treat, lots to see, good shopping and food and a laid back vibe, a good background to a relaxing time.
But now they have gone, I am Gill no mates again, my flight back into Thailand isn't till tomorrow..... sympathy please.......

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The Wild Man Of Borneo (21 April 2011)

Today was our day for seeing orangutans at the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre. It is here that orphaned orangutans, often casualties of the deforestation to make way for the palm oil plantations, are rescued and trained to survive back in the wild. It's not guaranteed that you will see any of these wild men of Borneo and we were concerned that it may be a little zoo like - how wrong we were.



As part of their rehabilitaion, food is left at various points in the forest, getting increasingly further from civilisation to gradually reduce their reliance on human contact. The food provided - milk and bananas is deliberatly bland so that its becomes boring for them and hence they look to gather their own food. They also have nurseries where the very young orphans are trained to climb ropes and vines, things they would normally learn in their first six years from their mothers. Some of the released orangs never avail themslves of the food, others do for varying lengths of time.



We were allowed only to feeding station one, for the newly released. Twice a day, rangers climb onto a platform which has ropes attached to the surrounding trees and we waited in silence. Then a rope moved, then another and then an orang came into sight, swinging on the ropes, oblivious to us watching. It was magical. In all maybe six turned up, two mothers with young babies a few adolescents, their humanlike DNA evident for all to see. We were both sure that we recognised family..... Seeing the tiny babies, born in the reserve to previously rescued orangs, clutched to their mum as she swings along the ropes was both lovely and testament to the success of this programme.


When we went back this afternoon there was a real air of excitement about the place. The staff were telling us about a wild adult male who was around and they were hoping he might show his face. He has not been seen for four years, so they weren't hopeful but nevertheless, they were all out in force, looking slightly apprehensive. We make our way into the centre of the reserve and a few monkeys were jumping, one getting a little close for comfort. Then Ant looks up and silently (you have to be silent when in the reserve) points out a huge animal swinging through the trees, Ant was the first to spot CID, this elusive, wild male.



No wonder the staff were a little apprehensive - he is massive and as the dominant male has different facial features, fleshy facial flanges and a throat pouch, much bigger and much more solidly built than the rest. He was quite terrifying as he approached. Just time to get a couple of pictures before he dropped down to the forest floor and out of sight, frankly with a silent sigh of relief from Gill! We thought that was it, how lucky were we to see not only another wild orangutan but such a rare one.
More orangutans came in, mothers with babies, young toddlers of a couple of years old finding their way, young males, fascinating. There were many macaque monkeys around as well, they were fun to watch, but the orangs treated them with derision and the occassional swipe. Milk and bananas all eaten, the orangs started to drift away then suddenly CID appears again and leaps onto a rope and he makes his way to another platform and studies the few of us who are left. It felt like we had changed places as he swept his piercing gaze over us all, seeming to take in every detail of our appearance and deciding what to do next. How an animal with his bulk had managed to move from the forest floor where we had last spotted him to his new place was a mystery, none of us, including the experienced rangers had heard a single leaf rustle as he moved.



So a fitting last day in Sabah, another magical one in our Borneo adventure as tomorrow we move to the bright lights, decent coffee, posh hotel and civilisation of Kuala Lumpur. All of Borneo has been amazing, a real adventure place and every day has produced special memories, we have done and seen such a lot. The only downside is that it has gone too quickly.......
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The Last Resort Of The Flintstones (20 April 2011)

Time to move down from the cool of the mountains to the heat of the coastal plain at Sepilok/Sandakan in search of orangutans. As usual on this trip, bus information has been hard to find and even the Kinabalu Pines Resort had "no information" on buses. We didn't want to backtrack to Kota Kinabalu and fly here to Sandakan, as our aim to do it all overland was still important. We had seen buses passing along the road by the hotel with Sandakan emblazoned across the front. So we take a chance, and wander, well for Ant after his marathon climb, waddle, down to the road and wait outside the "wishing machine" repair shop, we still want to know where to buy one! We were rewarded after about 45 hot minutes with the golden BS Express bus coming to a screeching halt in the mud and on we got. The bus was all locals again, this time with quite a few children. Luckily when we got on, the only seats were at the back, which proved fortunate as it meant we missed the sprays of child sick that occasionally erupted.... All we had to be careful of was not slipping on it on the aisle....
We make a short lunch stop at Telupid and lo and behold, all the mothers filled their childs' stomach's again for a repeat performance for the last half.... But we were entertained by the in house videos and saw a Kung Fu epic and Toy Story 3. Now of only if there had been a trolley with a glass of champagne it would have been perfect.



The journey was fascinating, the scenery gradually changing from mountain streams and deep jungle to more and more agriculture on the de forested terraced slopes, to mile after mile after mile of palm oil plantations. These appear to be taking over a lot of Borneo and the oil is used in food, cosmetics and increasingly, bio diesel. But it is taking away the natural habitat of a lot of the native wildlife, including the orangutans, who are increasingly pushed into smaller reserves.
Rather than go into Sandakan and then travel back out the 26kms to Sepilok where the orangutan reserve is, we asked the bus driver if he could drop us off on the way. We had read in LP that you get dropped off at the Sepilok roundabout, also called the Orangutan roundabout. Suddenly a sign appeared for a roundabout and we saw a big wooden orangutan on it so started heading for the front of the bus. We were trying not to slip on the sick, Ant was having trouble moving at all, and until the driver came to yet another screeching halt, we thought he had forgotten. But no, as the bus moved off into the dusty distance we were in the place that the LP describes as having loads of cars to take people the 2.6 kms to the hotels around the reserve. Only problem, no cars..... But as usual someone came to our rescue and we piled into an ancient Datsun car and off down the road to the Sepilok Jungle Resort.
We actually only tried to book this a few days ago as we hadn't finally decided on our itinerary. We realised we were probably heading back to tourist central as everywhere was booked. We finally found a local website which got us what looked like the last rooms in Sepilok. It was only after we had booked, we thought to check it out in the LP. Their advice was avoid like the plague and it really should be called the Last Resort! But it was our last resort..... It is the nearest (a five minute walk) to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre but it is a bit of an odd place. Spread out over a huge area of the forest with pools and walkways and the only swimming pool for miles, it's a beautiful setting. The rooms however.... actually they are not the worst we have stayed in, but basic would be a good description.




But the odd thing is they must have bought a job lot of concrete as everything is made of it, but all (badly) painted to look like wood. The walkways, the bar chairs, the tv stand.... Just call us Fred and Thelma.






Ant goes for a swim early evening to ease his Kinabalu muscles, it doesn't work. Gill rather liked the longest list ever of pool rules, the favourite of which was "do not use the pool to do your business, use the toilet" still not sure that was reassuring.... And then to dinner in the concrete/log restaurant, where we discover another great drink. Fresh lime juice topped up with more secret water, bought in Kota Kinabalu in case of emergencies. Being in a jungle with no wine list constituted exactly that....



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The Hard Path To The Top, Climbing Mt Kinabalu (18/19 April, 2011)

This is all Ant, Gill was lazing away down the mountain...I've copied my texts sent as I went.



My first glimpse of Mt Kinabalu was as we drove out of Kota Kinabalu 110km away! Must be some mountain to be able to see it's distinctive cockscomb jagged top of bare rock from that distance. The lower slopes are clad in dense rainforest, matching the rest of Sabah. There had been a nagging in the back of my mind all week, what if I failed? There was so much riding on this climb, if I failed, then Kili in July will be futile. I had to get to the top. And of course my preparation had been negligible.
I got to the national park hq to meet my guide at 9.30. He was a child! Tiny, nimble, simple rubber shoes on his feet. I was dressed to climb the Eiger in comparison. Lesson One for Kili - carry as little as possible, every extra bag of licorice allsorts and Sports mixture will make a difference.
We set off from the Timpohon gate at 1866m. I had to climb 1500m today over the short distance of 6 km. Estimates were generally set at 6.5 hrs. How could it take so long? We set off past waterfalls, through verdant green rainforest, it was beautiful. First km in 25 minutes, I was on fire!



Text: all good, 1km done, 8 to go. Steep steps thru rainforest. 25 min km, not bad, guide nice as speak "no inglish".

Every 500m there was a marker, my goodness some of these felt far apart. It was steamy and hot, I was soon sodden through, Very quickly I stopped looking around. The ascent had started in earnest and it was hard. There were occasional rest areas where you could collect mountain water. I would stop for a Jaffa cake fix. They helped a lot.



Text: 2km at 10.35 alt 2252m still hot, relentless steps. Enjoying it.

Climbing 1500m over 6 km, feels like climbing stairs. It was a relentless uphill slog, Sometimes it was so steep that there were in fact wooden stairs with handrails, otherwise, it was rock hewn steps, akin to climbing up a rocky stream bed for 6 km. As I gained altitude, I had to frequently stop to catch my breath. Lesson no. 2 for Kili - go at a pace that doesn't get you out of breath, as it was hard to get it back. I could hear my pulse in my ears, feel my heart pumping and am convinced that my left arm was swelling, shit I could die up here!!! The rainforest with its pitcher plants gave way to rhododendrons, then to high altitude scrub as the air got thinner and cooler. The clouds flying by, wispy and mysterious. This was as tough as the London marathon and I hadn't even trained. Fool. Made to feel even worse by the porters, young and old, male and female, who carry huge loads up this hill to the huts every day. They skipped past in flip flops, ggrrrrr.

Text: now at Pandok Layang Layang, passed 3.5 km mark. In clouds, huge ferns, flowers and steps. Starting to see last night people coming down.

At 1440 I arrived at Laban Rata resthouse, home for the next 12 hours. I was breathless and had a bad headache and this was only 3300m, Kili is at 6000m. I had a dorm bed, I collapsed into it, some people were skipping around, I could hardly move, fortunately there were some young Swedish people in the dorm who were in an even worse state than me, that made me feel better! We all had headaches, one of the girls had tingly arms, another thought that circulation had stopped to her leg and she had a clot, welcome to hypochondriac anonymous, but it was nice to share as the walk up was lonely. There was only me in my group and Samira, my guide spoke no english, other then "yes, beautiful" to whatever question I posed. If I could have breathed I could have had a fun conversation to amuse myself, but breathing was my focus. Kili tip 3. Headache pills, take them early, and keep drinking.

Text: made the hut at 14.40, 6km, 3300m. Knackered, its tough, now above tree line. Will have to get fitter before Kili. Mountains take no prisoners.

My dorm was situated in the Pendant hut which was made of tin sheets, stuck on the side of the mountain, with toilets and cold water showers in the cellar which was open to the elements. Why would anyone take a shower? Most climbers were Chinese and they were kitted out in brand new climbing and hiking gear. I was feeling like Steptoe.


Dinner was in the main hut, about 100m downhill. Getting my boots back on was a struggle let alone walking down to dinner, but I made it. Stuffed myself with carbs and headed back, taking photos of the sunset as I went. But bed was my focus, and I was wrapped up in someone else's left over sleeping bag by 6pm.

We were going to get woken for the final ascent at 2.00 am. I don't think I slept at all, I was worrying that if tomorrow was worse, and it should be as it was higher, then would I be able to make it. I must have slept though, as I heard someone complain about the snorer the next day....

Text: here goes, dumped as much stuff as poss, v cold, going outside, may be a while.

I remember the sleeping bag being warm and cosy and so getting up wasn't easy. Toast, peanut butter, hot tea for breakfast and at 2.30 am Samira arrived in a balaclava. I was well layered with Icebreakers! And with a flashlight on my head we set off to conquer Kinabalu. And the amazing thing was I felt great, breathlessness and aches had gone. Bring on the summit! It was still uphill, still hard work, but nowhere near the agony of yesterday, I could make this, the stars were out in force, there was a full moon, as there will be for Kili. The mountain looked beautiful. Behind me were a trail of head torches, akin to candles from some medieval pilgrimage. The steps soon gave way to smooth granite slabs, they had ropes across them, I had to use my hands to haul myself up and across, the ropes went on for ages.

Text: 7km, 3666m, 1hr 20 to do 1km, but in middle of pack, so no problem. Crossing sheer granite slopes, using ropes, tough but enjoying it. Should summit at 6.30 hopefully, heart pounding.



Amazingly, it felt easy, the air was cool, the surroundings were astonishing, and I knew that I was going to make it.

Text: 8km 3969 m, this is such a special place. Loving being up here. Astonishing other worldly, the moon makes me want to cry.


It was unclear to me which of the many jagged pillars is in fact the summit of Lows Peak, but soon the line of head torches became evident and there was a mad scramble up the final 200m.


Text: made it at 05.40 Result! I'm at the top of SE Asia chuffed to bits gorgeous sunrise.

I had made it, the last 2.8 km and 800m in 3 hrs and 10 minutes. I shed a few tears, I think they were of relief and happiness. I had carried up some stones in memory of friends departed and it all felt so right. I was really proud of myself. Amazingly there was a mobile signal and so I facebooked and called David. It was great to share the moment. Kili tip no 4 night climbing feels easier, take spare torch batteries.

Text: feels amazing and so chuffed. Last half hour scramble. Placed memory rocks at top.


The sunrise was beautiful as they always are at altitude, the moon hadn't set, so it shared the sky. The world had never looked better. How lucky I am to get to see all this? Then the mad scramble for a photo at the sign and after 30 minutes, and all too soon, it was time to turn back downhill. I will never forget this moment. Colin and John if you are reading this, Kili will be amazing. Kili tip no. 5 bring tissues.

I walked down the whole 2.2 km altitude/9.2 km in distance in one morning, I left the peak at 06.10, getting back to base at 13.00, with an hour's break for breakfast at the huts.

Text: 0820 back at dorm hut for breakfast. Descent hard on toes and knees am elated.

Downhill was hard on the knees and toes.

Text: back down, legs jelly, toes fallen off.

Gill was waiting with a big glass of why why. I was too tired to talk. To bed with a smile!

Today, walking down steps is hard and I have two black toenails as souvenirs.

Kili tip no.6 Take linament, knee supports and champagne. The satisfaction feels immense. Bring it on.




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Slopes, Snakes, Springs and Six Petals (17 April 2011)

Rather than take a bus direct to the Kinabalu National Park, we decide to make a day of it and see a few places along the way. The road out of Kota Kinabalu is so much more developed than Gill remembers from twenty years ago when she followed the same road. Lots of new housing, good roads, roundabouts and the biggest university in SE Asia. The middle classes are certainly growing here. The first stop is a lookout to see the majestic Mt Kinabalu. Probably luckily, as Ant wasn't so sure he wanted to see exactly how high it is, it was shrouded in mist....
So on we go into the foothills of Mt Kinabalu, the climate noticeably cooler. Then to the Poring Hot Springs, just past Ranau Town, and down the hill a bit so slightly warmer again. There is a high canopy walk here that Gill remembers from all those years ago, and thinks it was very high, swinging around in the tops of the trees looking a long, long way down to the forest floor. This time, whilst quite high, it didn't seem quite so terrifying, but perhaps that was memory changing or Gill getting braver with the years.... But we discover that a new one has been built on a lower level than before, and a bit like Air Asia whose strap line is "now everyone can fly", the new lower one means "now everyone can canopy walk"......



We exit the wobbly connecting bridges and back down through the humid forest to the hot springs. These are good fun and peopled by locals all enjoying Sunday picnics whilst taking the waters. These hot springs are one of the better results of the Japanese occupation during WW2, when they built lots of little tiled baths in the mountainside that could be filled up with the really hot spring water.



This has also been developed a bit since Gill last visited, the tatty leaf roof coverings have gone to be replaced by smarter (?)


corrugated iron, and park offices, changing rooms, a few small swimming pools and a small waterslide. Am looking forward to digging out the old pictures when I get home to see the difference. The pools were rather slow to fill and Ant took the waters in about two inches of the stuff. Now we know why the locals have to make a day of it....



The guy who was with us in the minibus had said that there was a possibility of us being able to see a Rafflesia flower at some point, but it appeared to be a bit of a secret, bit of a nod and a wink and a few phone calls, felt like a drug deal! It's actually hard to see one of these, they take a year to grow on the forest floor and then bloom only for a few days before rotting down with the smell of decaying flesh... And there aren't too many around. But more nods, more winks and a few more phone calls it looked like we were in luck. We take the mini bus over ground and rivers really more suited to a four wheel drive and narrowly escape being stuck on several occasions, till we come to a lone, tiny settlement in the middle of the forest. Felt like being in some weird fairy tale..... We pay our few ringgits to the land owner, apart from a few fruit trees, showing off their Rafflesia seemed to be their only source of income and it was a poor looking place to live. We are led along the paths through the forest to see this magnificent specimen. It's really well protected, shaded with leaves and a fence around, apparently when they start rotting down the smell is powerfully attractive to animals who will come and trample down the cabbage like buds of any others growing nearby. And just one touch on the bud will turn it black and kill it. No wonder they are so rare. But we saw it. This one was 85cms in diameter, the largest ones grow to just over a metre. Normally they have only five petals, occasionally there is an extra smaller one, but this was a truly rare find in as much as there were six evenly sized ones. We were so lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Such an odd thing, but beautiful. And to add to the excitement, just next to it was a small snake, languidly chewing on the frog it had just caught, again more luck for us, the frog, rather than us, was satisfying its hunger.... Was very proud of Ant, who despite his snake phobia, took it all in his stride. So cool was he, he even took this amazing photo.



And we certainly couldn't begrudge the few ringgits we paid, this Rafflesia will be rotted away in a couple of days and the next bud around, assuming it survives, won't appear for another three months, so not much of an income generating scheme for the landowner. Yet more of the serendipity we are experiencing on this trip.



Back up the mountain to check in at the Kinabalu Pines Resort, the clue on the temperature is in the name.... Shades of Ooty, we are high at 1500 metres and it feels quite a lot chillier, Gill may be sleeping in her clothes again.... A "charming" little place, best described as basic, built like Swiss Chalets into the hill with an amazing (when the rain and cloud clear) view of Mt Kinabalu.



Ant is now faced with the folly of his choice to climb..... it looks a hell of a long way up! But the rooms seem fine and clean if not high on the design stakes. So we tuck into a Chinese lunch, very good but all that is on offer, and of course the bottle of wine, at a tenner, the best price we have come across so far. Later on, we settle in, jackets on downstairs in the gathering gloom on a chilly verandah, the only space the wifi works, with two iPads doing overtime.


Ant on one trying (unfortunately unsuccessfully) to get Glastonbury tickets, and the London Marathon via Slingbox on the other! Aint technology great? Dinner, Chinese again, but it enabled Ant to carb load through rice and of course, more wine..... And then an early night for Ant in preparation for his climb tomorrow and for me to take it extremely easy whilst he does all that hard work.
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Chop, Chop Times Eight Across Borneo (16 April 2011)

Today is a big day. Our original plan was to overland all the way across Borneo from Kuching to Sandakan. The bit between Kuching and Miri was a sixteen hour job on a bus with nothing much to see, so Air Asia helped on that bit, and we needed to save a bit of time. But from Miri, we were determined to go overland. By good luck we made the Miri - Brunei bit yesterday, but today from Brunei to Kota Kinabalu was always going to be the most challenging as we were to collect eight stamps (or in Chinese parlance, chops) on the way as we criss crossed various borders.
7.30am sees us board the bus in BSB with a handful of locals and a wodge of immigration forms to be completed. For the first four hours we spent more time off the bus clutching passports, queueing and crossing no man's lands than actually making any big distance. This is how each queue and stamp panned out:
Out of Brunei
Into Sarawak
Out of Sarawak
Into Brunei
Out of Brunei
Into Sarawak
Out of Sarawak
Into Sabah
Lots of ink, stamps and passport pages used.
But we then settled into the last five bouncing hours, a short lunch stop at Lawas, awoken every so often by the loud in bus video and even louder guy a couple of rows behind on his phone, and stops every so often to pick up or drop off other passengers, arriving in Kota Kinabalu at 5 pm. But not a bad cost per hour at around £20 for the trip.



We check into the Cititel Express in downtown Kota Kinabalu, which is fine, with the smallest rooms ever. Similar in size to the Tune Hotel in KL, no cat swinging here..... KK is an unprepossessing sort of a place at first sight, but as you walk around there is a certain good urban vibe about it.



Not the most attractive of Asian cities, lots of concrete and tall buildings, but is faster moving than other places we have been. It's not a destination in itself, there are a few beach resorts out of town, but not great beaches. It's more of a starting point for diving the islands offshore or visiting the great Kinabalu National Park, and for those very brave souls (Ant) who plan to climb Mt Kinabalu, the highest peak in SE Asia.


The night market, the best around these parts was fascinating, sandwiched between the flash Meridien hotel and the modern waterfront, it sold all kinds of food (but no drink of the alcoholic variety, foiled again!). We eat at a local place on the waterfront overlooking the distant islands and fishing boats. Then an early night, yet another 7am start tomorrow. Bur at least in a place like this with no bar culture at all, our early starts haven't been marred with hangovers!


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Dry Brunei, No Sign Of Why Why.... (15 April 2011)

What is is that you are desperate for when arriving in the tropical heat of a new city after a three hour airport wait, a one hour flight and a four hour bus trip? Yes, you know us well and you guessed it, a cold beer or a nice glass of why why. Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei was sadly, as expected, dry. Apart from the rain that is....
So no chance of a drink outside, we settle into the surprisingly good hotel restaurant and order fresh fruit juices. A few sips out to make room and then a subtle top up with our specially imported special water. It tasted good!
Next morning we wake to a searingly hot day for a walk around the capital of this small but rich Sultanate. The Sultan of Brunei is the richest person in the world and the loyal citizens here pay no tax, get high standard, free education and health care, petrol at 25p a litre, and the highest minimum wage in SE Asia. But we guess he's not that generous, they still have to work for a living whilst he rakes it in and buys hotels like the Dorchester..... No motorbikes here that you see everywhere else, they all drive flash cars, for which they get subsidies to buy. But everyone seems happy enough and loyal to the Sultan. But there the similarities to the oil rich states of the Middle East stop. BSB is small, very attractive and compact with a few modern buildings, a very impressive, very gilded, mosque (the highest building allowed), and the largest stilted town in the world with over 20,000 inhabitants. The city is very clean and well manicured with a few international banks and bad shopping. Although of course Ant did manage a few purchases in the sunglasses department....


We start our walk with the Tamu Kianggeh open market just across the river inlet by the hotel. Stalls selling all manner of fruit, veg and mystery meat. And pet stalls with birds, rabbits and rodent looking things.... Gill moves swiftly on.... Then back over into the city to head to the Royal Regalia Museum which was really good. As well as all sorts of info on the history of the Sultanate, there were all the gifts given to the Sultan on his accession, including a huge green vase thing from QE2. The Arab nations' gifts had a few more jewels encrusted on theirs..... And his first wife and third wife feature too. The second divorced one was nowhere to be seen...



The carriages he used for both his coronation and jubilee celebrations were there too, huge, gilded, spectacular and well displayed in the huge atrium with the plushest carpet we have ever seen, or indeed felt on our feet as no shoes allowed! Neither of us are museum sort of people, but this one was fascinating and well worth a visit.


Then onto the grand, very golden mosque (it was Friday so unfortunately we couldn't go in) via the Coffe Bean Cafe for coffee and cake. Then to the mall, very disappointing, and then to the river area. The mall, to Ant's great disappointment sported the latest from Alain Delon.... The water across to the stilted village was too rough for Gill, so Ant took a James Bond boat across and toured around looking at the impressive schools over there. We couldn't go into the Sultan's palace, it's only open a few days a year, but we could see bits of it in the distance. Looks a swanky place though, 1788 rooms, 257 bathrooms, its own mosque, but some uncharitable writer compared the architecture to that of Heathrow Terminal 5....
After lunch we got really desperate, roasting hot and not a why why in sight! So to take our mind off the lack of available alcohol we decide to visit the Brunei museum just out of town which had an oil and gas section. We thought it would be good to learn about the black gold that has made this country what it is today. We didn't learn much though, the oil and gas section was closed.....
But there was a benefit. For months, we have been trying to find how we travel overland from Brunei to Kota Kinabalu and it has been impossible. Whenever there was any info it was contradictory to say the least. We thought that there was an express bus which was what we were looking for as trying to do it by individual buses seemed like a three day trip with problems managing the eight border crossings required. But someone, somewhere stepped in to help. Normally, we would have grabbed a cab to the museum but decided to be our more adventurous selves and try a local bus. As we waited for a No 39, Danny, a local tour guide come wide boy approached. Turns out he is the agent of the bus we were looking for and told us all we needed to know, and that the stop is just ten metres from our hotel. Serendipity. And if anyone is trawling this blog for bus info across Borneo here is Danny's email: danny25174@yahoo.com
Back into town, really gagging now for a sundowner, we order yet more fruit juice, take a few sips, add the special water, you get the drift.......
For dinner, we decide to go to the Centrepoint Mall at Gadong and make our way to the bus station to catch a No 1. We get the last one and get off a couple of hundred metres away in a huge rainstorm. Again, big shopping disappointment, the mall is a cross between modern India and old Bangkok without a label to be seen. And foodwise, lots of fast food of the Kenny Rogers Fried Chicken Shack variety, so we plumb for Italian. They surprisingly sell Schweppe's tonic water which we discover goes exceptionally well with special water... I wonder if anyone has ever realised that..... Feeling nicely mellow, we grab a cab back to the hotel ready for the border marathon tomorrow.
We enjoyed Brunei, short visit that it was. As well as a new pin each, it was good to see an Asian country that was unlike any other and would recommend it. But one day without freely available cocktails was probably enough....

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Bus Miri To Brunei And Another New Pin (14 April 2011)

For once it wasn't Gill who got us to the airport early, but the panicking yet ever so helpful manager at the hostel. We got there an hour and a half early and so imagine how delighted we were to find a two hour delay, or in Air Asia parlance, our flight had been retimed!
Sadly this meant that we would only have 35 minutes after the plane lands to collect our bags and get to the long distance bus station in Miri. Looking grim, so we spent the airport time at the Coffee Bean Cafe ekeing out a latte whilst we used their free wifi to try and arrange a taxi to Brunei from Miri. To no avail, so if we didn't make the bus then we'd spend the night in Miri.
Flight was fine, along the north Borneo coast, the land beneath dark green forest, with old brown rivers snaking to the sea. An hour was too short, even on air Asia!
Last off, as we were at the very back of the plane, pushing old grannies out of the way, we ran to collect our bags, yes! they came quickly, but there was a queue at the taxi ticket counter, come on come on, gill barking at girl who seemed half asleep and who didn't even know where bus station was! Amusingly, the people in the queue knew and said that the bus was leaving in 20 minutes, YES!!! we know we screamed, thats why we are in a hurry!!! Run to get cab, traffic jam to get out of airport as dignitaries around, due to Sarawak election, guns everywhere, come on come on. Yes we are on the bypass, I had time to check-in on foursquare and 15 mins later, we pull into a parking lot with buses. Driver drove around looking for Brunei bus, YES!! It hadn't left, phew, we'd made it. Thanks Amma!
It was as we relaxed on the bus that I realised that my backpack looked a tad moist and smelt most strangely. And sure enough, it had had a meeting with a bottle of Thai fish sauce. Nmm nice.
We'd heard conflicting accounts of where to get the bus and how long the journey would take, the LP and Internet were contradictory. So if this blog can help fellow travellers here is the quickest way to get from Miri to Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei by bus.
Buses leave Miri long distance bus station at Pujut Corner which is out of town at 15.45 and costs RM 40 each. There is another one at 8am. The journey takes 4 hours. We had maybe 10 fellow passengers, so had loads of room to push back, doze and stare at the unchanging green and flat landscape.
Two immigrations to navigate, all out of the bus at each for a relativley painless process. However, upon getting on the bus at Miri, we were asked if we had any wine. We answered honestly NO. Surely that juniper secret water in unlabelled plastic water bottles doesn't count? At Brunei immigration, it was bags out of the bus and an inspection. Yes Gill came clean! Now I was at the border with a drinks smuggler and she had looked so innocent on the bus! Lots of tutting, more forms to fill in and Gill in the bad person queue! You can take the girl out of Liverpool...... Fortunately they don't have the death penalty for alcohol smuggling yet! The signs for drug smugglers were a lot less friendly. She (this is Gill, just let me add here, WE were allowed to keep it.... And the real smuggler here was Ant, he had a half filled bottle of the stuff too which he didn't declare....)was allowed to keep it, but urged to drink it all before she left Brunei? We love a challenge!
Back on the bus, same flat green landscape, but bigger houses, much better cars and oil wells off shore, their flames burning brightly as the sun set spectacurlay in a thunder storm. Quite an intro to Brunei. Admittedly 4 hours is a long time in a bus and so we were glad to get to Bandar Seri Begawan or BSB as it is known locally. And yes Amma was there again, the drop off point was only 10m from our hotel in downtown BSB. Secret water has never tasted so good.



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Kuching Kerching (13 - 14 April 2011)

We now make the long five hour boat and bus journey in reverse from Batang Ai back into Kuching, but this time are staying in the city away from the rainforest, we both have overdosed on green over the last few days and are in need of some urban renewal. We booked a hotel by location, right on the waterfront, and at first sight, thought we had, in the words of Julia Roberts made a big mistake, huge. The Kuching Waterfront Lodge is an old Chinese house, divided into rooms without windows and dorms. Full of dusty dark furniture, chandeliers. But actually the rooms were fine, clean with much needed aircon. And of course the shower that floods the whole bathroom....


Our first move is to wander down the waterfront and are pleased to find a James Brooke's (he of the last White Raja in Sarawak) Cafe and Bistro that served alcohol, a rare find in this part of the world, so we decamp for the evening. Local food and non local beer and wine make for an enjoyable evening. But this is where the kerching in Kuching began.... Food in these parts is really cheap, alcohol is not. The drinks bill was five times that of the food bill, but we are heading for dry Brunei so need to alcohol load.... just like marathon runners before the big day, who need to carb load - same principle, makes sense?


We wander, or was that stagger, back along the Sarawak River Waterfront, a place where familes, young couples and very few tourists are promenading in the balmy evening. A good night's sleep and time to immerse ourselves in the local culture. Well, time for Ant to immerse himself at least. He takes a local Chinese breakfast at a busy little stall. He eats noodles, broth and various animal parts, some of which were identifiable, some of which were not.... Gill went to another cafe for a very identifiable latte and Danish.. No change there then!
We do the walking tour of the Chinese area, the Indian area, the old British area. The kerching kicks in again as Ant spots an optician. No cheap Vietnam reading glasses here, suffice to say, we move on a pair of fab glasses and another pair of sunnies later.... Gill also purchased a couple of pairs of glasses but the two for a fiver type in the Indian market amongst the fragrant spices. One of the pairs is Burberry, real of course, what a bargain...


But most of the shops were the usual tat so we move up a gear to the Kuching Spring Mall. Big, modern, cool, Starbucks, amazing food court - you get the idea. Here a very non Asian pizza followed by more shopping as Ant drops a few more quid in Esprit. Back at the Waterfront before dinner we drop into an antique shop selling some beautiful antique Iban masks. But unable to make a decision, Ant decides to sleep on it, the shop opens at 10 am the next morning, we need to leave for the airport at 10 am, no problem. We are there at 10 the next morning to look again and they are two beautiful pieces, so yet again out comes the card. Talk about distress purchase, one guy wrapping, one on the credit card machine, Ant saying get a move on, the taxi chomping at the bit. We finally flop into the cab and race to the airport. But Kerching in Kuching was such a success that Ant then has a voicemail from his credit card company to verify this, even for him, rather unusual spending pattern.....

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Tea and Taxes Upriver (10 -12 April 2011)

Yesterday we asked one of the Brits about the trip to see an Iban longhouse. They told us it was amazing, it was really close, there was a good toilet, a nice big group, a cultural dance and lots of photos as you could dress up in the local costume. It was a good conversation to have as it clarified exactly what we didn't want.
So after a lot of negotiating last night, this morning saw just the two of us boarding, rather inelegantly, a very small, very rickety bright yellow longboat to go an hour upriver to see an ordinary longhouse, the Ng Delok, one that was not gussied up at all. The boat was very low in the water, but luckily the weather was on our side and the trip up the river was stunning.



On and on we went, no one else in sight, twisting and turning around the bends in the river. We certainly got what we wanted.


This place was built into the hill, looked like it was falling down, and yes, there were chickens everywhere. We manage to get out of the boat without falling into the mud and scramble up the slope. There were only fourteen families living here, relatively small, but half of the original community decided to resettle below the dam when the valley was flooded in '85. The children all have to board during the week as they have to go to school, a lot of the people were out doing their bit growing their veg and hill paddy rice. Dogs were everywhere, weeing at will. But the few people who were around gave us a rather laconic look and carried on with whatever they were doing. One man was mending his fishing net, a very elderly lady was sitting quietly on a mat looking after a child too young for school. Other young men just seemed to be sitting doing nothing. Some people had just got up and were still wandering about in their pyjama bottoms.






The Chief however was up and dressed and there to meet and greet us. After handshakes all round, we were invited to sit on the mat and drink tea with him.



He was not dressed up in fancy dress, just his shorts and shirt. He had not one word of English - fair enough, Ant and my Iban is a bit rusty too. At one point he gets up and very proudly brings out his dog eared visitors book for us to sign, we were only the third people to visit over the last month. We give our gifts, something you are supposed to do. We had taken advice from the driver yesterday and had bought a huge pack of 40 bags of pea snacks, some exercise books and pencils. Old chiefy didn't look too impressed, we think he may have preferred a bottle of whisky..... but he did thank us graciously with a rather regal nod of the head. Then we are presented with our bill. About a fiver split between "Chief Tax" and "Head Tax". We were especialy concerned about the head tax as the Iban are historically big headhunters..... It was explained that this tax is basically the only cash they get their hands on to buy things like sugar that they cannot produce themselves, and it is divided between all the families. The £20 or so they have earned in the last month won't buy much.


And the chief had no idea of maths. We didn't have the right money and there was no way he could work it all out, but we got there in the end. It is election time here in Sarawak, and the chief had to leave us as he had an appointment with the Education Minister at the local area primary school just across the river. So we were then free to wander around as we wished. Just off the long open area are the individual family spaces. Imagine a street of wooden houses sharing a roof and opening onto a covered in street designed for communal living all 20ft off the ground. We couldn't go in the private house areas but managed to peer into a few to see old 50's style sofas, pots and pans and small dark wood cupboards. We looked at the ragtag posters everywhere, from health advice about Dengue fever, the rota for cleani gbthe communal areas, the Liverpool football club pictures and the Christian icons of Jesus and Mary - the missionaries did a good job here..... The whole place is dark with an odd strip light, powered by a generator that is only used sparingly for festivals. This place is so isolated, five hours of road and one and a half hours of river travel from the nearest city and no mod cons at all. Water collected from the waterfall, oil lamps......
It was hard to believe we were in the 21st century. And not even a mobile phone signal, that shows exactly how isolated it is!
But time to move on from all this gracious hospitality. And we slide back down the muddy steps to our longboat to find an out of the way waterfall that has no path to it. It was small, perfectly formed and worth the slippery scramble up and down rocks and mud. It was a fairy glen, quite magical, until of course the fairy went swimming, please see picture! And then another magical river trip back to our "civilised" longhouse. The water was so still it was like a mirror, with perfect reflections of the sky
It was a really magical day.






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